Singh, SmitaWoodfield, PaulCorrick, StevenHo, Marcus2026-06-152026-06-152026-10-01International Small Business Journal, ISSN: 0266-2426 (Print); 1741-2870 (Online), SAGE Publications.0266-24261741-2870http://hdl.handle.net/10292/21414This article explores spousal lived experiences in the broad context of entrepreneurial venture failure, focusing on their emotions, the situations that evoked them, and how they managed them. We highlight that there is limited qualitative research on emotions in entrepreneurship, and much of this research is focused on the lone entrepreneur. We shift the focus of this emotion research to include an understanding of spousal emotions. Our exploratory inductive study of thirteen spouses is critical to building our understanding of entrepreneurship and failure from a relational and socially embedded perspective. Our study underscores the adaptive functions of distinct emotional responses in shaping how spouses navigate the complexities of loss and transformation following entrepreneurial failure. We articulate the theoretical contributions and delineate the practical implications derived from these findings.© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/350704 Entrepreneurship440301 Family and household studies441009 Sociology of family and relationships520403 Learning, motivation and emotion3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour1503 Business and Management1505 MarketingBusiness & Management3505 Human resources and industrial relationsfailureemotionsresiliencespouseemotional managementcognitive strategiesentrepreneurshipfamily businessnarrativeJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1177/02662426261437768