It’s been a year, and me (39M) and my wife (36F) have been intimate twice, separated by nearly six months apart.

I know our relationship has had issues, with financial stress and financial infidelity (5+ years ago, I withheld how bad our cash flow was, using debt to maintain our lifestyle). She has been stressed at her job of 3 years, and now she’s gotten a job that strictly is 8:30-5:30, with no carryover into her personal life.

She can’t let go of the pain I caused her. She feels she hasn’t had time to do so since she started working 5 years ago to help gain a foothold on finances.

This carries over to the bedroom. She has always had a lower libido, but it’s straight turned off. I don’t know how someone in a relationship can possibly handle that long (6+ months) without masturbation or intercourse.

At this point, it’s a huge pain point for us. She knows I desperately want to connect physically, but it feels like the path to her healing is a chicken or the egg dynamic. However, sex is unilaterally off if I’m trying to initiate.

Since I’m batting well below the Mendoza line, I told her I’ve had enough and I’m not pursuing her in bed going forward. The straw was my birthday. I spent the entire day trying to take her on a date and be romantic…not even a kiss or hug.

I just feel like I’m dying inside. I’m literally giving it six months or I’m filing for divorce. That will be her birthday present if we can’t find common ground. I would rather live in a shack, mired in debt and alone, seeing our four kids every now and then, then be this fucking miserable every night.

How the fuck do people cope with this?

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝English
    11•1 month ago

    I just feel like I’m dying inside. I’m literally giving it six months or I’m filing for divorce. That will be her birthday present if we can’t find common ground. I would rather live in a shack, mired in debt and alone, seeing our four kids every now and then, then be this fucking miserable every night.

    Have you told her this? Have you tried couple’s counseling?

    She may think she needs to get her head down and work hard to sort out the finances, then she can work through the emotional stuff but that’s not working for you. Better she finds out now, when you can work on fixing it, rather than when you hand the papers over.

    • @Sea_Foam_GreenOPEnglish
      1•1 month ago

      No. But she knows how frustrated I am as well.

      I can’t change the past, and progress to right a wrong is way longer than it takes to lose trust. However, I don’t know how much longer I can take not feeling like I’m worth the effort, the same effort that gave us four awesome children.

      I feel a huge gaping hole in my heart each and every day, and she knows this. So, I’m going to go to my therapy that I’ve gone to off and on for 8 years, get in the best physical shape I’ve ever been in, and find a way to find contentment in a shitty environment.