Jake soon learned that calling my concerns “not a big deal” would come back to haunt him. I gathered all of Alex’s trash and dumped it into Jake’s precious home office. Shocked and frustrated, he realized firsthand what I had been dealing with. When the mess kept piling up, and I walked out for the weekend, the house fell apart.

Jake called me in a panic, begging me to return. But I stood my ground: Alex had to go, and the house had to be cleaned. To my surprise, they actually did it. I came home to a spotless house and a truly apologetic husband. Alex left, and Jake promised to never sideline me again. Since then, we’ve been stronger—cleaner, too.