*This is a work of non-fiction sourced from social media and verified experts/specialists.*
Marriages aren't easy. The couple will have to navigate around each other's emotions such that both aren't hurt and find a middle ground to move forward every day.
A user shared a recent issue in his marriage with the social media platform Reddit. The post's author spoke about his wife not making enough food for dinner and crying over her cooking incompetence when he complained.
Eventually, due to hunger, he found a way to fill his stomach but was caught by his wife, causing another fight. The post garnered over 19K upvotes and 6.1K comments, with most Redditors sympathizing with the author.
"I lost seven pounds in a month."
The author is a 32-year-old man who has a physically demanding job and married a woman of the same age five years ago. He is facing an issue in his marriage now - his wife just doesn't cook enough for him.
He wrote:
"I would be more than happy to microwave a burrito. I would be more than happy to whip up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But I can't. My wife has, every single night of our marriage, done the same thing: she'll make me a tiny dinner. I'm talking like a Chinese chicken salad with 30 grams of chicken and ten leaves of lettuce arranged fashionably with dressing. When I finish eating, I'm still hungry because, for a 230-pound man who works a physical labor job, it's not enough food."
Whenever he tells her this, she gets agitated at her incompetence and says he is always finding fault with her. He wrote:
"I'd try to calm her down with, "Oh honey, that's not the case! I just eat too much," or "Don't worry about it. I can make a bit more." I'd try to be overwhelmingly positive. It never helped. She would always just get incredibly disappointed in herself, cry, and/or take it out on me. Then she would make the same exact amount the following day."
As his wife wouldn't listen to him, he resorted to eating just her food. But he lost seven pounds in a month and realized he had to do something. He wrote:
"Eventually, I figured out my own system. On my way home from work, I started swinging by a fast food restaurant and getting myself a burger. I would basically pregame her meals with some more calories. I figured it was a win-win, as what she didn't know couldn't hurt her, and I could have my fill of food. I would eat on my way home, walk in the door, pick at the salad or quinoa or homemade Mac and Cheese she made, compliment her for her delicious cooking, and later dispose of the wrappers discreetly."
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, no lie will live forever. The author's wife got to know about his "pregame" soon. He wrote:
"Two days ago, I was on my way home and in line at a drive-through. My MIL was coming out of the restaurant. She ran over and greeted me. I asked her in a humorous way not to tell her daughter where she saw me because she'd take it badly, and she agreed, but then she narced on me anyway. I got home to a furious wife who demanded details. When I provided the truth, she got extremely angry and looked legitimately hurt."
Now the author is wondering whether he was wrong. What do you think? Should the author have tried talking to his wife again before eating behind her?