Crossword Genius

Reluctant man with bad wife, little husband (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

loth

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'reluctant' is the definition.
(if you are loth to do something you are reluctant)

'man with bad wife little husband' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'little' could be 'l' (abbreviation for little) and 'l' is found within the answer.
'husband' could be 'h' and 'h' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ot' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for loth that I've seen before include "Reluctant or disinclined" , "Unwilling to obey" , "Reluctant, unwilling" , "Reluctant or averse" , "Not keen" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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