Reddit Stories - From Healer to HOMEMAKER_ A SURPRISING Twist in Life's JOURNEY_

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #healer #homemaker #journey #life #twistSummary:A captivating tale unfolds in "From Healer to Homemaker: A Surprising Twist in Life's Journey." Follow the unexpected transformation of a healer who navigates a new path as a homemaker, showcasing the unpredictable nature of life's journey.Tags:redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, healer, homemaker, journey, life, twistBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse dedicated many years to training as a physician, but unexpectedly decided to pursue a homemaker role instead. I became anxious and attempted to persuade her otherwise. It was not until later that I recognized my mistake. Failed her. Hello, I, 32F, have been with my wife, 31F, since our second year of high school. From what I remember, she has always wanted to become a doctor.

A pediatric doctor to be exact. While I kept changing my mind and was continuously unsure about what I wanted, my wife was extremely dedicated on wanting to be a pediatric doctor. I've seen her study her but often college and cry from frustration as she studied. Seeing her work so hard gave me the motivation to finish school and become a lawyer. We've been each other's biggest supporters throughout this journey. From working odd jobs to support ourselves, having cheap dates at the park and crying from stress and frustration, it was like finally seeing

the end of the tunnel with my partner next to me the entire time. We got married right after I graduated from law school and started living in a bigger place with the money we had saved together. She finished her internship this year and is about to legally become a licensed doctor. However, her happy tune about becoming a doctor suddenly changed. I'm not really sure when her obsession with becoming a housewife started, but seeing her go from being a career-oriented woman with hopes and dreams to wanting to become a housewife gave me severe whiplash. I just couldn't understand what could make her change her mind so suddenly. I tried asking about it and she said something along the lines of I just want to cook and clean for you.

Live a simple life. I assumed that maybe she was feeling lonely since I've been working a lot, so I told her that we'd go on more dates and spend more time together but again she insisted that she wanted to be a housewife. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a housewife, but to give up your long years of studying and hard work to stay home and cook is absurd. We're already splitting the chores at home and we've just been on very equal footing since forever. I just can't seem to read her. Maybe being a doctor just isn't for her. Or perhaps she got bored. I just don't get it. I want her to do what makes her happy because I truly love her and she's my entire world but is stopping everything and throwing away the chance of having

one of the most respectable jobs on earth just to stay home and do chores really worth it? Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions. Maybe she's trying to tell me something and I'm being dense. I wish I could read her mind. I just don't get it. At the end of the day I just want to know why and maybe convince her otherwise. As much as I think that's it's a bad idea, it's still her life, but I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself if I let her throw her career away.

Edit to add After reading the comments I've had some time to reflect on how I handled the situation, and I realize now that my initial reaction wasn't the best. When my wife first brought up her desire to make a change, I immediately jumped in with all the reasons I thought it wasn't a good idea. I assumed I knew why she was feeling that way and tried to talk her out of it without really understanding her reasoning. In hindsight, I was too focused on what I thought would be best for her

instead of listening to what she actually needed. I can see now that I've been making assumptions rather than having an open and honest conversation with her about what's really going on. It's easy to fall into that trap when you're worried about someone you love, but it's clear I need to do better in understanding her perspective.

I've been so caught up in protecting her from what I saw as a mistake that I didn't stop to consider that she might have her own valid reasons. I'm grateful for those who pointed this out, and I'm committed to working on this with her. Instead of making assumptions, I'll take the time to sit down and truly listen to what she has to say moving forward. Update, July 15th, 2024.

