Husband's request for open marriage backfires: 'You asked for this'

It's a messy situation, and the internet has had plenty to say.

In the ever-evolving world of modern relationships, a Reddit user shared his story about requesting an open marriage from his wife of 19 years. Little did he know, the online community would have a field day dissecting the drama that unfolded.

It's a tale as old as time. Husband asks wife for open marriage, and wife reluctantly agrees. Wife gets more attention than husband, who immediately regrets asking in the first place.

It's certainly not the stuff fairytales are made of but this is the story fuelling the latest viral Reddit drama, and boy, it's a doozy.

Caption. Photo: Getty
The man said his wife reluctantly agreed to give the open marriage a try. Photo: Getty

"I love my wife, but I felt like the spark was gone from our lives. I didn't want to divorce her, so I proposed an open marriage," the man shared on Reddit. Despite initial reluctance, his wife agreed to give it a shot.

ADVERTISEMENT

Fast forward, and our protagonist finds himself in a quandary. His wife is drowning in dates, while he's not exactly the popular choice in the dating scene. Cue instant regret.

"My wife has so many men and dates she doesn't know what to do with them all," he lamented in his post, "Meanwhile, it's the opposite for me."

RELATED:

Adding more fuel to the fire, he tried his luck with a female colleague, hoping for a romantic connection, only to be met with rejection. However, the consequences weren't limited to his personal life; instead of getting lucky in love, he ended up losing his job.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We worked in completely different divisions and our work had nothing to do with each other's jobs," he explained. "But even though I wasn't her manager and I am in an open marriage she complained to her manager and showed HR my messages. I lost my job."

The man asked out a work colleague, only to be faced with rejection. Photo: Getty
The man asked out a work colleague, only to be faced with rejection. Photo: Getty

As the allure of the open marriage waned, the husband proposed closing the arrangement, but here's the twist—his wife is content with the current setup and has no plans to change it. "It's killing me when I know she is with other men," he confessed. "My brother called me a moron. He had the nerve to say my wife looks better than me and I could stand to lose some weight."

The Reddit community—known for its unfiltered opinions—weighed in, holding nothing back.

"You asked for this. This is on you," one user remarked, "You literally led your family into this."

ADVERTISEMENT

The criticism didn't stop there, as others labelled his actions as "selfish" and questioned the authenticity of his desire to close the marriage.

"The only reason you want it to end is because you were rejected while she was accepted," someone else accused.

Doubts also surfaced regarding the husband's initial motives for proposing an open marriage. "More like 'I have a cute coworker, so I bullshitted my wife to convince her to let me cheat,'" one person accused.

A damning summary from one user captured the essence of the situation: "He absolutely expected to get a lot of sex with other women while his wife has none. It wasn't for the benefits for both of them; it was only for his."

The moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for.

Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.

Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.