I can attest that it works great in this scenario. I managed to play through several Final Fantasy games, a handful of indie games, and I’m deep into BG3 - all while on the couch or in bed with my other half. Or on the toilet.

Before the Steam deck I hadn’t beaten a single game in years.

If your wife likes gaming, you can play co-op on the said TV! The dock is somewhat expensive, but any USB C hub with power in and HDMI out will do. We have a thin keyboard with the mouse pad built in and two blue tooth controllers - voila! For optimal play on large screens, you should run it in Desktop mode. For gaming, I still use the Big Picture mode for Steam to be able to navigate to games with the controller, but with the keyboard and mouse, you can use it for anything really. I’ve responded to school emails, done online courses, even built small games in Unity (did a course on it), all from the comfort of my armchair and big TV screen.

Steam Deck is so versatile, you’ll love it!

Protip: you can use Bluetooth headphones with it so she doesn’t complain about the sound when you are next to her. My girlfriend always complains if I don’t lol

I got a ps4 because I could use remote play and not take up the tv so that I could play next to my wife. It was ok, but I had to setup my computer on the couch with charger, kind of a hassle. When I got a switch it was a game changer because I could just grab it and flop down on the couch next to my wife. I imagine (I don’t have one) the steam deck is basically the same.

If that is what you guys do also then it will probably be great for you.