Television

the sometimes harsh (but constructive) feedback an editor needs to supply is not a model for a lasting marriage.

I’m not part of this argument, but the inability to give or receive good faith criticism of any characterization is a hallmark of poor communication skills and/or mistrusting the intent of each other. In my professional life, I have encountered maybe 3 people who could not give or receive criticism that had made it beyond a year or two into a creative profession. They all did grievous injury to the workplace in terms of morale and work quality. Two of them were at the same place, which ceased creating new content after I left. They merely squat on their existing IP now while other parts of the business prosper. In my current workplace, an entrenched designer is so toxic at receiving feedback that people simply do not work with them. Leadership keeps hiring people with overlapping skill sets to ever-reduce this person’s scope of responsibility. (The designer in question has actually gone so far as to bully away multiple managers, and has secretly recorded conversations after antagonizing colleagues to later threaten HR with legal action.)

Anyway, enough of that. A question.
If you cannot preserve something as strong as a 30-year marriage with how feedback is expressed (or received) - then how do you create good work with people who don’t love you and could go elsewhere?
I have a great creative relationship with the people I work with. My wife is a designer, and I still freelance. We collaborate both professionally and informally quite often on our respective (and occasional joint) projects without strife — even when we disagree.