Two Hot Takes - 259: A Rare Breed..

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Two Hot Takes host, Morgan, is joined by guest co-host Lauren! Ever met someone and thought, "They're a breed of their own"? Well that's what this weeks stories entail.. uniquely odd people and their equally unique problems. From someone who lied to his wife about coffee for years to a man whose wife is obsessed with his ex and her millionaire fiancé .. we have so many mind boggling stories. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on these ones! Partners: Duluth Trading Company: Shop at DuluthTrading.com and in-store today.  State Farm: Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan! Patreon BONUS Content including FREE stories: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TwoHotTakes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ NEW MERCH:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.twohottakes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Send us a letter? Our PO Box!! Two Hot Takes. 5042 Wilshire BLVD. #470. Los Angeles, CA 90036  WRITE IN TO US!!! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://reddit.app.link/twohottakes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Full length Video episodes available on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoHotTakes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Index: 00:00 -- Start Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you ready? I don't. I don't, is my hair ready? That's, that's a bit of a patch. You do have a little cockatoo in the back, okay. To be honest. See, the issue is I thought I had my brush on me and I don't. I know.

I forgot my whole makeup bag. You don't have a brush. But you know what we do have. Friends, me and you, us, each other. Friendship. Friendship. Oh, we don't even have that. No, I'm kidding.

Comrodity. Comrade of me. What? Oh, Sabrina Carviner. Oh, God. I was like, don't make me explain this. You know, my brain is a little slower this morning. You know, we had a good time last night.

A lot of fun. We went to a tennis. I called it a game and someone yelled at me on Instagram. Someone yelled at me for wearing sketchers there, so. Tennis is a different world. You know, I'm about it, though, thanks to our friends at Lou Lemon inviting us. That was a good time. Really good time.

And I'm now into it. But yes, it's called a match. But I'm really excited to be kicking off this week. We've had a really fun adventure this weekend. And now we're capping it off with a little bubbly. Yes. And it's Morgan's birthday week. So let the celebrations continue.

I cannot keep up at the ripe age of... 32 now. I was thinking I wanted to take, because I haven't really done what I would like to do for you. And so I was hoping to take you to like a massage or and I feel like that's something where I love that. That's not something you want to be over with, right? No. Yeah. We love a massage. Everyone knows I have my spot here that I love. But yeah. So we could do that tonight or maybe a different day of your choosing, but I would like. I'm going to go home and read my book. Okay. So it's a no. You guys, I got really into Fourth Wing and now I'm like, I really want to record this episode, share these unreal stories with you guys, and then go home and read. Like, you know when you get a book and you're just like, oh my God, what is up with Zaden? This freaking weirdo. Don't bring up things because people are going to spoil it for you and I don't want them to because I genuinely... I want to spoil it for myself. Don't do that.

Don't do it. I started watching Poldark. I googled a couple things. Well, it's, I know you do that with movies. Don't do that with a book. Please. I wish I didn't know the things I know about some of the books that I've read. It would be so much more fun. Okay. And so I'll do it just for you. Thanks. Just for you. Okay, cool. I'm so excited to have you back. I've been

working on this theme for a little bit and I think it's like going to be my new recurring theme. Kind of like we did unhinged, unhinged 2.0. These people are just in a league of their own. They are unique. in their activity, their problems. They are what you would call a rare breed. And so that is where we're at today. We've got a bunch of people that are just rare breeds and I think you all are going to be thoroughly entertained by them. I was reading them initially and I'm so excited to hear your thoughts. Yay. Do you have anything to share with the class, Lauren? I mean, not up, not on the spot like that. Any new updates? It's been months since you've been here. It has been. I was on Patreon though. You were. So, yes. But no, I, what has happened since I've

last seen everyone? You went scuba diving? Wow, it has been a long time. Yeah. So it's been since like December. I did go scuba diving. Very gorgeous in Cozumel, Cozumel. I don't know if I'm saying that right. Um, worked a lot and I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember my life this year in 2026. No? I don't know. Oh my gosh. What else have I done? I don't know. Okay. It doesn't matter. Am I being weird? I think we're both being weird. Okay. Well, shake it off. We need to get over this like, I'm, I'm, I'm, to be honest, I'm a little hungover. Oh. I think that's where my weirdness is coming from. Okay. I think I'm like a little over-stimulated, and that's where my weirdness is. But not in the bad way. No, I feel that though, too. It's actually just like,

I have like a lot of energy and I usually don't on Sundays. And so this is like very exciting but almost overwhelming. Where do I start? Do you have so much energy that you'd like to read today? I don't really know that I can finish. Maybe a couple. That'd be so great. That'd be so great.

I'll give it a shot. I like this. I might end up skipping. I just saw my life flash before my eyes. You just came towards me. You just witnessed a near-death experience. Weren't you holding your thumb on it? No, I thought they stayed until I...

No. Until I... Until I... What do you think the safety cage is for? People lose eyes from champagne bottles every year. Don't say that. Don't say that. Take that back.

I literally saw it. Take it back. We're going to have to roll the tape. I think it hit the bottom of the mic flag. Oh, I might end up sticking. It's matching my energy right now. The bottle? Yes.

Dude, we are rare breeds. We ourselves are rare breeds. We fit right along with these people today. Are you okay? We're going to need to pick this up tomorrow. Circle back. We're done here. Oh, my God.

It's like the new... What is it? Never mind. Okay. Well, no, I'm curious where you were going with that. No. Let's get back. back to the stories. I need something to keep me on track. Okay. Without further ado,

wow, that's scary. Let's dive in. Okay, let's do it safely. This episode is presented by Duluth Trading Company, number one in garden. Dig in a spring gardening wearing Duluth trading's five-star gardenware. Their dirt and debris deflecting, moisture wicking, and have 50-plus sun protection for long days in the rays, and their heirloom gardening overalls are made from super stretchy, durable ripstop nylon and loaded with 12 pockets, plus knee pad pockets for extra comfort. Short overalls, overall dress, over shirt and pants are all new to the collection too. So whether you have one garden bed or 100 acres, there's gardenware for every green thumb. Shop at Duluth trading.com or in store today. Cheers. So as a lot of us know, because I do talk about

colon cancer quite a bit, especially recently. It is colon cancer awareness month in March. And I think it's really important to just make sure you're watching for symptoms, talking to your loved ones, especially if they are over 45 because the screening age and like what they're doing colonoscopies at now is 45. It's been lowered. So talk to your loved ones, especially if you know they have stomach issues. I think it's, it's crucial to address early. It's, It's one of the only types of cancer that's actually preventable. And I've heard colonoscopies are the best naps you'll ever have. Mine is scheduled for April.

