Men Share ‘What Did You Not Know Or Realize Until After Living With A Woman?’: And Here’re 40 Of The Top Answers
We're learning all our lives. But some things and experiences teach us more than others.
A month ago, Reddit user Artudetan posted a question on r/AskMen that read, "What did you not know or realize until after living with a woman?" Turns out, a lot!
From "the good bra" to doing the dishes, the post has already received over 14,000 answers and judging from them, getting a roommate can be quite educational!
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Fine, I'll say it.
I always thought that pads operated like Band-aids and they'd just slap em over their vaginas and absorb everything. It wasn't until I was... 27? When my girlfriend at the time had some as a backup in case she ran out of tampons and I opened it and looked. The adhesive was on the wrong side for my version of how they worked, and it dawned on me that they're supposed to be stuck to their panties, not their vaginas. I only regret telling her of that revelation, because she laughed until she cried and then called her mom to tell her about it.
When you’re having a really tough day, she unexpectedly comes home and surprises you with a bottle of your favorite drink, homemade cookies and a dinner you love. And then she cuddles with you while you vent about your now not so crappy day. And you realize what it’s like to actually have someone support you.
And you find yourself wanting to make sure the toilet seat is down, smiling when you can never find anything in the kitchen, rolling with it when the living room turns into a 12 stage laundry OCD deployment zone, and you laugh when you trip over her shoes that are now tangled in a knot of hair bigger than the dog.
Because your house/apartment is no longer a place you live at, it’s now your home. And it’s safe to be the real you, not the show you put on when you were dating.
That she owns only one truly GOOD BRA. There is only one and part of your duty as a man is to protect The Good Bra. If you are doing laundry, you must take the greatest of precautions to make sure it is properly cleaned, dried, and stored. God forbid The Good Bra ever turn up missing or in the wrong drawer.
Ladies, why is there only one GOOD BRA?
Yes. Yes, there is. The one and only! ♡ Because, a product, to be mass-produced, it needs to be built within certain norms and patterns, but each woman has different breasts. As a result, it's difficult to find the perfect one, but once you do find it, it becomes precioussssss. Not to mention, these things aren't cheap either. (Waiting for replies of the ladies whose boobs need no support. Respect to you, sisters, but see... just because I don't need braces, I'm not protesting against the dentist industry.)
I was raised by a woman, so none of it was new to me, except:
Period Panties.
I wasn't shocked or disgusted by it because I wasn't a 12-year-old; it was just like, "Huh. Yeah, I guess I'd have a separate selection of underwear to use when I'm menstruating, too. Why the Hell would I ruin all of my sexy underwear?".
I learned that bathroom can smell like soap and flowers and coconut instead of like pee.
Apparently showering and washing your hair are separate events.
If you leave something on the kitchen counter, it will get put/thrown away. If she leaves something on the kitchen counter, that's where it goes now.
Pockets are very rare for women's pants. Several years married and still shocked by this.
I didn’t realise this until my now wife showed me the pockets she had in her wedding dress. She was so excited.
What home feels like.
When you’re done showering, you’re supposed to stay on the bath mat while you dry off, not walk around the apartment
Apparently, cleaning the toilet on the regular is much, much more important than I'd previously thought.
How nice house plants are. Now I have all kinds of plants and my place feels so much more nice and relaxing.
If they leave stuff at the bottom of the stairs, that means you’re supposed to bring it up. If it’s at the top of the stairs, you should bring it down. Also, the correct place for objects in the kitchen is where they currently reside. Stuff is gonna move around constantly, just roll with it.
I do leave stuff on the stairs, but that's for whoever goes up first to bring along (and yes, that definitely includes myself)
They have a really weird obsession with glass containers or jars.
Mine obsession can be any kind of storage including shoe boxes, takeaway containers etc.
Hair ties actually disappear faster than MIA socks. Until you find 20 in a kitchen drawer.
No matter how many bobby pins are in the house, there is always a need for more.
And hairties.buy a pack and you'll have heaps for a few weeks, then back to one somehow.
Women are both simultaneously messier and cleaner than men. It’s bizarre how messy rooms can get with them and how quickly they can turn it around and make it clean!
One corner of the shower will become a "graveyard" for bottles of shampoo, conditioner, all sorts of stuff.
An innocent cleaning excursion in the right circumstances will lead to a full-on reorganization of all the dang furniture in the house, if you're not careful.
The hair that gets stuck in the shower drain. OMG.
You find out the amount of food that a refrigerator can really hold.
You’ve been doing laundry wrong your whole life.
