Drawing on longitudinal, qualitative interviews with parents in the Fragile Families Study, this paper examinesthe narrative frames through which stable and unstable couples viewed tensions over domestic responsibilities, economic and housing issues, personal problems, communication, trust, and their social networks. Information from these interviews suggests that stable couples framed tensions as manageable within the context of a relationship they perceived to be moving forward, whereas unstable couples problematized tensions when their relationship trajectory was viewed as volatile and uncertain. Three years later, couples continued to apply these narrative frames to new and ongoing tensions if expectations about their relationship trajectories were met. However, some couples changed narrative frames to account for unexpected positive or negative developments in their relationships.