Long-term relationships and marriages are destined to hit bumps in the road. When two people spend an extended part of life together, it takes effort to maintain the spark that ignited your love in the first place. As you and your husband go through life, you mature, you adapt, and you accomplish more things. Priorities also change, and it is crucial always to keep your marriage and love at the forefront.
If you are reading this article, you might be having doubts about your husband’s love and commitment to your relationship. It is essential to know and confirm the signs of his waning love energy. Once you are confident that there is a serious issue, make sure to approach your partner directly and understand why these issues are happening. We have compiled a list of red flags to look out for you to review.
He Criticizes You Constantly
Criticism is one of the first behaviors that get used to couples who experience conflict. Criticism is the act of attacking the character or personality of your partner. Instead of trying to talk through your behaviors, your husband will speak negatively about small things, like the way you talk, how you dress, your shoes, the method in which you pour your coffee in the mornings.
Husbands who neglect to put in the effort to improve you as a person, they take the lazy route of saying things to you to put you down. This issue could be a sign that he does not want to love you. He might look to find every opportunity to ruin your confidence. If you experience this issue, it may feel like you cannot do anything right in his eyes.
He Develops a Habit of Defensiveness
Another behavior that signals the nonexistence of love from your husband is defensiveness. Talking through essential issues of your relationship can hit a stall if your husband gets defensive. If he develops this habit, he will naturally block or tune out what you are trying to say. This problem can cause a severe roadblock to your communication, which is the root of most issues within relationships.
Instead, he might begin to make invalid excuses for actions that he may have done wrong. It is both of your responsibilities to own your part in the conflict. But, if he neglects to take ownership of his wrongdoings and continuously blames you for marital problems, he may not love you anymore.
Contempt
If your husband exhibits contempt, he will show blatant disrespect in verbal and nonverbal forms. If he is going out of his way to communicate things in various ways, he is not doing it out of love. Examples of contempt include eye-rolling, sneering, mocking, or showing other humor to put you down. Dishin gout contempt can always make the relationship go downhill because you will start to develop the habit too.
It is essential to be mindful of your behaviors and know what each of you is upset about. Get to the root of the problem and openly communicate, you choose to interact in that way, instead of getting passive-aggressive. Continuous contempt will cause the partners to talk indirectly, which is detrimental to the relationship.
Stonewalling
Stonewalling is a behavior that is more likely to cause a divorce. This action usually gets done in the later stages of the relationship before the couple finally decides to split. Assuming communication is already an issue, stonewalling means when the husband or wife becomes completely unresponsive. If your husband is on the stage, he has no desire to talk through essential points with you.
Men also stonewall when they start to feel overwhelmed. If the couple consistently fights about topics to the point of exhaustion, men will be less likely to want to talk about it in the future. Therefore, they will avoid it entirely and not even respond whenever you bring a key issue up. Long-term stonewalling will influence the husband to move out of the relationship, which is a sign of the love moving out too.
Sex is Nonexistent
Men enjoy sex. If you and your husband no longer engage in sexual intercourse, this could be a sign that he no longer loves you. This activity is meant to be intimate and grow you and your husband closer together. If he does not have the extra motivation to do something that feels good no matter what, he could be looking to other options or have already found someone else.
It could also point to signs that he does not care enough to be involved with you intimately or physically. It is one thing for him to be not interested in sex anymore. But if you take the initiative to ask if he wants to have sex and he denies, this is undoubtedly a red flag. If you two are having sex, but you do not feel the spark anymore, this can also mean that his love for you got stopped.
Forgetting Important Dates
Forgetting critical dates in your life can also be another sign that your husband no longer loves you. Let us be honest here – men forget a lot of things. At first, he might forget about it once or twice. But if he continually forgets crucial milestones, this could mean that he does not care enough to remember. It takes effort to write down and recognize these things, and he might not love you if he does not show it.
What might be worse is when he once remembered everything, but now he does not. This issue shows that he did not consistently forget, but he severely strayed from what he once recalled. If he is clueless about your birthday or anniversary, this is something to get concerned about.
