When people are married, dissolving the union is the furthest thing from their minds. Still, many people find themselves in the last phases of a failing marriage.
Marriage can be lovely or, if you find yourself in the final stages of a dying marriage, it can be excruciatingly painful.
Think about giving your favorite houseplant all the care, sunlight, and attention it deserves. You converse with it, sing love songs to it (admit it, we’ve all done it), and show it your adoration.
And sadly! You suddenly realize you’ve been drowning it in love as you see its once-vibrant leaves wilting. Similar to the houseplant, a marriage can become wilted if there is too little or too much of one thing.
Sad to say, but even when we think we’re doing everything right, love can wither. Whether it be via neglect, intrusive attention,
The signs of a dying marriage can sneak up on even the most devoted couples, sometimes due to simple miscommunication.
Knowing these stages doesn’t mean accepting failure; rather, it means being able to spot the warning signals and know when to change the “sunlight and water” to keep the love alive.
Recognizing the symptoms of a failing marriage provides us the chance to give it new life, just as you wouldn’t throw away a drooping plant without trying to revive it.
Here Are Top 20 Warning Signs of a Dying Marriage
Starting a romantic adventure is like setting sail on a large ocean, but occasionally those lovely waves can turn into choppy waters. It’s not necessary to accept defeat in order to recognize the stages of a failing marriage.
1. You quarrel a lot more than you used to, especially over little issues.
When a couple first starts dating, they frequently have no disagreements at all since everything is so fresh and wonderful. But as time passes, those minor irritations become to rankle you more and more, eventually developing into divisive issues that you disagree on. The fact that you fight frequently indicates that your relationship is stressed out and that nothing is improving.
2. You’ve stopped being romantic
If you’re not paying close attention to the signals, this one can be extremely challenging to identify. It’s simple to dismiss a lack of sexual activity as just being out of the mood rather than seeing it for what it truly is—a loss of interest in your partner.
3. You no longer phone or text your spouse.
If you used to text or phone each other frequently but that has stopped now, that could be a serious red flag. In a relationship, it’s crucial to keep the lines of communication open; if your spouse is doing this for you, it can be a sign that they aren’t anymore interested in continuing the relationship.
4. You start becoming furious at minor things that previously didn’t mean anything to you.
Even something as minor as your partner forgetting to do the laundry or not washing the dishes might make you furious, and if this is the case, it may be an indication that there are underlying problems in your marriage that no one wants to discuss.
Anger outbursts over little issues are a sign that a serious issue is immediately in front of you and needs to be resolved before you grow to dislike one another.
5. You’ve given up attempting to reconcile the two of you.
One thing is if you believe that ending your relationship and moving on is in the best interests of both of you. However, if you’ve simply given up on trying to make your relationship work in spite of all the issues, that is a serious issue that needs to be addressed right away before things worsen.
6. You don’t support each other anymore.
Supporting your partner and assisting them in becoming their greatest selves is the foundation of any successful relationship. Without this, any marriage faces the risk of disintegrating since both partners would prefer to remain by themselves than cooperate to ensure the success of their family. If you no longer share your partner’s objectives, that is a significant warning sign.
7. Your spouse no longer pays attention to what you have to say
Relationships are meant to be conversations between two individuals, not for one person to constantly criticize the other for their flaws and errors. It’s a major issue if your partner no longer pays attention to you or doesn’t care what you have to say. Instead of just ignoring it, find out what is troubling them.
8. There is a glaring absence of intimacy unfolding
When you initially began dating, you wished to have a close relationship with your date. That physical interaction was significant because it demonstrated how close you two were to one another and that things would only get better moving forward. It’s a major issue if that intimacy has been lost.
9. The marriage suffers from a lack of faith and trust
Make sure to maintain the lines of communication open with your spouse and discuss any issues you may be experiencing. If you do this, they will be unable to fool you into believing that everything is perfect when it isn’t, which will ultimately strengthen your marriage.
10. Your partner has lied to you or committed infidelity
There is no way that your partner can be trusted again if they betrayed their promises to you by having an affair, thus you should handle the situation accordingly. You do not need a cheater in your life or to be the parent of your children.
Read also: Top 21 Signs of a Toxic Relationship
11. One of you is choosing your job/friends/hobbies over your spouse and family
The couple had to choose between being friends and dating at one point in their relationship, and the result was either marriage or the breakup due to contrasting priorities. This has happened because one of you chose to prioritize your career, interests, or friendships over your marriage, and it’s time to quit.
12. There is no longer any passion in the relationship
Making the other person feel valued and cherished can ultimately make them feel passionate for you as a spouse. While passion can take many various forms. If this stops happening, the marriage will eventually end if it doesn’t already.
13. Your partner doesn’t give a damn about your needs, wants, or opinions on anything; they only care about themselves.
Because it maintains the lines of communication open between you two and ensures that both of your needs are being met, caring is crucial in a relationship. Your spouse is not a decent relationship partner for you if they don’t give a damn about your requirements. You should handle them as such.
14. They are constantly striving to change you and turn you into someone you are not.
It’s not about tearing each other apart in an effort to remake the other person into their own image; marriage is about two individuals joining together to build something wonderful with one other.
If your partner is continually attempting to alter you, they are not the right person for you because this is merely selfish and abusive behavior that needs to cease right now.
15. Your devotion to the marriage has faded.
When two hearts are focused on each other to create something lovely, that is what love is supposed to be. However, as love requires work and effort, if you feel that your heart isn’t in the marriage, it won’t be long until you both decide to part ways.
16. Your spouse is emotionally cheating on you with another person
Because they are intended to entirely replace the person you are in a relationship with for someone else, emotional affairs are just as terrible as physical ones.
You need to take care of that as soon as you can because if they are having an emotional affair, they probably already have one foot out the door in terms of your marriage and you need to do that before it all starts to get too much for them and they decide to leave anyhow.
17. One of you no longer wants children, or you can’t agree on the ideal number of children to have
Children are the future of this world, thus if you desire a family, it’s necessary to have kids since they will be in charge of carrying on the human race when we are gone.
Your marriage is in serious trouble if one of you no longer wants children or can’t agree on how many children you should have in the future. This will become a source of conflict between the two of you, and it won’t be long until you both grow to dislike one another.
18. You no longer feel like discussing your goals for the future or your relationship with your partner
Being on the same page with your spouse about your goals in life and where you see yourself in five years will influence your decisions going forward, so if you don’t feel like talking about it anymore, you and your spouse are probably further along than other marriages (or getting a divorce) are.
19. One individual leaves the house for longer and longer periods of time
Losing interest in your partner and spending more time away from the house are clear indications that someone is ready to leave their marriage. After all, why would you want to live with someone with whom you don’t feel emotionally connected?
20. You avoid physical contact like hugs and kisses when you’re together
Because it’s how we let the people in our lives know that we care about them and that we love them, physical touch is a significant part of life. As a result, it’s not a good sign for your marriage if you consistently avoid giving your spouse hugs and kisses.
FAQs about Signs of a Failing Marriage
It can be challenging to see the warning signals when a marriage is beginning to disintegrate. In many cases, it takes until it’s too late for a couple to even realize that their marriage is in peril. See the following FAQs if you’re concerned that your marriage might be in trouble.
How do I know if my marriage is in trouble?
-You and your spouse quarrel all the time.
-Your relationship with your spouse has soured.
-You no longer like spending time with your partner.
-Your partner has been having an affair
-Your relationship with your spouse has ended in sex
