“I’m Done”: Husband’s “Hilarious Prank” Leaves Him Single With A Pile Of Dishes
Interview With Expert
Valentine’s Day is approaching, pandas, and it’s about time to start thinking about how you’re going to make your significant other feel special. A heartfelt card, chocolates, a dozen roses or a romantic evening out on the town? As long as you both feel loved and appreciated, the day was a success.
But if your partner is asking you to put in more effort, and you respond by pulling a cruel prank on them, you might be single next Valentine’s Day… Below, you’ll find a story that was recently shared on Reddit, detailing how one woman reached the final straw in her marriage, as well as a conversation with Dr. Lee Baucom of Save The Marriage.
Everyone deserves to feel loved and appreciated by their partner
Image credits: Andres Molina (not the actual photo)
So when this woman’s husband spent energy on pranking her instead of spoiling her, she knew their marriage was over
Image credits: Specialist-Ask-1719
Image credits: Gary Barnes (not the actual photo)
The next day, the wife shared an update on the situation
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Specialist-Ask-1719
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
“The husband was not pulling a prank, as much as trying to shame his wife”
Many people believe that once they’ve found their person and married them, the hard part is over. The two of you have committed to one another for the rest of your lives, and now it’s just smooth sailing! But in reality, we should never stop making our partner feel special. We should be affectionate and loving and work on wooing them forever, even if we’ve been married for 40 years. It’s important to keep that spark alive! According to a recent study of census data from the United States, about 74% of married people are actually happy in their relationships. And over a quarter of spouses admit that they compare their relationships to other married couples.
To gain more insight on this topic, we reached out to therapist and creator of Save The Marriage, Dr. Lee Baucom. The expert shared with Bored Panda that it can be appropriate for couples to play pranks on each other, but it’s important that they both actually like pranks and enjoy that type of humor. “Many people do not like that,” Dr. Baucom noted. “I have had experiences with couples where one was playing pranks — for their own amusement — that was damaging and hurtful for the other’s self-esteem.”
“This happens when a prank humiliates or shames the person. In this situation, that is the case,” he shared. “The husband was not pulling a prank, as much as trying to shame his wife. Whenever someone shames someone else, it assumes some level of superiority. If I can shame you, then I have power. Which seems to be the recurring problem in this relationship. I suspect the husband feels insecure and inferior to his wife, and is pulling the prank to prove power.”
Image credits: Emma Bauso (not the actual photo)
“Deny a spouse’s request for connection, and you deny growth in the relationship”
When it comes to making requests for a spouse to put more effort into the relationship, Dr. Baucom says this usually starts better as a conversation about how both are feeling about the current state and if they desire any changes. “An honest discussion from that perspective is usually about how each can improve the relationship, and how both can work together to build the relationship they both want,” the therapist explained.
Dr. Baucom also provided some insight into why the husband may have gone the route of pulling this prank. “While I don’t have any way of knowing his thoughts, I am going to guess that the wife’s request triggered his insecurities on his capacity as a husband, and perhaps as a man,” the expert shared. “Which is why I think he resorted to a ‘prank’ that was really his way of shaming. He was trying to indirectly and unfairly make a point, in a way that was demeaning and dismissive, all at the same time. He demeaned his wife’s contributions in the household, while at the same time, dismissing her request for more connection and attention.”
“Every relationship lives and dies by the connection the couple builds,” Dr. Baucom added. “Being responsive to requests for connection is very telling to the health of a relationship. Deny a spouse’s request for connection, and you deny growth in the relationship. But more than that, turning a request for connection against the spouse, and you diminish the trust in the relationship and the trust in you to give what is requested. To me, this was not a prank. It was a shaming action from the own feelings of inferiority in the husband.”
Image credits: Emilio Garcia (not the actual photo)
Women initiate two thirds of divorces in the United States
In the United States, women initiate two thirds of divorces. And while there may be many factors contributing to this number, one common reason women file for divorce is because they’re tired of having to juggle many responsibilities while their partners refuse to help out. Even when wives earn just as much as their husbands, they still spend more time on housework and caregiving, while their husbands enjoy more leisure time, the Pew Research Center has found.
In the past, we didn’t see as many women filing for divorce because they were more likely to be reliant on their husbands financially. They might have tolerated abuse, infidelity, neglect or simply unhappy marriages because they felt they had no other options. But thankfully, today, women are feeling more and more empowered to put their feet down when they’re not being treated fairly.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this woman was right to file for divorce following the “prank” that her husband pulled on her? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in reading another article from Bored Panda discussing similar themes, look no further than right here.
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Readers applauded the wife for her decision and called out her husband for his behavior
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Yes, this feature redeems all the rest, why can't she see that? He's such a keeper! 🙄/s
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OMG, I literally saw this on YouTube yesterday! A woman in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck was walking into her house, looking excited, following the trail of rose petals. Then she came to where the trail ended, the sink, and the guy holding the camera (probably the husband) started laughing. She looked upset and just gave him a look of pure frustration and resignation. I'm happy for OP even if that wasn't her. Dump his a*s, girly.
I saw it on a reel, someone grabbed it. I'd probably grab a butcher knife and put him out of his toxic masculinity misery.
