Husband a Semi Truck Driver? Advice for Wives From the Wife of a Truck Driver

How to Stay in it for the Long Haul

Married life for an over-the-road semi truck driver is often full of challenges and roadblocks. Because a married semi truck driver is required to spend days away from home, there are issues and concerns that often arise. A woman who is married to a truck driver doesn’t have the luxury of having her husband physically available to help with maintaining the household, and more important, he often isn’t available when needed in the most critical times.

Women who are married to semi truck drivers often feel like widows, but their plight is worse in some ways. They feel like widows, and they are obligated to their absent husbands. I call these women “married widows.” Yes, their husbands are alive and well, but they are missing from home most of the time. For some this living arrangement works well, but for others it can bring a host of problems that ultimately ends the marriage.

My husband is a semi truck driver who usually leaves home on Sunday afternoon and comes back from his truck driving job on Friday evening. We are physically together on average only eight days of the month. Depending on where his dispatcher sends him, and his location when he is required to shut down, once in a great while he makes it home during the week. Sometimes he is able to stay an entire night, and other times he is just home long enough for a quick shower and a home cooked meal.

I am very happy I married my truck driving husband, but I realize there are women struggling with the issues and problems associated with being married to an over-the-road truck driver. No, it isn’t always easy, but there are positive points to consider, and there are ways to get over the hurdles and roadblocks.