What to Know
Most moms are used to holding it together no matter how they’re feeling — you might be able to take a sick day from work, but you can’t exactly take a sick day from parenting. The same standard doesn’t always exist for dads, though; if you’ve ever noticed that your husband gets sick as soon as you do and their symptoms are so bad they can’t possibly carry on, then the words “man flu” probably sound very familiar to you.
One woman decided to hide her cold from her husband to see if it keeps him from getting sick, and now, people are hailing her for discovering the ultimate “marriage hack.”
She planned to continue her life as normal, without letting on that she’s sick.
@thevaglefamily Do you think my plan worked?! 😆 #couplescomedy #couplesfunnyvideos #husbandandwifehumor #coupleshumor #husbandandwifecomedy ♬ original sound – Thevaglefamily
In a video shared by the Vagle family on TikTok, this wife shared her diabolical plan.
“So I’m keeping a secret from my husband. I actually have a cold right now, but he doesn’t know, because I have continued to do normal work and have been a normal human being,” she said. “And if I tell him, magically tomorrow he will wake up sick — and sicker than me — so if we just don’t tell him, he’s gonna stay healthy.”
So many people could relate to her.
Fellow wives praised her for this decision in the comments, and it seems like a lot of women know exactly where she’s coming from.
“This is a marriage hack I can’t believe I never thought of,” one wrote.
Another commenter said, “I had a ‘stomach flu’ for a few days. My husband’s tummy was also hurting. Turns out I was pregnant. He was not.”
Do men need to be held more accountable for their behavior while their wives are sick?
One commenter didn’t find the joke to be funny, instead, sharing that she felt “tired and disgusted” after hearing about so many unhelpful men.
“Where are the strong, thoughtful, unselfish men?” she asked. “Where are the men who the women feel safe enough to have the luxury of laying in bed & taking care of themselves? Where are the men who are willing to take care of their women? I know you are posting this to be funny but these are my real thoughts on this.”
It’s also worth noting that some men might actually feel worse than their wives do while experiencing the same illness. According to what Dr. Charles Garven told the Cleveland Clinic, “cultural norms surrounding health and masculinity also cause sex differences in medical conditions,” so men may be responding to illness in a different way without even realizing they’re doing it.
So far, there’s no word on how her experiment worked out in the end, but it might not hurt to try this one out at home…
