Handling a Partner’s Unhealthy Habit

Sandra Hume, a 34-year-old mother of two in Manter, Kan., decided simply to stop feeling resentful about her husband Matt’s longtime habit of chewing tobacco. “I won’t let it affect our relationship,” says Hume, who’s been married to Matt, 40, for about five years. “If it’s the worst habit he has, I’ll take it.” Moreover, as Amatenstein points out, your loved one probably already feels guilty about his bad habit, and constantly reminding him of his failing is going to put him under even more pressure. “You’re supposed to be his support. Be sensitive—put yourself in his place,” she suggests.

But a sympathetic, detached attitude isn’t always easy to come by—particularly when your partner’s habit has you losing sleep. For Marka Burke, a 29-year-old database engineer and mother of two in Ann Arbor, Mich., her husband Steve’s overeating is more than a simple annoyance. “He’s 60-plus pounds overweight,” Burke says. Steve’s blasé attitude toward his size infuriates and terrifies her; he’s a committed dad and great partner, and she’d like to have him around for a long time. “I am pretty much resigned to being a young widow,” she says, explaining that her husband, at 31, has already undergone heart surgery to correct a birth defect that was exacerbated by his weight. Burke feels that his apathy indicates a lack of respect for her and their two kids. She’s also given up on having a fulfilling sex life: “His weight makes sex physically difficult for me.”

It’s understandable that Burke feels personally injured by her husband’s weight. “Everything your partner does affects you,” says Cynthia Sass, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and coauthor of Your Diet is Driving Me Crazy. Fear over a loved one’s health can lead to overwhelming—and sometimes irrational—anxiety, and can be physically and emotionally unhealthy for the worrying partner. So does that mean Burke should give her husband a nudge toward “wanting to change” by watching him and expressing displeasure every time he eats a high-calorie meal? Nope. If he’s not ready to change, nagging and acting like a food cop won’t work.

Women try to coax their partners into changing with any number of methods—threats, ultimatums, even withholding sex. “Bad idea,” says Sass, who adds that while badgering him and “policing” his behavior is a no-no, talking with him is always a good idea. “It’s important to keep telling him how you feel, but in a nonthreatening way,” she says, suggesting “I” statements, like “When you overeat, I feel ___,” rather than the more combative “You make me feel ___.” Sass also advises that both people in the relationship come up with specific ways their partner can show support, even if it’s as simple as, “I need you to not roll your eyes when I tell you how I feel about your eating.”

Modeling good health is another way we can help our partners give up their bad ways. But watch out for sabotage if your partner is threatened by your new, healthier habits. “He might feel like she’s leaving him behind,” Sass warns. If your partner continues to try to sabotage you, some firm boundaries may be in order.