

{"id":27974,"date":"2018-10-01T11:06:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T11:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/?p=27974"},"modified":"2022-08-25T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:52:53","slug":"when-you-marry-a-narcissist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/mental-health\/when-you-marry-a-narcissist\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect When You Marry a Narcissist &#8211; Your Skin Is in the Game!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-27978 size-full\" title=\"what to expect when you marry a narcissist\" src=\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/What-to-expect-when-you-marry-a-narcissist.jpg\" alt=\"what to expect when you marry a narcissist\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s make no bones about it; when somebody first meets their narcissist spouse, they may have been showered with wild and prolific gestures of love and commitment. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They may have been swept off their feet and made to think that the proverbial &lsquo;knight in shining armor&rsquo; exists or that they had met the most incredibly perfect man or woman they could ever meet. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their narcissistic partner (now spouse) may have managed to keep up this facade for a long time until they knew that they could let their guard down. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They probably knew when that time would come; it would be easy for them to identify because they will have achieved their goal of convincing you that you and they were the perfect matches such a match that they can gain your hand in marriage. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, they may well have had ideas about meaning what they say and indulging in their perception of marriage but let&rsquo;s face facts. They would have only had their interests at heart. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You were just a pawn in the game even if at their best they intended to experience the experience of &lsquo;love&rsquo; and marriage or their perception of it. &nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see narcissists don&rsquo;t do anything for anybody else&rsquo;s gain including compromise; they don&rsquo;t consider another person&rsquo;s feelings, and they don&rsquo;t have empathy or compassion. Instead, it&rsquo;s all about them. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So if you are considering marrying a narcissist beware!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Here is what to expect when you marry a narcissist:<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unresolved-conflict\"><\/span>Unresolved conflict<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-27979 size-full\" title=\"Unresolved conflicts\" src=\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Unresolved-conflicts.jpg\" alt=\"Unresolved conflicts\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It doesn&rsquo;t matter what you want, what you need, or how much justice you are owed from your spouse, one thing that you can expect when you marry a narcissist is that none of that is any of their concern. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As harsh as that may sound, it&rsquo;s true.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a narcissist spouse, their only focus is on their needs and their agenda. So anything that you need, you&rsquo;ll have to deal with alone or get it satisfied elsewhere. &nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We don&rsquo;t condone this narcissistic behavior, it is not the basis of a healthy marriage, and you should expect justice, love, and care from your spouse. We all deserve that, but you won&rsquo;t get it from a Narcissistic spouse. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Double-standards\"><\/span>Double standards<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A frustrating expectation that you will have to face when you marry a narcissist is the double standards. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will need to resolve conflict, for example, you&rsquo;ll need to offer your narcissist spouse a sense of justice, you&rsquo;ll need to let them know how much you want and need them, you&rsquo;ll need to compromise, love, and care for your spouse, and you&rsquo;ll have to do it how they want it which is subject to change! &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But you cannot expect the same in return. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As explained in the &lsquo;unresolved conflict&rsquo; section this is just how it&rsquo;s going to be if you marry a narcissist.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Losing-your-sense-of-self\"><\/span>Losing your sense of self<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because of the compromises, you&rsquo;ll make; the lack of affection, the walking on eggshells that you will do, the pandering that you have to do when you marry a narcissist, over time, you will lose your sense of self. &nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that you&rsquo;ll be married, committed and living with your spouse and you might have children too. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There&rsquo;s only so much one person can take, and you&rsquo;ll need to be prepared to be pushed to that place, all the while feeling weaker and forgetting who you are. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Never-be-free-to-put-your-own-needs-first\"><\/span>Never be free to put your own needs first<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As all of the above topics mention if you&rsquo;ve experienced the effects of marriage to a narcissist, you&rsquo;ll already realize that you are in too deep. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But you&rsquo;ll need to realize that you&rsquo;ll never be free to put your needs first (which includes potentially having to cancel trips out, not enjoying your celebrations, or even being able to address your basic needs such as peace and silence or to do things that you want to do) as long as you remain married to your narcissistic spouse. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This will be what to expect when you marry a narcissist.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The-need-to-be-extremely-thick-skinned-and-resilient\"><\/span>The need to be extremely thick skinned and resilient<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are wondering what else to expect when you marry a narcissist, well, you&rsquo;ll need to be thick-skinned. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether your armor will be worn down over time may remain to be seen, maybe you can stay thick-skinned and resilient but do you really need to do this? &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Should you really consider marrying a narcissist if you know that you need to be so thick-skinned and resilient, do you really need to sacrifice so much to marry a narcissist? &nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The thing is you have a choice who you marry and spend the rest of your life with, sure you may be in love with your fiance but if you think that marriage to a narcissist is going to be a breeze or enjoyable think again. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we move through life our needs change, sometimes we need to be strong for our spouse, other times our spouses need to support us, we will become vulnerable occasionally but when this occurs your spouse won&rsquo;t be there for you. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bond and intimacy that should occur in marriage will not exist, and you will face life alone and potentially feeling lonelier than you could ever imagine. &nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you take the plunge, if you suspect that your fiance is a narcissist, stop and think again. &nbsp;It&rsquo;s not just now that you will be handing over to your spouse but your whole future. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the very least, before you get married it&rsquo;s worth considering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/pre-marriage\/reasons-to-consider-christian-pre-marriage-counseling\/\">participating in some pre-marriage counseling<\/a> either alone, or with your fiance, if you can get them to attend! &nbsp;That&rsquo;s the least you can do for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&rsquo;s make no bones about it; when somebody first meets their narcissist spouse, they may have been showered with wild and prolific gestures of love and commitment. &nbsp; They may have been swept off their feet and made to think that the proverbial &lsquo;knight in shining armor&rsquo; exists or that they had met the most incredibly perfect man or woman they could ever meet. &nbsp; Their narcissistic partner (now spouse) may have managed to keep up this facade for a long time until they knew that they could let their guard down. They probably knew when that time would come; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1419,"featured_media":27978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2507],"tags":[2727],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27974"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27974"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54436,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27974\/revisions\/54436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}