Emma writes a vivid account of some mundane but murderous marital bullying she overheard.
...For almost forty minutes, he ran her down. Criticised her appearance, complained about the coffee she ordered (and brought to him), repeatedly insisted that she was stupid and useless. When she went to get some groceries, he greeted her return with a volley of anger and abuse. Nervous and bowed, she fluttered like a tiny bird, trying to appease him. But to no avail...
As terrible as I find this gross assault, I recognise the bully in me. Here's an older post of mine about how men and women use words. Verbal intercourse is just like the other kind - and attended with all the same abuses (see here for more). I think addressing 'words that pierce' (Prov 12:18) should be front and centre in marriage prep. And something to revisit time and again...