He’s Upset That His Wife Didn’t Put Any Effort Into Dressing Up For His Birthday Since It Was Their First Proper Night Out Away From Their Kids In Five Years
This 36-year-old man and his wife, who’s 39, have been married for six years now, and they have three young kids together.
But, while their relationship has been fine in the grand scheme of things, there have recently been some more stressors in their lives – including job insecurity, his father-in-law passing away, and one of their children receiving a behavioral issue diagnosis.
“This has put a huge strain on our relationship, with many ups and downs,” he said.
However, earlier this year, his mother-in-law actually gifted both him and his wife tickets to a show that they’d been dying to see for his birthday. On top of that, his mother-in-law offered to babysit their kids while they went out for the evening.
He thought this was a wonderful gift, and it was finally his birthday just the other day. Given everything they’d been going through in their personal lives, he figured it would also be the perfect opportunity to go out on a “proper date” with his wife. He tried telling her that, too.
“Dress nicely and go to dinner with drinks afterward. We haven’t had a night like this since our twins were born, so I was really excited,” he explained.
Then, on his birthday, he tried to make sure everything was in place so they could enjoy a night away from the kids. He picked up his mother-in-law, purchased pizza and snacks for the children, and made a dinner reservation.
His wife, on the other hand, was still just sitting on the sofa only one hour before they needed to leave for the show.
“Knowing that she takes a while to get ready, I asked if she’d be ready in time, and she said yes,” he recalled.
kiuikson – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“I showered, shaved, ironed my shirt, and dressed up nicely. The kids and my mother-in-law complimented me on how I looked.”
Still, when he later checked on his wife again, she claimed to have forgotten to buy orange juice for the kids and wanted to head to the grocery store. He offered to go instead to allow her to get ready, but she was insistent on going herself.
Apparently, she wanted to take a walk after working from home all day.
His wife arrived home around 10 minutes later, and she declared that she had no time to dress up anymore. Then, she just went back to scrolling on her phone.
He asked if she could just put on a dress or something at least, but his wife refused – claiming she didn’t have any time to shave her legs.
That’s why, in the end, his wife wound up going out with him wearing just some jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket, which was the same outfit she had worn during the day.
This honestly left him feeling really shocked and upset, too. He was looking forward to a special evening since it was both his birthday and their first date in five whole years.
“It really killed the mood for me, and I couldn’t enjoy the night. I could barely talk to her,” he admitted.
Once the show ended, he also didn’t want to go out to dinner anymore since he felt totally overdressed compared to his wife.
His wife didn’t understand that, either, and accused him of ruining the evening by being “close-minded.” She also believed that he had no right to tell her how to dress and should instead care more about her being comfortable.
“While I understand and agree with that point, I just wanted us both to make an effort, especially since this was a special occasion,” he vented.
Nonetheless, his wife believes that he’s too controlling and selfish. Now, in the wake of his birthday, he’s been left wondering if wishing his wife had just dressed nicely for their date was really so unreasonable.
Would you also be upset if your spouse didn’t put effort into their appearance on your birthday? What advice would you give him?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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