NEED TO KNOW
- A woman walked out of her husband’s birthday party after he made a joke at her expense
- During the celebration, he made an offhand remark about her ovaries needing to “wake up from a nap” amid her infertility struggles
- The woman asked Reddit users if she was overreacting for leaving abruptly
A woman says she walked out of her husband’s birthday dinner after he made a joke about her infertility in front of their friends.
In a since-deleted post on Reddit, the anonymous 29-year-old writes that she and her husband of five years have been trying for a baby for quite some time, but she has been struggling with fertility issues.
The situation, she adds, has been “emotionally exhausting.”
“Last weekend, I organized a small birthday dinner for him with close friends and family,” she writes. “Everything was going well until someone asked when we were planning to start a family. Before I could even respond, my husband laughed and said, ‘Well, if her ovaries ever wake up from their nap, maybe next year.’ ”
“Everyone laughed. I didn’t. I just sat there frozen and then excused myself to the restroom,” she continues. “I ended up texting my sister to pick me up and went home. He came home a couple of hours later furious that I ‘ruined his birthday’ and was ’embarrassing him in front of his friends.’ ”
However, she told him that the joke “cut deep,” especially “since he knows how hard this journey has been for me.”
Still, he told her that she “needs to learn how to take a joke and stop making everything about me.”
His response left her questioning if she was overreacting, but Reddit users were firmly on her side.
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“It was a terribly insensitive comment that he made in front of an audience at the expense of someone he is supposed to love. This is a clear indication that he doesn’t respect you,” one user wrote.
They continued, “It would be very difficult for me to imagine risking my health, sanity, and a 20 year connection to a man like that by having his child. Maybe some marriage counseling first. You should always pay attention to things said in jokes, anger, or drunk. It will tell you exactly what someone really thinks.”
Another questioned, “How is a joke about your ovaries and your fertility not about you? Instead of saying sorry. Instead of acknowledging he hurt you. He chose to blame you? Good thing is, your ovaries are napping and you are not pregnant. So take this time to see if this man is who you really want to procreate with.”
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