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  • Writer's pictureMelissa
    • Jan 7

Lack of Emotional Intimacy in Marriage: 15 Alarming Signs to Look For

A lack of emotional intimacy in marriage can be damaging. It starts small and can escalate if left untouched. In this post, you'll learn how to identify these issues in your marriage.


Do you have an emotionally distant husband? Are you and your wife not emotionally connected? This post also discusses emotional intimacy and how it can affect a marriage.


I'll also provide some ways to help you fix these issues at the end. I hope this blog post helps you restore your marriage!


married couple upset at their lack of emotional intimacy; blog post title

Table of contents:

What is emotional intimacy?
What is a lack of emotional intimacy in marriage?
What is emotional abandonment in marriage?
What causes a lack of emotional intimacy?
Where do intimacy issues come from?
What can hurt emotional intimacy in your marriage?
What does a lack of emotional intimacy feel like?
Signs of a lack of emotional intimacy in marriage
Effects of a lack of emotional intimacy in a relationship
How do you fix a lack of emotional intimacy?
Lack of Emotional Intimacy in Marriage: Can a marriage survive without emotional intimacy?


What is emotional intimacy?


Emotional intimacy is the ability to share your thoughts, feelings, desires, and concerns with another person. In marriage, strong emotional intimacy means you can go to your spouse for anything.


What is a lack of emotional intimacy in marriage?


When emotional intimacy lacks in a marriage, you feel distant from your spouse. You don't feel comfortable expressing your feelings or being vulnerable.


Feeling no emotional connection with your husband or wife can put a strain on a marriage.


couple sitting on the couch with a lack of emotional intimacy in their marriage

What is emotional abandonment in marriage?


Emotional neglect in marriage can lead to emotional abandonment. Simply put, you feel like your spouse doesn't care about you. Your spouse is just a roommate rather than your life partner.


What causes a lack of emotional intimacy?


Let's first take a look at how a lack of emotional intimacy begins.



Where do intimacy issues come from?


Willow House at the Meadows, which specializes in intimacy issues, wrote an article on this topic. They said that a lack of emotional intimacy could stem from:

  • "traumatic childhood experiences such as verbal, physical or sexual abuse

  • emotional neglect

  • substance abuse in the home

  • the death of a parent

  • or exposure to or experience of rejection."