Caught In The Middle Of A Power Play
Anonymous Sinful Rebel #978 · General
I’m a military spouse and mom to two kids. My husband is always on deployment or training exercises, leaving me home alone more often than I care for. It’s tough being the only parent sometimes. Recently he came back from a long mission with this intense need to be in control of everything at home again. He’s usually very affectionate and supportive but lately has become almost possessive over me. The other day, we were arguing about something small when suddenly, out of nowhere, he starts talking about how I shouldn’t see anyone else or make decisions without his permission. I’m not sure what set this off, maybe it’s stress from work, or just feeling too isolated during deployments. But whatever the reason, it made me feel suffocated and scared. He doesn’t normally act like this. That night he surprised me with a surprise date night out, saying he wanted to reconnect. As we walked around town hand in hand, I couldn’t shake off that nagging feeling of being watched or judged by strangers seeing us together after his weird control freak talk earlier. We ended up going back home early and he started initiating things sexually again, demanding I do certain acts out of nowhere. It wasn't really rough or violent but it felt wrong somehow, as if we had crossed some invisible line in our marriage. We’ve always been open about sex but this was different. I don’t know how to address what’s going on without ruining the intimacy between us. Am I overthinking things? Or should I push back against his sudden need for power now that he's home?