After 56 years of marriage, Erin complained that Mike had stopped bringing her flowers. When she accused him of losing interest or cheating, Mike exploded—he was tired of being the only one making romantic gestures all these decades. He’d done everything: dates, flowers, gifts. Erin realized he was right: she’d never shown much romance in return, thinking her homemaking duties sufficed.
Determined to change, she tried initiating dates and buying gifts herself—but Mike rebuffed her efforts. He said that after their long life together, he just wanted to relax and stop “trying so hard.”
Two months later, feeling unloved and unsettled, Erin asked for a divorce. Mike was shocked but agreed to move out. Soon after, Erin suffered a heart attack. At the hospital, Mike rushed back, took care of her, and afterward refused to leave her side—devoting himself to nursing her recovery.