'There is compromise': 'The View' co-hosts discuss overwhelming nature of 'forced togetherness' for spouses during holidays

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The January 22 episode of 'The View' had the co-hosts discuss family time during the holidays, and how it might be overwhelming for one of the partners.

Whoopi Goldberg introduced the subject by mentioning a write-up in the Washington Post where a woman stated that though she enjoyed being with her husband's extended family during the holidays, she hoped she would never have to repeat the experience.

Sara Haines believes compromise to be the key

"It's probably better to have those conversations earlier than later," began Haines, "But I do believe there is a compromise involved here."

She spoke from experience, as she continued, "The way my family grew up, we're the 'forced togetherness' - it doesn't feel forced but it's together. My husband didn't have those experiences so coming home to our house on holidays overwhelmed him to a level that I didn't know if I'd be able to bring him back."

"But what you do is that you have some conversations - about length of time, if someone drops in, if it's every year. And kids change that too, so if this is long-term, I think it could change. But it's definitely something that won't get better on its own," she concluded with a laugh.

Other co-hosts share their insights

Sunny Hostin opened up after Haines, saying, "People think they are marrying the person, (whereas) they are marrying into a family. That is the truth, and families have traditions."

While she said that she "lucked out" with her partner because they both are "together" people, she felt there might be others who would feel that to be too much.

Ana Navarro stated that partners should rethink their relationship if they cannot reach a compromise, which co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin felt was the key (to the relationship).

Sharing that she was "very uncomfortable at first" with her husband's family before learning to love them "like a family she never had," Griffin acknowledged that it was not the same for all.

"I think having the conversation and then the boundaries up front (is important)... like kind of meet each other in the middle," she added.