He’s been happily married for 7 years, raising three kids—or so it seems. Behind closed doors, his wife has forbidden him from getting close to them. What could drive a mother to such extremes?

He wrote, “My wife (31f) and I (32m) have been together since college, married for 7 years. We have three kids, and I’m tired of either stepping back while she raises them alone or fighting her over simple things—like feeding them.

She wasn’t like this when our oldest was born. It started during her pregnancy with the twins. She’d send me off to tidy up or run errands when I wanted time with our son. After the twins arrived, it got worse. Every time I tried to feed or change a baby, she’d tell me to leave it to her. If she caught me holding one of them, it was like I’d committed a crime. When I asked why, she’d insist nothing was wrong—just to ‘make myself useful.’”

She even yelled at him for putting the kids to bed while she was on the phone. Any time he tried spending time with them, she picked a fight or found ways to keep them apart. Therapy was off the table for her.

The breaking point came when she was hospitalized. He took time off to care for the kids, but she screamed at him to send them to her parents instead—while still in the hospital. She even sent her parents twice to take the kids away. When she recovered, he brought up divorce. She accused him of being a villain and refused to talk. Even his parents urged him to “make it work.”