Everyone needs a little privacy now and then.
And there are very few feelings worse than knowing your privacy has been invaded.
But are spouses entitled to their privacy or should they share everything with their spouse?
Redditor WeekThrowRA309 seemed to believe that she was entitled to a little privacy, but her husband disagreed, even going to rather drastic measures.
Having second thoughts on how she handled the situation, the original poster (OP) took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for calling my husband out infront of my friends on planting a recording device while we were having a GNI?"
The situation the OP and her husband found themselves in initially began owing to a disagreement regarding a social gathering.
"This happened last week.
"I told my (F[emale] 26), husband (M[ale] 31), I was planning on having a girls night in (GNI) at home and he initially was like 'No not here...get a hotel or something'."
"I said I couldn't afford a hotel + no need for a hotel."
"He asked if he could join us if he's going to allow it, but I said no, this isn't how GNIs work."
"He eventually agreed to let me have it and even said he'd go out so my friends could be comfortable."
However, the OP discovered that her husband's agreement to her girl's night in came at a rather shocking price.
"I invited the girls over and most of them had a lot of heavy venting to do, at some point things got a bit emotionally charged and there was crying, lots of it."
"After that we brought in the food and drinks, When I went to turn the TV on, I spotted a small device tucked on the side."
"I took a look and found that it was actually a voice recording device."
"I was in disbelief, I knew my husband put it in there to listen to our private talk which felt highly violating."
"I didn't hide it from the girls, I showed them the device, called my husband to get him to get home and confronted him right there in front of the girls."
"The girls were shocked and my husband denied after I flipped out and called him out, then said he was feeling curious to know about what we were talking about and wanted to make sure we weren't 'trash' talking him specifically."
"The event was cut short and the girls left."
While the party may have come to an end, the OP's anger towards her husband was far from over.
"I kept lashing out at him for ruining the night and possibly my relationship and trust with my friends."
"I said that not only did he violate my privacy but my friends' as well. because they were talking about very personal stuff."
"He argued that it was no big deal, that I should've let him join us if we 'had nothing to hide' and that this was ON THEM for opening up about private matters to begin with."
"He went on to talk about how I humiliated him to call him out in front of my friends."
"I told him they deserved to know who he really is after what he's done."
"We argued some more and he went out again."
"We're in conflict til today and I feel like I made a mistake calling him out like that aside from how I felt about it."
"He claims that my friends will no longer respect him after that."
"AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community firmly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole, and did absolutely the right thing in calling her husband out.
Just about everyone found the OP's husband's controlling nature to be a serious red flag in their marriage.
"'I'll allow it' and "'t's on them for opening up and sharing private info'?"
"No."
"In no world is this behavior ok."
"Op, NTA."
"He is controlling you and trying to keep you from having a support system outside of him."
"Gtfo."-Fabulous-Ad-5284.
"NTA."
"He's 100% in the wrong."
"Him saying 'if I allow it' is a huge red flag."
"He has no regard for you or your privacy and I would honestly look at this relationship and ask yourself if it's worth it."
"I don't see this behavior ever getting better without serious intervention."-Demented-Alpaca.
"NTA."
"Maybe it's my PTSD talking, but the fact that A) he did this at all, and B) showed no remorse and tried to blame you for it, C) you are now questioning whether you need to apologize has me concerned For You."
"Doing this at all is definitely controlling, shows he doesn't trust you, and can potentially alienate you from your friends if you stay with him."
"For the second part, you might want to look up an abusive tactic called DARVO because that's what this sounds like."
"(Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender)."
"I would not advise entering couples therapy with someone who is using these types of strategies."
"They can end up manipulating the therapist, too."
"Personally I would strongly consider leaving (and maybe recruit some friends to help grab your most important documentation and possessions and leave ASAP)."
"It's obviously your choice how to handle this tho, and honestly I think so far you have actually done an excellent job."
"If you want additional support or a neutral space to process this, then therapy might be beneficial if that's an option for you."
"(Tho... maybe make sure there's no way he can listen in on your therapy sessions if you're doing them virtually)."-SomethingMeta42.
"NTA, and for a myriad of reasons."
"Let's just list the obvious:"
"This is a major invasion of your privacy."
"This is a major invasion of your friends' privacy."
"This is (in most locations/circumstances) ILLEGAL!"
"This is creepy, controlling, and abusive."
"This is more than just a red flag."
"His actions are far too extreme to explain or justify, and in my opinion, are a dealbreaker."
"No one should live the rest of their life in fear of being under constant surveillance and control by their spouse."
"His behavior is not healthy at all."
"In fact, it's pretty damn terrifying."
"Run."- SpiritFingazz.
"NTA at all, this was completely out of line and a massive invasion of privacy."
"Plus I'm concerned about the phrasing... '... if he'll allow it..'."
"It's one thing for a partner to have say in guests coming over and another to be this controlling."
"Major red flag here."-sashaopinion.
"This is divorce levels of f*cked up."
"If you really want to rescue this relationship, he needs to be getting therapy for his control issues."
