Working long hours can be a necessary sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt.

What would you do if your partner accused you of being emotionally unavailable during one of the most financially stressful times of your life? Would you ease up to save the relationship? Or would you double down to protect your future together?

In today’s story, one husband finds himself juggling survival and support, but his wife isn’t sure the cost is worth it. Here’s what’s going on.

AITA for telling my wife that working a ton is necessary right now?

My wife and I have been together since high school, and we’ve been married for a few years.

After we both graduated from college, I went straight into the workforce.

She took a year off due to some serious family issues (not her fault, and we both agreed it was the right move), and once those were resolved, she decided to go back to school to get her master’s.

I fully support her. She’s incredibly smart, and the degree will open a lot of doors in her field. We agreed she would focus entirely on school and not work during this time.

Thanks to the economy, he’s working a lot of hours.

As you probably know, the economy has been rough lately, especially in my industry. My company has been hinting at potential layoffs, so for the past several months, I’ve been picking up extra projects to make myself more valuable.

It’s been a lot of long hours and late nights, but I’m trying to protect my job and position myself for a raise if we even get one. I’m also just trying to make sure we have enough money coming in to cover rent, food, and life in general, since I’m currently our only income.

Last week, my wife told me she needed to talk.

She said she’s been feeling increasingly resentful because I’m working so much and she barely sees me.

His wife feels very lonely and decided to bring it up to him.

She said she’s lonely and that it’s like I’m not even around.

I get where she’s coming from, because grad school is stressful and isolating, but I pushed back and said that, given our situation, I don’t have much choice.

One of us needs to make money while the other is in school, and right now, that’s on me. I told her it’s temporary and things will get easier once she graduates and starts working.

His wife didn’t take that well.

That didn’t go over well.

She said it’s always going to be something. First, it was college, then her family situation, now grad school—and that I need to find a way to balance work and life, or this isn’t going to be sustainable for either of us.

Since then, things have been tense. We’re talking, but it’s very… chilly.

I’m not trying to ignore her or neglect her, but I’m just trying to keep us financially afloat.

AITA?

Wow! This sounds like a very stressful situation for both of them.

Let’s see what advice the people over at Reddit have to offer.

As this person points out, she can get a job.

Here’s an excellent point.

Here’s another person who thinks she should get a job.

According to this comment, the woman doesn’t know what she has.

It’s time for a serious talk.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.