Hello everyone, I realized that it's been quite some time since I've made this post and I apologize for updating you all so late. If I'm being honest, this post slipped my mind completely. My wife and I were going through our own healing journey and I simply wanted to focus on her. However, things are much better now and both my wife and I are content with our lives. Here's a proper and pretty lengthy update for the ones who were curious about how my wife and I were holding up now. For one, she's working to finish her residency. I'm so incredibly proud of her for pushing through, even with all the odds against her. She's incredibly hardworking and I'll always be there for her. Through the past few months, I had to revisit a lot of areas within our

relationship. For one, the status of our relationship was worse than I imagined. There were major life events in her life that I would have never known about if I hadn't broken the growing wall between us. My wife has always been a hard worker and because simple encouragement always seemed to be enough to boost her morale, I assumed that this was still the case. I was terribly wrong. My wife needed a friend, a shoulder to lean on, a confiant and a lover. But during her very difficult year, I was none of those things. As her wife, I failed to give her the proper love and support she desperately needed and deserved. Not only was she burned out, but because I unintentionally put work before her, I wounded her deeply. Our intimacy was practically

non-existent, our conversations never went beyond surface-level subjects and sometimes, the only time we'd see one another, was when one of us was already long asleep. Whenever I would ask her if she was okay, she always told me she was fine, which I doubted. But since I didn't want to push her, I stopped asking. That's where I made my mistake. Asking wasn't enough. I was foolish. We barely saw each other, did anything together, shared words of endearment or basked in each other's presence. Intimacy just seemed so foreign between us. Like a fool, I thought, hey, I asked if she was okay and she said she was fine. My job here is done. I never once tried to give her the reassurance that I was someone she could depend on, that I was ready to sit and listen, that she could complain to me

about the same thing over and over again and that I'd still listen with just as much attention. During a time of great stress, I was everything but helpful. The distance between us was growing pretty rapidly, and it's only after her insistence on becoming a housewife that this veil was lifted. Thanks to my initial post, I received a lot of helpful criticism both online and in real life. It took a lot of personal reflection. Initially, I thought applying what I was told would be a piece of cake, but seeing myself struggle to approach her made me realize how much we had truly grown apart. Little things like her hair, the bags under her eyes, or even her choice of clothes all

changed. My wife has always been someone who enjoyed dressing up. Pastel colors are her favorite, weird earrings she finds from God knows where, shoes, makeup, sweets. Little things that made her, her, suddenly stopped appearing. Again, I tried to argue that because she works in a hospital, her style of choice was most likely limited, but even when she was home, it was different. Guilt was eating me alive. My hands would tingle in pain just thinking about the burden she must be carrying all on her own.

I decided to stop acting oblivious. Even if I had to do something I deemed as awkward or unnatural, I was going to push through because she deserves better. I began to initiate simple intimacy. If it meant simple hand-holding, or working in the same room as her, I did it. I no longer asked if she was okay but instead let her know that I would always be there for her whenever she needed me. She's my priority.

Although it took some time, I was able to coax her into confine. biting in me again. We did revisit the housewife thing after a few months. She admitted that this feeling came from a deep sense of loneliness, stress, feeling burned out and the witness of a child's death. It was her first time witnessing a gradual, inevitable death and had grown quite attached to both the child and the mother who happened to be our age. This made the entire tragedy even more painful. However, my wife is still a doctor and things move quickly. She tried forgetting about it and moving on. But the realization of the weight she carries as a health professional kind of became burdening.

She began questioning her years of study, her skill, her abilities. Things that she took great pride and turned into insecurities. Eventually, she came across some aesthetically pleasing life as a housewife content. The idea of never having to go through such stress and heartbreak seemed so freeing to her. No longer having to see children in poor conditions, focusing on herself, her home, her own personal life and our relationship. To be completely honest, I didn't know how to comfort her. For one, I'm not a health professional.

Whenever I curiously looked at her notes, my head would start spinning seeing words that seemed so foreign. Our careers differ so much from one another, but I didn't know what would be appropriate to say. What can you possibly say to someone going through this type? of heartbreak. With my limited knowledge, I told her that she shouldn't carry that burden and blame herself. People are quick to run to doctors whenever they get the slightest symptoms because they know that a doctor knows best. You naturally bring comfort, a sense of relief

and safety. To me, she is no different than a superhero. The joy she brought to that child stuck with her right until her final moments and that's something she should be proud of. The child was able to live a little longer and experience so much more joy because of her kindness and expertise. We revisited this conversation a lot and every time I listened. Eventually, she gained a lot more confidence. She relied on her supervisor as well who's been in the field way before either of us were even born. Seeing her get better day by day made me so incredibly happy. We're at such a great place in our relationship right now.

