Why I stopped working with my husband Dmitry

Would you start a business with your spouse?

Dmitry and I did.

For years, we built a business together. We started as co-founders, making big decisions, growing a company from scratch, and navigating all the chaos that comes with it. But at some point, we realized something had to change.

At first, it was exciting - working with your spouse means you completely trust your business partner. But then COVID hit, and everything changed.

LinguaTrip’s revenue dropped to almost zero within days, and we realized how unstable everything was. It wasn’t just about us — we had Emily, our little daughter, and that kind of responsibility changes everything.

That’s when it became clear: we couldn’t afford to put all our eggs in one basket.

At the same time, my YouTube channel was turning into its own business. It made sense for me to focus on that while Dmitry explored his own projects alongside with managing Linguatrip. But this wasn’t just about diversifying income or avoiding burnout.

It was something much more personal.

Dmitry put it best when he said:

And he was right.

The real issue was stability and keeping the ability to surprise each other.

We needed different challenges and experiences to bring something new to our relationship. We started losing what made us a couple.

Here’s what we learned about mixing family and business:

• Define clear roles – If both of you make every decision together, work discussions will never end.

• Respect personal time – Talking about work over dinner every night is NOT a healthy habit.

• Create separate growth paths – Working on different projects can bring more inspiration into the relationship.

Today, we still support each other’s work, but from a different perspective. Dmitry has his own projects, and I have mine. And honestly? It made our relationship even stronger.

Would I work with my husband again? Maybe. But I’d do it differently.

Here’s a photo from our time working together - back when we were not just partners in life, but in business too. Still, my dream team!