Although newlyweds tend to be satisfied with their marriages, they nevertheless vary in their ability to resolve problems effectively. This study examined whether problem‐solving effectiveness was associated with the complexity of spouses' thoughts about their problems. Newlyweds provided open‐ended descriptions of marital problems and then engaged in interactions that were coded by independent observers. Results confirmed that the complexity of each spouse's descriptions accounted for unique variance in the quality of their discussions. Moreover, results supported a weak link effect, such that the thoughts of the least complex spouse accounted for additional variance, controlling for the main effects of each spouse. These results suggest that interventions to improve problem solving attend to both the structure and the content of partners' cognitions.