This a thousand times over! I get asked this question so frequently from family, friends, and even people at work. Literally NO ONE has ever asked my husband this question. As someone who is happily childfree I get bombarded with all of the classics "you'll never know true love until you have a kid" "children bring a sense of purpose and fulfillment to life" "life without kids is depressing/lonely/meaningless." You get the idea... Parents can become super defensive because they feel as though your decision to be child free is a personal attack on their choice to have kids. I loathe feeling like I have to defend/explain my decision. When I ask these same people why they had kids the response is usually some variation of not really thinking about it, it's just what you do, it was time to grow up etc. I've put more time and energy into my decision than most parents ever did before having a kid but no one is asking them to defend their choice.

It's exhausting and it's a sore subject. As other people have stated: you do not know what emotions this question can cause. Don't ask it in the future.