Reply To: Settling for Less

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#880288
oomis
Participant

First of all, I am very sorry that you feel these feelings. It cannot be easy to give voice to them, especially on a public forum. I think that marriage is a series of pleasant AND unpleasant surprises, because until you live with someone you cannot possibly know much about them. Especially in the frum velt, it is getting harder and harder to know what you need to know.

People get engaged very quickly, based on dating via resume, rather than simply meeting someone, liking him/her enough to want to date, dating for the express purpose of getting to know their personality (not relying on what some rebbie, morah, or neighbor has to say about them). If it looks good on paper, they think real life will look just as good. I am not saying that’s what you did or did not do, just that this is what I am seeing more and more.

Nobody is 100% happy 100% of the time. Unless your kallah has utterly misrepresented herself, it just sounds like the bloom is wearing off the rose. I think you should both get some counseling from a frum therapist and/or a rov who is sensitive and expert in marital issues (not every rov is, and many should NEVER be advising young couples on anything except whether or not the chicken is treif). Don’t just give up on your marriage. Sounds like you are going through a difficult adjustment. Realize that your kallah, too, may have tainos about things that unplesantly surprised her about you. No one but Hashem is perfect.

You would be surprised at how many young people feel as you do. What did I get into? Was there someone better out there for me? Why did I get married so fast? You got into a partnership, and you both need to work to MAKE it work. If there are serious problems (i.e., she is hashkafically less frum than you were led to believe, she has a really bad temper that she kept hidden, etc.)then those issues need to be discussed between you, and intervention by a sensitive professional may be helpful. I repeat. Don’t give up on your marriage. Grow from it.