Being a single mother of two couldn’t have been easy, but she made it work.

[diamondcutter]

As far as mothers go, I got lucky. “Is that really your mom?”--said in the most incredulous of tone--was a constant refrain when I was growing up. Now that I’m an adult, I see what the fuss was about. My mother is cool--way cooler than average. Not only that, she is so gorgeous and youthful that she could pass for my very hip older sister.
Being a single mother of two couldn’t have been easy, but she made it work.

Source: https://pulptastic.com/10-things-my-cool-mom-taught-me/

Being a single mother of two couldn’t have been easy, but she made it work.

I'd like to know if “couldn’t have been easy” should be “wasn’t easy” because the fact is that being a single mother of two was not easy.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. The writer is expressing an opinion, a guess, an assumption, not a fact. "Wasn't easy" would be a statement of fact. "Couldn't have been easy" makes it clear that the writer doesn't know for certain that it was hard but that it's his/her belief that it probably was.

 

[Tarheel]

It's an opinion most people would agree with. (Those who are really good at something make it look easy.)

 

[tedmc]

I think "couldn't have been easy" refers to a perception of an experience over a period of time, which "wasn't easy" doesn't. "Wasn't easy" is like saying something matter-of-factly.

 

[Tarheel]

My guess is "It wasn't easy" is most likely to be said by the person himself. (See below.)

Bob: How did you do it?
Ron: It wasn't easy.