"NTA."- ArcanTemival.
"Don't think for one second that there isn't any other technologically sketchy sh*t he helped himself to doing without you knowing."
"Because he needs to make sure you're not taking sh*t!"
"If my husband did this it's grounds for divorce."-JennaLS.
"Absolutely NTA."
"What he did is violating and controlling."
"The whole, 'if you have nothing to hide...' line is one abusers use all the time to gain access to their SOs phones/email/social media accounts."
"My ex was this way and he also refused to let me go out with my friends without him."
"Deep insecurity about what you might say about them, which is revealing about how they actually treat you."
"Everyone deserves to have privacy in their relationships."
"It doesn't mean you're cheating on them or trashing them."
"Even if you did vent about him, THATS OKAY."
"You're allowed to do that."
"I would have a very hard time trusting him again."- militantrubberducky.
"NTA."
"This behavior is narcissistic and controlling beyond the pale."
"So many red flags."
"Trash the dude."-LetThemEatHay.
"NTA."
"Leave!"
"He recorded you and doesn't think it was wrong."
"He blames YOU."
"That's a hard no."
"I would divorce him in a second."-Melin_Lavendel_Rosa.
"NTA but you can't expect your friends to ever want to be around him again and you should probably break things off yesterday for your own safety."-ItchyDoggg.
While many pointed out how it wasn't wrong for the OP to call him out in front of her friends, but rather her obligation, as he badly violated their privacy.
"It was your job to confront him in front of your friends."
"Their privacy was violated by this asshole recording them."
"It's his job to apologize in front of your friends."
"NTA."-naraic.
"NTA."
"You're right, your friends deserved to know that your husband was spying on them."
"Now he's pissed off because you caught him and everyone knew what he did."
"If there was nothing wrong with what he did, he wouldn't have had a problem with everyone finding out."
"What are you getting out of this relationship?"
"Because this would 100 % be a complete deal breaker for me."
"If I can't trust my husband, he can't be my husband."-tuttkraftverk.
There seem to be some pretty serious trust issues in this marriage.
But that the OP's husband thought recording her and her friends could fix them is very surprising indeed.
Here's hoping that this incident didn't affect the OP's relationship with her friends, and that her husband might realize his mistake.















Woman Breaks Up With 'Clingy' Boyfriend For Making Joke About 'Getting With' Her Sister
As much as we might want to date someone, there's no point in trying to gain the attention and affection of someone who does not want to reciprocate.
Dating someone "similar" to fill that void isn't a good look, either, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Flashy-External1666 had been long-distance dating a guy from her friend group for about a month, even though he'd expressed his attraction to her older sister repeatedly before they started dating.
When her sister entered a new relationship, the Original Poster (OP) was hurt and disgusted that her boyfriend insinuated that he could have been trying to "get with" her sister while he was instead busy dating her.
She asked the sub:
The OP was aware that her boyfriend had his eye on someone close to her before dating her.
"I (19 Female) am with M (21 Male), and we've been together for a month. We were friends before this, for a while."
"For some background, when we were in a friend group, he'd always talk about how my sister (23 Female) was super hot and how he wanted her, but she was in a relationship at the time."
When he found out that her sister had been in-between relationships, he had an unsavory reaction.
"Earlier today, I mentioned to him how my sister started seeing this new guy, and I was super proud of her, because she went through a lot with her last relationship."
"His immediate reply was, 'Dang,' one month too late' with a sad emoji, insinuating that he was one month too late to get with her, because we've been together for a month."
You can see the text message exchange here:
The OP was immediately turned off by the idea of dating him.
"After I got upset and he apologized, he immediately sent me a reel that said, 'When she's already upset about me, but I have a second joke in mind.'"
"I feel like he genuinely doesn't care about me."
"He has also gotten weirdly clingy within the month, like red-flag clingy."
"He keeps trying to say how he loves me, wants to marry me, and wants me to go live with him. But he also always brings up my exes and gets super jealous when HE mentions them."
"I don't know what to do. Should I block him??"
"He's mentioned before that I would need to block him on everything if we ever broke up because he'd never leave me alone (we are currently long-distance)."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some were grossed out by the boyfriend's text message and understood why the OP was upset.
"The fact that he wrote all that out and even added a little emoji at the end and still decided to send it, knowing it would be hurtful for you."
"Seems like he’s texted that to see if he could get away with it. Either way, you don’t say something like that to someone you care about…" - Oven_Traditional
"NOR. Ew! That’s so disrespectful coming from someone who should be thrilled to have you."
"I’m team 'dump him.' If he has a brother, maybe ask for his brother’s number as you end it just to see how he likes it." - Entire-Tonight-1463
"NOR. He's not joking about your sister. Based on what he's said about her in the past, it would have been a wise move to NOT date him at all. PERIOD."
