'Picky Eater' Wife Refusing To Attend Husband's Celebration Meal Slammed

A wife refusing to attend a celebration meal for her husband because she doesn't like the restaurant is being blasted online.

In a post to Reddit's Am I the A******? (AITA) forum, user u/Willing_Strawberries said her husband had just received a long-awaited promotion. As a fan of prime rib, he chose a local steak restaurant to celebrate.

However, Willing_Strawberries is "not fond of steak"—or anything else on the menu—so refused to come, sitting at home alone instead. This upset her husband and made the situation awkward for their children and husband's parents, ruining the meal.

Reddit users were unimpressed by the poster's attitude, dubbing her "monstrously selfish" and "a petulant child." Since being shared on December 8, the post has received almost 23,000 upvotes and over 12,000 comments.

Tips for Helping Couples to Compromise

Jodie Milton, a relationship coach at Practical Intimacy, said that arguing over small issues can be a symptom of bigger problems in a relationship.

"If you find yourself stuck on something inconsequential, like what to have for dinner, ask yourself why you're finding it hard to compromise," she told Newsweek.

"Often it's not about the specific issue itself, but a larger problem of not feeling included or respected."

When it comes to the small stuff, the solution can be as simple as one partner acquiescing this time, with the promise that the other's choice will be prioritized next time.

Nevertheless, bigger issues require moving beyond an "adversarial dynamic" and working as a team to solve the problem.

"Compromise can feel like one person has to lose, so the other can win," said Milton.

"Ask yourself, 'How can I collaborate?' If you get into gridlock on something, look deeper for your underlying need.

"Realize that the specific details aren't as important as having these core desires and needs met."

'Sabotaged Your Husband's Celebration Dinner'

In her post, Willing_Strawberries said her husband had been working towards his recent promotion for the last two years.

"I'm really, really proud of him," she wrote. "His parents are too and wanted to take us all out to dinner to celebrate."

Her husband loves prime rib, but there is only one restaurant locally that serves it. However, Willing_Strawberries doesn't particularly like steak, and although the restaurant served her preferred meats of chicken and fish, she wasn't happy with the options.

"I looked up the menu before leaving and right now they have a limited menu," she said.

"The place had only one fish entree and two chicken entrees, and none of them sounded good for various reasons."

She suggested that they eat somewhere else, but her husband said no, as they "rarely get to go to this place." He proposed asking the kitchen staff to prepare the dishes without marinades or sauces, but Willing_Strawberries said she "didn't want to be difficult."

As a solution, her husband suggested that she order a dessert instead while everyone else orders entrees, and when everyone is finished, he would take them to get dessert at another restaurant, where she can order a main meal.

"I opted to just not go because I didn't want to sit there not eating and not having a good time while everyone else was," she wrote.

However, her husband and kids returned home an hour later. Her husband said the children kept asking why she didn't attend, so he got their meals to-go and "let the kids spend some time with their grandparents in the parking lot."

"I told him he should had stayed but he said that I put him in a bad spot with the kids," she said.

"That I knew he wanted everyone there and that I should've just gotten over my picky eating for one night.

"I maintain if he really wanted us to all eat dinner as a family then he should've picked a restaurant with a more accomodating menu."

In the forum's rating system, Reddit users voted Willing_Strawberries "the a******" in the situation.

Trashpanda44224422 commented: "You don't have a food allergy, you're just picky and love making this all about you."

BitiumRibbon agreed, writing: "This man is bending over backwards to appease you, just so he can do the one thing he wanted to do, that he never gets to do. Do you see the problem here?"

TendoninBob called the poster "Selfish, and a poor partner," who left her husband "in the awkward spot of having to try and lie for you."

Foghorn Farts wondered: "Is she jealous that her husband is having career success that she isn't?"

Zwergschnauzer said: "My read is you deliberately sabotaged your husband's celebration dinner using your food preferences as an excuse."

While IgnotusPeverill wrote: "She gaslighted him through the whole thing, ruined the celebration and then wanted to act like a martyr.

"There is more wrong with this relationship and this is just an example of bigger issues."

Willing_Strawberries isn't the only one to share their relationship woes with Reddit. A man telling his girlfriend he "can't afford to be a sugar daddy" was recently backed by users on the AITA subreddit, after she kept hinting about "lavish gifts" he can't afford.

Forum users also berated a man for not standing up for his wife, after his mother purposefully left her out of a family Christmas tradition, while a woman ditching her boyfriend and his parents at dinner over their weird eating habits was praised.

Newsweek reached out to u/Willing_Strawberries for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

Have you noticed any red flags that made you end a relationship? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.