--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble is that, while my parents…" description: "\"The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they were apart, they were terrible together.\" — Jack Lemmon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg" --- # The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they… ![“The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they were apart, they were terrible together.” quote by Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg) > “The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they were apart, they were terrible together.” [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parental relationships can be complex; individuals may excel separately but clash together. **In simple terms:** Parents can be great apart but terrible together. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage relational dynamics. Themes family relationships conflict Mood thoughtful empathetic Type psychological sociological When to use this quote - family therapy - relationship counseling - personal reflection Key Concepts interpersonal dynamics marriage cohabitation Questions to Reflect On - What makes a partnership succeed or fail? - How can individuals maintain individuality? A Different Perspective May ignore external stressors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [When there's so much freedom - financially and otherwise - smart kids get themselves into trouble. My parents did a good job of sheltering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-peck/when-there-s-so-much-freedom-financially-and-otherwise-smart-kids-get/) [Ethan Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-peck/) > [“The trouble with parents is they remember the things you don’t want them to remember. Then the things you want them to remember, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-iffy-chukwu/the-trouble-with-parents-is-they-remember-the-things-you-don-t-want/) Kate Iffy Chukwu > [The trouble with parents is that by the time they are experienced, they are unemployed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-trouble-with-parents-is-that-by-the-time-they-are-experienced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I had been living through the '80s, I probably would've gotten into a lot more trouble than my parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/if-i-had-been-living-through-the-80s-i-probably-would-ve-gotten-into/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [“Darling found that permissive parents don’t actually learn more about their child’s lives. “Kids who go wild and get in trouble mostly have parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/darling-found-that-permissive-parents-don-t-actually-learn-more-about/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) > [Often parents have a great desire and hopes, and aspirations for their kids but they don't have any practical plans of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kendrick/often-parents-have-a-great-desire-and-hopes-and-aspirations-for-their/) [Stephen Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kendrick/) > [My parents and I always put great emphasis on telling stories that appeal to a child's sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/my-parents-and-i-always-put-great-emphasis-on-telling-stories-that/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [My parents are great listeners Which is why I never tell them anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-sones/my-parents-are-great-listeners-which-is-why-i-never-tell-them-anything/) [Sonya Sones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-sones/) > [My parents must have done a great job. Anytime I wanted to pursue something that they weren't familiar with, that was not part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/my-parents-must-have-done-a-great-job-anytime-i-wanted-to-pursue/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [I feel lucky because I was a nerd, which I talk about in the book, but I had academic success, so through that, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-feel-lucky-because-i-was-a-nerd-which-i-talk-about-in-the-book-but/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Outside of my family, I don't really know. They're great people and my parents are great parents, and they brought me up very well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/outside-of-my-family-i-don-t-really-know-they-re-great-people-and-my/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“He has little hope that university, when he gets there next year, will be any different. Like right now, all these pupils taking notes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/he-has-little-hope-that-university-when-he-gets-there-next-year-will/) [Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/) > [We all can think of at least one kid who had great parents, a great family, and an all-around great childhood...who suddenly went crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/we-all-can-think-of-at-least-one-kid-who-had-great-parents-a-great/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [I never wanted to be a wild kid. I respected my parents and I had great friends. I was lucky. We did a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/i-never-wanted-to-be-a-wild-kid-i-respected-my-parents-and-i-had/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [I think when you're 16, if you have good parents, they generally just fade in the background. I had great parents, and because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-when-you-re-16-if-you-have-good-parents-they-generally-just/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Jack Lemmon > [Acting doesn't have anything to do with listening to the words. We never really listen, in general conversation, to what the other person is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/acting-doesn-t-have-anything-to-do-with-listening-to-the-words-we/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I have been fortunate to be able to have a career playing comedy and drama. And it's awfully hard - it's like apples and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-have-been-fortunate-to-be-able-to-have-a-career-playing-comedy-and/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [how she moves. That's just like Jell-O on springs. She must have some sort of built-in motors. I tell you, it's a whole different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/how-she-moves-that-s-just-like-jell-o-on-springs-she-must-have-some/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [Once I had started film, I suddenly said, 'Wow, I love it.' I moved there from New York. But I've always gone back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/once-i-had-started-film-i-suddenly-said-wow-i-love-it-i-moved-there/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [Anything truly worthwhile does not come easy. If it did, it would not be all that worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/anything-truly-worthwhile-does-not-come-easy-if-it-did-it-would-not/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [Everything that is truly worthwhile - I think passion is involved in your approach to it. No matter what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/everything-that-is-truly-worthwhile-i-think-passion-is-involved-in/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [People are probably correct when they see me as the so-called Everyman. I'm attracted primarily to contemporary characters. I understand them and their frustrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/people-are-probably-correct-when-they-see-me-as-the-so-called/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I think whatever you do, if you are going to do well or even if you don't do it well, you have to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-think-whatever-you-do-if-you-are-going-to-do-well-or-even-if-you/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I had no desire to be in the movies. All my training had been in the theater, thank God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-had-no-desire-to-be-in-the-movies-all-my-training-had-been-in-the/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [In general, I think comedy is more difficult to write, to direct, and to act successfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/in-general-i-think-comedy-is-more-difficult-to-write-to-direct-and-to/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [If I'd been bright, I'd have realized that I was horribly uncomfortable, amazingly frustrated, and like any sensible person, I'd have quit. But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/if-i-d-been-bright-i-d-have-realized-that-i-was-horribly/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I have lost someone I loved as a brother, as a closest friend, and a remarkable human being. We have also lost one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-have-lost-someone-i-loved-as-a-brother-as-a-closest-friend-and-a/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I don't think Ed Horman could be dishonest if his life depended on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-don-t-think-ed-horman-could-be-dishonest-if-his-life-depended-on-it/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [I had already played a lead on Broadway before I ever did a film. I had had three, four seasons of stock with good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/i-had-already-played-a-lead-on-broadway-before-i-ever-did-a-film-i/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) > [Part of an actor's job is to actually adopt the world-view of the character she is playing and to tell the story from that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/part-of-an-actor-s-job-is-to-actually-adopt-the-world-view-of-the/) [Jack Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) [Explore all 42 Jack Lemmon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they were apart, they were terrible together.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Lemmon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-were-great-when-they-were-apart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-were-great-when-they-were-apart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/jack-lemmon-15749_father_the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-wer_2573544.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble is that, while my parents were great when they were apart, they were terrible together.” — Jack Lemmon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jack Lemmon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lemmon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The trouble is that, while my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-were-great-when-they-were-apart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lemmon/the-trouble-is-that-while-my-parents-were-great-when-they-were-apart/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```