Woman removing her wedding ring

Women in unhappy heterosexual marriages may fare worse than their husbands, according to the American Psychological Association.

That might be, they suggest, because women are more likely to stick with a distressing or difficult situation than men, possibly keeping their stress levels higher.

So I was interested to read the responses to a post shared to r/AskWomen, in which site user u/Ok_Percentage6051 asked married women to share their “greatest regret about marriage”.

Here are some of the most-upvoted replies:

1) “I’ve been married for a bit now, and honestly, my biggest regret is not taking enough time to fully understand what shared decision-making really means before jumping in.”

“I’m pretty good with compromise, but it’s so much different when it’s day-to-day stuff with someone else’s wants, needs, and habits constantly in the mix. Not saying it’s bad – just that I underestimated it.

“At first, I thought it’d be pretty straightforward, like, ‘Hey, let’s just split things 50/50’. But, turns out disagreements over things like financial decisions or home projects are more emotionally charged than I ever imagined.

“And when you’re tired, and there’s stress from work or whatever, debating the dumbest little things feels like running a marathon. I wish I had better tools or routines in place for conflict resolution from the start.”

Credit:u/Melody-Sonic

2) “Love your life independently before settling down.”

“I moved from my parents’ home to be with him in his home. I never experienced that independence (I lived in a dorm, but that’s not the same).

“I wish I’d done solo travelling and figured out who I am.”

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