Husband Publicly Humiliates Wife, Says She Ruined Christmas By Giving Him ‘Cheapest’ Item On His Wishlist

Dec 30, 2021 by apost team

Holidays come with a lot of expectations, and if those expectations aren’t met then it can lead to disappointment. However, there is never a good reason to lash out at another person over a gift. One woman shared a story on Reddit after her husband claimed she ruined his Christmas by purchasing the cheapest item on his list, which was sneakers that cost $180. The wife shared that he had given her $600 as a gift and expected her to use all of that money to buy him a gaming console. 

The woman was shocked by her husband’s reaction because he told her the money was hers to use as she wanted when he gave it to her. So, she spent it on essentials and gifts for their kids and other family members, as well as his sneakers. In the husband’s eyes, this made her financially irresponsible and he said so in front of his parents. This embarrassed the wife and even though she tried to apologize, he continued to carry on about it even when they returned home. 

It is worth noting that in her story the wife also shared that since her husband is the breadwinner, she has to borrow money and figure out how to pay for essential things like hygiene products. He is in complete control of their finances and the woman never has money to spend on herself because she has a disability and cannot work. 

By sharing her story online, the wife was looking for an outside perspective and she received many comments offering up opinions and advice. The most common response was that the behavior the husband was exhibiting was abusive. Read on to learn more and to see more responses from Reddit users.

In her post, the wife shared that when the husband opened up his gift he looked livid. She explained, “I asked what's up and he asked why I decided to ‘waste money’ and get him sneakers aka: the cheapest gift on his wishlist. I said it's all I could afford and he literally lashed out and said ‘I gave you $600 dollars that's about the right price for a new gaming console and it was right there at the top of my wishlist!’”

The woman continued, “He said it in front of his parents!! It was so so awkward I felt so horrible I wanted to disappear. But I apologized and said I was sorry but I had other stuff I needed to buy and money wasn't enough. He took it as if I was blaming him for not giving me enough money and picked an argument with me about how wasteful and financially irresponsible I am, otherwise, I wouldn't be struggling with money for long.”

When she asked her husband why he didn’t just buy the console instead of giving her the money, he responded that he would have been judged for spending the money on himself. The woman added:

“He's wanting an apology at the moment and still upset about what I did. I get why he was disappointed but I argued with him about the kids’ gifts as well since that matters too. Also, I bought gifts for family members so I'm not sure if I was right to do that knowing money is tight. My mother-in-law got an expensive gift from him and so did the rest of the family.”

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The top comment was upvoted by thousands of users. The commenter wrote, “Your husband is abusing you. This is literally financial abuse. You deserve money to spend on yourself, it doesn't matter if you don't make a salary; you still do work keeping house. Not only that, but yelling at you like that at all, but especially in front of people is also abusive. PLEASE look into getting disability or unemployment and get AWAY from him!”

Another person started their comment by explaining that she is also a stay-at-home mom and her husband is the breadwinner. She said, “If he gave me $600 for MY Christmas GIFT that would be for me to do with as I please. He would also gift himself $600 from me. We don't have a joint account. I also have a credit card that he pays off monthly to deal with household things. I do the vast majority of the childcare, homeschooling, housework, yard work, cooking, etc. and that is my contribution.”

The commenter went on, writing, “Even though the money goes into his account we discuss big purchases (like game consoles), and if I need cash he just transfers it because half the disposable income is mine. I'd sit down and have a very blunt conversation with your husband about priorities because what you have described is getting toxic fast. If he wants $600 gifts he needs to bump up your discretionary spending to cover it.”

The fellow stay-at-home-mom offered up some more advice, saying, “Either you are in this together or you should really consider what your exit strategy will be. I've been where you are. It feels like you're going crazy sometimes. It's scary, exhausting, and terrifying at times. I couldn't fix mine, but I found something better. Stay safe.”

What advice would you give this woman? What would you do in this situation? Let us know and feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.