‘He cried because the maid was on vacation and he had to wash his own sneakers’: Guys and gals recount the moment they realized they wouldn't marry their exes

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
May 4, 2025 7:00 PM EDT

Dating dos and don'ts are spoken about frequently—the crimson flags of folks unsuitable for you show themselves at some point or another. However, do people talk about marriage turn-offs? Are people even getting married anymore in this recession?

Either way, marriage is a pretty big deal. Besides all the paperwork, you're vowing to spend the rest of your life with someone and share in every experience together after you tie the knot. No pressure! JK. You'll probably want to know the worst thing your partner's capable of before you get a rock on your finger.

Whether they show you mommy will always be put before you or they leave the dishes in the sink for a MONTH while you're sick, this discussion gives a whole other meaning to the saying, "When you know, you know." Scroll below to join the discussion and share your own stories in the comments!

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  • Dating horror stories are fruitful, but almost-marriage stories, when you probably shouldn't, are even more plentiful. Don't believe me? How about you scroll and read about a guy telling his girlfriend that pregnant stomachs are “disgusting”.

  • Cheezburger Image 10500492544
    via Kelly Sikkema for Unsplash

  • "What did your partner do, that made you instantly realize you could never marry them?"

    T3rminallyCapricious Yelling at me that they were "the catch" in the relationship. All I was catching was raising an adult person who hoards, mistreats two cats, refuses to work, and funded s king habits with payday loans.
    via T3rminallyCapricious
  • ExtremeToucan We got into a conflict while he was driving and he pulled some sketchy driving moves to "show me how angry I'd made him."
    via ExtremeToucan
  • hockey_chic He talked about his brother's pregnant wife being fat and letting herself go. She was 8 months pregnant and was basically all belly. It was a weird and disgusting thing to say but also very untrue.
    via hockey_chic
  • moodslippage he cried because the maid was on vacation and he had to wash his own sneakers, that k ed me inside
    via moodslippage
  • Helanore "You're not going to get fat like your mom, are you?" Said by my hs boyfriend of two years after we went to college. Took me a week to dump him after that comment.
    via Helanore
  • NoeTellusom When we talked about marriage, he insisted he wanted to get me a gold ring with a diamond solitaire. I never wear gold. And I'm not into diamonds. He insisted, because what would his friends, family and co-workers THINK of him if I wasn't wearing a mega sparkly on my hand?
    via NoeTellusom
  • It was then that I realized I wasn't a person to him, I was an acquisition he could show off. Didn't last much past the last big screaming fit - "you're going to wear it and you're going to like it!"
    via NoeTellusom
  • A decade later, the man I was dating called me from a jewelry store, all excited. They had beautiful titanium ring blanks, he'd picked out a gorgeous semi-precious moonstone and a few garnets (sentimental favorite) to flank it. And could I come by and see if I approved because he didn't want to buy something I'd hate.
    via NoeTellusom
  • Fickle_Ad_9391 Cheat, judge me and always put me down. Think less of me and spoke more then act
    via Fickle_Ad_9391
  • Chappa-ai-302 He told me that since I had graduated from high school, I could then follow him with his career and schooling. I could get a job, clean his apartment and cook for him. Never once asked what I wanted to do with my life and career, just treated me like his accessory and maid.
    via Chappa-ai-302
  • Cheezburger Image 10500492800
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Iluewhyn Told me that if she ever decided to get married, I could show up to the wedding to poke fun at her. Welp, guess you don't see any long-term plans for *us* now, do you?
    via lluewhyn
  • GenerationAtomique Push polyamory on me. I was willing to be open to it, but had yet to heal my anxious attachment. The main motivator for the relationship appears to have been her S al needs.
    via GenerationAtomique
  • Distinct-Car-9124 He lacked ambition. I knew I would be supporting him in the future.
    via Distinct-Car-9124
  • CaptainSicko She told me dinosaur bones were from another planet and planted in the earth by satan to trick us into thinking that the world was older than it really is.
    via CaptainSicko
  • EnigmaticSpirit85 He went a MONTH without doing the dishes. I was bed bound with hyperemisis gravidarum and couldn't get far enough to go to the bathroom without fainting. So I got a bit of a shock when I recovered!
    via EnigmaticSpirit85
  • gothamsnerd He told me what he saw as our future. We would move to Hawaii, he would grow w d in our basement, and I would work. While our relationship | was already not great before then, realized that this future he described made me nauseous.
    via gothamsnerd
  • Dusty Deputy Ked open communication with me when they realized sometimes solving problems takes more than just saying "I didn't like that" or just a look. Turned into burying conversations that needed to take place. I knew it on some level but I tolerated it far longer than I should have. Never again.
    via DustyDeputy
  • johndotold Sent her meal back on our 1st three dates. Drank to much and talked down to the wait staff on the third and final.
    via johndotold
  • misscanisluna Went MIA which p ed me off cause he's been cold and distant the days leading up to that. When confronted, he told me he was in the ER when I couldn't reach him. I asked him why he didn't tell me about it sooner, told me his mom told him not to tell anybody. We're twenty-something adults.
    via misscanisluna
  • Iridescent70 Yelled at my best friend and gave her the silent treatment the same way that he had done to me so many times in the span of our nearly five year relationship. After that I couldn't think of getting married without feeling a sick feeling of dread. It's been more than a year since I dumped him and I haven't looked back once :)
    via Iridescent70

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Dating-Relationships relationship advice relationship marriage askreddit reddit story married life relationships engaged engagement reddit thread Reddit toxic relationship entitled people
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