Listen, we all do and say things out of character in the midst of an argument.
But some of the things people say and do are truly unexpected.
Enter Reddit user u/CourageEfficient8264, who recently posted to the r/TrueOffMyChest Subreddit about how she gaslights her husband when they get into an argument. Normally, this kind of post would garner a lot of anger, but the comments are mostly on her side — many people even find her behavior wholesome.
The post is titled, "I gaslight my husband when we fight," and it starts with, "This isn’t anything crazy; just something funny that I want to tell people about but can’t risk getting caught."
Here is her confession:
"My husband (30, male) and I (30, female) have been together for eight years. For the past couple of years, I have made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day to take to work. I use Welch’s Concord Grape Jelly, which is an important detail for later."
"Every day, he tells me that I make the best sandwiches, and I just say, 'I make them with love.'"
"However, when we’re fighting, he always says he can taste the difference in his PB&J, and I say, 'Because I made it with hate.'"
"But the truth is, he can taste the 'hate' in his sandwich because I use organic, sugar-free grape jam when we fight."
"It’s in the back of the fridge, and he’s never seen it, so I use it to convince him that my anger makes food taste different."
"Like I said, this wasn't anything crazy, but it's something I always get a giggle out of and thought all of you would, too."
I don't know about all of you, but I had no idea where this story was going — a sentiment other people in the comments shared:
"Reading the title, I was like wtf? But after reading the story, it's just hilarious!"
"I was really preparing to be like, 'Please don't do that and just be honest and open with your partner,' but man, that was too good, lmao."
And as I mentioned earlier, a lot of people found this charming:
"This is delightfully funny! You've convinced your husband that you have a supernatural power, and he's accepting it. F**king brilliant."
"I mean, we always say find a creative outlet to release our negative emotions rather than fighting (well, it's what I tell my kids anyway).
This is awesome; now I want to start waking up at 4:30 a.m. with my husband to make his lunches while he showers just so I can do this."
"The fact that the 'hate' jelly is healthier makes this even better, lol."
"Naughty husbands get the sad jam."
The comments were also full of delightful wordplay:
Some people even shared their own versions of similar pettiness:
"This reminds me of something I occasionally do when my kids are being stinkers. I make their sandwiches with the end pieces that are ALL crust."
"My barista friend said that when a customer is rude, she makes their latte with decaf espresso. It’s her way to get a little dig in."
"I bartend, and when someone starts to piss me off (or they’re getting too drunk), I short-pour them and dip the straw in the liquor so they can’t tell. This is also what I do every time someone sends something back because it’s 'not strong enough.' It’s the same drink with a liquor-dipped straw, and they shut up every single time."
"I used to shake the sodas of rude customers when I worked in the Dunkin' drive-thru. 😇😇😇"
Still, others were decidedly not charmed by this form of gaslighting:
"While benign, this would significantly impact my trust in a partner."
"SO many people are like, 'Oh, it's minor, who cares?' But when you make someone question their own sanity, it's f**ked up no matter how funny you think it is. Also, when you think it's okay to gaslight someone over something like this because it's minor, you're way more likely to do it and excuse it as a joke or acceptable over other things.
As you said, if I found out she did that over this, it's just a basic thing of losing trust. I'd now assume she gaslit me and lied about numerous things, not just this one little thing.
Trust is important; breaking it because you think it's funny is absolutely wrong."
"Sociopaths of the world uniting in this thread."
Would you ever do something like this? Or have you? Would you find it funny if you were in the husband's shoes, or would you be annoyed?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Note: Some of this submission was edited for length and/or clarity.
