'Don't buy it then': Shin Ji opens up about why luxury gift from husband Moon Won left her conflicted

Shin Ji of the group Koyote opened up about feelings she had long kept to herself during a couples counseling session with her husband, Moon Won — acknowledging that while she is grateful for his love and care, his attentiveness can sometimes feel like too much.

A video titled "The real feelings I revealed to my husband for the first time... we went to couples counseling" was posted Wednesday on the YouTube channel "Eotteosinji?!?" The clip showed Shin Ji and Moon Won, five months into their marriage, attending a psychological counseling session to better understand each other's personalities and improve communication.

Before the session began, Shin Ji described the dynamic with her husband not as frustrating but simply different. "It's not that I feel stifled — we just have different ways of talking," she said, noting a gap in their communication styles. Moon Won, by contrast, seemed unbothered. "I don't know, everything seems fine to me," he said.

As the session progressed, Shin Ji admitted that while she fully understands Moon Won's desire to look after her, that attentiveness can sometimes feel like a burden.

Moon Won explained that outside of work, Shin Ji tends to be low-key at home, and that he has a strong desire to take better care of her and do more for her.

Shin Ji pushed back on that characterization. "I give 100 percent of my energy outside, and at home I just like doing nothing," she said. "That time is when I recharge and feel happy, but I think he sees it as me being a bit listless."

Moon Won also said he wants to fix anything that troubles Shin Ji. She, however, asked him to hold back. "If I say I'm fine, I'd like him not to do anything more," she said, signaling her discomfort with his tendency to overextend himself on her behalf.

"You don't need to worry about me so much," Shin Ji said. "Just leave me alone — I can handle things myself. … You're already doing more than enough, so please stop trying so hard."

Moon Won took the feedback to heart. "I'll try to let go of that, little by little," he said.

The counselor advised Shin Ji that she, too, needed to practice accepting her husband's care and goodwill more comfortably. Shin Ji agreed. "I just don't know how to receive," she said, adding, "Being on the receiving end feels really uncomfortable."

Shin Ji mentioned that Moon Won had given her a large luxury handbag as a gift, but said the bag was so precious to her that she could not bring herself to carry it — and that he then stressed her out by pointing out she never used it. "So I end up saying, 'If that's how it's going to be, don't buy it for me,'" she said.

"When I receive it I'm so happy, but at the same time I think, 'Is this really something I deserve?'" she added. The counselor advised that even in the act of giving and receiving gifts, understanding each other's feelings is what matters most.

Shin Ji married Moon Won, a singer seven years her junior, in May. The two met in 2024 on the MBC Standard FM program "Yoon Seok and Shin Ji's Singlebungle Show," where Moon Won appeared as a guest while Shin Ji was the DJ, and the relationship grew from there.