Hubs and I have been married for nine years and married for 12. We met in college through the school paper but didn't start dating 'til we both graduated--we got drunk at a newspaper reunion and admitted that we'd been crushing on each other for years but were too wrapped up in our respective previous relationships to do anything about it. A week later, we went on our first date; three months later, we moved in together; a year later, we got engaged. I stutter, he doesn't. My stutter has never been an issue in any relationship, honestly (turns out, giant tits handily eclipse a speech impediment--who knew?). But it has had a lot of ultimately positive secondary effects that I think have really strengthened our marriage. Like, I absolutely talk about my stutter, and if I can address one of the most debilitating, embarassing, and would-give-up-in-an-instant parts of my life, then it really takes the piss out of any other difficult conversation, which makes breaching touchy subjects easier AND has taught me to not take myself seriously at all. That means that when my husband has any complaints or constructive criticism for me, I'm far more receptive to hearing what he's saying instead of flying off the handle. I always feel like my verbal communication is rubbish, so I'm really focused on saying what I mean and not playing games 'cause that ish just makes everything harder. We've put a lot of work into our marriage, and I think the inherent humility that comes with a stutter made me more inclined to acknowledge that neither of us is perfect, but we're works in progress always striving to be a masterpiece. I've gotten more active in stuttering communities online in the past few months, and it weirds me out how often people think they need to date another PWS to be fully understood. Of course my husband doesn't know what it's like to live with a stutter and all the ways it complicates otherwise simple tasks--but he is so sympathetic and willing to understand how it affects me that he's doing a great job of not only absorbing that secondhand information but also actively looking for ways to make life a little easier for me. I was in a car accident recently, and he just automatically handled all the insurance calls to take that added stress off my plate. On a smaller scale, he'll place our takeout orders or handle whatever daily interactions I just don't like tackling because it takes me 10 times longer to get it out. :D Ultimately, relationships are work. No two people will ever be completely on the same page, which is why frequent, effective communication is SO important. I don't think stuttering precludes us from doing that: It's your needs and wants and feelings that matter, not how fluently we express them. Listening to and conceptualizing your partner's expectations are just as important as advocating for your own. It sounds corny af, but these things come naturally and don't really feel like work when you genuinely, sincerely love someone and just want the relationship to be a mutually healthy and supportive one. Of course I want my husband to understand the entirety of me, including the effects of being a PWS for almost three decades, but I want to understand him, too, and there are influential experiences unique to him just as my stutter has shaped me.