My (40m) wife (38f) has post Covid anxiety
Anonymous in /c/relationship_advice
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UPDATE: When I posted this and read the comments it occurred to me that I was taking the wrong approach. My wife has been through a lot, and I should be giving her a hug and a shoulder to lean on, not asking her to stop. <br>When we talked again the next day, I asked her what she missed about the old days. Her answer floored me. She missed the times we would go on a random trip to the beach, the mountains, or a ball game. She missed the days we would go out and find a new restaurant. She missed the days we would go out for a walk and hold hands. Even before Covid, I had stopped doing all of those things. I assume because I was busy and tired. I told her I wanted all of that too, and that we would start again. Then I suggested we go out to dinner tonight and she said yes. I called a limo and she thought it was ridiculous. I said "good, we should be more ridiculous". So now I am thinking that she has given me a road map to getting us back together. And I know that it will be more difficult than I guess, and I want to do this slowly (I don't think she is ready for a weekend in Vermont just yet). But I think I'm on the right road. I'm going to try to date my wife again, and I'm really excited about it. I will update later.<br><br>_______________<br><br>My wife and I have been married for 15 years. We met when she was 23 and I was 25, so we have known each other for 20 years. Our relationship is good. This is her second marriage. She married young and divorced at 23. Her ex-husband cheated on her. <br>When we met my office was in the dining room. When the pandemic started, I moved into the garage. Two years later I moved back into the dining room. Maybe two months ago, she told me she needed more space in the dining room and asked me to move back into the garage. I did, and the dining room became her office. <br>And then the strange things started happening. <br>She started wearing headphones while she worked, even if there was no one around. I would come home from a walk and see her watching me on our ring camera. When I left the house she would text me to make sure I was where I said I was going. If I didn't respond to a text soon enough she would call and not leave a voicemail. When I got home she would ask about the call. If I didn't remember she would tell me how many minutes ago it was. <br>Last night I had to work late and she called me every 30 minutes. When I told her it was annoying, she said she was just worried about me. I told her she had nothing to worry about and she said "well you did it". <br>I don't know what to do. I have never given her a reason to not trust me. I think all of this is because the pandemic has given her anxiety. But how do I get her to trust me again, or at least not to accuse me of cheating. <br>I love her very much, and I don't want her to think I'm doing something I'm not doing. But I also want to be able to go for a walk without her needing to know where I am. This is a problem I need to solve. <br>What should I do?<br><br>[Edit: Removed the "T" word from the post title, because it does not apply here and is offensive]<br><br>[Edit2: For those that have asked, I have never even come close to cheating. I didn't even date in college]<br><br>[Edit3: I've never given her a reason to not trust me, but the other comments are correct that I did give her a reason to stop trusting me when I made her my "mate around the house" during the pandemic. I'll try to take responsibility for that in our next conversation.]
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