He Doesn’t Care About Your Problems.
Your husband is someone you should share everything. He should be a safety net and someone you can turn to on the worst days of your life. When you feel most vulnerability, your partner is supposed to be the person who will listen to you and assure that everything is okay. If he no longer cares to do this, he may not love you anymore, and this could create a painful void within the relationship.
This issue also goes with him not sharing his problems with you. This part of the relationship is a two-way street. If he no longer cares to open about his struggles, he may not feel the need to share intimacy in his issues or trust that you would understand him. If he does not think you can relate or hear him out, this could be a sign that he has lost affection for you.
He Doesn’t Try to Impress You.
Remember when you two first met, and he was going out of his to impress you at every opportunity? Going above and beyond to prove his worth shows that he cares to gain your approval. He wants to know that he performs well enough for your love. If your husband no longer goes out of his way to show off his accomplishments, he might not be motivated for your passion anymore.
Men try to impress the women that they show care. This action happens in any relationship, especially at the beginning, when the man is trying to pass the “interview” stage. Husbands who are in love will never let their guard down when it comes to showing that they are better than any other option. Without this aspect, they may not care to be the best man for you.
He No Longer Shows Affection
For couples who are in love, it is often the small things that go a long way. Affection does not need to be an elaborate deliver of flowers or chocolates. It does not necessarily mean he is leaving notes everywhere. These signs of love include a simple “I miss you” text during the workday or a kiss on the cheek as he goes out the door. If he no longer does anything like these acts, he may not be in love.
Small signs of romanticism do not take a lot of effort to accomplish. It only takes a minute, and it is the thought that counts. If he is no longer putting thought into making you smile at least once per week, he might not be motivated to make you feel important at all. When you do these things for him, look to see if he is happy. If your little acts of love do not seem to brighten him up, this is a red flag.
He Doesn’t Want to Work on Your Relationship.
The first step in improving your relationship is recognizing that you have issues in the first place. When you approach your husband about talking through difficulties in your marriage, is he open to continuing the discussion, or does he brush you off? If he gets convinced that everything is going well within your relationship, and you disagree, this could be a severe problem.
It is not abnormal for men to be hesitant to talk about their feelings. But even the men who are not very romantic will still be motivated to speak through chemistry issues if you express concern. Your husband loves you if he still sees himself with you in the long term. If you notify him that your future is in danger and he is not concerned about it, he may not be in love with you anymore.
He Complains About You to His Friends
One way that men bond with their friends is to talk about their wives. It is a substantial, shared aspect of each of their lives, so it inevitably comes up in conversation. But it is not about whether he is talking about you or not, but it is how he talks about you, what he says, and how often he does it. If he is always putting you down to his friends, this could be a significant problem.
What is so detrimental about this sign is that he should be talking with you about these issues. If he is spending more time complaining to his friends than using that energy to discuss problems with you directly, he may not have the motivation to keep fighting for your love. If you know that this is going on, you should approach him directly, see what the problem is, and talk it out together.
He’s Not Sharing His Problems and Dreams with You
Men who want a future with you will often talk about their plans and dreams with you. If your husband loves you, he will want you to be his biggest fan as he takes on life’s challenges. He will want you in his corner as he tries to advance his career, be a better father, and accomplish other personal or health goals. If you are out of touch on your husband’s vision, this could be a sign you two are falling out of love.
The same thing goes for his issues and problems. If he genuinely trusts you and loves you, he will feel vulnerable enough to share his struggles with you. When there are obstacles to what he wants to achieve, he will want someone to listen and hear him out, maybe offer advice. If he is no longer coming to you in his time of need, it may be time to reevaluate things for your marriage.
He’s Flirting with Other Women
If your husband’s attention or energy tends to be wandering off to other people, so could his love. If your husband is turning toward other people for enjoyment and flirting, this could mean that he is not getting enough of what he needs from you. If your husband loves you, he will not need to get his love from anyone else from you. While he may wonder what it is like to be with other women, he should never act on it.
