As you’ve spent a decade married to the love of your life, you start to believe you know them inside and out—their quirks, their habits, the little things that make them who they are. But sometimes, life has a cruel way of pulling the rug out from under you, revealing cracks in the foundation you thought was unshakable.

That’s exactly what happened to Adam, 33, who reached out to us with a heart-wrenching letter. Adam’s wife, Ella, had always been the woman he adored. But then, one day, without warning, she simply stopped showering.

What seemed at first like an odd lapse in self-care soon spiraled into something far deeper, far more alarming. What happened next wasn’t just about hygiene—it was the unraveling of a reality Adam never saw coming.

Adam reached out to us with a very delicate and dramatic situation.

Ella has always been the light of my life, the one person I could never imagine living without. In every moment, every breath, she’s been my center. I’ve dedicated myself to understanding her, to being there for her in ways that went beyond the obvious.”

No matter how small, I always noticed when her smile faltered, when her eyes lost their spark, when something—anything—was different about her mood. She was my world, and I tried to be everything she needed.

As a very attentive spouse, Adam quickly noticed changes in his wife’s hygienic behavior.

My wife of 10 years has always been obsessed with hygiene, good perfumes and neatness. 3 weeks ago, she completely stopped showering and shaving. At first, I thought this was a sign of depression, but, to my shock, she was cheerful and didn’t seem heavy-hearted or withdrawn.

If anything, she looked and behaved more cheerfully, more alive, than she had in months. Her face radiated a lightness I hadn’t seen in a long time, as if some deep, inner joy had taken root.

It was baffling. The changes in her appearance, the disregard for her usual routines—things that once bothered her—seemed to have no effect on her newfound happiness. The disarray of her once-meticulous habits, the messiness that had always unsettled her before, now seemed to give her an odd sense of satisfaction, as though it were somehow feeding her spirit.

It was as if Ella was reveling in the chaos, embracing it as part of who she was becoming, and, oddly enough, it gave her an unexpected joy.