I’m a 39-year-old man, and my wife, Jennifer, is 37. We’ve been married for eight years and have two children.
I work full-time, while Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom. She’s an amazing mother to our kids, but one thing she absolutely doesn’t enjoy is cooking. This hasn’t been an issue because I’m usually home by 4:30 PM, and I happen to be a skilled cook. My father was a chef, and I’ve been cooking since I was ten. I even worked as a line cook for a few years.
My cooking is something I take pride in, and it’s usually well-received. When we have company, my dishes get rave reviews, and our kids often ask for seconds. However, Jennifer is the one person who seems to hate it.
She complains constantly—“Too salty,” “Too much pepper,” “This is undercooked.” On top of that, she’s a chronic backseat cook, hovering in the kitchen to tell me what I’m doing wrong. The worst part? After criticizing my cooking, she’ll grab a frozen dinner or a Hot Pocket from the freezer instead.
Last Wednesday, I made Salisbury steaks with mushroom gravy, cream cheese mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. When I set Jennifer’s plate in front of her, she immediately made a disgusted face. She poked at the Salisbury steak, took the tiniest bite possible, made an exaggerated retching noise, threw her fork on the plate, and went to heat up a microwave burrito.
That was my breaking point. I didn’t say anything at the time because the kids were there, but I decided I was done.
The next day, I made teriyaki bowls with broccoli for dinner. When Jennifer sat at the table expecting her plate, I calmly told her I wasn’t cooking for her anymore. She asked why, and I explained that it felt like a waste of food since she clearly didn’t enjoy my cooking and always resorted to something from the freezer anyway. I told her she might as well stick with her microwaveable meals.
Jennifer is furious. She insists I should “try harder” instead of giving up. From my perspective, she can eat what she wants, but I’m tired of putting effort into meals only to be met with criticism and waste.
Did I go too far here, or is my decision reasonable?
