Dear Janice, my wife of seven years is beginning to wear me down with her endless demands.

She has no intention of going back to work when our daughter starts school, but is forever shopping for the latest designer fashion, booking expensive beauty treatments, lunching, and meeting her girl pals for cocktails. Her latest demand is for a hot tub! She says all her friends have one and it’s embarrassing that we don’t.

I can just about manage everything financially, but I do worry that if the worst happens and I lose my job, would she stick around? Jacob.

Dear Jacob, would you want her to? She would be pecking your head continually for material things you could no longer give her, and the pressure would be horrendous.

The time has come to have a blunt and honest chat with your wife, and I think you should begin by asking her to remove her head from her Love Island backside and start living in the real world.

Who are these people she is comparing herself with who have perfect lifestyles and endless pots of money? Sadly, like so many of her generation, their ideals, morals, and demands are a result of watching reality TV, following Instagramers, and so-called influencers who are continually spouting images of surreal lifestyles.

I’ll give her the benefit of doubt and wonder if perhaps your wife genuinely has no clue about your financial situation. Sit her down and show her the amount of money you have coming into your household, what your expenditure is, and what amount is left to spend on her luxuries. Assure her that you want her to have a lovely lifestyle but that it can’t all be on your shoulders, and that her demands are wearing you down. Marriage is supposed to be a partnership, not one way traffic. Good luck (I think you’re going to need it).

Dear Janice, I’ve been living with my partner for six months now and I feel like I’ve had enough of him already. He is the quiet sort, has a lovely nature, and is a really nice guy, but I feel as though we are already in a rut. As soon as he comes home from work, I make his dinner and then he spends the rest of the evening in the spare room on his gaming console. Every night is the same. We don’t go out or socialise with other couples, and I hoped that after being in lockdown for so long, he would be as desperate as I was for a change of scenery and some fun.

His mum makes excuses for him and says that’s just his nature. I could put up with his slobbish and dreary ways if we were enjoying ourselves now and then, but I just don’t have anything to look forward to. Siobhan.

Dear Siobhan, I was going to say you’re acting like an old married couple, but old married couples have more fun than you pair. Staying with someone because they are ‘really nice’ isn’t my idea of a well-balanced fulfilling relationship.

The guy in the butchers’ shop is ‘really nice’, your hairdresser is ‘really nice’ etc, but your partner should mean so much more to you than that.

Give him another chance and plan a night out with others. If it doesn’t go well then, I think you need to ask yourself why you are still with him. Relationships can slowly slip into oblivion but I’m not even sure you had much of one to start with.

Also, I think you have forgotten what makes YOU happy, so make a list of the things you used to enjoy before Mr Boring-Pants came along.

What makes you laugh? Where do you enjoy going? Whose company are you happy in?

He is paying you no attention Siobhan which is selfish and thoughtless, and it seems highly unlikely that he will change so it is up to you to decide if this is the kind of partner you want in your life.

I would suggest packing him off back to his mums and find yourself a partner who deserves you. Preferably one who can remove his beady eyeballs from a gaming console long enough to acknowledge your existence!

Dear Janice, my best friend passed away last year and since then I have spent a lot of time with his widow. It was natural to be there for her and comfort her as we have known each other for many years. However, my feeling towards her have changed and I now find myself wanting to be with her all the time. We enjoy each other’s company and get on great but I’m not sure if she likes me romantically. Should I just come out with it and tell her how I feel? Rodger.

Dear Rodger, No. No. No. This lovely friendship could go terribly wrong if you are misreading her signals. Perhaps you should go out in a group and see how she reacts in other men’s company. It might just be that you are filling a huge void left by her husband (your best friend), and there is not a flicker of romance in her head.

Rodger it’s only been a year since she lost her husband, but if she does have romantic feelings towards you, then given time, the pieces of the jigsaw will come together.