The experienced couples therapist Dietmar Stiemerling is familiar with both situations from his practice: the misery of separation when couples part ways, as well as the often hidden suffering when partners cannot break free from a definitively failed marriage due to various obstructive attitudes, leading to ongoing relationship unhappiness. Stiemerling describes the psychodynamics that prevent some couples from taking the necessary step towards freedom and independence, leaving them instead in a state of distressing entanglement. Understanding what has led to the inability to separate is ultimately a prerequisite for change. The reasons may lie in structural psychological deficits on both sides or in the clinginess of a depressed partner. Feelings of guilt and bonds of hatred are also not uncommon.