Some husbands dream of a romantic getaway — others dream of a solo trip while their wife recovers from surgery.
A Reddit user sparked outrage online last week in the infamous AITA forum after revealing that her husband asked for a “free pass” to travel just weeks after she was set to deliver via C-section.
The woman, who is expecting in December, said she told her husband she might be okay traveling with the newborn and friends for a short trip over the holidays.
His response? “Okay, but if you change your mind, do I get a free pass?”
When she asked what he meant, he explained: it was a chance for him to jet off alone while she stayed home recovering from major abdominal surgery, breastfeeding and adjusting to life with a newborn — and possibly their toddler.
“I’d be less than a month postpartum from major abdominal surgery… I thought he’d obviously be home to help and support me — so I was shocked and hurt he’d even ask this,” she wrote on Reddit.
She added that he claimed he was “just checking” in case she changed her mind, but she called the idea selfish, asking the online community if she was wrong for being upset.
The post quickly went viral, with Reddit users blasting the husband for his timing and lack of empathy.
“NTA, no way he should be leaving you alone with the kids that soon,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “I don’t think your husband knows what a partnership is or how serious C-sections are if his first instinct is to leave you alone two weeks after giving birth.”
Others piled on: “Not only is he the AH, it seems extremely immature to worry about NYE plans when you have a family, especially a new baby, and your wife had surgery. Get a grip — it’s just one night.”
Some Redditors shared personal perspectives: “My friend had an emergency C-section and was out of commission for a while. It’s a massive surgery.”
And a maternal-child health nurse weighed in bluntly: “No, this is unreasonable and insensitive of him to even ask. NTA.”
This isn’t the first time Reddit has roasted a husband for slacking off while claiming “me time.”
Last week, a dad of three — ages nine, six and two — vented his burnout on the popular forum.
Sure, six-day workweeks in healthcare are tough, but Reddit users had zero sympathy for the man pleading for a break while his stay-at-home wife runs nonstop kid-wrangling duty.
“I work in healthcare, so I can have pretty full-on/stressful days and can often feel very emotionally as well as physically drained when I get home from work and have been feeling increasingly burnt out recently.”
After grueling days at work, he admitted he’s running on fumes. “I find I can function at work to get the job done, but once I’m home, I’ve got nothing in the tank, which leads to having very little patience and really only being present in body only.”
“‘Me time,’ he says, means the commute, a rare weekly run, and zoning out with doom-scrolling and TV after the kids are in bed.
He’s supposed to jump in and help wrangle the kids the second he walks through the door, and asked, “AITAH [am I the a—hole] for wanting some me time when I get home?”
The verdict of the commenters came quickly — and it was mostly roasting, not rooting. Users were quick to call out the dad for overlooking his wife’s relentless 24/7 grind.
Ultimately, some husbands plan for romance, others plan a solo escape — and Reddit isn’t shy about calling out the difference.
