Being in a relationship can be warm and enjoyable, but it also comes with its fair share of difficulties. Coordinating daily routines, schedules, and personal habits with a partner can be tricky. If not managed well, these differences can create frustrating situations that impact both mood and productivity. This is exactly what happened to a young couple struggling with clashing sleep habits.

“I’ve been with my girlfriend, Jess, for three years, and we share an apartment. Jess is not a morning person, largely because she stays up scrolling on her phone until 2 or 3 a.m., even though she needs to be up by 8. I’ve tried encouraging her to sleep earlier so she can wake up on time, but she insists that’s the only time she has to unwind. Eventually, I stopped pushing the issue.

Most mornings, it’s my job to wake Jess up. I’m up at 5 a.m. for a run, then back home by 6 to shower, eat breakfast, and spend some time on my computer. By 7:30, I start the process of waking her.”

“I know it’s absurd to have to wake up a grown 28-year-old woman, but I wouldn’t mind if it weren’t such a struggle. First, I gradually turn on the lights. Then I gently try to rouse her. If she manages to get up, she’ll shuffle to the bathroom—but often, when I check back, she’s already crawled back into bed.

The worst part is how grumpy she gets. She cusses at me, snaps rude comments, and when I bring it up later, she just shrugs and says, ‘I was half asleep, what do you expect me to do?’”

“Last Friday, while I was waking her up as usual, she stomped past me to the bathroom and dramatically gagged before saying, ‘You smell. Take a shower.’ Mind you, I had already showered that morning, and I always keep up with my hygiene.”

“That evening, I told her I was done. No more morning wake-ups. I was tired of the insults, the attitude, and the outright disrespect. From now on, she’d have to wake herself up. She wasn’t happy, but I stood my ground.

Fast forward to Monday—she overslept and was over an hour late to work. Since she was still on probation and had already been written up twice, this got her fired on the spot.

By noon, she called me, furious and barely making sense, yelling that it was my fault. When I got home, she immediately started screaming at me and then demanded that I give her half of my paycheck until she found a new job.

Now I’m wondering—did I cut her off too abruptly? She really loved that job. Should I have at least given her a little warning?”