From the start, G.G. Hawkins’ I Really Love My Husband

sets up the disaster heading towards our main couple when Teresa (Madison Lanesey), on the day of her wedding, is on a call with someone from her past declaring how she really loves her husband, Drew (Travis Quentin Young). It sets the stage for the eventual conflict and tension that already seems to exist — at least with Teresa, who seems to be trying to convince herself as much as she is others of how happy she is.

I Really Love My Husband has all the makings of an intriguing film exploring the central couple, and there are times when it does, especially when they meet Paz (Arta Gee) on their Panama honeymoon, which they take a year after they get married. But the film gets caught up in the superficial elements without digging any deeper. Teresa wants to spice things up in a bid to help her marriage by talking with Drew about the two of them being intimate with Paz, their rental host with whom they share a connection.

I Really Love My Husband Brings Us Into Teresa & Drew’s Relationship

But Only To An Extent

We’re introduced to Teresa and Drew’s relationship by way of videos Teresa records and presumably posts to social media. Drew is always in the middle of doing something, like cooking, when Teresa comes up to him with her camera phone. It’s a big clue into the state of their relationship; Drew seems content with what he’s doing and often offers a smile when Teresa approaches, unbothered by her recording.

Crucially, we get insight into Teresa’s state of mind, as her videos tell us she’s recording the mundane moments to give them an excitement she doesn’t feel in the relationship. She’s the more torn of the two, though Drew may have convinced himself that he’s invested in the relationship when he’s really just happy to be in it at all. This is no more prevalent than when he tells anyone who will listen the story of how he met Teresa — on Craigslist when selling his grandmother’s lamp. It’s one of the only times he comes alive in the film.

Media has used vacation settings as a tool to dive deeper into interpersonal relationships. Stripped of a routine and the tasks of our daily lives, vacations offer a tranquil environment for the characters to genuinely examine where they are and what is (and isn’t) working anymore. I Really Love My Husband does this to an extent, but it also sidesteps any meaningful conversations. By the time Teresa and Drew finally drop the act and genuinely engage with each other in a fight, I was disappointed by the film’s lack of character development and refusal to go beyond the surface.

I Really Love My Husband Is Good At Visually Showing Teresa’s Dissatisfaction

At the same time, the movie hones in on the ways someone can show you they’re feeling unfulfilled without expressly saying as much. Teresa and Drew have very different styles of communication; Teresa avoids being direct with her feelings but underscores her dissatisfaction with her marriage by suggesting they sleep with Paz. Drew, on the other hand, is much more the hunky-dory type. He seems stuck in his ways, people-pleasing his way through conversations and interactions without much thought. This is frustrating to Teresa and, though harsh words are eventually exchanged, the hurt is clear.

Paz and Kiki, their reality show star friend (Lisa Jacqueline Starrett), prove to be distractions — from Teresa and Drew’s relationship and from the general storyline. I Really Love My Husband gets caught up in the couple courting, so to speak, Paz and the potential ramifications that come from that. It’s a big chunk of the story and it happens so soon that we barely get any time with Teresa and Drew before we’re thrown into the threesome situation.

With other films exploring marital issues, including opening up the marriage to bring in other people, I Really Love My Husband doesn’t do anything new with the concept and that would have been fine if it had delved a bit more into its characters and the situation instead of dancing around it. I didn’t feel connected to either Teresa or Drew, so while I knew their relationship might not survive their honeymoon, I couldn’t be fully invested in them, either. It doesn’t help that it meanders a bit despite having a short runtime.

This is not to say the film doesn’t have its appeal. Though it lacks deeper exploration, it is good at showing us Teresa’s discontentment and Drew’s general disengagement, and the awkward moments are played up really well. Meeting Paz may have been a turning point, but from the start we’re brought into the characters’ marriage already knowing where they stand. The rest of the film simply works to get them to the same conclusion. Whether or not it’s fully satisfying will depend on if you buy into the characters’ unraveling dynamic from the start.

I Really Love My Husband had its world premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.