My wife (30F) (An actress) has to kiss other actor's on stage but I (30M) am uncomfortable. How can I convince her not to do it?
I (30M) started dating my wife (30F) when we were both 24. We got married at 28 and have now been married for two years.
Recently, my wife became interested in acting and started working as a theatre actress. I genuinely love her, trust her, and want her to succeed in her career.
However, we've had some disagreements about physical contact in acting, particularly kissing on stage. I understand that these scenes are choreographed, performed in front of other people, and are part of a professional performance. I also understand that an intimacy coordinator may be involved to make sure everything is handled professionally.
At the same time, I personally have a boundary around kissing other people. I understand that it's acting, but the physical contact is still real, and that's what makes me uncomfortable. I don't have an issue with things like hugging, holding hands, or a staged/fake kiss where there isn't actual intimate contact.
I completely trust her and support her career, but personally, I'm not comfortable with sexual scenes or kissing other people. My wife sees kissing as part of the job and points out that we'd also be compensated for those performances, but I still feel that I have personal boundaries around physical intimacy.
I don't want to control her career or tell her what she can and can't do. I want her to be successful and happy. But I also don't want to ignore a boundary that's important to me or create resentment between us.
How can couples handle a disagreement like this when one person's career involves physical contact that the other person is uncomfortable with?