Justin's is scheduled for April. It's going to be really, really good. Obviously, don't psych yourself out and get one if you don't need one. But there's some common symptoms. And I'm going to talk about them after we get into this story. And this isn't necessarily a part of our rare breed theme. but I really just want to read this story because colon cancer is something that's like really affected my family. And I've gotten so many messages and comments from listeners out there saying

me talking about it encouraged you to talk to your mom and they discovered stage three cancer and now she's fine. Like I'm sharing something on Instagram that has just been really meaningful for me. And so I want to talk about it. Yeah. And at the top of the month, right when it's, you know, conversation's really going. Absolutely. Okay, so this is coming from Today I Fucked Up, titled, Today I Fucked Up, Dismissing Bright Red Blood in My Stool for Years. If you're currently experiencing this symptom, please read. My experience, I've had small amounts of bright red blood on my stool for years. I'd always dismiss this finding because I'm young with a horrible diet.

I've always been taught that Black Stool is the worrisome stool, as that's indicative of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, whereas a stool that has bright red blood just indicates hemorrhoids. My logic for dismissing the bright red blood, I've had a diet consisting of high sugar, high fat, processed foods with low fiber, in addition to being very inactive, causing constipation and straining. So bleeding from straining just made sense. I'm 6.1 at 225 pounds. Blood was not consistent. It came and went. There was not a lot of blood, and when it was, it looked like skid marks on the stool, something I thought was obviously related to hemorrhoids, I'm young, 29. Family history of hemorrhoids, so I thought me having hemorrhoids was just part of the family business.

Also, lack of education, especially knowledge relating to polyps, an abnormal tissue formation resembling a skin tag in the colon. Why did I eventually meet with a GI specialist? The blood in my stool became more of an everyday thing that lasted for months. From my perspective, that frequency was abnormal. My GI doctor thought it was more than likely hemorrhoids, but still recommended a colonoscopy, because no matter what, blood and stool, especially in young adults, is not normal and should always be inspected. What was found from my colonoscopy? A 20-millimeter polyp. To put it in a perspective, a 10-millimeter polyp is considered big.

The polyp was sent to pathology, and in a few days, I received a call. They discovered that cancer had formed on the polyp. It's more of a rare cancer, less than 1% of colon cancers, that is ultimately a little bit more aggressive than the average colon cancer. At this point, I've been staged at stage 3A. After getting a part of my colon removed, and six weeks later, I will now be starting chemotherapy in five days. The doctors do feel I have an 80 to 90% chance of being cured with chemo's assistance, but what's more interesting about this cancer is that it is most common in younger people, around later 20s, early 30s.

The doctors mentioned that they are seeing colon cancer rise more often in young people. If you have had blood in your stool, you more than likely do not have colon cancer, but you should get yourself checked by a doctor if you are having this symptom, just to make sure there's nothing going on. Common symptoms for anyone out there. Obviously, we have the blood in stool, but there's also changes in your bowel habits, diarrhea, constipation, incomplete bowel movement, so like the constant urge to go, but you can't empty yourself like nothing really happens, abdominal pain, persistent pain, cramps, really gas

pain, the feeling of being bloated. There's a lot of other ones too that are now being connected, like general weakness, fatigue, unexplained weight loss. So if you or anyone you know is experiencing any of these. Talk to a doctor, get checked. I think it's just, it's, again, so preventative, so treatable. And if it's left untreated, it's, it's just, it's horrible. No cancer is fun, but I feel like as I've watched someone go through that one and a couple others, that one really, it was brutal. Not to just like pile it all on, but I do want to mention that there's been multiple people that I know that have lost their lives to heart problems and heart attacks. And they have been, they've been on the rise lately. And I think that that's another thing, too,

to like take very seriously look up the symptoms of it if you're experiencing them. Especially women. Yeah. Go in. Like don't, like, it's so, it's really easy for women to write it off is like, it's heartburn. Anxiety. I'm fine. Indigestion. I can push through it. And it's not worth it. Like always, always go in.

And, um, yeah, Lauren just lost a mutual friend who was, what, like 30 from a heart attack. And she thought it was heartburn. And so I always think it's better to be safe than sorry. And I know, you know, depending on where you're at, health care is difficult and it can be, you know, a high burden to access. But it is better to be safe than sorry. You know, you only got one life. So look out for yourself. I will say we do have an update on this post.

So this update is coming from nine days ago. The original post is now five years old. Oh, wow. Hey, everyone. Girls, guys, days, and gays, I'm still alive. It's been five years since my original post where I informed you all that I ignored blood in my stool and later found out I had colon cancer.

Before I get started with my life update, I would like to offer a genuine apology to those that had messaged me after my first post asking for an update and wishing me well. The experience was traumatizing. The farther I got from my diagnosis date and being NED, no evidence of disease, the less I wanted to relive the trauma of being diagnosed. Please understand that I was protecting myself from anxiety and panic attacks. For those still reading, here's my life update below. Am I cured? According to my oncologist, yes. Yay. I was diagnosed with stage three adenocarsinoma of sigmoid colon, Cigna ring cell. I hope I remain cancer-free for the rest of my life, and I hope that I don't need to make a very awkward, hey guys, it's back post. Two, what's my current health look like?

I'm 6-1, roughly 285. I've gained weight about 60 to 70 pounds, and my liver is fatty. I'm actively losing weight at this time with the help of a medication. Relationship, I'm officially married as of January 18th, 2026. Yay. Congratulations. We've been together for three years and agreed to marry earlier if my cancer returned. The partner I was with when I was diagnosed is no longer my partner. We broke up about one year after my diagnosis. To be honest, she took very good care of me when I needed her the most. I'll always appreciate her for that. Mental health. I've had anxiety and depression. I think it's about the same, maybe even somewhat improved since pre-diagnosis. Two pro, of a cancer diagnosis. One, I have people in my life I never would have had without the diagnosis.

