I’ve been married for less than a year and I’m starting to wonder if I’ve made a mistake.

NSFW

I (35 F), married my husband (36 M) got married last year.
My husband, is genuinely sweet and caring, but it often feels like only on his terms.
He works incredibly hard and built his own business from the ground up. He’s the main breadwinner, although I have a career that I absolutely love, pays well, and that I’m really proud of.
The problem is that we are very different people.
I’m a bit of a free spirit (my ADHD probably contributes to this). I love travelling, seeing the world, exercising, trying new things, meeting new people, and making the most of life.
My husband is happiest staying at home watching movies. That in itself isn’t the issue—I don’t mind if that’s how he likes to relax. The problem is that he wants that to be our main activity every weekend. From Saturday afternoon through Sunday, he basically wants us at home together. If I suggest doing something else, he gets annoyed.
He’ll then say that I never suggest anything and that he always has to make the effort. But it feels like the only suggestions he’ll accept are things he already wants to do.
For example, Sundays are apparently off-limits for seeing friends or family because it’s his “rest day.” More recently, he’s started calling it our “bonding time.” I love spending quality time together, but shouldn’t bonding involve activities that both people enjoy? Or at least some compromise?
Another factor is that I travel for work—around 90 days a year.
I genuinely love it for two reasons:
I get to see the world.
I thrive when I’m busy and experiencing new things.
That said, it’s not a holiday. It’s hard work. Depending on the trip, I’m “on” 24/7 for anywhere from three days to four weeks.
I completely understand that the travel can be difficult on a relationship, and my husband says he supports my career. However, he also regularly complains that he has to “take care of the household” while I’m away.
For context, we don’t have kids. By “take care of the household,” he mostly means cooking for himself and general cleaning—although he usually does most of the cleaning anyway because he doesn’t like the way I do it.
Today was what really pushed me over the edge.
I called him to let him know I needed to travel for work for three days at the end of the month. He was fine with that.
Then I mentioned that a friend had invited me and another friend on a girls’ trip for 3–4 days. I really wanted to go, but I told her I’d discuss it with my husband first.
When I asked what he thought, he immediately got angry. He said, “Why would you call me while I’m busy trying to grow my business to interrupt me with this?”
The call ended pretty quickly.
I was upset, so I texted him to explain where I was coming from. He replied saying I was being selfish for wanting a leisure trip and that I was “messing up his week.”
We argued over text for the rest of the evening. He kept saying that because I already travel so much for work, wanting to go away for fun was selfish.
For context, my husband rarely wants to go on holidays. If we do travel together, it has to fit around his work schedule and is usually only for 4–5 days.
I didn’t think asking for a 3–4 day girls’ trip was unreasonable—especially because I’d be linking it to my work trip, so I’d only need to pay for one extra flight and accommodation would already be covered.
At this point, I’m exhausted.
I want to enjoy life. More than anything, I want to enjoy it with him. But it constantly feels like everything has to happen on his terms.
He says I don’t make enough effort, but I genuinely feel like whenever I suggest ideas or make plans, they’re immediately criticised or dismissed because they’re not what he wants to do.
He has always told me, “Just do those things with your friends or family instead.” Now that I actually want to do that, he’s angry about it too.
So I’m left wondering: am I being selfish, or is this relationship becoming controlling?

Posted Jul 8, 2026, 9:39 AM UTC · locked

1126
Loading comments…