I once dated Kevin. We were deeply in love—until I spent a weekend at his place. That was when everything changed. I found myself picking up after him, cleaning his house while he did nothing to help. By the time the weekend ended, I was exhausted and furious. The same fights played out every time I visited, and eventually, I had enough. Love alone wasn’t enough to keep us together.

Then came Samuel. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but I gave him a chance. He wasn’t messy, but he wasn’t particularly neat either. The real problem? He never spent a dime on the house. I bought the food, paid the bills, handled everything. I asked myself, Will this continue even after marriage? The answer was obvious—yes. And so, little by little, I pulled away until I was gone.

Then Nathan entered my life. Slowly, I fell for him. He didn’t have his own place at first, so we spent time together until he finally did. When I stayed over, I thought I had found perfection. He was clean, meticulous even. I never had to lift a finger—and that was the problem. He cleaned constantly, tidying up things that didn’t need tidying, rearranging things I had already arranged. If I cleaned, he would clean again, as if I hadn’t done it right. His mood would shift for no reason, turning small things into arguments. It was exhausting, but I loved him, so I stayed.

Now, three years later, we barely visit each other’s places. We stay in our own spaces, avoiding the inevitable conflicts that come with sharing a home. And I can’t stop wondering—how do people stay married? Will we keep fighting? Will we last? Is there some secret to making marriage work? Because right now, I don’t understand how people do it.