Admitting that the only reason for remaining in the relationship is the kids:
“We’re staying together for the kids”
The amount of times I’ve heard spouses heard this before going headfirst into separation is absolutely heartbreaking.
Even though, according to aubreythez, things are usually better for everyone involved after the divorce:
As a child of divorced parents, things were 10,000x better after the divorce (not immediately, because obviously it was traumatic, but in the long term for sure).
Being in a home environment with two people that hate each other and argue constantly was way worse than interacting with them separately.
Thinking that you’ve changed for the worse when in reality, it’s your partner making you feel that way (gaslighting!):
When you think you’re just “like this” even though you never were in the past.
Example: I guess I’m just naggy and overcritical, even though those were never traits of mine throughout my life.
When you do break up eventually, you realize that the relationship required you to change in certain ways, and that made you like yourself less. You feel free to be who you really are and who you want to be.