 Farrar admitted that the marriage was never ideal . He later said that neither had expressed their love to each other , even at the early stages of marriage . Farrar recounted that Green seemed to lack the coping skills most adults bring to bear in challenging times ; when she went into a rage , she sometimes harmed herself or broke things , and rarely gave any thought to whether she was in private or in public during these episodes . By the early 1990s , Farrar worked long hours away from the home to avoid arguments and what he perceived as his wife 's shortcomings as a homemaker . When the couple fought , Green responded by treating the children , especially Tim , as small adults and telling them about what their father had done wrong . Swayed by their mother 's opinions about their father , the children began to resent and disobey Farrar , to the point where Timothy and Farrar had physical altercations . 
