Wife Finds It 'Inappropriate' That Her Husband Receives Late-Night Phone Calls From His Single Female Co-Worker
She claimed that her husband is busy on the phone with his co-worker instead of spending time with her and their family.
Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock Clearly communicated boundaries are crucial for any healthy relationship. A 28-year-old woman on Reddit claimed that her husband has not been receptive to her attempts at setting boundaries regarding his communication with one specific co-worker, which has caused a strain on their relationship.
She told him it was 'inappropriate' to have late-night phone calls with his single female co-worker.
In her Reddit post — which has since been deleted but reposted by other accounts on X, including Ask Aubry — she explained that she has been married for eight years, has a 4-year-old son, and another child on the way. Both she and her husband value spending time together, but since they both work as nurses, it's hard for them to find moments for quality family time.
However, when they do find the time, it is repeatedly interrupted by her husband's co-worker, who calls him late at night for days in a row. She pointed out that the phone calls usually happen anytime after 9 p.m., which is during their nightly bedtime routine.
Photo: AskAubry / X
"I voiced to my husband that I am not okay with him receiving calls this late at night because I feel that it is inappropriate and it interrupts our family time, which we don't have a lot of," she wrote. "One of the times she called my husband late at night was to vent/cry to him because one of her good friends had recently died."
While she had acknowledged that something like that would be traumatic, and it was fine if she wanted to talk to her husband about it and get support, there's a time and place for everything. And the time to do that would not be late at night while he's with his family. If it were truly important, it could either wait until they see each other at work or at least until it's a respectable hour of the day.
When she confronted her husband, he swore up and down that nothing inappropriate was happening and that his wife was just being "insecure" and causing "high school drama." Still, she insisted that she had no issue with him talking to his co-worker but would rather it didn't happen late at night.
"My whole point is that I feel that he needs to set boundaries that safeguard our family," she continued. "Am I in the wrong here? What do I do?"
Ultimately, it's about respect and not wanting to feel uncomfortable in her marriage.
Her request regarding these phone calls doesn't appear to come from a place of insecurity or jealousy. She's not forbidding her husband from speaking with anyone of the opposite gender — or even this co-worker. She's simply attempting to set boundaries that make her feel safe, secure, and comfortable — something that is important in any relationship, especially a marriage.
Boundaries exist to help prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. Instead of understanding his wife's boundary and accepting her compromise of talking to his co-worker at a reasonable hour of the day, he insulted her for bringing up her concern in the first place.
If her husband wants to argue that she's being unreasonable, then it's on him to listen to her perspective and work towards a compromise that respects both their needs and boundaries.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.