Dear Wendyl, I recently went away for the weekend with some girlfriends to Sydney. It’s something we do once a year and we all look forward to it as a break from partners and kids. Usually my husband is fine with it, but this time he was really shirty and cold when I got back and is still being funny with me. I keep asking if there’s anything wrong and he just says, “No, what do you mean?” Something’s happened, but how do I found out what?
Frustrated, via email
Dear Frustrated,
Oh dear, there’s nothing worse than a silent, sulky man in the house. My preference is to just ignore them until they grow up and tell you what is wrong, but in your case this could take a while. So I recommend making a bit of an effort, so that you can return to normal. Get rid of the kids, take him out for dinner, soften him up with lots of lovely things about how much you love him, then ask him what happened when you went to Sydney. If he refuses to engage, draw a line in the sand, and say if he continues to behave like a pathetic panda then you’re just going to ignore him – so wouldn’t it be better to get it out, work it out and move on? The secret to a good relationship is communicating well and often, even about things that hurt, so see if you can get into the habit of doing that together.