Paige, my cancer mom, and Ben, my cancer dad, have all been on speed dial since I met them in my colon cancer support group five years ago. Why am I emotional from this? Two, there's no experience that will make you realize how precious life is than genuinely thinking you will die soon within the next few years. Some shoutouts, my wife, who always be there for me. My mom, my stepdad and brother, who always be there for me, Paige and Ben, Tanner and Sarah, friends that I have made in my support group who were taken by cancer. My best friends, Amir, Jason, Richard, Jess, Steve, Deb, who will always be there for me. Well, I don't know what else to add. You can ask any questions. I'll do my best to answer. I stream on Twitch occasionally, so you can definitely ask questions

there as well. And then they share their Twitch username, which is Nurse Dave, I-T-H, maybe Nurse Davith. But yeah, I'll have the link in the description if you want to go and chat with him, ask him any questions, but it's really, it just like was so full circle. And I, I didn't see the original post. I saw this update coming, you know, a couple days ago. And then I was like, wait, what was this Tiff you? And, oh, it's March, colon cancer awareness month. What a perfect time to share. Absolutely. So I think that's honestly, Morgan told me the other day that Justin was talking to her about the fact that if she wants to help a large amount of people, like this is a good place to be. And it's something as simple as bringing it up and bringing up awareness on this silly

podcast where we say stupid things all the time. Yeah, but most of what we say is just like, it's dumb. It should be in one ear out of the other three guys. Yeah, we get that. But like, but I think that, you know, then we trick you with these really meaningful moments that could actually impact your life. And Morgan has had people reach out and let her know that just the awareness alone has. Yeah. And I think that's really beautiful. So I hope that there's somebody that's, you know, listening right now that is getting help that maybe they wouldn't have otherwise because that's, that is the beautiful part about this platform growing and being big and reaching a lot of people. So anyway, just. Thank you. for that. It's a nice reminder. I've been, I've been dealing with a lot of burnout lately and I've

been talking about it probably to an annoying degree for you guys. And it's just, it's mental health is something that's also really important to address. And Justin and I get into it on Patreon. And, you know, now more than ever when the world is at such a heavy, scary point, I feel like, you know, we've made statements like this over the years of this podcast, but it just keeps coming. And you're like, oh, my God. And, you know, know, with everything from files getting released and just, I don't know if anyone else has dealt with this, but you scroll and you just feel like you're, like, someone described it as like having an episode of psychosis because you're like, all of this info's coming out,

all of these bad things are happening, and yet no one's doing anything about it. And it can just feel so helpless. Yeah. And so I have to keep that in mind that like, this is everyone's, you know, safe space. This is where a lot of us come to just tune out the weight of the world. and get into these crazy stories. And that's what it is for me too. And I appreciate all of you being here and spreading awareness and talking to your loved ones.

And it's a really, really near and dear issue for me. And so if you want to see other people's stories that they heard an episode, talk to their family, getting checked, found things, I'm going to have a bunch of stories over on the Too Hat Takes Instagram. So go over there and check it out. But it's meant a lot to me. and I appreciate all of you sharing. But okay, before I start bawling my eyes out, let's get into these stories. Okay, let's do it.

This one was originally posted in our very own Too Hot Takes subreddit. And then our friend, Direct Caterpillar 77, recommended this person to share it on this subreddit, which you might have already gotten this tea on Patreon, but I'm working with Direct Caterpillar 77 to get them. on like maybe a Zoom or just even like a phone call to give their take on a story. They're a little nervous. They said, I have a stutter. And like, I'm just like, I don't know if I'm the best speaker. And I'm like, I'm not either. None of us are. Like we all stumble with our words. And I'm like, no, no, no, you'll be great. So we're in the works on it. It's going to come. So I'm really excited because there's such a big contributor to Reddit and this show as of late. So the post is titled,

guy I'm seeing constantly talks in a baby voice. It's a no for me. So I, 27 female, met this guy, 29 male, on a dating app, and have hung out about five times now. He's very attractive, like has a six-pack and very fit, even though I normally don't seek out guys this fit. I'll take back the no. But anyways, I generally enjoy hanging out with him, except for one thing. He is constantly talking in a baby voice. The first time we hung out, we went to dinner, and there was no baby voice until we went back to his place, and he got very snugly and would occasionally say stuff or sounds in a baby voice way.

The third time we hung out, he came over to my place and he met my cat. He used the baby voice a lot around the cat. Obviously. And while talking about the cat. But I kind of brush it off because that's pretty normal, I guess. when you see cute animals. He said stuff mostly like, ooh, what a handsome man,

such a cute widow guy, etc. I love that. So it wasn't too bad. The fourth time we hung out again at my place and the baby voice was much more prevalent. I'd say he used it about 50% of the time he said anything, not even related to the cat or anything.

At this point, I was like, okay, this is getting odd. When we were messing around, he was a little too rough and I told him to be a little gentler. And he said stuff in his baby voice like, oh my goodness, and I be gentle. Weird. So last night was the fifth time we hung out and the baby voice is really irking me. He used it about 75% of the time.

Oh no. Even when hooking up. After we were done once, he asked me if I orgasmed, which I did. and I said yes. And he said, yay! Oh no. In a baby voice. Oh, no.

Then I said I did twice, actually. And he said in his baby voice, and I quote, Am I a big boy? Ugh. What the fuck? I kind of laughed awkwardly and was like, yeah, I guess. It was so weird and such a turnoff.

Who says that? So I think I need to break it off with this guy because it's just getting weird at this point. How should I go about it in a nice way? Or should I bring up his baby voice and ask him to tone it down? Is this as weird as I think it is? I mean, try to ask him to tone it down first, yeah. I mean, it sounds like at least the intimacy is real good.

Yeah, like, maybe there's something to work. Yeah. Work out here? Right. I would say give it a shot. Two? Yeah. After the fifth date?

I'm like, that takes... That takes years. I can. No, definitely ask him to stop. Can we just... Can you just like stop being weird? Like tone it down a little bit or I think just asking like, what's up with the baby voice? Like is this usual?

Do you think I'm into it? Like, what's up? I would be like, I'm icked out. Stop or leave. This would give me the ick to. And I've seen a lot of videos of people sharing their icks. I want to hear everyone's like icks. What's like the most absurd ick you've gotten?

I talked to a guy in high school that was like this. That was like really baby voice. Oh my God. And was like, come here, what a cutie? And I'm like, wait, I couldn't make it work. He was such a nice guy. Oh. So sweet.

