I've worked with married couples before.
Even in the best situations, although the wives and husbands did not flaunt their status, I KNEW that when push came to shove, they would back each other up. It would be them against me, putting me at a distinct disadvantage.
In the worst situations, it was like a mini-soap opera every day at work. I'd hear personal arguments that shouldn't have been held at work. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. It got in the way of business.
Yep, working together should be considered carefully. Starting a business together even more so.
As Carley Roney and David Liu, married co-founders of The Knot pointed out to TIME, "If you want venture capital, being a husband-and-wife team is not looked very kindly upon. And we didn't know if it was something that would help us or hurt us. We also had two other business partners, so we wanted to be seen as equals. But it was funny — AOL gave us the money and never knew. People would ask, "Are you married?" and we would say yes but implying that it was to somebody who wasn't in the room. In the end, we considered it a competitive advantage because we were working from the moment we were brushing our teeth in the morning to the moment our heads hit the pillows at night. "
I think it helped that they didn't have the same last name, pointing out their coupledom. It also helped that they intentionally left their married status at home, dealing with each other professionally (at least in front of others).
Being a touchy feely gal, I'd find that very challenging to do.