I can only speak for myself but the way I did laundry before I got married was I just put the dirty clothes all in together irrespective of colour. Socks, pants, white shirts, coloured T-shirts all in together.
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My wife says I do everything wrong. Even when it achieves better and faster results than her. But the one thing I learnt from living with a women is don't argue back. There are not enough hours in your life to try and win.
I have the same with my mother! There is no better way than her way! So i stopped arguing
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my brothers and i all learned to do laundry by age 4 or 5, b0i you ain't been raised right
I'm routinely disappointed in my fellow men when I read these things. Get a laundry bag for your socks, put them in there after you wear them. Separate based on colors. No more than one hoodie per load. Add detergent to the water before you put clothes in. Make sure your clothes are evenly distributed around the base of the washer, if it's a top loader.
you have a LOT of rules! if that works for you, more power to you, but i do none of these things and my stuff has never been affected in any way except that it all gets clean. i've even washed THREE hoodies together with a fitted sheet and some underwear!
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I do the laundry. I do it the right way not the way she tries to tell me to
Opposite for husband and I. I was the one not doing the laundry properly, filling the machine too full and not enough soap! He taught me well, grasshopper !:))))
The first time my husband went to do laundry on his own, I sent 3 pages of instructions with him. He was smart he ignored most of them. Its not like he'd never done laundry.
My husband put the laundry pod in the detergent dispenser in our front loader. God love him, he tried (it goes in with the clothes).
lol my parents are always arguing and mad about the other person loading the dishwasher long
my household doesn't sort laundry, because these days there's no reason to unless you own a lot of hand-dyed clothing. sorting things out into different loads just sounds like a good way to waste time and water. i put sheets in with clothes, underwear with whatever, towels and hoodies, etc. nothing has ever been ruined or even slightly discolored by this practice.
Only my mother does the laundry right out of my family... NO ONE can do it right apart from her. She's refolded my laundry in the past but now, being a septuagenarian, she's letting that compulsion slide.
Oh, I remember die fight that ensued after I used my free day - while she was working - to do the laundry. Brave me sorted and washed and hung up and... apparently did everything wrong. I got scolded (nice try, all wrong), instructed ( this goes on that and pile and those need 40°!) and asked why I did everything on the drying reck instead this or that in the dryer. I still have no idea what the fuzz is all about. At least I got the ironing right, haha
Here is my recommendation for all, let whoever is willing to do the laundry do it they way they want. If there is an item you think needs specific attention do it yourself. Our daughter decided to tell her father he did her laundry incorrectly. She was detailing how she wanted it done. He was listening very carefully...I said "Honey if you want it done like that it's time you do your own laundry." She is an adult. Does she do it, yes and you know what? She takes a huge bag downstairs and it comes up pretty quickly. I think she just dumps it all in at once. Do I do laundry different than my husband does? Yes, but if get's to it first I'm no going to complain.
My husband sorted clothes by function vs color or fabric. All underwear went in together no matter what color it was, etc.
I never realised that she'd start wearing my clothes. T-shirts, sweaters, not even my damn underwear is mine any more!
I load the dishwasher so inefficiently, I'm no longer allowed to load it at all.
Girl here I'm not allowed to load the dishwasher as i do it wrong husband is in charge
I have freaked out too many times at what I thought was a 52-legged spider clinging to my bathroom wall.
You do this so you don't need to unclog your shower weekly. But you don't leave it on the wall, it should be binned before you leave the bathroom
That there can never be enough throws/blankets/cushions.
Yes there can. I am not a fan of throws and cushions. Not my thing.
That moisturizer goes on the body too.
Well yes, the lotion or moisturizer goes on the skin. Or you get the hoze again
Strange new foods will appear in the cupboard and the fridge. This is actually good, you will get to try new things.
The wardrobe in your bedroom that you agreed to share 50/50? Just like the bathroom, in a few years it will be 90/10.
There is an incorrect place for hand soap on the sink.
No matter how much you vacuum or sweep the floor, there will ALWAYS be hair in the floor.
To get rid of bangs you don't just cut them off.
When long, loose head hairs wash off in the shower, it's common practice to stick them to the wall rather than let them collect in the drain.
If she forgets to remove them afterwards, it can be very confusing for the next person in the shower. Why are there a bunch of individual strands of hair deliberately stuck to the wall?
They're not nearly as neat and tidy as they want you to believe.
