Sometimes certain behaviors have bigger meaning than what they seem.
It can be hard to see red flags.
That's why you ask around and replay situations to others.
Others may see what you are not.
Case in point...
Redditor throw65687 wanted to discuss her story for some feedback. So naturally she came to visit the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subReddit.
She asked:
"AITA for expecting my husband to pay for my eyeshadow palette that he threw out?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"I (30 F[emale]) used to have skin issues for most of my life."
"And recently, finally got the chance to start wearing makeup."
"My husband consents it except, he thinks the eye-shadow colors I apply are inappropriate and 'wild.'"
"He told me to tone it down because some of these eye shadows give strangers the wrong impression."
"In other words I'd look like a hooker wearing them."
"I took his opinion under consideration but he still wasn't happy."
"He asked that I use nude colors and give up the blue, purple, red and the light colors but I refused."
"Yesterday I discovered he threw away all my 3 eye-shadow palette sets."
"His reasons were that I wore inappropriate colors when we visited his parents."
"I yelled at him, saying he never should've touched them."
"He said he already gave me a warning about it and I shouldn't act shocked."
"I told him this is ridiculous and that I expect him to pay me for every single palette he threw out."
"Not just that but get the same shades/colors."
"He said it wasn't is fault I brushed him off and refused to listen when he said I was looking like a clown and was embarrassing him."
"Now this made me feel so offeneded."
"I refused to talk to him after that."
"He told me I was making a mountain out if mole hill and said I need to start thinking about using 'colorless' shades that don't pop up like the ones I used."
"Am I wrong for going against what he wants and expecting him to pay or buy me the same color palettes?"
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA?:
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors declared our OP was NOT the A**hole.
It's a tricky situation.
Let's hear some thoughts...
"NTA. This is way bigger than just eyeshadow."
"He shouldn't get to 'consent' to whether you wear makeup or not."
"It's your body and your face."
"He made demands that you do what he wanted."
"When you refused to listen, he threw out YOUR stuff and said you shouldn't be surprised, because he 'warned' you."
"Who is he to warn you about anything?"
"He's your husband, not your lord and master."
"Now, he's minimizing his behavior."
"He has no right to try to dictate how you should look."
"If he tried that on a co-worker, he'd get arrested or, at least, it would be grounds for being written up or fired."
"Why is it okay that he does that to you, someone he supposedly loves?"
"This is not going to get better, OP."
"He thinks he has the right to control you and will keep on doing that."
"I'd get out now." ~ Arbor_Arabicae
"Red flags and sirens went off when I read that too."
"Totally expected attitude, behavior would have included a punch in the face, pre 1975 when no fault divorce became legal."
"I was the 5th in my county to escape with protection in my county."
"OP I was you plus."
"OP RUN!!!!!!! Do not stop until you reach a lawyer."
"Do Not Say 'But I love him' the harsh truth, love isn't love when it only exists on one side of the relationship."
"If he is not treating you with the same level of respect and dignity HE expects from you, how is that love?"
"Pease describe for me what love is, in great specific detail."
"Then I would ask you to tell me why you are staying, not excuses, valid reasons."
"In case you haven't checked there are services and perhaps even benefits available if you have no job or money of your own."
"You need to start loving yourself right now, you do not deserve to be spoken to that way."
"Under no circumstances should you allow anyone to have sovereignty (unquestioned control or ownership) over your; body, appearance, choice of viewing or reading material, friends and family, what when or where you eat, your ability to access your or joint finances/accounts."
"Absolutely no one has the right to restrict your movements, or abuse your body."
"No Marriage Certificate grants these powers of control."
"I'm so very sorry this had to be your experience, this grandma just had to sit you down and tell you the truth." ~ pumainpurple
"NTA. I would put your husband exactly where he put your makeup in the garbage."
"He has no right to tell you what you can put on your face."
"You've been wearing makeup I'm assuming throughout your whole relationship, but shouldn't be a surprise."
"Maybe he should have dated a person who doesn't like makeup, they can tone it down for him."
"Your husband sounds like a child, that was his temper tantrum." ~ vengi15
"My dear, his problem isn't the color."
"His problem is not being able to control you when he asked."
"This is scratching the surface and he's poking at your boundaries to see how far he can push."
"Today, it's eyeshadow, tomorrow it will be the way you dress, the next it will be what you eat."
"After that it will be who you speak to and make friends with and then it will be how you spend your money and time... and it will continue to escalate."
"Address this HEAD ON!!"
"Do not demure to his reasoning of 'I don't want.'"
"It's your f**king FACE, it's yours, not his."
"He can't control you unless you let him, and he is clearly showing you he wants to control you." ~ BrownSugarBare
"As someone who's been through five years of domestic abuse."
"I tell you this: stop trying to justify his unjustifiable actions."
"The mental burden to try and comprehend and even justify abusive behavior is already exhausting."
"It's been four years since I left him and I still deal with severe anxiety whenever I'm in conflict with my loved ones because of this."
"His behavior is not yours to reason with - he should be trying to figure out his feelings and communicate them with you, not the opposite."
"You may even think 'but it's just makeup, not worth picking a fight over this' - WRONG."
"Anything that he does that challenges your beliefs, your wants, your needs, your health, your choices is worth fighting for."
"I'm really happy for you wearing makeup as a way to deal with your skin issues."
"I also have several of them!"
"But don't like makeup, so I just bear with them."
"DO NOT let him guilt trip and manipulate you into accepting choices HE makes FOR you."
"You know what's best and appropriate. Trust you gut."
"I hope you break this cycle before it drags you inside - toxic relationships are tough to leave and even tougher to go through."
"You're NTA." ~ Key-Two-6226
"NTA, but you have a bigger problem than your eyeshadow."
"You have a volatile, bully husband who destroys your stuff when you don't meet his wardrobe parameters."
"You should not need his 'consent' to wear makeup."
"He said it wasn't is fault I brushed him off and refused to listen when he said I was looking like a clown and was embarrassing him."
"This dude browbeats and does this to keep you under his thumb."
"What do you think he's going to break next if he's not getting your total, groveling obedience?"
"Look in a textbook under 'abuser' and this guy is the definition, down to the 'not his fault he HAD to break your stuff--you MADE him act like that.'"
"Run, run away." ~ Sea-Mud5386
"NTA. Hun, you're in a relationship with an abusive man."
"The sooner you realise that that sort of reaction to a freaking eye shadow color is unacceptable, and it's your freaking eyelids and you can do what you want, the better."
"No guy has ever wanted to proposition a girl purely due to the colour of her eyeshadow."
"Hell if his ideology is true, I'm a freaking madam of a brothel then coz I love colourful eyeshadows and I do my friends makeup all the time." ~ SleepDangerous1074
"I don't know where you are, but the entire post is alarming to me."
"'My husband consents!' WTF?"
"That's just the start of this whole mess."
"So, your husband, in his infinite wisdom, thought his parents would think you started working as a prostitute?"
"And, he took it upon himself to throw your stuff in the trash?"
"HE is making a mountain out of a molehill--throwing away your stuff over his petty and insane grievances. NTA." ~ melouofs
Well Reddit did not mince words.
Sounds like OP should be thinking longer and harder about life choices beyond make-up.
There are some actions that signify a different type of bahavior.
OP, we wish you the best.















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.