Nobody Talks About This Side of Marriage —Until You Hear Your Husband Say That

We’ve been married 10 years and I thought we were solid. Sure, life is exhausting—bills pile up, the girls fight over everything, and sometimes I miss the man my husband used to be. But nothing prepared me for the argument we had last weekend. We were in the kitchen, voices sharp and tired, when I finally said I couldn’t go through another pregnancy. He went quiet, looked me straight in the eye, and said something terrible…

I never thought I’d be the kind of woman writing something like this, but here I am. Married for nearly 10 years, two beautiful daughters, a house we worked our whole lives to buy—and somehow, it’s not enough.

It started small. Little comments here and there. When I was pregnant with our second daughter, my husband would laugh and say, “Third time’s the charm.” I’d brush it off, thinking he was joking, even though I could see that flicker in his eyes every time the ultrasound showed pink instead of blue.

At first, I thought it was just harmless dreaming. Lots of men want a son to toss a football around with, right? But the jokes never stopped. They became sharper, heavier. At family dinners, he’d say things like, “Maybe one day I’ll finally get my boy.” Our daughters would giggle, not realizing what he meant. I’d smile through gritted teeth.