When people work from home, they are still working. Just because they may not report to a high-rise in a fancy business suit doesn't make what they do any less important. In that vein, workspaces and boundaries need to be respected. If someone can't control themselves when another person in the home is working, they need to find somewhere else to go — and only think about inviting guests over during working hours if they respect the home office.
A woman posted in Reddit's AITA forum dishing the dirt about her husband and his total disregard for her work. He invited people to their home while the Original Poster was working, even though she asked him not to. Things got out of control with the guests, and now she is on the verge of ending their relationship. She wants to know if she is wrong for telling him precisely what she thought of him and his actions.
OP had a big presentation to give.
OP, 37, and her husband, 40, both work from home. He has space in the basement, and she works upstairs. OP also has a 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. OP's husband told her that his brother and his family were planning a visit that happened to be on a work day.
"I immediately told him h— no, as today was my biggest annual meeting with one of our biggest clients, who is a local chain of retailers. I am the associate director the partnership between our companys and so I would have to help give a presentation," she explained. "However, he kept telling me that they had just told him they were coming over. I finally relented but told him that the kids would need to be quiet and could not be upstairs."
The whole day was a nightmare.
While OP tried to get her work done, her nephews, 11 and 7, were running around like crazy and being really loud. At one point, they went up the stairs and tried to break into OP's daughter's room. Her daughter had locked her bedroom door before the visit because she had more than $2,000 in gaming equipment and gifts bought from her waitressing job.
"I immediately started texting and calling my husband but he didn't respond. About 5 minutes later, I excused myself to the restroom, just as the kids went into my daughter's room. I kicked them downstairs and told them not to come back," she wrote.
The kids continued to be wild until OP finished her call. She went down to her husband's office and "let loose." She called him a really nasty name, grabbed her daughter, and left.
Now she wonders if she overreacted.
Does her husband not understand she has a real job?
Redditors don't think OP's husband has much respect for her or her job.
"NTA. Holy S—. Interfering with your partners work is borderline abusive. Divorce and take everything," someone commented.
"If OP is on the verge of divorce, I highly doubt this is a one-time issue. This sounds like there's a history of this type of behavior which isn't healthy," someone else wrote. "You gotta respect your partner's boundaries especially when working from home."
"Holy Moly. Why couldn't your husband just say 'not a good time, let's do this when my wife and I aren't working' I don't even know how you made it through the meeting," another person shared.
People think that OP's husband is a real jerk.
It was not lost on Redditors that OP asked her husband not to have his family over and he did it anyway.
"[L]etting them come over was a lapse in judgement. Ignoring OP's calls and texts and allowing the kids to run all over the house was deliberate," one comment read.
"That shows me your husband is a selfish pr— that doesn't care about your opinions and personal matters. He puts his family family above the family he made with you," someone wrote. "Ditch him and quick. Run. Don't walk."
"It's almost as if the husband invited them over for the sole purpose of making OP look bad during her meeting," another person speculated.
"Most people don't invite their siblings and niblings around when their partner has an important work meeting. Who puts their partner's career at risk like that?" someone else chimed in.
Good question.
OP, get the respect you deserve, but watch your mouth next time.
OP, Redditors don't think you overacted, and they wouldn't blame you if you told your husband to hit the road. Redditors think this was a pattern of behavior and that maybe it should be the last straw for you. No matter what, you and your daughter deserve to be respected by those who live in your house and those who are guests.
But practice what you preach. Throwing around vulgar insults doesn't make your case stronger. Some Redditors thought like it cast you in a bit of unflattering light and made you sound like a hypocrite.
"Amazing how many people have no issue with you verbally abusing your husband though. If sexes would reversed, it would NEVER fly," one person commented. "You as a man would be vilified as being an abusive husband and instantly the AH."
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