July 28, 2026

"Loving Someone With Bipolar Disorder: Why You Can Love Them, Hate Them, and Still Wish Them Well"

Loving someone with bipolar disorder means holding contradictions most people never have to face — deep love, real anger, exhaustion, and genuine care for their wellbeing, sometimes all within the same hour. In this episode of The Other Side of Bipolar, I talk honestly about what it's like to love, resent, and be emotionally exhausted by a partner with bipolar disorder — both during the relationship and after leaving. If you're a partner, spouse, or caregiver of someone with bipolar disorder, this episode names the emotional contradiction you've probably felt but never heard spoken out loud.

Transcript

Loving Someone With Bipolar Disorder: Why You Can Love Them, Hate Them, and Still Wish Them Well

I’m not a therapist or a psychiatrist. I was married to my beautiful wife, who has bipolar I disorder, for ten years.

Today I want to talk about something that has been driving me crazy this past week: how I can love somebody, be angry at her, miss her, and still be unbelievably glad that I left. It’s been a year and two months, and I still feel all of those things. Some days I want to hear from her. Other days, the thought of seeing her again overwhelms me. If you’ve felt that way, you’re not alone.

When things were good between us, they could be wonderful. She could be funny and confident, and I loved being around her. Then things could change,