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From the moment Hope Springs hit the big screen, it has been on my “must see” wish list. I think this movie speaks so many words that a lot of us women want to say, but don’t know how or when to say them. As I watched the trailer for this back in August, all I could keep thinking to myself was — oh my gosh — that is SO my life!
About Hope Springs
Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.
If you have been married for any length of time, you will want to see this movie! In fact, I wrote a little bit about losing that spark in your marriage this morning on my own site.
Enter to Win
One reader is going to get their chance to win a Hope Springs Package full of goodies! Inside the gift pack, you will find
- 1 Hope Springs DVD
- Rose candle
- “Live, Laugh, Love” card
- “Follow your Heart” coffee mug
- Bacon N’ Egg Lover magnet
- “Got Corgi?” magnet
- Do You Know Your Husband? quiz book
- Hope Springs relationship guide (not pictured)
- Hope Springs tote bag (not pictured)
- Hope Springs coupon book (not pictured)
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter this giveaway. New to Rafflecopter? Watch this 45-second video on how to enter!
I was provided with an online screener in order to write this review. All opinions listed are my own.
Karin A. says
Empty nest syndrome— they need time to adjust to being a couple again and recapturing what drew them together in the first place.
Tabathia B says
they have no buffer and that’s 50% of the conversation has left because we do spend time talking about kids
Jenn says
In the 6 years I’ve been a mother, I have changed a lot from the person my husband married 7 years go. Parenthood changes you. I think it is less noticeable right now while we’re so busy rearing our littles but I imagine that once they littles stop requiring so much of our time, DH and I will have to get to know each other all over again or we will be distant.
Jessica says
The kids are the focus for so long once they leave the nest it’s much different.
Teresa Thompson says
Because the focus has been on the kids for so long it doesn’t seem possible to shift focus to our spouses. Once we do, it renews the marriage.
Don says
They just know each other too well.
Kelly Blackwell says
I think husbands and wives can grow distant once the kids leave if they slowly start to make the kids their common ground. If they continue to keep a good solid focus on each other and things that only they do together (not leaving the kids out but leaving a place for the two of them), they can continue to have these commonalities to focus on once the kids are gone. If the kids have become the end all…when they move on, it is hard to suddenly turn to the person you stopped making a priority.
Rebecca says
Empty nest syndrome
ANGEL JACKLYN says
Because they’ve forgotten how it was between them “before” the kids even came.
Kelly Falcone says
I think they dont really know each other anymore
Garrett says
After years of being together, you just know each other so well that things just become somewhat every day, I think.
Kathi Spence says
Loved this movie. Thanks for the chance to enter and possibly win <3
Kathi Spence says
Leave a comment answering this question – why do you think husbands and wives grow distant once the kids leave? FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE – My husband and I just celebrated our 33rd Anniversary! You have to talk – not just greet each other DAILY!!
Bernie Dunne says
I think partners are so busy with the children they are tired and just assume they are ok because it takes so much with the kids we assume also each other appreciates each other with out saying it. They need to reconnect and snuggle and hug and spend time together to reconnect. I love this show.
Juliane says
OMG, I love Meryl Streep. I can not wait to see the movie.
Rachel says
I think married couples become too familiar and life gets in the way of the miracles that happen within their relationship. Finding ways to fall in love many times, always with the same person, is the gift we share if we allow it. True love takes a bit of work, but it is so worth it!
mary ortiz says
The attention has left from the kids and now there is no one to focus on so therefore, the adults are left feeling lonely and are desperate for attention from their loved one.
stephanie says
maybe because they kids take alot of time idk
Morgan says
The kids take up so much time they forget to take time for themselves.
Lolita says
I would REALLY like to Win this prize package!!! I had a “Hope Springs” Party with several of my girlfriends and then we went and saw the movies as well. I would love to have my own copy. No matter where we are in our relationship status, Married, Divorced, Separated or Single, Hope Springs gives viewers wonderful tools and ideas that they can use in their current or future relationships, and most of all it gives us HOPE!! Awesome movie!! 5 stars!!