Okay, because I feel like the other guy that you dated also did that. Maybe that was just his voice. Was that the one that was like, Morgan Ashley? Yeah. Yeah. Mogan Ashway. Yeah. I feel like he did that too. But yeah, a little. You know, I think it's actually your fault for having a cat. No, I'm kidding. But like, dude, we're going to do an episode coming up where we just rage bait. Yeah. We give such bad takes the whole episode. Yeah. I just want to like, I want to be on the opposite side and just like rage bait. Oh my God. I like, you do that all the time. I wouldn't, yeah. I wouldn't be able to handle that though because then we'd have clips on like floating around the internet and then. like I'd have some, like, I'd have like a second cousin come across it and be like, what's wrong with her? So I, you know.

No, I do actually think about this because I, I like can't not talk baby talk when there's an animal around. That, like, I've actually so. That's the most normal response. But like to the animal, you know, like me and me and Oleg will be like about Pluto, we'll be like, what a handsome boy, you know, but then I don't. But then I don't look at Alejandra and say, you did your plu. witty goal. I know. There's kind of a time and a place and unless it's like a conversation where it's

like I'm really into this. Yeah. Would you be willing to give this a try? Yeah. Then I feel like you can incorporate it. But other than that, it can kind of feel weird. So conversation needed. I don't know if it's like breakup worthy unless it's like, oh, he genuinely cannot stop this. And it's off. It becomes 100% of the time. I mean, it's super new. And that's the thing is that when you're that new and you come across these things that make you feel that way, it's really easy to just end it there. Obviously, if you guys were like five years in instead of five dates in, then I would be like, no, you guys can work through this. But it's really up to you. I think that, I think there's nothing wrong in being like, I'm going to be honest. I think you're so attractive. But the baby voice

makes me not in the mood. And I just wanted to be transparent about that. And then, is that? Yeah. And then see how they respond. And if he's like, and actually, that might be a good one. Because then if he gets really defensive and weird about it, then you can be like, okay, well, I don't like if I'm giving feedback and this person gets this defensive. Or maybe they make changes or maybe they don't make changes. I think that's a good way to even see in general, like, if you do bring up something, how they react. So. Yeah. Are they receptive to feedback? Are they willing to like work on things, compromise? It's really good to find out early on. Yeah. I mean, he could turn around and be like, well, I think you're ugly anyway. And then you have your answer. Then you're like, okay, goodbye. Yeah. But I think it's worth saying something. It's not like one of those things that he can't change about himself, right? Like it's, and if he doesn't want to change about himself, then like that's fine too. Oh, good. But at least you give, at least you get a chance, you know. I'm with you. Yeah. I'm with you. Top comment. Talking to a pet or a baby is pretty much the only time this is okay. The rest of the times are a hell no. Someone else comments back. Yeah, once the baby talk progresses to the bedroom, it's time for a conversation in not baby talk.

And a lot of people are saying, like, flip the script on him, take a look at his junk and say, how are you doing today, little guy? That's like how to lose guy in 10 days. That's okay. Why was that the first thought that popped into my head? Because she goes, she's like, she named it like Miss, like Miss Princess or something. Princess. Princess.

I was like, my little princess. I know. But no, I literally when I was just. reading this story, I was like, is he trying to lose a girl in 10 days? Because he's amping it up. Normal for his date. Yeah. You know, gets some action. Did he buy her a plant? Little hairless dog in a sweater? Yeah. Are we seen any signs? Oh, my God. Okay, so we do get an update on this one. All right, guys, I have a little update for y'all. It won't let me link to the old post, so just go to my profile. I was getting very concerned about him having a mommy slash little

fetish, as most of you suggested, and worked up the courage to talk to him about it. That didn't grasp my mind. Whoa. Well, text him. Since typing this stuff out helps me articulate what I like to say better. Here's how it went. Me. Hey, there's been something on my mind. Can I talk to you about it? Him. Yeah, what's up? Me. I've noticed that you've been talking in a baby voice quite often, and I'm wondering if you notice it or if it's something you didn't realize you were doing. I'm not trying to be mean or confrontational, but it makes me a little uncomfortable, especially when we have sex. And I'd rather just be honest about my feelings than keep it to myself.

Perf. Him. Huh? LOL, next time show me this noise and I'll cut it out. Oh my God. Me, giving him the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, I figured you didn't realize it. Next time I'll point it out, L.O.L.

Then he called me and was basically like, quote, yeah, next time I do it just bought me on the head because I didn't realize I was doing it. And I asked him if it could possibly be a sexual thing or a fetish slash kink related and that I won't judge him if it were. He said no, that he loved his mom, but not like that, L.O.L. He also went on to say that he used to work the night shift for several months and has been taking Xanax and melatonin at night to help him sleep now that he works a normal day shift. and that could possibly be making him loopy. We've only ever really hung out at night, so that could be a possibility. I enjoy spending time with him and generally give people the benefit of the doubt,

so we're going to hang out this week, and I'll see how it goes and update y'all later. Update 10. Yay! Okay, so I deleted my original post and the update because I was super paranoid that he would see it, and maybe I was blowing things out of proportion. But after an attempt to clear things up today, I'm even more suspect. Oh, oh. Granted, it could honestly just be something innocent and he thinks it's cute and funny instead of it being like a fetish. Anyways, here's my original post and update, and I'll post the

smaller newest update at the end. So we've been texting since this morning and I wanted to kind of clear things up and express my Xanax concerns, but now I'm like almost 100% sure he made up that excuse because he was embarrassed that I called him out on the baby voice. So here's our combo. Him sends a pick of his sleep tracker that says he got 11 hours of sleep. Wow. And I go, me, that melatonin is putting in work. Him, it sure did its job last night. Me. So do you have to take Xanax slash melatonin every night?

Him. For the past two months, yeah, I don't take melatonin. It really doesn't do anything. Me. So just Xanax. Him? Yeah, but it's actually working. So after the race, I'm just going to take it as needed.

You can't take that stuff forever. Me. Yeah, I was about to say it's bad to take for a long time. so it's making you loopy? I'm just using it to fix my circadian rhythm. Sleep is really important in my non-board certified medical opinion. I mean, it depends on a lot of factors, how much I've eaten, if I'm tired, etc. But yeah, sometimes. Me. Interesting. Well, I don't know if we should be hooking up if you're taking meds that mess with you like that, because that kind of blurs the lines of consent, you know? Him. I mean, I don't want to make you feel like you're taking advantage of me because

you're not, and two, I don't have to take the medication. It's just a sleep aid. Me. Yeah, I know, but if it's making you loopy slash talk a certain way, that's kind of concerning, you know? Well, I totally shouldn't drink on them. I will say that. I mean, I'm just taking Xanax derivative for a short term to fix my sleep schedule. It's not like I'm taking some antipsychotic. Me. Yeah, it's really bad to drink on them. And okay, well, I just haven't heard of Xanax being prescribed for sleep, but I'm just cautious because I have a friend who had problems with it. It's not Xanax, it's a benzodiazepine. Me. Okay.

