Husband’s ‘evil’ act exposes why women are leaving marriages
Millions urged a woman to “leave” her husband after he shared the torturous trick he played on her – sparking a huge debate about marriage.
A husband’s decision to create a torturous device his wife spent six “gruelling” hours opening has been lashed for the “cruel” stunt – and sparked a huge debate about the reality of marriage.
The unnamed man – who posts under the handle @onceupononehellofastory on TikTok – shared a video of his other half painstakingly dismantling the “evil” contraption he’d created in order to obtain her Christmas present inside.
In the clip, his wife is all smiles as she explains her hands had gone “numb” from unscrewing a sea of endless nuts, which created a kind of improvised cage, in order to access her gift.
Her struggle garnered a huge response, some offering up tactical tips on how to more efficiently remove the bolts, while others claimed the stunt was “despicable”.
As one commenter pointedly said: “No one talks about the person who put all the screws, he had a lot of free time.”
It’s this sentiment, according to Melbourne psychologist Carly Dober, that is the driving force behind the video’s mammoth virality which has seen it clock up almost 40 million views since it was posted.
“Much of the commentary from viewers involves exasperation about how difficult the partner has made accessing the gift that he got his wife for Christmas, how much more difficult he made the already busy day for her, and how stressful he made a holiday situation,” Ms Dober told news.com.au.
“It’s likely that the wife consented to the prank – however the discussion is significant in its social commentary and it appears that many viewers are over husbands and partners making things difficult for their other halves who are often women.
“Data over the decades has consistently shown that women are the ones shouldering the burden of emotional labour in relationships, and especially during celebrations or the holiday season.”
Ms Dober explained the common scenario within heterosexual relationships is known as the “mental load”, and can take many forms, including planning birthdays, Christmases, and other celebrations as well a remembering what needs to get done in the household and when.
“It’s when women are in the role of delegating all the tasks to respective family members or friends, and making sure they actually get done,” she explained.
“It can also include emotional labour, meaning being the one who listens, comforts and problem-solves.
“Even in the most progressive relationships this can be a point of contention, in which the woman still does the bulk of the work and it isn’t acknowledged – and may in many cases simply be ‘expected’.”
It’s because of this many viewers have seen red at the clip, arguing any man who can’t “do something nice” for his partner on Christmas Day, is a huge “red flag”.
“If they make everything harder for you, they aren’t the one, someone who loves you will make your life easier,” one wrote.
“The amount of thought and effort she would have put into Christmas – and he set her a trap,” another lamented.
One simply said: “Divorce. Immediately.”
Shawnda Patterson, a popular dating coach, warned women to “beware of the kind of men that do this when they’re trying to do something nice for you”.
“You mean to tell me, you have this woman who does everything for you without you having to lift a finger … but the millisecond its your turn to give to her, it costs her six more hours of unpaid labour?” she said in a response video.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, stay away from men who make you feel you have to jump through hoops to earn something from them.
“He literally spent all that time devising a booby trapped contraption because he couldn’t just be a nice guy and just give her the gift.”
Patterson, who has amassed over 350,000 followers with her feminist videos calling out patriarchal behaviours, went on to argue these behaviours often spark the end of marriages and relationships.
“These are the same men that throw up, cry, slide down the walls when their wife leaves them and act surprised,” she added.
“’I don’t know what I could have done’.
“Could it possibly be you can’t do anything for her out of just the kindness of your heart … that you feel entitled to all her labour. Even when you ‘give her a gift’, she has to earn that.”
In response, the couple took to TikTok to explain the husband’s “prank” was something “we do every year”, with the wife stating he asked permission to pull an elaborate stunt at Christmas when they first began dating.
“I love to read, so I know every year he’s going to get me a set of books,” the woman said.
“And because I know, he’s going to put it in a weird contraption. It’s one of many gifts he gets me every year.”
Despite the explanation, scores of social media users remained unconvinced labelled it a “cruel” and “despicable” act.
“6 hours for books,” one exasperated person replied.
“SHE SAID HER HANDS ARE NUMB!” another raged.
As one stated: “I would never ever open that gift.”
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“Those six hours could have been spent reading those books,” someone else pointed out.
While one woman reasoned: “I wouldn’t have even tried. He, or the gift, ain’t worth it.”
But one remark really sums up the overwhelming vibe surrounding the elaborate prank: “So much work for four books … I’ll leave it.”
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