I love hearing her voice, seeing her, being near her and being there for her. I missed her so much. I don't know how we went so long without speaking properly. She's my best friend. My family. I want to say that I wish I had known what to do sooner, but this entire incident was necessary. I believe it is. It brought us so much closer.

We're family and speaking about heavy subjects shouldn't be odd between us. I learned a lot about my wife, myself and our relationship. I'm very happy with how things are going. Although we're still busy, we always find some time for ourselves. We also recently adopted two cats. I know a lot of people suggested that perhaps my wife was getting baby fever, but I assure you, our kittens definitely taught us that kids probably aren't meant for us. Not anytime soon anyway.

Thank you again for being so kind and honest with me. I'm excited to learn more and deepen our emotional connection and I can only see a brighter future ahead. Edit to add, I've been reflecting on some of the advice given, and I completely agree that my wife needs a solid support system in place, whether that's through counseling or another form of mental health support. The environment she grew up and didn't exactly encourage talking about mental health. In fact, it was treated like something that would just pass on its own, like a common cold. Because of that, seeking professional help was never something she seriously considered before. Now that we've distanced ourselves from that environment, we're starting to see things more clearly. Mental health isn't something to be ashamed of, and we're both committed to making sure she gets the support she needs.

We're definitely going to look into options like counseling and see what resources are available, even through her workplace, if possible. It's something we're actively working on, and I'm hopeful that it will make a big difference. for her well-being. Now on to the next story. Story 2. Wanted to keep my last name, so my fiancé offered to take mine instead. His parents exploded, called us unbiblical, threatened to cut him off, and tried to stop our wedding. My fiancé, M21, Alex, and I, F-22, have been together six years, getting married this year. I never cared much about my last name but after some recent family events realized I want to keep mine. Alex doesn't mind, and chose to change his last name so we'd match. Upon finding out, Alex's parents, Lisa and Luke, yelled at him. Lisa cussed him out,

so my parents let him stay with us for the last week of winter break. We were home on break from college and live a few miles apart. Lisa and Luke say Alex is destroying and disowning his family, publicly humiliating them, and say I'm stripping him of his manhood. They told him told us were unbiblical, and that women should submit. To them it's political too, they said the queer community is the reason we're susceptible to this, transgender people are to blame, and America is in its downfall. This is just another sign. Alex has gotten plenty of texts from Lisa, calling him hateful, cruel, and cold, asking how

he can let her suffer. The meetings Alex had with his parents went poorly, they told him they wanted to see him and not talk about the name, but then did. One meeting involved both sets of parents, Lisa and Luke talked 90% of the time before getting up and leaving. Their Matt Alex stayed with us and said even if we go with his name, they'd resent us and my family for supporting us. Lisa threatened to cut Alex off and says he won't get another penny, they had planned to contribute to our wedding, stating there were no strings attached, and they fund his college apartment. Lisa said this is the worst thing to happen to her since losing her first baby, and that it's worse than if Alex had gotten me pregnant,

killed someone drunk driving, or was gay. She's telling Alex that his grandparents will have to move to assisted living from heartbreak, and Luke keeps telling Alex's choice is hurting people. Their main reason seems to be that it is tradition and that they want the last name carried on. It's not an uncommon last name. I also learned that Lisa Borderline tried to talk Alex out of proposing. Alex asked me to marry him anyway, and Lisa called my mom in the midst of the engagement excitement to share her disapproval. They said that they get a say until Alex is married, and that's when they'll leave us be.

Lisa and Luke keep texting Alex and my parents, but I have never gotten anything. They openly dislike me now, bad-mouthing me whether I'm there or not. I've decided my relationship with Lisa and Luke is over, it was rocky before as they tried to push their religion onto me numerous times. Alex is deciding how much more he can give. He hasn't taken a harsh tone or spoken rudely to his parents, but is tired. Now his parents say if Alex won't move back home, their financial support ends. They say the family won't come to the wedding, and one of his siblings actually has left the wedding party.

