Husband Plans a ‘Surprise’ Party for His Wife’s Birthday — but Asks Her To Clean the House

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People have different feelings and preferences when it comes to celebrating their birthdays. Regardless of how you like to celebrate, it can be hurtful and disappointing when your loved ones don't seem to really care about your birthday. One 40-year-old woman "just wanted to feel appreciated for a day." When she found out her husband was throwing a party for her, she was looking forward to it — until she found out the real story.

Though her husband "planned" a surprise party for her, he expected her to clean and prepare food for it.

The woman's husband couldn't keep the party a secret.

Although the woman's husband had planned a "surprise party," he ended up telling her about it three days in advance, ruining the surprise. At first, she simply thought her husband couldn't contain his excitement and had to tell her, which she thought was "adorable," she explained on Reddit.

Unfortunately, that was not the real reason he came clean about it.

He wanted her to prepare for the party.

Imagine finding out that your partner planned a party for you but wanted you to do all of the work. That's exactly what happened to the woman, who said her husband only told her about the "surprise party" in advance because he wanted her to clean the house. "Yes, you read that right, I needed to prepare food and set the house for my own party," she wrote.

It felt like a party for her husband, not her.

The fact that she had to clean for her own "surprise party" was bad enough — but then on the day of the actual party, nothing truly felt like it was for her. Most of her friends and family members weren't even invited. She was "devastated."

Her husband's excuse? "He claimed that he didn't know how to contact them," the woman wrote. Even the birthday cake he picked out was disappointing, which the woman said was the icing on the cake, as it were.

"The final straw came when he carried out a cake in a flavor that he loved, nothing that I would ever chose for myself," she said.

People praised him for throwing a party for his wife.

Though it was not the woman's ideal birthday party by any stretch of the imagination, people who were there praised the woman's husband for planning one. She explained that while at her own birthday party, she felt "like an afterthought and hated listening to everyone compliment him for throwing me a party."

She believes she wasn't asking for a lot from her husband. She simply wanted to feel appreciated on her birthday. "I work two jobs, take care of the kids, do all of the meal planning, grocery shopping and most of the housework," she explained. "I am exhausted and just wanted to feel appreciated for a day."

Instead, she ended up crying in the bathroom after everyone left.

Now she's thinking about getting divorced.

Even though the woman says she loves her husband, she is considering divorce. Many Redditors understood, with some of them pointing out that the issues in the marriage seem much larger than the birthday party itself.

"I get it. You want to feel seen. After 10 years, you deserve a partner that sees you, knows what's important to you, values you and actually shows it," one Redditor responded.

Her husband didn't actually plan a party, some people pointed out.

Some Redditors suggested marriage counseling. Others thought the woman should just leave her husband. But the majority could agree on one thing: Her husband didn't actually plan a party for her.

"I don't think he 'planned' anything," one person wrote. "Almost sounds like he went oh I don't know what do for her birthday, I'll lie about a surprise and make her do all the work."

"If he didn't even invite your friends and family, then he actually threw himself a party," another person pointed out.