[Sportschosun, Lee Ji-hyun] A "Helicopter Couple" struggling with conflict over grandchild care appeared on "Oh Eun Young's Report: Marriage Hell."
Episode 176 of MBC's "Oh Eun Young's Report: Marriage Hell," which aired on the 13th, revealed the story of the "Helicopter Couple," whose daily life had fallen apart because of caring for their grandchild. The broadcast also showed the shocking story of their youngest daughter, who had changed completely in just over a year, and the conflict surrounding grandchild care.
During the episode, the "Helicopter Couple" said their youngest daughter, once a diligent radiology technologist, returned home as a completely different person about a year after leaving for Seoul. Their daughter, who had married without her parents knowing, suddenly came to them one day holding a newborn baby. At the time, she cursed at the husband who accompanied her and pleaded, "I can't live like this anymore." But the couple said they believed she had come home hoping to start over, so they sent her back to her husband.
Her married life, however, was shocking. The youngest daughter claimed that her ex-husband subjected her to repeated gaslighting, verbal abuse, and physical violence. She said he took away her phone, cutting off contact with the outside world, and forced her to go through divorce proceedings without being able to preserve proper evidence. It was also revealed that before marrying her, he had been in the middle of a divorce lawsuit with another woman, surprising everyone.
What shocked viewers most was the daughter's hard-to-understand behavior. She was seen talking to herself toward the camera, abruptly changing the subject in the middle of conversations, and standing blankly for long stretches of time. Her mother, one half of the "Helicopter Couple," said, "My once capable daughter has become a completely different person," expressing how overwhelming the situation had become. The daughter also seemed to pay little attention to her child even while her parents were caring for the granddaughter. She did not respond when the child approached her mother and remained indifferent even when the baby burst into tears.
After watching the footage, Dr. Oh Eun-young gave a serious assessment of the daughter's condition. She explained, "The self-talk in the video appears to be a dissociative symptom that can occur in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When trauma is too severe, a person's sense of reality can become unstable, and their memory system may also be affected." She added that the way the daughter shifted to completely unrelated topics during conversations showed "loosening of associations and disorganized thought patterns. Because these symptoms can worsen under stress, active professional treatment is necessary."
Grandchild care eventually escalated into conflict between the couple. The wife complained to her husband, who goes out with friends every weekend, saying, "All the childcare is on me. I want to have my own time too, meeting friends and exercising." The husband shot back, "Then do you want to earn the money? I'll take care of all the childcare." The argument grew heated as he raised his voice, saying, "Isn't this why the kids ran away from home?"
Dr. Oh explained that the daughter's refusal to look after the child was closely tied to the trauma she experienced in her marriage. Referring to the time she came to her parents' home holding the newborn, Oh said, "She was asking her parents for rescue. They should have asked, 'Are you having a hard time? What can we do to help?'" As for the fact that the grandparents are now raising the granddaughter in her place, she advised, "The role of primary caregiver should be returned to the mother, the youngest daughter."
At the end of the broadcast, the youngest daughter finally spoke from the heart, saying, "I didn't know my parents were having such a hard time." Hearing this, the husband of the "Helicopter Couple" was moved to tears, and the family, beginning to understand one another's pain, cautiously hinted at the possibility of reconciliation.
Meanwhile, next week's episode of MBC's "Oh Eun Young's Report: After Love Again" will reveal how the husband and children of the "Baegu Couple" have been doing since the wife's death. "Oh Eun Young's Report: After Love Again" airs on Monday the 20th at 9 p.m.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
