Fiancé Can’t Stand When Partner Yawns, But It Turns Ugly When He Ends Up Hurting Her Over It

Ever been scolded for something your body does on autopilot? Like, imagine being penalized for blinking or sneezing. These are biological necessities, not personality flaws, right?

Well, today’s Original Poster’s (OP) fiancé, in fact, believed yawning was a personality flaw. However, she didn’t expect it to trigger such a strong reaction from him on one particular morning.

More info: Reddit

There just has to be something especially frustrating about being called out for something you literally can’t help

Woman yawning in bed wearing white tank top, highlighting frustration with yawning in a sleeping relationship scenario.

Image credits: user12370157 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The author shared that her fiancé regularly criticizes her for yawning, calling it “unladylike” and “lazy”

Man annoyed by fiancée yawning, elbows her while she is sleeping, causing her to snap and leave the bedroom.

Text image showing a woman explaining how her man says he hates yawning and finds it rude and lazy sounding.

Woman annoyed in bed after man elbows sleeping fiancée for yawning, causing her to snap and leave the bedroom.

Image credits: Any-Effective2565

Man in bathrobe yawning while fiancée holds head in frustration lying together in bed under blankets.

Image credits: ufabizphoto / Freepik (not the actual photo)

One morning, while half-asleep and facing away from him, she yawned, and he nudged her twice, accidentally hitting her spine

Text message with a man expressing frustration after elbowing his sleeping fiancée, leading to tension in the bedroom.

Couple in bedroom conflict as man expresses dislike of yawning and fiancée storms out after being elbowed.

Text message asking if the man who hates yawning and elbows sleeping fiancée is overreacting in the situation.

Image credits: Any-Effective2565

Young woman peeking from under bed covers, illustrating fiancée reacting after man says he hates yawning.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Annoyed and in pain, she snapped at him, pulled the sheet off him, and left the room

Man reacts to yawning by elbowing fiancée who is sleeping, causing her to snap and leave the bedroom abruptly.

Text on white background about misophonia explaining someone was nudged for making an annoying sound related to hating yawning.

Text discussing drama where man says he hates yawning and elbows his sleeping fiancée, causing her to storm out angrily.

Text about misophonia and a man disliking yawning, causing tension with his sleeping fiancée who storms out.

Image credits: Any-Effective2565

Hours later, they were both awake but not speaking, and she began to question whether her reaction was too harsh

The OP started by explaining that her fiancé has a strange intolerance for yawning. According to him, it’s “unladylike”, lazy-sounding, rude, and anytime she yawns, he reacts by groaning, nudging, or scolding her.

One morning, while still half-asleep, she yawned quietly while facing away from him. In response, he elbowed her twice, right in the spine. It wasn’t aggressive, and he wore a sleep mask, so she acknowledged he likely didn’t know where he was hitting. But since he’s over 6’5″ and very muscular, the jab really hurt.

Already in a grumpy morning mood, she let him know how it hurt and then yanked the sheet off the bed before storming out. However, three hours later, after they were both awake, they hadn’t spoken a word to each other, which left her wondering if she had overreacted or if this was a bigger deal than she initially thought.

To her credit and much to the concern of netizens, she noted that her fiancé had never been intentionally hurtful.

Frustrated man and woman sit apart on bed after disagreement about yawning, showing tension in bedroom setting.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Yawning is an involuntary reflex, meaning people don’t have conscious control over when or how it happens. Cleveland Clinic affirms that even attempting to suppress a yawn can actually make the urge even stronger, and while it’s possible to slightly modify how one yawns (like keeping the mouth closed), completely stopping it isn’t possible once the reflex kicks in.

Based on this explanation, one might think it unreasonable to be upset at a person for yawning. However, WebMD provides another perspective. They highlight a condition called misophonia, in which certain everyday sounds trigger intense emotional reactions, such as anger, irritation, panic, or even the overwhelming urge to escape the situation.

These sounds, often harmless to most people, can feel unbearable to someone with misophonia. It’s commonly referred to as Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome, and those affected often describe it as a sound that “drive you crazy”. They highlight sounds like a person chewing, yawning, clearing their throat, sniffing, clicking a pen, among many others, are triggers.

Seeing as the situation led to conflict between the OP and her fiancé, Lyra Health acknowledges that it is normal. A common source of conflict can stem from a living situation, where small, everyday habits, like noises or routines, can become major irritants.

To resolve these tensions, they recommend avoiding harmful behaviors like stonewalling. Instead, couples should focus on clear communication, staying curious about each other’s perspectives, setting ground rules, and being willing to own their part in the issue.

Netizens were disapproving of the fiancé’s behavior, with many calling it a red flag. They also suggested he may indeed have misophonia, but agreed that using “unladylike” as a reason to police a natural bodily function is deeply problematic.

What would you do if you were in the OP’s shoes? Would this be a dealbreaker for you, or something you’d try to work through with your partner? We would love to know your thoughts!

Much to the concerns of netizens, the author clarified that her fiancé never treated her poorly outside of this incident

Reddit comments discussing a man who hates yawning and his fiancée’s reaction during a bedroom dispute.

Comments discussing a man saying he hates yawning and the fiancée’s irritation leading her to storm out of the bedroom.

Screenshot of a text conversation about a man complaining about yawning and upsetting his sleeping fiancée.

Reddit conversation showing man triggered by yawning, elbowing sleeping fiancée, leading to her snapping and storming out.

Reddit conversation about man who hates yawning and elbows sleeping fiancée, causing her to snap and leave the bedroom.

Screenshot of a Reddit conversation discussing a man who hates yawning and elbows his sleeping fiancée.

Man elbows sleeping fiancée over yawning, causing her to snap and storm out of the bedroom in frustration.

Comments discussing a man who hates yawning and physically reacts to his sleeping fiancée, causing tension between them.

Man annoyed by fiancée yawning, elbows her while she is sleeping, causing her to snap and leave the bedroom angrily.

Comment discussing man who hates yawning and elbows sleeping fiancée, leading to her snapping and leaving the bedroom.

Comment discussing a man who dislikes yawning and causes conflict with his sleeping fiancée leading to her storming out.

Man angrily elbowing his sleeping fiancée who snaps and storms out of the bedroom over yawning dislike.

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