Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Danielle Wood reportingWe all know money can be a problem in relationships. But sports like football, baseball, and even golf can have just as much impact on your relationship.
"I watch too much sports, that's what she thought, I guess," says college sports fan Emmanuel Figuero. "I was watching football on Saturdays, she got all mad at me because I didn't have enough time for her, I guess."
Figuero says Auburn and Mississippi State were the big culprits in his big relationship fight. But Malen Relationship Clinic psychotherapist Colette Malen says it doesn't have to be that way. "One person is really into sports and the other one isn't, it can still be a blessing for the relationship, because it would be an opportunity for one of the partners to support the other person," she says.
Say you're the victim in all this. Malen says you've got to speak up, "By asking our partner to love us, we're making an investment into the relationship. A lot of times people see it as the opposite, she says. "They see it as they're taking, but if we see it as we're communicating, we're invested. We're not keeping this person in the dark."
It may be scary, but Malen says to focus on the question, not on how he or she will react. Maybe your patner will back off, maybe not. Malen says it's a risk you have to take. For sports fan Scott Elder's wife, it works.
"Normally the first snow of the season I go build jumps and screw around," he says. "But Satrday I stayed home, and I cooked breakfast, hung out with her, and yeah, I totally backed off."
Malen says you can still watch your sports, enjoy your fantasy football, or play your sports video games. Just make sure to make time for your significant other as well.
