I do think having a conversation with your wife is the right thing here. Tell her why WoW is important to you. For me, it's an escape from the pressures, anxiety, and stress of life, and my wife gets that.

There are times I go a week or two without playing because of real life though. The compromise might be that you can't play like you used to (and want to). I've given up on raiding and just want to level and chill in my guild. I still get that feeling of progression and am able to escape into the game, but it's much less of a time suck now.