One of the clearest indicators of a dysfunctional marriage is not the presence of conflict, but the absence of a workable method for resolving it.

Conflict is inevitable in any marriage. What determines stability is whether disagreements can be processed productively rather than allowed to accumulate.

Couples with even very serious problems, money, sex, extended family, parenting, can remain highly stable if they have a reliable way to resolve conflict. Over time, issues get addressed, renegotiated, or adapted to, and alignment is restored.

By contrast, couples who begin highly aligned but lack conflict-resolution capacity tend to deteriorate. Each unresolved disagreement adds friction; resentment accumulates; communication degrades; and eventually the couple deviates so far from one another that the marriage breaks down.

This is why, in practice, no substantive marital issue can be solved before conflict resolution is solved.

Chores, finances, and life logistics are unsolvable if a couple cannot even have a structured disagreement without escalation or withdrawal. Until conflict becomes productive, every problem threatens the relationship itself rather than contributing to its improvement.