My husband (33M) and I (30F) have been married for 11 years. He’s in the military, so we’ve moved around a lot. Over the years, I’ve taken on nearly all the household responsibilities: grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry, and caring for our pets. My husband’s contributions have been minimal—mowing the lawn or hanging things on the wall when needed. For most of our marriage, I’ve also worked outside the home.
In the past, I asked him to help out more, but he dismissed me entirely. He even threatened to eat off paper plates or rely on fast food so I wouldn’t have to “worry about HIS dishes.”
The Situation Now
We now have a 13-month-old baby, and I’ve been a stay-at-home mom since our child’s birth. Despite the added responsibilities of caring for a baby, all the household chores—cooking, cleaning, laundry, groceries, and caring for pets—are still solely my responsibility. I breastfeed all night, handle bath time, feed the baby at mealtime, clean up after meals, and do the dishes.
When I revisited the topic of needing help, I explained how burnt out I felt. His response was that going to work should be enough and accused me of being ungrateful. He couldn’t understand why I would ask him for more help when I “already have it easy.”
I was at my breaking point, so I told him, “Why are we even married then? I could get a job and still do everything on my own.” Hearing this, he reluctantly agreed to help, but it didn’t feel genuine.
The Passive-Aggressive Backlash
Since that conversation, every time he does something—feeding the baby, changing a diaper, or putting food away—he makes passive-aggressive comments like, “I hope THIS is enough” or “Am I doing enough now?”
One day after grocery shopping, I got the baby out of the car and went to grab some bags. He insisted, “No, I got it.” When I asked to help carry a few, he refused, but as we walked inside, he muttered, “I hope breaking my back is enough for you.”
I can’t win.
I told him it feels like he’s punishing me for asking for help. In frustration, I brought up divorce. His response was shocking: he said if we divorced, he would completely remove himself from our child’s life. He told me, “It’s all or nothing.”
The Stakes
We’re currently living overseas. A divorce would mean me moving back to the U.S. near my family with our baby while he remains stationed at his duty location. He says he doesn’t want a divorce, but the idea that he would willingly abandon his relationship with our child feels unbearable to me.
AITAH?
Am I wrong for considering divorce, knowing my husband would choose to not be a part of our child’s life? How can I do this to our baby? But at the same time, how can I continue living like this? Am I asking for too much?