Man Speaks about How His Job Ruined His Marriage

This Reddit Story comes from the Antiwork subreddit, where like-minded people share stories about finding a peaceful and happy life outside of work and the daily grind. It’s about a man who lost the love of his life because he refused to stop working and giving time to his wife.

The Story

A person with the username dailybrood32 posted his thought-provoking story. He wanted others to learn from his mistakes. Here is the story:

“Don’t let work destroy your life.

“I met my (soon to be ex) wife 8 years ago. We loved each other and had a great time together. I got a high pressure job a few years in that my bosses claimed would be worth it in the long run.

“You know the story. I embraced the grind lifestyle. Worked late , worked weekends, worked holidays and on vacation while my wife sat around by herself. I kept telling her it was for our future and would eventually pay off. She begged me for years to quit, said she didn’t care about the money. I chose wrong.

“2020 sucked for financially but I was assured by my boss that 2021 would be “amazing” for me. I worked every weekend. I worked the day of my wedding. We cut our honeymoon short so I could get back to work. I was chasing the pot of gold cause I wanted to buy her a house.

“Welp. 4 months post-wedding, my wife leaves me ending our 8 year relationship. She told me I always chose work over her and didn’t like what I turned into. I begged her to stay but said I just needed till the end of the year to cash out and I would quit. Nope she left. Was tired of spending her weekends alone and felt unloved. I kept my head down and threw myself into work to try to forget and maybe find some meaning in the destruction of my marriage.

“My job f*cked me on my bonus and raise. Told me it was a hard year for the firm and they couldn’t pay me what they promised. My marriage ended up being worth nothing.

“I took 2 weeks off, came back for 1 week, and quit. I made sure they knew I blamed them and made sure to delete 6 months of work on the way out the door.

“F*ck your job. Enjoy your weekends. Money won’t buy you happiness. If you’re lucky enough to find someone who loves you, focus on that and never let go.

“Learn from my mistakes reddit.”

At first, the community didn’t quite understand where this man was coming from. So he added a few updates to his original post.

“Edit: Wow didn’t expect the hate. People, I was trying to give my wife a good life. I admitted I made the wrong choice. Not looking for sympathy, trying to warn you to avoid my mistakes. For those reaching out with condolences, Thank you. For you guys telling me I f*cked up, I know. F*ck you for rubbing it in. Maybe read the whole post before judging

“Edit 2: Thank you for everyone who actually read and understood my post. I’m still getting some pretty horrible messages but its like 2%, the rest of you have given me nothing but positivity and know that I deeply appreciate it. I never expected this response, I was just a dr*nk lonely guy in a bar when I posted it. For everyone asking, I was virtual so when I say I worked on my honeymoon I mean I was answering emails not physically apart from my wife.

“Also, for all the wannabe legal experts who keep spamming me, I’m a lawyer so yes I understand the legal implications of what I did, much better than you do I promise. Please stop telling me I messed up/am going to get sued. No I didn’t and no I’m not.

“Finally, happy ending. I got a new job and a new gal. Life is looking up. Please learn from me and have a great life everyone!

“Oh, and f*ck your job.”

The Responses

After a few negative comments from people who didn’t read this man’s story properly, a plethora of positive and supportive comments came from all over Reddit’s community. Here are some of the top comments:

Reddit user brahdoyouevenlift said:

“I’m so sorry you had to experience this. I left my most recent job because I saw it having an effect on my marriage. (My boss scheduled me for client meetings the day after my wedding)

“Similarly, my wife kept telling me that we were fine with money, we’d make it work. I’m so glad I listened to her.”

hibrett987 said:

“I quit a job last year, for many reasons, but one reason in particular I brought up was I couldn’t spend anytime with my fiancé because of all their mandatory overtime.”

Sugar_buddy commented:

“This makes me feel better about staying home with my wife and ignoring my boss trying to call me about overtime.”

This post has over 2.4k comments, you can read them on Reddit here.

Our Take

We empathize with this man and his story; some of us are so overworked that we forget about the important people in our lives. We are glad he found someone and is happy now!

Source:

• Reddit – My job ruined my marriage. A cautionary tale

What’s Your Take?

What’s your take on this man’s story about work and its effects on relationships? Talk to us in the comments below!