Most relationships don’t fall apart because of one dramatic moment. They erode slowly through conversations that miss each other, repairs that never quite happen, and patterns that quietly harden over time. What begins as manageable friction turns into distance, leaving couples stuck in loops they don’t know how to exit, even when care and commitment are still present.Clinical psychologist Juan Korkie brings clarity to what actually breaks down between partners, drawing on decades of work with couples navigating conflict, change, and emotional disconnection. At the centre of relational breakdown is not conflict itself, but conversation. How partners speak, listen, interrupt, defend, withdraw, and respond shapes whether closeness grows or corrodes. When two people stop forming a shared narrative, resentment builds, one version of events starts to dominate, and connection is replaced by opposition.Life transitions intensify these patterns. Parenthood, shifting identities, midlife transitions, burnout, and unspoken disappointments all place pressure on relationships that are already stretched. Without the ability to renegotiate closeness and difference, couples begin to feel like flatmates rather than partners, emotionally present but no longer truly connected.