The Telling Trend On Showtime’s ‘Couples Therapy’ Where The Men Never Seem To Care That Their Wives Are Falling Apart
Empathy and sincere communication are vital components necessary for any relationship.
@edgelinefilms / TikTok In the world of reality TV, particularly shows that delve into relationships and couples, it's not uncommon to find some unsettling moments. One woman on TikTok, Therese Lee, has brought attention to a trend she's noticed on Showtime's show, "Couples Therapy."
In the show, couples engage in a therapy session hosted by psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik. Lee pointed out that many men appear indifferent while their partners share emotional distress — often caused by the man.
On Showtime's 'Couple's Therapy', the men never seem to care about their wives' emotional state.
Lee took to TikTok to express her frustration about what she perceives as an apathetic reaction from men when their wives emotionally express the struggles in their marriages. She points out that, often, the camera captures a seemingly impassive facial expression on the husbands' faces while their wives pour out their hearts.
She reacted to a clip of a couple, Ping and Will, from the ninth episode of season three. "Sometimes the camera cuts to the man's face when their wife is talking, and you can tell just by the expression on your face that these guys just don't care," Lee said.
She further remarked how this apathy reminded her of her last therapy session with her ex-husband.
"That's pretty much my last couples therapy session that I had with my ex-husband," she said. "I don't think I cried quite as much as she did because I think I had done that kind of crying, like, 34 sessions ago."
In addition to highlighting this disconcerting pattern in therapy sessions, Lee also discussed another video clip from a podcast episode of The High Powered Podcast, hosted by Princella Cark.
She reacted to clips from "podcast bros," with one expressing his belief about categorizing women into different roles — those they would want to sleep with, marry, or simply use for household labor. "Multiple times in that clip he told her out of his own mouth that men don't care... as long as they're getting what they want," she said.
Lee believes this mindset reflects a broader issue within society where many men lack concern for women's emotional well-being.
This disregard extends beyond personal relationships and even permeates political ideologies.
"This comes up in the context of politics too… we have this idea that conservatives are conservatives because they're just uneducated," she said.
Lee argues for a shift away from trying to fix such individuals or hoping knowledge might lead them toward compassion or understanding. Instead, she advises distancing oneself from these groups, believing it is impossible to change people who fundamentally do not care about others' feelings or well-being.
"Knowledge was not the problem. Knowledge that those policies are harmful to people is not the problem. The problem is they don't care," she added.
A number of women took to the comments to share their own experiences with partners who were apathetic toward them. "My ex husband admitted all of this to my face. He doesn’t like me, and didn’t care enough to give me what I clearly said I needed," one person wrote. "This was my most recent ex. Like he literally just did NOT care. It’s why I left," another said.
Regardless of one's stance on Lee's viewpoint, it highlights an important point — empathy and sincere communication are vital components necessary for any relationship. And that goes for both men and women.
Ethan Cotler is a writer and frequent contributor to YourTango living in Boston. His writing covers entertainment, news, and human interest stories.