If you see that this is going on, it is best to approach your husband directly and ask him what he is not getting from you that he needs. Instead of getting angry, use this to work on your relationship and fill it with excitement again. If he stonewalls you in this situation and does not want to discuss further, this could be a significant indication that his love for you is dwindling.
You Suspect That He is Cheating on You
Taking the previous point further, the act of cheating could be detrimental, and the breaking point for your relationship. Although cheating does not deem that the marriage is beyond fixable, this is a serious indication that your husband no longer finds intimacy through having sex with you. If he is actively looking for sex with other people he does or does not love, he may not love you anymore.
How do you know if he is cheating? If your husband is secretive about the way he spends time outside of work, this could be a sign. Coming home late with random smells and perfume on him is a sure sign that he is wasting his time with someone else. If he is being unfaithful and is unwilling to address why he is doing it on the first page, your marriage could be in danger.
He’s Bored with You
Your husband does not need to spend all the time in the world with you. But if he seems to be bored when spending time with you, this could mean that he wishes he could be elsewhere. He may not have his priorities straight and is thinking of other people, especially women, that he could be enjoying his day or night. This issue could also mean that it is worried or dealing with something and not open to talking with you about it.
One of the more critical aspects of marriage is your ability to “date your spouse.” If your time spent together no longer gives you that lovable dating feeling, this could mean that you two are no longer in love with each other. If your husband is not motivated to try new activities or explore new places with you, he may not care enough to love living life with you.
He Takes You for Granted
If your husband is genuinely in love with you, he will know and recognize your worth for what it is. If he is taking you for granted and assuming that you will always be a commodity that is available for him, he might be losing sight of what love is. This situation could mean that he has redefined what your relationship is and sees it as just another “thing” in his life.
Taking you for granted could also mean bad things for his behavior. Your husband might think that any wrong actions will get forgiven by you. This issue could make neglecting you easy for him to do because he assumes that you will always want to be his wife. The best thing to do here would be to have a conversation upfront and make sure he knows how important it is to respect you.
He Demands a Lot of Space
Everyone needs to have their “me time.” If your husband has a stressful job or experiences fast-paced days, you need to allow him to decompress and recharge on his own. But if he requests extended time away from you altogether, this could be a sign that he no longer values his time with you. He may not think he can relax around you, or that you might add extra stressors on top of his day.
If your husband’s alone time keeps extending longer and longer, he might be falling out of touch with you. He might also come up with lame excuses for why he cannot participate in things with you. If he behaves weird when he is actually with you, this could be a horrible sign for your marriage.
He Doesn’t Miss You
Time apart can be useful for couples because it allows them to focus on themselves. But it also gives the husband and wife something to look forward to when they see each other again. If your husband does not miss you or acts weird when he sees you still, this could be a sign that he does not love you anymore.
When you or your husband return from a long trip, his eyes should light up when he sees you. If they do not, this could mean that he enjoys his time away from you too much. If he shows any type of unhappiness or annoyance that you are back in his presence, this could mean that he is losing love for you.
You’re Searching for Signs He Doesn’t Love You.
Lastly, if you are actively searching for signs that your husband no longer loves you, this could actually be the case. If your husband is indicating that he does not love you anymore, you two should work as hard as possible to breach the topic and discover the root reason as to why.
The article is to confirm some of the signs that you are seeing, but you should hear it from your husband himself. You both are wasting time if you are continually consulting with others on what the marriage means.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many things to look out for when it comes to your husband’s love declining for you. There is also the chance that you are overthinking these negative signs. Maybe your husband is facing a severe issue in another part of his life, and he is hesitant to bring it up with you. Stress at work can often cause harm to the intimacy of a relationship.
When things are tough, the best thing is always to communicate. Get to the issue behind the issue and understand the reason for the behaviors. If you have both confirmed with each other that the marriage is beyond fixable, it could provide you the long-term happiness to go your separate ways. But make sure to give the extra effort because true love is always worth the fight.