Lolita says
Sometimes couples (espcecially second marraiges) come into a marraige broken or with excess baggage, looking to their spouse to totally complete or fulfill them. Each individual should be whole in themselves and then that allows the other person to add to, or enhance their life. When we are not whole ourselves and are looking to our spouse to complete us, we remain broken, dissatisfied, and feel our spouse has failed us, when in truth, we have failed ourself. While our spouse should remain our priority, we need to have other things in our lives (Girlfriends, hobbies, pastimes) to fill those needs in our lives that men may not be able to fill.
Sonya says
Focus always on kids and life as a family rather than kids/family now BUT great times ahead once the kiddos are on their own. I think we tend to forget all the great things that can mean.
I think a lack of big-picture focus – our actions and feelings depend a lot on what we choose to focus on. We tend to see an empty nest rather than a less-crowded nest. Focus on all the positives of this phase of life with your husband and finally having the freedom and time to do all those things you weren’t able to do when the kids were home.
Julie says
Life with my mate is the best relationship I have ever had.
Tracie says
People forget to love their spouse on a daily basis. We get caught up in life and all of the requirements that accompany it. Then one day we realize the kids are gone, we’re older and everything we hoped for may not be there. We need to live each day to the fullest and stay connected to our spouse. Remembering why we fell in love in the first place.
Kelly B says
Well I finally got to see the movie and it was fabulous… No one could have done it justice like they did… I married my husband when I was 17 and he was 19 we had a daughter who was 9 months old.. We did it the hard way..Kids take alot out of a marriage. Children require alot of attention and most parents are very tired at the end of a day.. I also run a daycare for 22 years so we have never lost the children LOL… Husbands and wives need to remember each other and never take that for granted even though it is very easy to do so.Life is what you make of it.. Just as the movie showed..Do not be ashamed of things you do with your spouse in the privacy of your home… Here is to many more years… We have 27 under our belt and I just turned 44.. Children are 27 and 23 we have a 3 yr old grandson and another grandchild due in June.. Live life to the fullest…
JHS says
Saw this movie twice and absolutely loved it!
JHS
Colloquium
elizaeth baur says
Watched this on Verizon On Demand the other night with my hubby! Great movie! Love Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep!
MARIGRATZI says
I think that husbands and wives grow apart after their children leave because the are soo used to being parents that they forget how to be Lovers!!
Maria says
I believe couples become distant after the kids leave because they have not continued to nurture their relationship to each other throughout their marriage. Life gets so busy, and each of us now tend to communicate with text, email, or messaging. We no longer take the time to just sit together and ‘veg’ on the couch…just sitting close. We don’t keep our relationship a priority, it is a covenant with God and each other…whether you were married in a church or by a J.P. (like I was). I truly love my husband immensely, and realize it even more now that he was out of town for a week! He comes home today and I can’t wait to see him and have him hold me in his arms!
tammy johnson says
I LOVE THE ACTORS IN THIS MOVIE AND I LOVE, LOVE STORIES, AND WHEN THE KIDS LEAVE YOU HAVE TO REINVENT YOUR RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE ALOT OF YOUR ATTENTION HAS TO GO TO THE CHILDREN, BUT WE ALWAYS TRIED TO DO KING AND NICE THINGS FOR EACH OTHER AND ALWAYS KEPT THE FIRE BURNING FOR EACH OTHER
patricia s says
I think sometimes if these is an age difference this can lead people going in different directions and losing some of that closeness….they still love each other it’s just in a different way…..and I do believe it becomes harder when the children leave ….
Sonya D. says
I know that my kids take all of my time and energy and I don’t have much left for my marriage! And the longer you are married the little things that you used to love about each each other begin to annoy you instead!
Emily says
I am dying to see this movie! I love her as an actress. The cast of this film is impeccable!
Michelle B says
Because Kids can keep the parents together
Tabitha P. says
b/c kids tend to be the glue that holds them together.
drina m. says
Not much in common anymore and once you live together for so long you get too comfortable and think you don’t need to work on the relationship anymore.