Obviously I have decided to stay mostly away from Lisa and Luke now, but they are Alex's family. With the wedding still coming up, we're unsure how to move forward. Edit to add, Lisa and Luke's financial support is not necessary, and the wedding will proceed with or without it. Just thought it relevant that the money that was offered no strings attached, clearly does have strings. We know we are young, and are still getting married, after spending six years together. Exponing the wedding isn't something we're willing to do. Update, July 7, 2024. Alex and I got married last month, and everything was absolutely beautiful. Since my original post, after more months

of emotional and verbal abuse, Alex made the difficult decision that his parents were no longer welcome at our wedding. He explained that he couldn't trust them to respect his boundaries, respect us at all, or respect what the event was about. As expected, they freaked out, asking if he was trapped and needed help, saying everything had become about me, op, and telling him he'd been isolated from everyone he loves. We're not sure what story they told Alex's extended family. Alex reached out to everyone to explain what had been going on, but every response he received was more discussed toward his name choice, refusal of wedding invitations, and saying he needed to apologize slash grovel and fix the family. Most of Lisa's family were the ones talking the

most about how dishonorable he was being and how he was breaking apart the family. Interesting seeing none of them share Lisa and Luke's last name, Luke's family does. Luckily, only one invitation was returned with nasty notes inside. But the rest of the digital responses took Lisa and Luke's side, berated Alex for doing this near the anniversary of the death of Lisa's first child, and called him cruel and hateful. For context, Lisa's first child passed away a few days after birth, over 25 years ago. Alex says there has never been any remembrance that he knows of, and they do nothing on the

anniversary, he doesn't even know the date of the anniversary. Lisa and Luke explained what happened once when he was young, and never mentioned anything again. We're unsure why it's all coming back up now, after presenting is generally unimportant his whole life. Apparently, this drama being four months from the anniversary was disrespectful, his sister Alice also went off the rails. After checking in to see how Alex was doing, Alice got angry that he wanted to discuss things over text instead of on the phone.

It became obvious that she wanted him on the phone to berate him, because she ranted about how he was steamrolling their parents, and wasn't really an adult because he wasn't married yet. She said she had encouraged Lisa and Luke to cut him off long ago, and that I, op, wasn't acting like family since I stopped letting her follow my Instagram account. This was after she dropped out as a bridesmaid and made it clear she didn't support our marriage. I decided not everyone gets full access to my life. As his only sibling, it was devastating for Alex to watch Alice spiral into fully taking their parents' side, after initially leading him to believe she had his back and being supportive. After saying not to expect her and Alex's bill at the wedding, there's been no further contact since Alice refuses to speak to him unless he'll talk on the phone.

At this point, he won't do any phone calls as we'd rather have record of everything that goes down. Many people tried to talk to Lisa and Luke, my own parents, mutual friends, etc. To encourage them to choose relationship, and explain the damage they were causing wasn't worth the loss they'd endure. It seemed to have no effect. Alex was quick to become no longer financially dependent on his parents. We've changed his phone plan, reclaimed all his bills from Lisa and Luke. fully moved him out and finished college. We're not sure if they attended graduation, they texted Alex the day before to say they'd be there, but then turned off their location

services. Graduation day was stressful and nerve-wracking, with Alex not knowing if they'd make a scene or corner him. He left as soon as he walked across the stage, and made it to his car with no interactions. Since then, as most people suggested, we've been nearly no contact with Lisa and Luke. We spent the first six weeks of summer finishing wedding details, and our day last month was gorgeous. Alex received no communication between graduation and the wedding, and has no plans to continue their relationship without an apology. Lisa and Luke did not show up to the wedding, or say anything day of. The only recent change is Lisa unfollowing and unfriending both of us and my family on all social media. For me, my in-law relationships are basically over, apology

or not. Learning they'd never supported our engagement, ignoring my existence, and hating me because of my political and religious beliefs is enough for me not to keep contact. Thank you, for your kind help and good wishes. Our day was truly perfect and straight out of a fairy tale, and we're looking forward to the next chapter of our lives, with hopefully less drama.