Why did my relationship with my wife go down by two hearts?

Question

In my Stardew Valley game, I'm married to Abigail, and we have two children. For quite some time, our relationship level has been 13 hearts. I talk to her every day.

The other day (14th Fall in year 6), I woke up and talked to her as usual, and noticed that our relationship level had fallen by two hearts, down to 11.

How could the level have dropped so much in one day? I can only think of three things that happened on the 13th that might have affected it:

• I gave a gift to Emily, which raised my relationship level with her to seven hearts. (I'm trying to complete the “Cook all recipes” achievement, and getting to seven hearts with Emily is required to get the Red Plate recipe.) I think I also saw her six-heart event before giving her the gift.

• It was Abigail's birthday, and I gave her an amethyst (which she liked), which I think I have also given to her on previous birthdays. I did it later than usual, because in the morning she was playing her flute.

• Overnight, a meteor struck the farm.

I understand that giving a gift to a single person while married can lead to jealousy, but Abigail didn't mention me giving a gift to Emily when I spoke to her on the morning of the 14th. Also 30 points doesn't seem like enough to go down two heart levels.

What happened, baby?!?

Answer 1

The Wiki says on the Marriage page in the Bugs section:

Occasionally a spouse's heart meter will drop overnight by approximately 2 hearts for reasons that are completely unknown.

It's possible you experienced this bug. Additionally, jealously can occur when you give a gift to a single of the same sex as your spouse. As you said, you gave a gift to Emily. Depending on your luck, there is a 20-40% chance your spouse will be jealous, and you will receive a -30 friendship penalty.

If your spouse becomes jealous, you get a 30 friendship point penalty, and the next time you speak to your spouse they will give an angry message mentioning your gift.

Although this is not enough to decrease by 2 hearts which makes me think the bug is what happened instead.