'There's a possibility that he's clingy/close to you for the purpose of indirectly keeping an eye on your sister. Release him and let him go, thereby setting yourself free from foolishness." - AtlJazzy2024
"He’s not for you… Break up with him and block him. You deserve a guy who treasures YOU!" - Muted-Lynx-8745
"He might be your boyfriend, but you're not his girlfriend. In his mind, your sister is." - Save-your-spoons
Others urged the OP to block her boyfriend and move on.
"Girl, it's been a month. Let that loser go." - sleepymelfho
"He kept OP as a backup, while circling her sister's orbit. What has happened to transparency and honesty in relationships? All I read now is obnoxious men doing obnoxious things to their partners."
"OP, he's keeping you around to stay close to your sister. You deserve better... NOR." - ColdHandGee
"NOR. You know that he's not joking about wanting your sister. He told on himself before you even got together, talking about how hot she was. Believe him."
"Break up with him and cut him off immediately. I can't believe you ever agreed to date him in the first place. I'd never want to date someone who had the hots for someone else in my immediate circle, whether that was a sibling or a friend." - Lanky_Mud_8148
"You’ve been dating one month, and that’s one month too long."
"He’s not joking about your sister. He fancies her more than you, and you’re the consolation prize. He will pursue her given the chance."
"Time to dump him." - Special_Wind_6708
"NOR. He can't have your sister, so you're just the next best thing. Him being a clingy weirdo that 'will never leave you alone' is the cherry on top."
"You know what to do. Dump him and block him on everything. If anyone from the friend group asks, just tell them what you told us. And you REALLY should warn your sister; you have receipts." - sdoM-bmuD
"Ditch him. Honestly. What are you waiting for?" - forget_me_not_uwu
"NOR at all. Cut this loser out of all channels of your life."
"I wouldn’t block, though. Just ghost so that he can watch you become happier without him as the ultimate revenge because I’m petty like that, and he clearly deserves it."
"ALSO, if he's as creepy and clingy as he sounds, you can have him muted, so he can see your activity, but you won't have to see his... But you'd have all of his messages as receipts if he ever became threatening or stalkerish for police purposes."
"For more context: My mum started dating my dad (when she was 19, too), who initially tried to go for her older sister (two years older) and got rejected."
"After three years of dating, seven years of engagement, and 20 years of marriage where she put up with an incompetent man-child that wouldn’t do anything for himself and expected her to completely cater to him while he berated her and treated her like s**t..."
"...it ended in him cheating on her with a waitress for over a year and denying it until my mum had literal photographic evidence, to which he had the audacity to respond with the reasoning that she was the reason he was 'driven to cheat' (as if that was even remotely close to the truth and the only option to solve his ‘problems’)."
"Save yourself, girl. This man-child can learn to pine over you and your sister from afar as you both skip into the sunset together, moving on with your lives and into better relationships that fulfill you the way you deserve!" - peachycritter
Some cautioned the OP to also cover her tracks after the breakup, as he sounded worse than "clingy" to them.
"The actual scary part isn't even the sister joke; it's, 'he said he'd never leave me alone if we broke up,' only one month in."
"That line gave me chills, and that alone would have me Googling how to block someone on every platform that exists." - babydoodle91
"Ew. These super clingy guys right out the gate are scary. Please watch your step, and erase your tracks." - Immabirb
"He sounds like a stalker... Drop him now, fast. And block him everywhere." - Admirable_Program720
"NOR, yes, you block him, and you keep him out of your life, and you tell mutual friends that if they try to facilitate contact between you two, you will block them as well. He isn't joking." - JustAsICanBeSoCruel
"I watch way too much crime for this!"
"Girl, block him. Also tell your sister to block him, too; he’s obsessed with her." - MrsRoronoaZoro
"NOR. You're underreacting, honestly."
"He wants your sister, but you're close enough. He's obsessed with her and won't give it up even though he has someone he 'wants to marry.'"
"Also, he's not lying. He probably will stalk you online afterwards; please be careful." - Phoenix-Phire-38
"NOR at all. Your post kept adding on more red flags with each additional sentence. I know you’re young, but he’s toxic, and yes, you will need to block him."
"Breaking up with someone you have strong feelings for is really difficult, so when you leave, you should make sure to lean on friends and family and keep yourself distracted with things you like and find engaging." - query_tech_sec
"The s**t with your sister is nothing compared to the love-bombing and jealousy. This guy is trouble, and scary, and you will have done the right thing when you leave him and maintain the distance between the two of you. NOR." - potatomeeple
After receiving feedback, the OP posted an update, but it seemed to be only the beginning.
"Thank you for making me feel less crazy."
"I blocked him on everything and deactivated my Instagram."
"He DM'ed a girl that I had posted ONCE on my Instagram Stories, asking about me."
"I'm not sure if he's going to keep trying to talk to me, but I hope not."
The subReddit's internal alarm bells were ringing while reading the OP's post, and they hoped that she'd leave her boyfriend in every sense of the word. They already lived long-distance, but she needed to cut him off in every other sense.
Not only was it obvious that he wanted someone else and was with the OP to "make up for it," but his "promises" of not leaving her alone if she ever broke up with him were love-bombing and stalker-like, at best.