Ya so ... let’s not generalize woman ... some woman are clean freaks others are in the middle and others are the opposite ... this is not a female trait .. this is a human being trait ... please stop putting woman in charge of cleaning and making them feel like if they don’t keep their house spotless there’s something wrong with them
Note: this post originally had 70 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Some of these are kinda gender stereotypes... Not all women wear inches of makeup or are clean freaks... Also some of these are just usual relationship things not specifically female. I know plenty of guys who use more products than me everyone has their own ways of doing things regardless of gender.
Just came to say the same. A lot of this was not male-female, but just people stuff.
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I must confess that, before I moved in with my wife (then- girlfriend), I thought that women wore matching bras and nickers (panties), like in the lingerie ads. But, thinking about it, I don't match my socks with my boxer shorts.
The generalized sexist remarks here about woman are gross .. do better bored panda .. woman do not fit in a box .. we are unique people
It is not sexist for people to relate their experiences in life. Try understanding the article next time
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As a man with long hair, I just laugh at all the comments about hairs everywhere, because they are usually mine. Or I just notice them because they are gray and my wife's are not. I really don't know.
Aww, that's so sweet of her! Your wife is definitely a keeper. What a kind person!
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Just a reminder that just because you live with a woman that doesn't mean that's an indication of what all women do. We're still not a monolith. We're individual humans just like men are and no two women will be the same.
Yeah, but the thing is that most stereotypes have a basis in truth. Enough women do these things that a large number of men have noticed them on a large scale. Therefore while there are exceptions, these are true in general.
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Judging from many of these posts, there are so many women who rule that their partners do stuff "wrong" just because they do it differently. Please be considerate! Often, there is more than one good way to do something.
As long as the task gets done, there's no right or wrong way. Some ways may be more efficient, but if the end result is the same it doesn't really matter how you get there! :)
Load More Replies... In the articles where men are idiots everyone agrees.In articles where women do something different everyone rants about stereotypes
Aside from the "women are all like this" implication, what about the "men apparently never know anything about women" implication? Maybe "neat freaks vs slobs", but not really gender. You should see how my hubby gets about his concert t-shirts! Forget the "good bra"! Do not touch his concert t-shirts! See? It's just people being people.
I really love this thread! I’m living on my own (is that said right when you live alone?) and I almost forgot how lovely it was sharing a home. So heartwarming, even the discussions!
All the hair-related ones are true for anyone with long hair, not just girls
Very relatable, I've lived with men and women and there are definitely some things that differ. But preferences regarding cleaning etc are individual...
As a wife of 20 years....yesssss I definately do all these things😁....I laughed at almost all of them...
I I have 1 wife 3 daughters all with long hair, cleaning the shower trap every month was a must. Fortunately they didn't stick hair to the shower wall which is a bit gross, weirdly enough.
I don't really understand #12, I'm pretty sure we're humans too. What'd you expect, we suppress farts? Unless this is satire, in which case please don't get mad at me lol
To the gentleman who asked why women only own one good bra is because a good bra that is well made, fits properly and is comfortable is EXPENSIVE and they only get more so the bigger a woman's boobs are. Another reason is the life expectancy of a bra. A cheap bra will only last anywhere from 2-6 months with regular wear(depending on bra size, brand/style, how often its washed); whereas a good bra will last anywhere from 12-18 months with the same amount of wear(though the life expectancy of a good bra is nothing compared to a good quality corset which can last anywhere from 5-10 YEARS with proper care).
I put everything I can snack size in old candle jars. I can't seem to handle throwing them away, and it looks nice.
my wife is the queen of the dishwasher. I have given up any attempt of trying to load it correctly. My sons have inherited the dishwasher loading gene. Sometimes family dinners degenerate into mockery of us lesser types missing the dishwasher loading gene. Apparently proper placement of cutlery is important.
My hair gets EVERYWHERE, I have Fibromyalgia so my hair constantly falls out. I always have a massive ball of hair after I wash it. I do my best not to leave it all over the shower. However, I can't do much about what gets on the carpets. Regular vacuuming still yields masses of my hair.
Dunno why you were downvoted, I too shed hair like mad, it seems impossible that I can produce so much!
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I think I'm meeting the wrong women... I've never had a tidy GF; I'm always the one being a**l about keeping everything tidy XD
Three things that surprised me: 1) How shitty women's shoes are. Honestly if my shoes give me blisters after the first day I wear them, they are defective and I'm getting my money back. My wife (and pretty much every woman I know) accepts this as normal. 2&3) That apparently smell and colour matter. I'm happy living in a beige home with no artificial smells, but that's just not civilized anymore (I don't mind the colour, but I find all the fragrances in women's products actually offensive to my nose).