Angela E. says
I think it’s because they just become so use to each others everything.
runinboise says
i don’t know if they grow distant then or before. I still got kids in the house now.
sindy murray says
because they put kids first and their relationship second or third place!
angie says
life is different so much time spent on children and then theres that void
June says
Good movie for hubby & I to watch together.
nannypanpan says
because they have been putting the kids first for yrs, it’s hard to reconnect
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christy davis says
maybe because they lose that shared connection? i really don’t know thou we have 6 kids 12 and under so we are no where near that stage yet!
Jenny says
The kids are a constant source of conversation and the focus of their lives for so long.
CHristine JEnsen says
I think it is because the kids are what their lives have had in common for so many years, that if they don’t take the time to develop their connection in a way that isn’t connected to the kids it can be hard to create it again when the kids are gone.
Heather S says
They grow distant from not taking the time to do things together, new things together, travel, anything to have fun and reinvent their friendship and love!
Kathleen says
Love this movie!
Susan P. says
The kids give them something in common and a reason to talk.
Jessica says
There can be plenty of reasons!
Jodi T says
I think it’s because the husband and wife grow apart.
Cari S says
Maybe they don’t know how to interact anymore now that their common bond (kid) is gone.
Sheila K. says
Individuals change over time, sometimes to the detriment of a long-term relationship.
Raine says
Sometimes husbands and wives grow apart with kids come along because they subconsciously adopt the message that the kids should be the # 1 priority. Once the kids leave the house often they wake up next to a stranger. The great hope is that couples CAN reconnect with some work and commitment to rediscovering each other
Staci A says
It’s just so hard to switch your focus after worrying about the kids for so long.
Wehaf says
I’m not sure they always do – some couples grow closer as they have more time to focus on each other.
Lori D. says
Just apart of growing older together I think.
amy v says
they focus on their kids so much that once they’re gone….it’s like ‘wait a minute, now what?!’
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Anne says
Growing distant happens when they have less in common, the new stage in their lives.
amyc says
Don’t have anything to talk about anymore
Kerrie Mayans says
I think they have less in common without the kids being around.
Sharon Schoepe says
I think it’s hard once the kids leave because they lose what was the focal point of their marriage for so many years.
Anne Lehnick says
I think it’s like having a shared hobby (the kids) that’s just gone. You have to find your new shared interests together after the kids are gone.
Mia Dentice Carey says
I think because they forget to stay connected during the years when they have kids…..focus is more on the kids than each other
Marti Parks says
I think it;s because they have lost a common enemy. Just kidding.
Chuck says
That’s a hard one to answer, don’t know for sure.
Sandra K321 says
The biggest thing they have in common are their kids, so once the kids leave there is a big empty spot in their lives.
Noreen says
Maybe because they only talk about the kids so when they move out they have not connection
Tiffany M in MS says
I think we focus so much on our children that we forget to be people who love each other. I hope that i do better to remember that with my husband
Jill Robson says
I love these actors, and as it happens my husband and i have taken a similar journey ourselves this year. I think as adults we forget that we as people need to put ourselves and our relationship in the forefront sometimes.
Jessica To says
I think there is alot of added stress that centers around the kids.
mrsshukra says
Their focus need to shift back to each other!
Crissa Robertson says
Maybe they have forgotten to nurture their relationship when they were nurturing their kids
Natalia says
Not so many connections between couple I think.
Jingle says
Because they spent too much time focused on kids and not enough on each other.
Liz says
They’ve made so much of their lives center around the kids that it’s hard to remember what it was like without them.
Denise M says
their lives were focused on the kids only and not on each other, less commonality
Van says
I think it’s just because they have grown so familiar with each others every day lives.
wendy rozema says
because its a different phase in their lives!
Steph says
I think that they grow distant because they spent so much time taking care of the kids or working to provide for the kids, and spent very little time with each other. They do not really know each other anymore. Years of one parent at home raising the kids can also cause some resentment when the kids finally leave home.
Heather Hayes Panjon says
Maybe They Feel Lonely And Like Something Is Missing Causing The Husband And Wife To Grow Apart
Natalie says
Husbands and wives might grow distant once the kids leave because they take up so much of the focus for so many years.
Natalie says
Dying to see this movie! Great cast!