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"It turns out my wife doesnt need me, how can I destroy her emotionally so she never leaves me?"
Hubby wanted to brag to the guys about how he pranked the medical professional bread winning wife. He far over estimated his charm and see appeal. Doubt he ever loved or valued her.
He may have pranked HER, but SHE provided the punch line.
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There very close to divorce. She asks him to actually make some effort. That dumbass pulls a prank instead. She files for divorce. Him: **surprised Pikachu face**
Pranking has always been a shìtty thing to do, but this wasn’t a prank - this was just cat dirt mean. She made the right decision, it’s not her job to force the little dumbàss to become an adult.
If it was my turn to do the dishes, and my boyfriend made a trail of rose petals to the sink, that would be funny. But I'm not sweeping them! After I come home from a trip?? NO! That's not cute or sweet.
And if the husband/boyfriend actually shared responsibilities and was regularly romantic. Plus the dishes would need to be accompanied by a fantastic dinner.
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I don't understand either of them. Some flowers and chocolates are not going to fix a broken marriage and pulling a prank when your wife is already fed up and you know it is beyond stupid.
It wasn't about the flowers and chocolate, it was about making an effort, she already knew he wouldn't so gave him an idea he wouldn't have to think about and he still failed
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If he's getting romance advice from Tik Tok, he deserves a divorce. Good for you OP!!!
Beautiful roses, dirty dishes: ode: OH dear husband why do thy mock me? I, a woman toil day and night to bring food to the table, and uphold a roof over thy head. Is it too much to ask? A bit of romance, a bit of gratitude, a bit of love, a bit of care. yet thy hath done something thy shouldnt have dared. Not once, not twice had I thee spared. but I am willing to inform you with great sorrow yet full of joy, that what thy has done is not fair. Whatever thy say, I don’t f*****g care. Please leave immediately, for I am full of despair. I turn my gaze to the dirty dishes piling like a mountain on the size, I turn to see his mocking sneer. No you have not won, I declare. For this is over, commitment and all. This action has led to your fall.For what you have done out of foolish craze, permits me to demand of a whole lot of space. With a saddened heart and a troubled mind, I have decided it’s time to say…goodbye.
Thou hast a rare command over words that even the angels would envy. I pray thee, cease not to gently assail us with thy silver tongue!
Load More Replies...
That man-child had too many second chances. And didn't he notice she wasn't laughing? "It's funny you're supposed to laugh." Dude doesn't even understand how jokes work.
Bet you that he and his, single, buddies, found it hilarious, as they offered up their couch for him to sleep on.
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the flower petal gesture is acutally nice but not the dirty dishes outcome in the end. how immature must that guy be to think this is a fun thing to do when his wife is already on the verge of divorcing his sorry a*s. how can people seriously be so dumb. sometimes i feel so much shame for having the same genitals as those guys.
Hard to get hot and bothered over a guy that doesn't even know how to wash the skidmarks out of his own underwear.
Divorce him, and make him give you everything including his pension and social security.
It goes both ways my ex cheated on me and she got the house and moved in her soon to be new husband and I filed for bankruptcy. I learned my lesson took the red pill and said never again,I'm niw successful debt free own multiple properties and have all the toys And my stuff will always remain my stuff,don't need or want a woman in my life because they're toxic.
All of us? An entire gender? Wow. That's some generalisation. I doubt even the OP thinks all men are the same. Sorry you had a bad time with ONE woman, and I wish you every happiness in your new, if lonely, life. Just don't lump us all in together. It doesn't do your health any good.
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One of those commenters though, “Good luck with your LOW paying BLUE collar job, Dusty”. Academia did you wrong if you think that way. Not every blue collar job is retail. I left “White collar” work years ago, I make more money, and am way happier. Many blue collar jobs pay as well as non-management white collar jobs, without the huge debt for that degree that you HAVE to have, but really doesn't apply to most of what white collar work involves. His financial problem isn't his employer, his problem is the employee, which is himself.
There's a larger societal issue underlying this situation. The woman is more educated (sounds like college) than the man (blue collar, only high school). Relationships in which the women is more highly educated (or earning more) than the man are difficult for both parties. The societal issue is that women are becoming more highly educated than men - they outnumber men at virtually every college in America - so this situation is increasingly common. Also, note that men with less education are more conservative/traditional, and thus less likely to help with chores or childcare - so the woman who went to college and works a full-time, well-paying job, ends up with the same amount of work when she gets home. Which is a formula for resentment and divorce.
That's not an actual problem. That's just men genuinely not looking women and not wanting to see them succeed.
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He is the AH, but ESH on some level and I have no energy to to specify. Why oh why an I addicted to BP?
Oh, do elaborate. I cannot wait to hear how SHE'S the a*****e in this story. 🤣
Load More Replies...
Yes, this feature redeems all the rest, why can't she see that? He's such a keeper! 🙄/s
Load More Replies... OMG, I literally saw this on YouTube yesterday! A woman in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck was walking into her house, looking excited, following the trail of rose petals. Then she came to where the trail ended, the sink, and the guy holding the camera (probably the husband) started laughing. She looked upset and just gave him a look of pure frustration and resignation. I'm happy for OP even if that wasn't her. Dump his a*s, girly.
