Man Thinks His Wife Is Taking Her Resentment Too Far After He Makes Fun Of Her Cooking
He should have been more appreciative of all those meals.
fizkes / Shutterstock Many women devote all their time and energy to caring for their families. They cook, they clean, and a lot of the time, their hard work goes unnoticed.
If there’s one thing a man should never do, it’s joke about his wife’s cooking especially if he doesn't prepare any of the meals and is only there for the eating.
A man took to Reddit to complain about his wife’s resentment toward him after he made fun of her cooking.
In his post, the man explained how he and his friends were joking about how their wives cook — a poor choice of topics to discuss.
The man made comments about his wife’s food and while he never stated exactly what he said, Reddit users pointed out previous posts he made claiming his wife’s chicken was so dry, it resembled cardboard, and her rice always turned out burnt.
His wife overheard his distasteful comments about her food and got angry with him. She confronted him and expressed feelings of being undervalued, and he apologized. She forgave him, but not without a taste of his own medicine.
The woman started only cooking for herself and their children, leaving the man to fend for himself.
The man assumed she would move on, but his wife decided she would stop cooking for him altogether, given he’s so revolted by her food. He claimed his work schedule didn't afford him time to cook for himself, so he had to resort to eating snacks or ordering takeout.
Photo: Marcos Castillo / Shutterstock
He didn’t consider how his jokes would make his wife feel, and now he had to eat his words — literally.
“I miss homemade meals and her company. I tried cooking for her and our kids in my available time, making romantic gestures towards her, and giving her flowers. But I'm still stuck in a status quo,” the man expressed.
Despite his efforts to win her over, it takes more than an apology and flowers to make up for neglecting his wife’s love and care.
The man argued his wife had taken her resentment too far, and he told her she needed to work with him to resolve this issue. The woman refused to discuss the matter further with him and explained she was processing the situation in her own time. To that, he said she was overreacting and what he did was not that serious.
Reddit users backed the woman up, saying her husband was out of line. Some individuals mentioned the pain they felt watching their own mothers get treated this way.
“My dad makes everyone the butt of his jokes, but especially my mom. I don’t know how they’ve stayed together. My mom barely talks because of my dad doing this,” one user commented.
Others believed this might have been his wife's breaking point after a constant cycle of ridicule, criticism, and humiliation.
"She's probably been belittled and underappreciated by this guy for years, I can tell. The pulling away, the refusal to do anything for him?" another person shared. "There's definitely something deeper going on here that [the man] won't delve into because he thinks he's a saint and has done nothing wrong."
“Not only is the wife not being appreciated and being undervalued, it sounds like he is minimizing and even disregarding her feelings. This isn’t about the food. This is about him not taking responsibility for his hurtful behavior,” another added.
Appreciate your partner’s efforts in showing their love and care for you, and take accountability when you are in the wrong.
Cooking food is said to be one of the love languages. When people prepare dishes for their loved ones, they put a lot of time and care into the food.
With his jokes, the man essentially ridiculed her effort. Why would she want to continue cooking for her partner after he complained about how her food tastes?
Her response may be petty and emotional, but her feelings are natural and valid, and maybe he deserves the lesson. All he needs to do is open his eyes and acknowledge his wife’s feelings rather than invalidating them.
Whether the wife’s food is appetizing or not, it’s a moot point. If he believed his wife’s food was so bad, maybe he should have considered cooking with her, going to a cooking class together, or — wait for it — cooking for himself.
This problem is about more than just the food. It’s about appreciating the things your partner does to make your life easier, and how painful it feels to be unnoticed and underappreciated, let alone ridiculed.
Wives do not deserve to be the punchline to their husbands' jokes. Men should consider their words wisely before poking fun at the things their wives do for them or they could find themselves going hungry.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human-interest, and spirituality topics.