My husband and I are a childless gay couple in our 30s struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic. We have mostly been playing Animal Crossing and enduring frantic bouts of DIY, but something appears to have shifted between us in the past 10 weeks.
Tranquil days of gardening and listening to podcasts have been replaced with long evenings of martyred looks, cryptic sighs and sullen glares. Simple dining suggestions have turned into raging arguments over who pays the grocery bills.
It feels as if there is a cold war between us. Every time I try to raise the issue of a communication breakdown, my husband says I am projecting my contempt for him. But if I remain quiet in our disputes, I am “giving him the silent treatment”. How does you deal with that catch-22?
I love my partner, but how can I endure the next two months of furlough when it feels like I am constantly minutes away from annoying him?
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