Man Stands Up For Wife in Front of Her Horrible High School Ex, But Tensions Rise When She Feels Humiliated

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    r/AITAH • 12 hr. ago Ok_Commission38398 AITAH For Calling Out My Wife's Ex Boyfriend In Front of His Wife and Parents?
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    Hi. 36M, husband, and father to two little girls (3F and 1F). My wife Katherine (35F) went to Catholic school her whole life, but she was never especially religious.
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    I didn't meet her until our early twenties, but she told me high school was difficult for her. She had a serious boyfriend named John who was popular and came from a prominent family in their hometown. John's mom is very religious and organized retreats for the girls in their church to discuss issues like chastity and
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    the pro-life movement. Katherine still follows John's mom on Facebook, and she wrote a long post when Roe v. Wade was overturned calling it a "joyous day." John liked the post, left a heart emoji in the comments, and reposted it.
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    A few months before Katherine graduated from high school, she found out she was pregnant. She told John, and they both agreed they should get an abortion. She told me they cried together and that he told her he was going to support her through it. He also asked her if he could talk to his dad about what happened, and
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    while she felt uncomfortable with this at the time, she said okay because she didn't want him to suffer alone.
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    Long story short, he broke up. with her a few days later and then refused to speak with her about the pregnancy or anything else. He told a bunch of guys from their high school that he ended it because she was "needy" and "spread her legs too easily" (these were words my wife never forgot).
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    Her last few months of high school were horrible both because she had to deal with the abortion on her own and because she was being harassed by guys at school because of some of the rumors John spread. One of his friends even groped her in the middle of the hallway (he literally stuck his hand under her skirt) but she was too ashamed to tell
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    her parents. She told John what happened, and he literally laughed about it and said loved being touched there. Katherine said it was devastating for her at the time. She said she felt completely abandoned during the hardest experience of her life, and I know she had a difficult time trusting men for a long time after this.
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    My wife is actually a child trauma therapist now and is completely dedicated to helping children who have gone through difficult things. Her old high school recently ran a story about her in the alumni magazine and her parents and sisters circulated it on Facebook.
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    This weekend, we took a trip to her hometown (it's about an eight hour drive) so the girls could see their grandparents. On the first night on the trip, we went to the family's favorite Mexican place. Her parents took the girls to the park beforehand, and so Katherine and I got to the place a bit early.
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    We were waiting for our table when Katherine spotted John and his parents. Everyone hugged her, and John introduced Katherine to his wife. My wife was polite (as always) but I could tell she was a bit shocked and uncomfortable. John's mom mentioned the article about Katherine and said how wonderful it is that she does such important work.
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    I probably should have walked away, but my blood was boiling and I felt the need to stick up for my wife. I looked at John's mom and said it's inspiring to be married to a woman who does work that actually helps children. I then looked at John and said that some kids go through a lot, like getting pregnant and then being abandoned by the person who
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    put them in that position. I don't know if his mom or wife knew about the abortion (I'm assuming his dad did because he told Katherine he was going to talk to him), but you could literally hear a pin drop. I then told John that I wish he had never met my wife and that I hope my girls never date a man like him.
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    John then apologized to Katherine and said he was young and scared at the time and didn't know what to do. Katherine accepted his apology and said she was past it now. John's mom kept asking what was going on, but neither of them said anything about the pregnancy or abortion.
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    My wife was not too happy about the situation when we got home. She said he was also young at the time and while she was about what happened, I didn't need to humiliate him in front of his wife and parents. I told her that I lost my cool when I saw him and thought about all the pain he caused her. I also said he should
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    be humiliated because of how he treated her. She said I stooped to his level, and I said I was only trying to defend her. AITAH?
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    Eston maicel23 • 12h ago • Dude, I totally get where you're coming from. You just wanted to protect your wife and stand up for her after all that junk she went through with John. It's super frustrating seeing someone who hurt your loved one act like nothing happened. But I
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    kinda see your wife's point too—she's moved on, and maybe she didn't want that drama to mess with her vibe now. It's a tough spot, and emotions were running high. Just try to talk it out with her and find a way to support her without making things awkward, ya know?
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    wigglebutt1721 • 8h ago • I'm not saying John didn't deserve it, but yeah YTA. That wasn't YOUR dirty laundry to publicly air out, and doing so broke your wife's trust. She told you all of that in confidence, in private, for support. Her secrets and her past are not
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    yours to throw around to make yourself feel better about an uncomfortable situation.

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