When I saw the title, “A Workout Ate My Marriage,” I had to click on it. (Good copywriting sucks me in every time.)

I quickly devoured the WSJ article about several couples who have conflict due to intense exercise regimes. A mid-life crisis Triathlete said himself that it was “selfish” to be away from his wife and three young children every morning and half of the waking hours in every weekend.

While I am not worried about anyone accusing me of being over-committed to exercise (ha), it made me think about other hobbies and activities that seem harmless, but can pull couples apart.

Spending time on my iPhone? Totally innocuous activity on it’s own. Being glued to it when my husband is trying to get my attention? It’s eating my marriage.

Church activities? Wonderful way to invest my time. Becoming so emotionally spent that I don’t have anything left for my man? It’s eating my marriage.

Working hard at my job? A commendable thing. Being so tied up in my work that I’m more concerned about my identity in that than my identity as a wife? You guess it – eating my marriage.

Blogging, cleaning, reading, scrapbooking, meeting with friends, organizing, bargain hunting…all things that are fine activities on their own, but when their importance in my life eclipses the time I have to serve my husband, they threaten to eat my marriage.

When we were combining our households when we first got married, Rafael took a long, hard look at his 75-gallon reef tank. He asked, “Should we sell it?” He explained that taking care of the saltwater fish takes time and effort. He didn’t want his hobby to interfere with time for our marriage.

I really appreciated his thoughtfulness…but I said no – don’t sell it! Teach me! Instead of being a marriage-eater that keeps Rafa busy, the tank is now a shared hobby that we both enjoy.

Exercise is great, but keep on the look out for things waiting to eat your marriage and cut them out or find a way to bring your partner in. Has anything threatened to eat your marriage?