And that's the end of our combo as of now. At this point, I'm just super curious as to if he actually has a fetish or if it's just something innocent and he's embarrassed. So it's just a very odd situation. I would really like to get to the bottom of this and I'm planning on seeing him Wednesday night to discuss things further unless something happens between now and then. We'll keep you updated.

Is that it? That's all we got. I'm kind of confused how she, like, deleted everything and then posted it again with this update. This update doesn't feel that profound. I guess it's kind of adding more to the context of, like, oh, is he doing this baby voice because he's taking a medication and, like, it's altering how he's acting? Or is there more here? What's the timeline from the update? Like, is he still talking baby talk for after the conversation?

for how long, like, I'm just trying to get that timeline straight. Or, like, is she now just worried about the, like, use of Xanax? So, original post was April 27th. The other update, like, the latest one, is April 29th. So it's all just in the span of a couple days. Yeah. Hasn't even seen him again since addressing it in a text conversation. Okay.

But someone did respond or, like, comment to O.P. and was like, at a certain point, you need to stop asking strangers on the internet and make a decision. Yeah. And OP was like, you're right. I'm just going to delete this soon and break it off. I mean, bottom line, if something weirds you out, it gives you the ick, it weirds you out. For sure. If you find early on that like stuff someone's starting to tell you just isn't adding up, they're probably making stuff up or like they're proving that they can't really be trusted. So it's better to get out early than two years down the road when you find out, oh, no, they've been lying to me this whole time and have another life. Or, no, he never had Xanax and melatonin.

He was, blah, blah, blah. Like, I don't know. I've had, like, the craziest lies, like, ever told. Like, we've talked about this in the past of, like, a guy who pretended he was in this band and would, like, download the music of this band and then, like, save it. as his own, like, you know, back when, like, lime wire or, like, downloading things legally was a big thing. Yeah. And he would download it and be like, yeah, this is my band.

And then it was, like, literally a popular band on the radio. I don't think you've told me that. Oh, God, I got a swore. We've talked about it on the early days of this. Maybe. It's been a while. But, yeah, that's that guy. Yeah.

Baby voice. Baby voice. I'd love to hear everyone's icks, though. Give me this. What's yours? Do you have one that comes to mind? I don't really like men's feet in the thong type sandals, the flip-flops. Okay.

I like them in like the slides, but a flip-flop, there's something about a dude and a flip-flop. And then just like flip-flops when they squeak and they're wet and it's a dude. And it's just like, I don't know. Okay. Nothing's really coming to mind, though. Like that's so even the flip-flop thing I'm like that's dumb No that's a good one

What's yours? I don't know if this counts But like I hate sharing ice cream Like I don't want to have like especially like a spoon Like if somebody wants to share a spoon with ice cream And then they like lick it off And then there's still some like ice cream and spit in the spoon And then like they expect me to use that

Mm-mm get that away from me But like I mean if anyone's listened long enough They know that I have like a weird thing with like spit Like, bodily fluids. Bodily fluids, not where they, not in the waste or inside you. You know? Anywhere in between freaks me out. Oh, my gosh.

Oh, yeah, the flip-flops. Oh, what else? That's spit one. Flip-flops and fluids. Ew. Speaking of fluids. Mm-hmm. This episode is brought to you by State Farm.

We love a hot take. We do not love a complicated decision. That's why State Farm makes bundling easy. With the personal price plan, you can choose the coverage you need and get a price that works for you. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on ratings plans that vary by state. Covered options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state. This next one is coming from Am I the Asshole? Just two days old at this point. my 35 female partner 40 male peed in a mug and I was horrified. Am I the asshole for how I reacted? Wait, how did this just line up so perfectly? It's like almost like we rehearsed this. Did you move the stories around or was it just that perfect?

It was already in that order of tabs. I'm still a bit shocked to be honest so I will try to be as brief as possible. I'm really looking for some outside perspective because I don't. know if I'm being unreasonable and difficult here, or if this is objectively messed up. My partner came back home for lunch. He went into the kitchen and said something like, I need to pee. As he was walking away to go upstairs, I asked him to slide his shoes off because we had new carpets put down. He then came back and said, forget it. I don't have time. Took a mug with leftover coffee in it and peed into it in the kitchen right next to me,

sort of laughing. I was just stunned. He kept laughing and saying, I told you I really needed it, and I just stared, I think with the sheer horror on my face. He then poured the piss out into the sink, the sink was empty, and thoroughly cleaned the mug. I said to him, not to bother because I want that cup in a bin. He then started to get annoyed and said, don't be like that. I told you I needed it. I said to him that by the time he came back to the kitchen, he could have slid his shoes off and had been upstairs in the bathroom. He then said, quote, you had to ruin my lunch and probably the weekend. Why do you always have to be such a drama queen? You make me feel like an absolute piece of shit.

I barely said anything because I was absolutely shocked and disgusted. Yeah. I was trying to explain why I was so disgusted, but he just kept interrupting and saying, do you know how much I needed it? In the end, I was just quiet and he left. I don't know what to think. Am I the asshole here? He is pretty convinced that it was nothing and I've made him feel like crap about it. Is this normal behavior? Have I overreacted and made him feel bad for no reason? I mean, you know my take. I'm still shook that like my comment led so well into this story. But yeah, I mean, I pretty much already said how I feel about it. No, I'm repulsed. And I'm also annoyed that he's now putting it on her

because it's like, no, you're being gross and then you're making her feel bad for her valid reaction and like guilting her about it. I don't know. I guess for people who don't care about stuff like this, if you guys have that relationship and you think it's funny, like go for it. This is a personal problem for me specifically because of my like yeah i would even i would even say it's like past the ick it like makes me actually my my partner took a sip of what he thought was water and it wasn't i don't know what it was but he spit it back out and even that like made me start gagging he and he knows that about me so i was like why would you do that in front of me i'm like get out of it and that's more of a reasonable reaction, right, that he did. But he knows it about me that that's not a thing that I'm,

that I'm okay with. So I don't know what their dynamic is or what anyone is. Maybe they're okay with that type of stuff. But like she's not. And that's okay that she's not. It's a pretty normal thing to be grossed out by, I would say. Maybe that's just me. It just feels really rude and disrespectful. And it's like right next to me. Like I'm in the kitchen. You, you pick up a coffee cup that has coffee in it. Yeah. Like was it hers that she was drinking? And then I'm like, is this a power move? You pee in the coffee mug and then pour it down the sink. Why not just piss in the sink?