I saw it on a reel, someone grabbed it. I'd probably grab a butcher knife and put him out of his toxic masculinity misery.
Load More Replies... "It turns out my wife doesnt need me, how can I destroy her emotionally so she never leaves me?"
Hubby wanted to brag to the guys about how he pranked the medical professional bread winning wife. He far over estimated his charm and see appeal. Doubt he ever loved or valued her.
He may have pranked HER, but SHE provided the punch line.
Load More Replies... There very close to divorce. She asks him to actually make some effort. That dumbass pulls a prank instead. She files for divorce. Him: **surprised Pikachu face**
Pranking has always been a shìtty thing to do, but this wasn’t a prank - this was just cat dirt mean. She made the right decision, it’s not her job to force the little dumbàss to become an adult.
If it was my turn to do the dishes, and my boyfriend made a trail of rose petals to the sink, that would be funny. But I'm not sweeping them! After I come home from a trip?? NO! That's not cute or sweet.
And if the husband/boyfriend actually shared responsibilities and was regularly romantic. Plus the dishes would need to be accompanied by a fantastic dinner.
Load More Replies... I don't understand either of them. Some flowers and chocolates are not going to fix a broken marriage and pulling a prank when your wife is already fed up and you know it is beyond stupid.
It wasn't about the flowers and chocolate, it was about making an effort, she already knew he wouldn't so gave him an idea he wouldn't have to think about and he still failed
Load More Replies... If he's getting romance advice from Tik Tok, he deserves a divorce. Good for you OP!!!
Beautiful roses, dirty dishes: ode: OH dear husband why do thy mock me? I, a woman toil day and night to bring food to the table, and uphold a roof over thy head. Is it too much to ask? A bit of romance, a bit of gratitude, a bit of love, a bit of care. yet thy hath done something thy shouldnt have dared. Not once, not twice had I thee spared. but I am willing to inform you with great sorrow yet full of joy, that what thy has done is not fair. Whatever thy say, I don’t f*****g care. Please leave immediately, for I am full of despair. I turn my gaze to the dirty dishes piling like a mountain on the size, I turn to see his mocking sneer. No you have not won, I declare. For this is over, commitment and all. This action has led to your fall.For what you have done out of foolish craze, permits me to demand of a whole lot of space. With a saddened heart and a troubled mind, I have decided it’s time to say…goodbye.
Thou hast a rare command over words that even the angels would envy. I pray thee, cease not to gently assail us with thy silver tongue!
Load More Replies... That man-child had too many second chances. And didn't he notice she wasn't laughing? "It's funny you're supposed to laugh." Dude doesn't even understand how jokes work.
Bet you that he and his, single, buddies, found it hilarious, as they offered up their couch for him to sleep on.
Load More Replies... the flower petal gesture is acutally nice but not the dirty dishes outcome in the end. how immature must that guy be to think this is a fun thing to do when his wife is already on the verge of divorcing his sorry a*s. how can people seriously be so dumb. sometimes i feel so much shame for having the same genitals as those guys.
Hard to get hot and bothered over a guy that doesn't even know how to wash the skidmarks out of his own underwear.
Divorce him, and make him give you everything including his pension and social security.
It goes both ways my ex cheated on me and she got the house and moved in her soon to be new husband and I filed for bankruptcy. I learned my lesson took the red pill and said never again,I'm niw successful debt free own multiple properties and have all the toys And my stuff will always remain my stuff,don't need or want a woman in my life because they're toxic.
All of us? An entire gender? Wow. That's some generalisation. I doubt even the OP thinks all men are the same. Sorry you had a bad time with ONE woman, and I wish you every happiness in your new, if lonely, life. Just don't lump us all in together. It doesn't do your health any good.
Load More Replies... One of those commenters though, “Good luck with your LOW paying BLUE collar job, Dusty”. Academia did you wrong if you think that way. Not every blue collar job is retail. I left “White collar” work years ago, I make more money, and am way happier. Many blue collar jobs pay as well as non-management white collar jobs, without the huge debt for that degree that you HAVE to have, but really doesn't apply to most of what white collar work involves. His financial problem isn't his employer, his problem is the employee, which is himself.
There's a larger societal issue underlying this situation. The woman is more educated (sounds like college) than the man (blue collar, only high school). Relationships in which the women is more highly educated (or earning more) than the man are difficult for both parties. The societal issue is that women are becoming more highly educated than men - they outnumber men at virtually every college in America - so this situation is increasingly common. Also, note that men with less education are more conservative/traditional, and thus less likely to help with chores or childcare - so the woman who went to college and works a full-time, well-paying job, ends up with the same amount of work when she gets home. Which is a formula for resentment and divorce.
That's not an actual problem. That's just men genuinely not looking women and not wanting to see them succeed.
Load More Replies... He is the AH, but ESH on some level and I have no energy to to specify. Why oh why an I addicted to BP?
Oh, do elaborate. I cannot wait to hear how SHE'S the a*****e in this story. 🤣
Load More Replies...
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