There will always be things your partner does that make you want to scream, such as leaving dirty dishes in the living room or failing to do his own laundry. You have probably made peace with these things.
But in the Covid era, the level of togetherness has been off the charts and by now you may be grinding your teeth for much of the day. Maybe you’ve both been working from home or unemployed, or maybe it’s just the unaccustomed situation of staying in every single night that’s got you down.
Regardless, you never noticed how annoying it is when he loudly clips his toenails. Or gargles for an extended period of time. Or eats constantly. Or loudly clears his throat. Maybe he chews too loudly and you just never noticed it before. How about his breathing? Too loud? Are you longing to do something about that?
Do you begin to suspect you married the most irritating man in the world?
What you don’t realize is that he has recently realized just how many things you do irritate the living daylights out of him.
Your friends may be posting adorable pictures of themselves interacting with their partners on social media. Look how cute they look! There they are, making dinner together in one picture, and gardening together in another. There they are making masks for the needy. Together.
Don’t be Fooled. They are Coping with too Much Togetherness too.
Right after they shot the cooking picture, she began fantasizing about pelting him with eggs. When they gardened, the thought did quickly cross her mind that if maybe she just dug a hole a little deeper … and then she banished that thought from her mind. Masks? Note that she’s wearing a mask in the photo. Look closely and you can see she’s not smiling inside that mask.
None of this means there’s anything wrong with your relationship, by the way. At least, nothing that can’t be fixed by a little time apart. The problem is, for some people, time apart can be difficult to come by right now. If you’re able to get out and take a walk by yourself, do it. Take a long bath with the door locked. Spend an evening talking on the phone with a friend you miss. (Yes, phones can still be used for talking! Who knew?)
There isn’t any couple alive who cherishes every single moment together, so get some time apart so you can really enjoy spending time together again.
A bit of absence makes the heart grow fonder.
If that’s not possible, there are always earplugs.
Sophia Sinclair is Curvicality’s sex and relationships writer and the author of the Small-Town Secrets romance series, available on Amazon. Reach Sophia at sophia@curvicality.com.
