The agonising legacy of a ‘bubble marriage’ for women breaking free
22 October 2026 · first published in The i Paper
I was everything to my wife, and she was everything to me. When it ended, I found out how many men are living the same way.
I proposed before I kissed my wife, which was probably just as well: she was dating someone else at the time. Our own connection was immense, inimitable, seemingly unshakeable and, ultimately, isolating.
We had a “bubble relationship”. Just us, not so much against the world, but in a marriage where we moved as one, happy together, not needing anyone else. And it worked like a dream, until it didn’t. Relying on just each other is all well and good, until the cracks begin to show.
The first sign was in times of conflict. When we argued, I would isolate myself even more. Not easily trusting men, and never building friendships with them, left me alone at exactly the moments I could have had support. She had her girlfriends a call away. I had her.