I'm just like, it just overall feels weird and really gross. But I'm also like, how did you know that you didn't have more pee than what was in that coffee cup? Like, what if you had to pee and it started overflowing the cup? Whoa. Now we're thinking. And then you got piss on the floor. Like, it just feels so unnecessary. Then like, slip your shoes off and like, I don't know if he has like work.

boots on. It just like it feels so immature and just icky and no, I don't think you're overreacting. And then I completely agree. I think there's probably maybe a bigger problem with his reaction to all of this and the fact that it's like, you're a drama queen. You ruined the weekend. You always do this. Blah, blah, blah. It's like, why? Like very immature, unhealthy response to a normal request of like, hey, please pee in the toilet next time. Right. And I guess I will give you. I will give a little bit of slack though because I'm like there's been times where I genuinely feel like I'm going to pee my pants and like if that's what we're dealing with then maybe like I don't know maybe there was just like I was literally going to pee my pants and now you're making me feel

bad for already being in a really vulnerable position. So maybe there was some of that going on and like so I guess I'll give some slack there. I don't you know either way whatever not the asshole yeah at least that's my take yeah topcom Comment, not the asshole. This is disgusting, and he did it to prove a point in the most asshole way possible. Does he even like you? Because it doesn't sound like it. Agreed. Does he even like his spouse? Because damn. Next comment. I don't know, man. I'm a guy. I'd go outside and pee if the toilet is busy. And I really, really need to go. Would I pee in the sink? Maybe I certainly wouldn't go around and laugh about it. In a mug? That's friggin' insane. Question from a woman. What a mug even hold all of the piss if you really had to go that bad, which was like my exact thoughts. He's got to go that bad. His bladder's ready to burst. Like, even if you go to a doctor and like pee in a cup at the doctor, that thing like fills up

pretty quick. Yeah. Right. And then you're still going. Valid points all around. I know. And so someone goes, as a dude, I think a regular pee would overflow a mug, let alone if I really had to go.

And someone goes, not to mention the splash. there's no way that didn't splash. True. Gross. I'm just thinking about people's streams. Like obviously they splash up and out of the toilet. That's why like... It's like hitting his face in the wind.

Has a piss face. I have talked to so many people. Piss poor attitude and a piss poor face. Literally. And like I think it's interesting for like new parents. I've been talking about this a lot with people where they're just teaching their sons to sit on the toilet. And that's just normal. Like they're not really going to like...

Well, I always wonder if people sit or stand on the plane. Stand. That's why the floor's wet. That's why. No, because you also get water all over the place from washing your hands. That's also very... Yeah, that happens. But, like, I was on a lot of planes.

Like, it's... But you weren't in the stall with them. You could smell it. You had to clean. Like, if the bathrooms were super untidy on the flight, people would be like, oh, the bathrooms. And you had to go clean as a flight attendant. We don't have mops on those planes. You should invest in a mom.

on those planes. At least my planes, we didn't have a mop. So you'd put a glove on, paper towel the floor. Yeah. Paper towel didn't come up white, clear. It was yellow. Oh. Like, that's piss on the ground. Yeah, that's gross. Yeah, I think maybe, um, start sitting down on the plane, please. I know, for everyone's benefit. Yeah. Just crazy. But, um, no update. Why is it? Why is it that it's normal for guys to? Like, is there? Like, is there? a better, is it like a healthier way? I mean, I don't know. Maybe it's just the evolution of toileting because people used to have chamber pots.

Yeah. So obviously it was easier for a dude to just... And then they used a chamber pot and go into it versus sit and hover on it like a woman. And in that China airport that we were in that had just like the hole in the ground and like I just like had to stand over it and I was like, what's going on?

Remember? Yeah. You're in the stall next to me and you had like the, like you had a toilet that was above ground and I was like how's it going in there? And you're like, fine. And I was like, how do I do this? I know, just an open hole in the floor. Yeah. Latrine. Yeah. It's kind of deeply ingrained social norms. It's often perceived as being a more masculine behavior. Though urologists sometimes recommend sitting for better bladder emptying. It's also better for your pelvic floor. Ooh, you know what I want to get is one of those little squatty potty. Yeah, where you put your feet up because apparently that's supposed to be like good for. You. Getting things all lined up and going. Yeah. I have really bad posture. I'm like, I need to get that sports bra that everyone's been talking about that like pulls your shoulders back. I love that idea. And like reminds you about good posture. It honestly feels unnatural for me to put my shoulders back. Very unnatural, which makes me feel like I really need to do something about that because I have back pain in my like left shoulder blade at all times.

Oh my gosh. Yeah. So if anyone has recommendations for that, send him Lauren's way. Let me know. Yeah. Do we have any like updates or comments? No, a couple comments from O.P. He was coming home for work, 100% not drunk. I would never let a dog lick my plate. That's also disgusting. They sniff and lick shit all the time. I would anyone let them do that and then eat from that plate? I do let dogs fully lick my entire face though. So that's one thing. I, love. I love animals, but I don't like, I don't like dog slobber, but I will let a horse lick me. So make that make sense. Well, because you're really connected to horses. But that's, again, that's why I feel. I'm connected to my dogs. I don't know.

I feel like, I don't know, horses just eat grass. Yeah, maybe that's it is the, like, vegetarian in them and dogs are more like meat eaters. I'm an irrational person. I don't know. I'm like, you know what I mean? Like, it's like I just. We love self-awareness. We're all a little goofy.

again, rare breed. So I don't know. I love my puppies. Yeah, I don't know. Like, I know that a lot of people find it gross. And a lot of people's, people will, like, yell at their dog when it's licking my face. But I'm just like, la, la, la, la. Unphased.

