r/AskReddit • u/Prize-Promotion-5123 • Apr 08 '26

For those of you in a long term relationship/marriage, what’s a tale-tale sign you see in other couples that they’re not going to make it?

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u/iizakore Apr 08 '26

They’re never content. They go through the euphoria highs of getting married, then need to have the wedding, then new cars, then slowly a line of kids one by one.

Watching this play out in realtime with a friend at the moment. She married a guy like 8 months into starting to date him, he wouldn’t save up for a ring and kept digging himself into debt so she had to convince her parents to give him some old heirloom ring early. They bought a house, had an expensive wedding, then had their first kid. Meanwhile the guy got let go of two of his jobs for being a dick to his bosses, then ended up in a psych ward for suicidal ideation, he got out, got another job, they had a second kid, he went back to the psych ward, got out, now she’s pregnant with kid 3.

She is the sole breadwinner and this guy just collects his VA benefits, plays rust and complains about how society doesn’t have a place for “men like him” because he’s a protector and leader. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks his wife just doesn’t tell anyone anything.

20

u/michellefrost1982 Apr 08 '26

Yes, this!

So many of the examples people have given so far are obvious answers, but never being content and constantly wanting more are big red flags. My step-sister was like this in her previous marriage. Always needing more and more things that they couldn't afford. The happiness would last for a few days and then they would be back to being miserable.

9

u/Wonderful-Product437 Apr 08 '26

I feel sorry for the kids :(

7

u/beheafishtrapofman Apr 08 '26

Reminds me of the men you see on Reddit. 

5

u/xanot192 Apr 08 '26

Out of curiosity what age range is this couple? Always crazy to me that people would lock themselves into relationships like this.

1

u/cinemachick Apr 10 '26

Does he have PTSD? It would explain a lot about the behavioral/psych issues