AITAH for being "ungrateful" to my husband?
So I (20F) and my husband (23M) recently went on a two night trip for Valentine's day. On the last day heading home, an argument started because I wanted him to stop at the store and grab my grandma a bouquet of flowers because it was her birthday. He said I shouldn't be expecting him to pay for things that I "want" because I make my own money and should be better at saving. Although I agree that I need to be better at saving, I work from home on my business that I started when I was 15 as an artist, and I don't make nearly as much money as him. It's also not very consistent. It's moreso just a little extra cash. Other than that, I'm a stay at home wife who cooks and cleans. I got upset that we couldn't just spend $12 on flowers to let her know we thought of her. Me and my husband have talked about me being a stay at home wife, and it's something we both agreed to. Naturally, being a stay at home wife means that the husband is the main breadwinner. Also, I didn't have the money in my personal account to go buy the flowers myself because I had bought Valentine's day gifts for him and Galentine's day gifts for my friend. I also bought a couple things for our trip.
This created a much larger argument and we started becoming hostile and critical of each other. It became an argument where we were comparing each other's jobs and it quickly became hurtful. I said it felt like I had to do all the cooking and cleaning for our trip even though we were on vacation, and he claimed to have done "at least 40% of the dishes". I said he hardly made an effort to be romantic the entire time and he says that the romantic things he did do just simply must've not been romantic enough for me to recognize them. I honestly don't know what he's referring to besides building a fire and doing a few dishes after I asked him to. I said I felt like I wasn't being taken seriously or being appreciated, and told him his "three emotions just won't let him understand what I mean." Which was really hurtful of me to say. He said I was taking his work for granted. He said it took him two days of work to save for the trip, and that I should be the one to save for our next trip while he happily does all the cooking and cleaning for it. I brought up how he didn't even buy me roses or anything for the trip. It felt like just a vacation for him to relax. It barely felt like Valentine's day. Meanwhile I bought him things to try and make him feel special.
The day before we left, I asked him to help me grocery shop for the trip, and he wouldn't help me so I had to go with my friend. I had to do all of the packing myself and did most of the loading up in the car.
I do believe it's important to note that I've been battling depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation since I was 13 and trying to hold down a "normal" job has almost killed me. I've been through several traumatic experiences in the past few months and I'm currently on medication and going to therapy, but I'm still in a deep pit. I don't know why it's so hard for him to just understand that all I want is romance. Not for him to treat me as less-than. He says he just "doesn't think of it" and the way he shows his love is by going to work everyday. I love my husband, but I'm growing more and more frustrated each time we talk about anything like this. It's making me be less communicative because I feel like it's pointless. I'm just so tired and don't know what I should do. He left for work earlier after we silently laid in bed for 20 minutes and under his breath told me he loved me, but I just felt so bitter and cold that I didn't say anything back.
I'm sorry this is all jumbled together. I still feel really crappy, but I'm happy to answer any questions that would better put this into perspective. Any help is appreciated.
Posted Feb 16, 2024, 9:35 PM UTC