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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

My wife has put on weight and I’m no longer attracted to her. What should I do?

Painting: Au café, dit l’Absinthe by Jean Beraud
‘Nobody tries to hide their body away and recoils from touch more surely than someone who can smell their partner’s contempt,’ writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Painting: Au café, dit l’Absinthe by Jean Beraud. Photograph: piemags/PMN/Alamy

I’m in my early 50s and am starting to find my wife not sexually attractive any more. Over the years she has gradually put on weight to the point she now weighs more than me; I’m 6ft and normal weight for an athletic, active man. I’ve got mixed, conflicted feelings about it. On a physical basis I don’t like it, but she’s now started walking with a different gait and I find myself disgusted and pitying her. On a medical basis, it can’t be good long term.

I have mentioned it in the past and asked her to make lifestyle changes, which last three to four weeks. It’s making me feel resentful and not respected. I feel as if I shouldn’t have to ask my wife to be a reasonable weight. But I’m simultaneously avoiding the issue because I don’t want to humiliate and upset her. How to address this?

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