Unless I'm going out and I don't want them to take my makeup off. Because sometimes they'll, like, lick my eyeball. And I'm like, don't do that. That's going to get mascara all over the place. You let them lick your eyeballs? Well, no, that's where the best. boundary starts is what I'm saying. Oh my God. That's so wild. Okay, let's move on to this next one. Since we don't have an update or anything else, that's fun to share. This is coming from

R-slash, am I the jerk, 21 days old. Am I the jerk for not telling my wife for eight years that the coffee she thinks she hates is the coffee she drinks every morning? Hmm. This sounds sneaky. Let's get into it. My wife is going to read this event. so hi babe, I'm sorry, but also I'm not. When we first moved in together, my wife told me she only likes light roast coffee. She said dark roast is too bitter and too strong and she can't stand it. She was very firm about this, so I always bought light roast for the house. About eight years ago, I accidentally bought a bag of dark roast. Didn't realize it until I got home and saw the label. I figured I'd just drink it myself and get her the right one next time. But I was lazy,

and it made a pot that morning anyways. She drank it. She said nothing, didn't notice at all, said it was good, actually. So the next time I went to the store, I bought dark roast again, on purpose this time. She drank it every morning for a week

and never said a word. So I just kept buying it for eight years. Every morning this woman drinks dark roast coffee and tells me how good it is. Meanwhile, if we go to a coffee shop and they ask what roast she wants, she says light because she doesn't like dark. She has sent back coffee at restaurants for being too dark. She has told friends she can't drink dark roast, all while drinking it at home every single day.

Last month, she was putting groceries away and actually looked at the coffee bag for the first time in apparently eight years. This is crazy. She held it up and said, is this dark roast? I said, yep. She said, since when? I said, since 2017. She did not laugh. She said, I lied to her.

I said, I just never corrected her. She said, that's the same thing. I said, you've literally been drinking it every day and loving it for eight years. So clearly, you do like dark roast. She said, that's not the point. She's been buying her own light roast since, and making a separate pot every morning. She says, it's better.

I watch her face when she drinks it And I'm pretty sure she doesn't think it's better But she's committed to proving me wrong Am I the jerk? Um I mean a little bit Like it was eight years of Again I don't think it's the same thing

But it is in the similar category Like lying by omission I know And a lot of people would be like But it's just about coffee But I'm like It's not yeah I mean it's it's an innocent one right not like crazy but at the same time no one likes feeling like they're getting like

bamboozled fast one pulled over them for like specifically eight years like your husband yeah i can't like i can't i can't i i could do that for like maybe eight days or maybe eight hours like i you know mean like i don't know how people just like don't yeah like that so to me i that's what i would kind of be startled by is like how did how did you not how did you not notice couldn't you like after a week be like, what did you think of the coffee? And then let me know, like, see, you do like it. Like, the fact that it went on for eight years is kind of a little impressive. It's impressive. It's impressive, but that's why it's also a little concerning. A little wrong. I know. Do you think you wanted the satisfaction of being like, you've been draining it for eight years?

Like, just that I got you satisfaction? No, I think it sounds more like a lazy thing. Like, he's like, well, it's what I prefer. And she doesn't mind it. So I'm just going to keep going with my routine until she says something, which that just so happened to be eight years later. I don't think that it was like a I'm trying to mess with you. Yeah. Yeah. That's how it reads from my point of view. Like specifically because like just knowing like my dad, I could see my dad.

I could see my dad in a situation like this just out of pure routine, right? Like you see that there's nothing wrong. So you keep up with your routine. Well, it also kind of begs the question of like, what you don't know doesn't hurt you a little bit. There's certain things about this where like people really stick to their beverages and they think like, oh, no, I know the difference between a Diet Coke and a Coke zero. And like I only drank this one. And then they do like a blind taste test and it's like, oh, that's not Diet Coke. That's Coke zero.

See? And so I think that concept of like how an expectation. of what you're drinking can mess with you is really interesting. And it's something that comes up in the comments. So the top comment is she sent back coffee at restaurants for being too dark while drinking dark roast at home every morning for eight years. That's not a taste preference. That's a belief system.

Yeah. Right. And someone comments under it. To be fair, this just proves how much expectations affect taste. If you think you hate something, you will convince yourself you do unless no one tells you. Yeah. Yeah, it's an interesting experiment. So are they in a bad place now?

Or is he just kind of like, I mean, he started off saying like, hi, honey, I know you'll see this, right? So I think it's lighthearted. Yeah, there's no update on it. O.P has since deleted their account. The post was removed. She was like delete that. By O.P. Yeah.

Take that down. Yeah. But that's all he wrote. Do is anyone having like wild comments that are things that didn't cross our minds? Let's sort the comments by controversial. Someone goes, I think you guys should work on your communication. Not the jerk. I would grin like the Joker watching her stubbornly drink her light roast and ask her,

how's the coffee now that she knows? Someone responds to that and goes, sounds like you guys all hate your wives. Yeah. Someone goes, your wife is pathetic. Geez. Someone else says, this is hilarious. My wife is as stubborn as yours about preconceived food and beverage choices. God forbid that she should ever have to drink a diet Dr. Pepper rather than a Diet Coke. You'd think that it would kill her. Dr. Pepper's so good, though. I've done some sneaky food stuff to her over the years, but I've never pulled a long con like this. Well done. You guys are weirdos. And that makes me now I'm like, I don't want him to have this satisfaction. I don't. I don't. Yeah. And that's why I think it did go on for so long.

Maybe. And I think at first you, hey, you're at the store, you buy the wrong one. Okay. But like you continued to go out and buy that one after you kind of pulled it over on her. At some point within eight years, it has to just go over your head. Yeah. Like I really, I can't imagine each time he goes to the grocery store, he was like, he, he, he pulling a fast one.

Like, I feel like it's got to just kind of become a part of your routine. Yeah. And I think that the people in there are laughing because they've had things that are similar. And they're like, wow, King, like you did the ultimate heist for eight years. But I don't feel like that was just his. No. And at the end of the day, like, I don't think this is really about the coffee. Yeah. It's about the overall you've bamboozled me. Right. And maybe as silly as it might seem, like she just feels kind of betrayed. Yeah. Like a little just like, oh, like you don't, I don't know. Like, I wonder if you would start to feel like you don't respect me. You've been like bamboozling me for eight years and like making me drink something I didn't like. And I know obviously she must have liked it because she continued to drink it for eight years. Or on the flip side of this, she's over there like, oh, he makes me this coffee every day and I don't really like it. But I drink it because he made it for me and he loves me. And, hmm, you know what I mean? Like on the flip side, like we have these. two different realities. Like what one is she living? Is she living in one where she takes a sip? Thank you, honey. And then pours it out and goes and gets another coffee. That would be crazy. Like somewhere else. Like can you imagine if we got the other side of it? I doubt it though. But you never know. Yeah. A lot of people then get into a lie by omission is still a lie. You lied to her every time she took a sip. I'd be mad too. I'd get over it quickly. But the level of anger would be immense. A short burst of how did.

