Hairstyle is a personal choice for both men and women, and it is a personal freedom that should not be compromised even after marriage. However, this is exactly what a woman and mother of two faced with her in-laws after she decided to get a haircut.
She recounted her experience on the popular subreddit, r/AITAH, where she was met with overwhelming support.
Read also | A man feeling torn between his wife and parents turns to Reddit for help; Society urges him to ‘set boundaries’
A simple haircut turns into family drama
The woman began her post by saying that she has two children, ages six and three, which suggests that she has been married for some time. Her hair was dark brown and reached her waist, and after putting off cutting it for years, she finally decided one day to style it, as well as lighten it a little.
“It’s now as tall as my shoulder, and I really love it,” she rants. However, her husband and mother-in-law did not share her enthusiasm for the new look. They apparently told her she looked “desperate,” with the husband likening her appearance to that of a “prostitute” and stating that she was “dressing for attention.”“
Things came to a head when the pair attended the husband’s work party together, where the woman wore a black jumpsuit. She also curled her hair for the occasion. While her children loved her appearance, her husband felt she was “doing too much.”
After dropping off the children at the woman’s sister’s house, the two arrived at the party, where men and women complimented her on her appearance. At this moment, the husband changed his position.
“Then my husband has the nerve to say, ‘I asked her to cut her hair. I love it,'” the woman wrote in her post. She was startled by his statement but didn’t think much of it. Later, when she was talking to her boss, whom she had met three times in the past, the husband grabbed her hand from under the table and squeezed it. This made her feel embarrassed, and she simply stopped talking.
After getting into the car, the woman claimed her husband had some choice words for her. “You embarrassed me,” he said. You talk too much. People like you more when you don’t talk.” Then he said, “A lot of people were staring at you.” I hate your haircut.
At that moment, Dove Cameron’s song “Too Much” was playing in the car, and the woman claimed to have an epiphany. She immediately said to her husband: “I don’t care if you like it or not, just shut up.”
When they took the children and arrived home, their mother-in-law was waiting for them. The husband narrated the incident to her after he sent the children to their room, and the woman sided with her son and told the woman that she had “embarrassed him.”“
““Then I told them I don’t care, I think I look good, it’s not your choice, shut up,” she concluded her post, before asking her fellow Redditors’ opinion on whether she was wrong to do so.
Redditors take the woman’s side
Netizens on Reddit found too many red flags in the pair’s behavior to ignore.
“Calling you desperate and insulting for cutting your hair? Holding your hand under the table to silence you? That’s not a husband, that’s a controlling bully,” one person highlighted.
“He noticed that you felt self-confident and happy with yourself after you cut your hair and he kept deliberately teasing you to bring you down a bit. He knows you didn’t embarrass yourself at the party; He used any insult that would make you angry enough to make you never do anything to yourself again.
A third insisted: “Your husband is emotionally abusive, jealous, and rude! Get marriage counseling. His behavior towards you is unacceptable.”
“This is straight up emotional abuse. It’s like your husband doesn’t love you. He’s insecure and, quite frankly, a douchebag. He sees you shining, and wants to dim his shine so he can feel superior. And he gets it all from his mother,” said a fourth.
A fifth said: “Yes, Queen, you are handling the matter correctly. Your husband feels insecure. Do not allow him to underestimate you.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified these claims and does not endorse them.
