Emotional Divorce: The 'Sandwich Family' on 'Oh Eun-young Report - Family Hell'

The 'Sandwich Family' made an appearance on 'Oh Eun-young Report - Family Hell'.

The episode aired on the 23rd of MBC's 'Oh Eun-young Report - Family Hell' featured the story of the 'Sandwich Family'. This special series highlights families who, due to their close relationships, end up causing deeper wounds to each other. The show introduces a total of five families to the audience. The fourth family, the 'Sandwich Family', consists of a couple who do not communicate and their daughter caught in between.

In the episode, the daughter expressed, "I feel uncomfortable going home. Even when my husband suggests visiting my parents, I refuse each time," explaining that the main issue is her parents' lack of communication. Despite her husband's loving gestures, such as cooking for her, the wife remained unresponsive to his attempts at conversation, raising questions. The couple, who work together, even commuted separately and refrained from any non-work-related conversations at the office. This led to the husband's growing frustration, which eventually erupted into an emotional outburst towards his wife after the crew left.

The wife explained her silence, saying, "It's not something I necessarily need to respond to," and added, "I've given up on many things about my husband. I wonder if it's necessary to improve our relationship when we can just live our own lives." Dr. Oh Eun-young cautiously diagnosed the wife as being in a state of emotional divorce, despite not being legally separated.

Why did the wife reach this state of emotional divorce? The husband admitted that his business failures were the root of their discord. Once a successful broadcast journalist, he left his job to start a business, only to face repeated failures. However, the wife had a different perspective. She stated, "The only reason other family members can voice their opinions is because my husband isn't financially successful. If he had succeeded, we would have had to obey his every word."

The wife tearfully recounted being belittled by her husband in her 30s, and his condescending tone persists to this day. She confessed, "My husband deeply believes in his own superiority. I was hurt by comments like 'Your mother isn't wise.'" Feeling disregarded by her husband's words and actions, she closed her heart. She recalled carrying divorce papers since her early 30s, living each day prepared for separation. Upon hearing his wife's true feelings for the first time, the husband felt relieved that it wasn't solely due to his business failures. He acknowledged his problematic tone and vowed to change.

Dr. Oh advised the husband to let go of his pride and the wife to open her heart slightly. The daughter expressed, "I learned for the first time how much guilt my father carried. I hope he can let go of that burden. I also wish my mother could comfortably express her feelings." The wife, too, saw the potential for positive change, saying, "Although I wrote divorce papers long ago, I'm glad I didn't go through with it. I feel things will improve."

By Taeyuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr