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She could've dealt with the menu for one night.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 13, 2022
A woman is being labeled "selfish" after refusing to attend her husband's dinner for a special occasion.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — she described the reasons leading up to her decision.
In her Reddit post, the woman wrote that for the past two years, her husband has been "working really hard" and was finally promoted at the company he works for.
To celebrate, his parents wanted to take everyone out to celebrate at a restaurant he loves.
She refused to attend her husband's celebratory dinner because she didn't like the menu at the restaurant.
Since her husband "loves prime rib," his parents let him choose the only restaurant in their area that serves the kind of steak he likes.
The only problem? His wife pointed out that she isn't a huge fan of steak.
"I'll eat it but very rarely. I prefer chicken or fish. I looked up the menu before leaving and right now they have a limited menu," she explained, adding that the restaurant only had "one fish entree and two chicken entrees" which didn't pique her interest.
When she suggested to her husband that he should choose somewhere else so that everyone can enjoy their meals, he refused.
He told her that they rarely go to that restaurant, but frequent other restaurants in their area all of the time.
"He suggested that I ask if they could prepare the fish or chicken without the marinades or sauces but I didn't want to be difficult for the kitchen staff."
Her husband even offered other solutions, such as telling her she should just order dessert and then afterward, he'll take her somewhere else to eat dinner, while he and their children have dessert.
Instead of considering any of the offers, she just decided to skip the dinner altogether.
"My husband asked me to go so he could celebrate with the people most important to him. I told him no again and that he needed to get going before he was late."
After going to the dinner, he ended up coming back home a short while later with their children and to-go boxes.
He told her he couldn't think of an excuse for their children about why she had decided not to join them at his celebratory dinner, so he just got their food to-go and let them hang out with their grandparents in the parking lot before leaving.
"I told him he should've stayed but he said that I put him in a bad spot with the kids and that I knew he wanted everyone there and that I should've just gotten over my picky eating for one night."
The woman rebutted that if her husband truly wanted them all to eat dinner together, then he should've picked somewhere that accommodated everyone's needs.
A majority of people who commented on the woman's Reddit post agreed that she was in the wrong for skipping her husband's dinner.
"It wasn’t that there was nothing you could eat, there was nothing you wanted. It’s one dinner. You won’t starve if you don’t eat everything on the plate, nor will it poison you," one user wrote.
Another user added, "It was a celebration for your husband and you could have found a way to go out with him and celebrate how he wanted but you decided instead to be difficult and make it all about you."
"He was bending over backwards with suggestions to accommodate you because he wanted you there and you couldn't suck it up for a few hours to make him happy?" a third user chimed in.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.