[dubballey]

Relationships are about taming tanha, channeling it into a framework which is conducive to worldly happiness and less likely to bring about suffering to oneself and others. To really solve the problem of tanha, one would ultimately need to give up relationships as well -- hence the reason for going forth (becoming a monastic).

That doesn't mean all Buddhists go forth or give up relationships, though -- far from it. It's a question of clarifying one's goals at the given time, and of being honest about priorities.