Some of these are kinda gender stereotypes... Not all women wear inches of makeup or are clean freaks... Also some of these are just usual relationship things not specifically female. I know plenty of guys who use more products than me everyone has their own ways of doing things regardless of gender.
Just came to say the same. A lot of this was not male-female, but just people stuff.
Load More Replies... I must confess that, before I moved in with my wife (then- girlfriend), I thought that women wore matching bras and nickers (panties), like in the lingerie ads. But, thinking about it, I don't match my socks with my boxer shorts.
The generalized sexist remarks here about woman are gross .. do better bored panda .. woman do not fit in a box .. we are unique people
It is not sexist for people to relate their experiences in life. Try understanding the article next time
Load More Replies... As a man with long hair, I just laugh at all the comments about hairs everywhere, because they are usually mine. Or I just notice them because they are gray and my wife's are not. I really don't know.
Aww, that's so sweet of her! Your wife is definitely a keeper. What a kind person!
Load More Replies... Just a reminder that just because you live with a woman that doesn't mean that's an indication of what all women do. We're still not a monolith. We're individual humans just like men are and no two women will be the same.
Yeah, but the thing is that most stereotypes have a basis in truth. Enough women do these things that a large number of men have noticed them on a large scale. Therefore while there are exceptions, these are true in general.
Load More Replies... Judging from many of these posts, there are so many women who rule that their partners do stuff "wrong" just because they do it differently. Please be considerate! Often, there is more than one good way to do something.
As long as the task gets done, there's no right or wrong way. Some ways may be more efficient, but if the end result is the same it doesn't really matter how you get there! :)
Load More Replies... In the articles where men are idiots everyone agrees.In articles where women do something different everyone rants about stereotypes
Aside from the "women are all like this" implication, what about the "men apparently never know anything about women" implication? Maybe "neat freaks vs slobs", but not really gender. You should see how my hubby gets about his concert t-shirts! Forget the "good bra"! Do not touch his concert t-shirts! See? It's just people being people.
I really love this thread! I’m living on my own (is that said right when you live alone?) and I almost forgot how lovely it was sharing a home. So heartwarming, even the discussions!
All the hair-related ones are true for anyone with long hair, not just girls
Very relatable, I've lived with men and women and there are definitely some things that differ. But preferences regarding cleaning etc are individual...
As a wife of 20 years....yesssss I definately do all these things😁....I laughed at almost all of them...
I I have 1 wife 3 daughters all with long hair, cleaning the shower trap every month was a must. Fortunately they didn't stick hair to the shower wall which is a bit gross, weirdly enough.
I don't really understand #12, I'm pretty sure we're humans too. What'd you expect, we suppress farts? Unless this is satire, in which case please don't get mad at me lol
To the gentleman who asked why women only own one good bra is because a good bra that is well made, fits properly and is comfortable is EXPENSIVE and they only get more so the bigger a woman's boobs are. Another reason is the life expectancy of a bra. A cheap bra will only last anywhere from 2-6 months with regular wear(depending on bra size, brand/style, how often its washed); whereas a good bra will last anywhere from 12-18 months with the same amount of wear(though the life expectancy of a good bra is nothing compared to a good quality corset which can last anywhere from 5-10 YEARS with proper care).
I put everything I can snack size in old candle jars. I can't seem to handle throwing them away, and it looks nice.
my wife is the queen of the dishwasher. I have given up any attempt of trying to load it correctly. My sons have inherited the dishwasher loading gene. Sometimes family dinners degenerate into mockery of us lesser types missing the dishwasher loading gene. Apparently proper placement of cutlery is important.
My hair gets EVERYWHERE, I have Fibromyalgia so my hair constantly falls out. I always have a massive ball of hair after I wash it. I do my best not to leave it all over the shower. However, I can't do much about what gets on the carpets. Regular vacuuming still yields masses of my hair.
Dunno why you were downvoted, I too shed hair like mad, it seems impossible that I can produce so much!
Load More Replies... I think I'm meeting the wrong women... I've never had a tidy GF; I'm always the one being a**l about keeping everything tidy XD
Three things that surprised me: 1) How shitty women's shoes are. Honestly if my shoes give me blisters after the first day I wear them, they are defective and I'm getting my money back. My wife (and pretty much every woman I know) accepts this as normal. 2&3) That apparently smell and colour matter. I'm happy living in a beige home with no artificial smells, but that's just not civilized anymore (I don't mind the colour, but I find all the fragrances in women's products actually offensive to my nose).
