Valentine’s Day is approaching, pandas, and it’s about time to start thinking about how you’re going to make your significant other feel special. A heartfelt card, chocolates, a dozen roses or a romantic evening out on the town? As long as you both feel loved and appreciated, the day was a success.
But if your partner is asking you to put in more effort, and you respond by pulling a cruel prank on them, you might be single next Valentine’s Day… Below, you’ll find a story that was recently shared on Reddit, detailing how one woman reached the final straw in her marriage after her husband tried to be funny instead of sweet.
Everyone deserves to feel loved and appreciated by their partner
So when this woman’s husband spent energy on pranking her instead of spoiling her, she knew their marriage was over
The next day, the wife shared an update on the situation
Only three quarters of spouses in the US report that they’re happy in their marriages
Many people believe that once they’ve found their person and married them, the hard part is over. The two of you have committed to one another for the rest of your lives, and now it’s just smooth sailing! But in reality, we should never stop making our partner feel special. We should be affectionate and loving and work on wooing them forever, even if we’ve been married for 40 years. It’s important to keep that spark alive!
According to a recent study of census data from the United States, about 74% of married people are actually happy in their relationships. And over a quarter of spouses admit that they compare their relationships to other married couples.
But when it comes to happy couples, how do they manage to stay satisfied? Mixbook notes that some key factors are communicating openly and honestly, spending quality time together, showing appreciation and affection, practicing forgiveness, supporting each other’s goals and dreams, working as a team, and maintaining intimacy.
Image credits: Emma Bauso (not the actual photo)
It’s important to make sure that your partner feels loved and appreciated, especially in marriage
Verywell Mind also tells couples that it can be important to speak your partner’s love language. Ask them whether acts of service, physical touch, quality time, receiving gifts or words of affirmation are most important to them. And make an effort to cater to their preferences, even if they’re different from your own.
And of course, sharing chores and responsibilities is a crucial factor as well. “Remember the goal is not to engage in competition over who is doing more but rather to help your partner and make their day better,” Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD says. “This often relates to the love languages as those who have a preference for acts of service strongly appreciate sharing responsibilities.”
In the United States, women initiate two thirds of divorces. And while there may be many factors contributing to this number, one common reason women file for divorce is because they’re tired of having to juggle many responsibilities while their partners refuse to help out. Even when wives earn just as much as their husbands, they still spend more time on housework and caregiving, while their husbands enjoy more leisure time, the Pew Research Center has found.
Image credits: Emilio Garcia (not the actual photo)
Women initiate two thirds of divorces because they’re tired of having to juggle everything
The Jimenez Law Firm reports that women are more likely to feel stifled in their marriages, and they often are saddled with more emotional responsibility as well. “When women excel at their careers, are expected to perform more of the domestic duties, and don’t get support from their husbands, well, it’s no wonder women initiate divorce more often,” the law firm notes. “They may, quite simply, determine that being married is no longer in their best interest.”
In the past, we didn’t see as many women initiating divorces because they were more likely to be reliant on their husbands financially. They might have tolerated abuse, infidelity, neglect or simply unhappy marriages because they felt they had no other options. But thankfully, today, women are feeling more and more empowered to put their feet down when they’re not being treated fairly.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this woman was right to file for divorce following the “prank” that her husband pulled on her? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in reading another article from Bored Panda discussing similar themes, look no further than right here.
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Readers applauded the wife for her decision and called out her husband for his behavior
