7 questions to ask yourself if your relationship is stuck

Practical tips on staying together if you're falling out of love with your partner. Plus our 'glossy go-back' cover shoot! Taylor Swift's OG answer to that question about ex-boyfriends

Into the light … reviving the spark in a long term relationship

Lorraine writes: Are you having a relationship wobble? Do you feel stuck, a little sad, unloved perhaps? If so, you’re not alone. We’ve noticed that many women are sharing a sense of fatigue in their long-term relationships; they’re sad that what was once a thriving, vibrant partnership, loving and fulfilled has become stagnant, many feel disconnected from their other half. Women tell us they don’t know what to do next as the days drag on and they begin to worry that this ‘wobble’ is something more serious.

Personally, I think every woman who has lived with a partner for years will inevitably go through this ‘treading water’ phase which often precedes a transitional moment; be that empty nest, the death of your parents or major upheavals at work as you age.

On the private Facebook group of our Postcards From Midlife podcast women going through this reported that they were ‘lost’, their mojos had gone and many had started to resent or dislike their partners and husbands. Some said their homes had become ‘loveless, bickering battlegrounds”, that their partners were turning into grumpy, irritating men. Many felt they were drifting apart from their husbands, they speak of ‘empty lives’ and the loss of a loving, intimacy with their other halves.

Trish and I were so concerned about this sense of confusion around long term love and relationships we thought we’d ask an expert to help women clear a path through the woods of dissatisfaction to the sunny uplands of new, energy filled love lives. So we turned to Chie Nakano, a life coach at Compassion Centred Coaching. The reason we chatted to Chie is because she often dips into our private group to support women going through change with extraordinarily empathetic and practical advice which helps them answer the question “how do I become unstuck’, a phrase we hear again and again. I asked Chie what questions women should specifically ask themselves if they are facing this lonely problem. Here’s what she said;