Most people would agree that it's important to look after your hygiene in a relationship - but one man has divided opinion with a confession about his wife's cleanliness.
Posting on the Reddit forum AITA [Am I The A**hole], the anonymous hubby shared his discomfort with sharing a bed with his wife, who apparently refuses to shower after coming home from work.
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Although he expresses pride in his wife's profession as a gynaecologist, he finds himself too grossed out at the thought of 'bodily fluids' to be in the bed with her and opts to sleep on the sofa instead.
The Reddit user, called abovetherestaurant, lamented: "I've asked her to take a shower before coming to bed, but she thinks it's unnecessary and feels like I'm being unreasonable.
"She argues that she wears gloves and takes precautions to avoid any contamination, and that her scrubs are changed regularly.
"However, I still feel uneasy about the potential exposure to bodily fluids, and I don't think it's an unreasonable request for her to take a quick shower before bed.
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"Since my wife doesn't want to shower before bed, I have been sleeping on the couch in the living room instead."
Apparently, the man's wife doesn't understand why he is so uncomfortable about the situation.
The man wrote: "My wife thinks I'm overreacting and being ridiculous by sleeping on the couch, but I don't want to compromise my comfort and health.
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"Am I the a**hole for choosing to sleep on the couch when my wife comes home from work without showering?"
Reddit users were divided over the man's conundrum and offered up different perspectives in the comments.
One took sympathy with the husband: "NTA [Not the a**hole]. My mother was a L&D [labour and delivery] nurse for almost 30 years and in hemodialysis for over 10........ the FIRST thing she did was take a shower when she got home.
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"EVERY DAY SHE WORKED. This is with all the precautions of gloves, masks, Haz-mat suits, shoe booties, etc.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a quick shower after coming home. And nothing wrong with staying away from someone until they do.
"You were free to ask and she was free to say no....... while accepting the consequences of refusing. You sleep on a lumpy couch and she sleeps alone."
A nurse also sided with the husband: "I spent a dozen years as a L & D nurse and the next dozen years working in the ER. I always took a shower first thing when I got home. I don't care how many precautions I took at work. I just felt germy!!!!
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"Hospitals are gross places!!!"
However, others sympathised with the poster's spouse.
One commenter wrote: "My guy, do you know the precautions they take? She's not getting fluid on herself and just leaving it there, you are basically calling her unsanitary when she's probably cleaner than you are."
A fellow critic commented: "Your wife sees multiple patients a day. If this was any threat to you she'd have to shower between patients. I bet she doesn't have to do that. Of course she gloves up and wears whatever gear is necessary to not bring 'fluids' home."
Despite the split opinions, the man still expressed thanks for the feedback.
He wrote in an update: "Thanks for all your replies! Reddit seems divided.
"While a lot of you judge my request reasonable and the hospital environment unsanitary, I realise my health didn't change before and after my initiative to sleep on the couch.
"I may overestimate the hazard that her not showering represents. I will try to find a compromise with her."
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Ben Thompson