I’ll tell you the red flag be ignored that has been our biggest point of conflict: I’m not an organized person and I’m totally fine with things being untidy as long as my living space is still are still functional. I asked him why, when he knew how I lived, was he acting surprised that I continued to live that way. He said “I thought you’d step up.”
Whatever. We have been married 15 years and we both work to “step up,” (him with letting go of his need for control).
The red flags I examined but didn’t stop me: he was pushy and struggled with compassion. He has gotten much better with the compassion and empathy, and I have had to work on my own boundaries because of his strong personality. I’m still learning.
But this makes our marriage sound terrible. Overall I think I’m so lucky to have found a guy like him.