Throughout the manga, Naruto's love life has always been a topic of contention among the series' fanbase, as is often the case with any fandom. In this case, most of that contention surrounded the main character's canonical partner, which fans have never agreed upon. Upon the end of the series' run and bleeding into the spinoff series, Boruto, Naruto wound up partnering up with former Hyūga clan member, Hinata. Hinata is beloved by the Naruto fanbase in her own right, but fan interest in her pairing with the title character pales in comparison to the interest that fans had in seeing him with fellow Team 7 squad member, Sakura.
Long-time fans had shipped Naruto with Sakura practically since the start of the series. After all, Naruto used to have a crush on Sakura when they were kids. Additionally, after watching their bond strengthen over a longer period of time, it's only natural as to why so many fans would lean further towards pairing Naruto with Sakura rather than Hinata. But it is the latter ship that sailed, disappointing fans of the former.
No one took more heat for Naruto and Hinata's relationship than Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto. Most people would expect die-hard fans of the Naruto/Sakura pairing to rain down criticisms towards the man who paired him with Hinata instead. However, some of those criticisms came from quite the unexpected place: from his own wife. "I actually didn't realize I caused such controversy," the world-renowned manga artist admitted to the Anime News Network during an appearance at New York Comic-Con back in 2017. "I almost caused a rift in my own household too, because my wife was very upset also that Naruto didn't get together with Sakura. In fact, she complained quite vehemently to me." As it turned out, Kishimoto's wife was among one of Sakura's biggest fans, and she let her husband know every chance she got by expressing her disapproval for Naruto/Hinata coming to life. However, Kishimoto had a few choice magic words that helped soothe his wife's frustrations. "I tried to defuse the situation by assuring my wife that SHE was actually the model for Hinata."
For those who think Masashi Kishimoto may just have been trying to butter his wife up to silence her badgering, additional comments he's made in further interviews actually help his excuse sound legitimate. For instance, years prior in an interview for Mezamashi TV, Kishimoto revealed that his experiences with his wife provided him with some inspiration when crafting The Last: Naruto the Movie. As he explained, his wife had knit him a scarf once upon a time ago, which urged him to create a key scene where Hinata knits Naruto a scarf.
Ironically enough, as much as fans like Kishimoto's wife want to blame Kishimoto for bringing Naruto and Hinata's relationship to life, it's technically Kishimoto's wife who is to blame instead.