'O Eun-young Report—Marriage Hell' featured an adolescent couple.
On the 13th (Mon), the MBC entertainment show 'O Eun-young Report—Marriage Hell' (shortened to 'Marriage Hell') aired a story about an "adolescent couple" who showed stormy, adolescent-like behavior. The "adolescent couple," already parents of five children at 26, said, "We've raised five children, but parenting is still difficult," and visited the 'Marriage Hell' studio.
The couple has been married seven years and are the "adolescent couple." That day the wife confessed, "I gave birth to my first child in the second year of middle school. It was a time I was wandering," surprising everyone. She is raising two sons born before marriage and three daughters born with her current husband, five children in total. That day the two exchanged harsh words and fought in front of the children, drawing sympathy. The husband admitted, "We met when we were young, and his way of speaking has stayed the same since then." Dr. O Eun-young pointed out, "It's the way sisters and older brothers speak and act during adolescence."
The husband's "parenting avoidance" was also a problem. After the wife left for work and the husband took over childcare, he went straight to the master bedroom and lay down as soon as he got home. He even called his wife at work saying, "(The kids) won't sleep when mom's not here," to induce her to leave early. When the wife hurried home, he jokingly laughed, "You said you can only work three hours," which pushed viewers' anger buttons.
Later the husband left the house alone and went to a car wash. While the wife put the children to bed by herself, the husband was absorbed in washing cars past midnight. He even washed an acquaintance's car. Dr. O Eun-young asked sharply, "The husband has zero parenting ability. Is the car more important than the children?" and then struck at the core, "Raising children is something you do together, not something you help with. He lacks the basic mindset and the concept of being a parent."
Also, the husband shocked viewers by uttering abusive words toward a car that abruptly changed lanes while driving, saying, "If this weren't on air, you'd be XXX," and "X, that's infuriating." The wife worried about the husband's angry driving, saying, "Sometimes he tries to chase other cars." Regarding the husband's behavior, Dr. O Eun-young analyzed, "The husband has anxiety. His parenting self-efficacy is low, and he is likely worried financially. But he treats cars as something he can work hard at and accomplish, a controllable area, which lowers his anxiety."
Meanwhile, the husband worried that the wife has a fiery personality and often quarrels with neighbors. The wife confessed, "I get angry when I tell the children off. Because I had children young, I wonder if people look down on me," she said. Dr. O Eun-young explained, "She became a mother at a young age and must have faced sharp looks from those around her. She probably thought adults were not trustworthy."
At the end of the broadcast, Dr. O Eun-young expressed regret that the "adolescent couple" had not learned the basic things that should be learned naturally in childhood. She urged the wife not to use an irritable tone, told the husband not to run away from parenting but to participate, and asked both spouses to use proper forms of address for each other.
That day's broadcast ranked first among all channels in the same time slot with a 0.8% Nielsen Korea metropolitan 2049 rating, proving high interest. Attention is further focused on the couple solutions from "national mentor" Dr. O Eun-young.
[Photo] Provided by MBC.
[OSEN]