GLASGOW — Fiona Ivanski and her husband, Vincent, woke early the morning after the Scottish independence referendum, even though they had barely slept. Anxious to discover the verdict on Scotland’s future, they sat down on their living room couch at 6:08 a.m. Friday and turned on the television.

Dr. Ivanski’s face fell. “We didn’t make it,” she said.

“Thank God,” her husband replied, smiling.

Dr. Ivanski, a veterinary surgeon, had voted for Scottish independence. Her husband, a retired police officer, had voted against it. She said she was devastated that her country did not grab this “once-in-lifetime opportunity to break free.” He said he was relieved to retain the safety of the status quo, including the pound and his pension.

In homes across Scotland, a civil war of a very personal kind has been raging, pitting husband against wife, mother against son, and brother against brother. Like countless other families, the Ivanskis, married for 33 years, found themselves on opposite sides of a national rift opened by two years of intense debate about the most momentous decision their country has faced since joining the union with England over three centuries ago.

Fifty-five percent of Scots cast their ballots in favor of staying in that union. But 45 percent would rather leave. And after a high-energy pro-independence campaign that dominated cityscapes and was fueled by slogans of hope and positivity, the losing side may now collectively be feeling what Dr. Ivanski described as “a terrible emptiness.”