Are he? So yeah, you're a jerk for lying to her. She's a jerk for not admitting she likes the coffee, assuming she does like it. She may have just thought you weren't good at making coffee and was too sweet to say anything to you. So maybe, you know, he said she'll see it. Maybe we get the other side. Yeah. Let's go, coffee girl. Were you pouring it down the drain every day? Were you pissing in it like the last guy? Gross. No. Okay, moving along. I'm so curious what? What you? you think of this one because it's also kind of a little bit on the lying track. So it's coming from Am I Overreacting titled Am I Overreacting for Calling Off My Engagement? After my fiancé admitted, his family secretly tested me to see if I was a gold digger. I 24 female have been with my fiance 27 male for almost four years. He has a really well-paying job in tech and I make pretty average money. We've always split things fair, and I've never asked him for expensive stuff or trips or anything. I honestly thought money was a non-issue for us. I never was interested in him for his money anyways.

We genuinely clicked so well, and I loved his personality. We are into the same nerdy things, and his family seemed to really like me. I never thought I would have to worry about our relationship going south until now. A few days ago, my fiancee sat me down and said he had something he wanted to tell me, and he was smiling like it was good news. He basically told me that his family has been secretly testing me for the last 11 months to make sure I wasn't a gold digger. He said they were worried I only liked him for his income and wanted proof before we got married. The test was that they all made it seem like he was struggling financially and might lose his job. His mom would casually bring up layoffs, his dad talked about how unstable tech is, and slowly it turned into, he might actually

lose his job, and you guys might have to really downsize. At one point, his mom even told me I should be prepared to financially help him if it came to that. I never wanted to bring up the possibility of a layoff to him because I didn't want to stress him out. I wanted to be prepared to support him if needed. So I started budgeting more, saving money, cutting back on random spending, skipping stuff that I wanted, and just generally trying to prepare for the worst. I constantly reassured my fiance, encouraged him, told him we'd be fine, that I didn't care about money, and that I just wanted us. But this whole thing was fake. His job was never in danger. His income never changed. There were no layoffs. his family literally planned this whole thing together.

They kept it going for almost a year. Wow. Settle comments made him passing to manipulate me and test me. Apparently, this all started because his older brother went through a really messy divorce. His brother now pays a ton in child support and his ex-wife got a lot of money in the divorce and his family fully blames her and thinks she was a gold digger. So now they're super paranoid about any woman. who dates one of their sons. The thing is, I've actually met his brother's ex-wife before.

She was dropping off the kids at a family night, and she seemed really nice and normal. I never once got gold digger vibes from her, and honestly makes me uncomfortable how much they demonize her. My fiancé said that his parents finally told him that I passed and that they felt comfortable with him marrying me now. He said he wanted to tell me because he thought I would be relieved to know he actually isn't struggling financially, and that it shows how much much his family cares about protecting him. Then he tells me that to celebrate, he upgraded our honeymoon to a nice luxury resort in Hawaii. I mentioned this resort when initially honeymoon planning, but deemed it too expensive, so settled for a more modest option. But I feel weird about it.

I don't want to be rewarded for being manipulated really well. Like, good job, we tricked you, and you were so gullible you believed it, here's a nicer vacation. I told him I felt manipulated, embarrassed, and honestly humiliated that his whole family was watching my reactions and judging my character behind my back for almost a year. He said, I'm looking at it wrong and that I proved I'm not with him for his money, and that should make me feel more secure in our relationship. I wish I could ask my family what they thought, but unfortunately my mom passed away two years ago, and I don't have a relationship with my father. I'm feeling sad and lost because I don't have a reliable second opinion to lean on. His family had become my family. That's what makes this even harder. His family is acting like this is totally normal and that I should be proud of myself. His mom literally said, quote, most girls wouldn't have

handled that so gracefully. I told him I need space and I'm seriously considering calling off the engagement. But I honestly don't know what to do. I love him and this is so out of left field. Now everyone is acting like I'm blowing this out of proportion and being dramatic. A part of me wonders if I am. But another part of me feels like my trust is completely broken. Am I overreacting? I'm not sure if tests like this are normal. I feel weird about it.

I don't know. Please help. I mean, they're not normal. And she has a right to feel like everything that she's describing. Yeah. I do, however, though, I haven't been in a place where I have that amount of money, I have that amount of fame, I have that amount of anything where I feel like somebody might be using me.

So, like, I don't really know what, like, what that feels like and what that experience is. So as much as I'm on her side and agree with how she's, that what happened was really messed up, I also don't feel like I have that much room to speak on what it feels like to question if somebody's only, with you because of money. Like, I don't know what that would feel like. So, again, it was, it was wrong. I just don't know. I don't know how, I don't know.

I guess, like, the thing is, though, I'm very curious his involvement in it. That's what, because at first I thought he wasn't involved at all. And then you said that he was like, oh, congratulations. So I'm like, did he find out at the end? That's what I'm like, it's somewhat unclear, right? My fiance said his. parents finally told him that I passed. But did he know about it from the start? Yeah, I wonder.

Because on the flip side, too, like your parents are essentially telling you, like, sweetie, she's not actually in love with you. She's only with you for the money. Let's make sure. Like, your parents are also kind of like giving you this like, kind of like backhanded thing as well. Like, it feels really icky. I do think it was wrong. Does feel icky. I think if you're worried about finances, like there's things like a pre-hand. up that would like protect your assets and your your wealth pre-marriage. So I don't think you need to pull a year-long manipulative lying heist on someone. And the fact too, she was like, I really cut back on budgeting. Did things that I would want to do? Like that, that hurts. That sucks.

Yeah. And what if her friends went on a girl's trip? And she didn't because of that. And she didn't go. Exactly. And a whole year of that. No, it's, it's pretty messed up. I don't know. This one's such an interesting one that we haven't come across anything. No, it is like a very rare breed of people. Like, it's a very unique problem. Right.

Yeah. And it's like, I wonder why they didn't think like a pre-nup. I wonder why that was the. I will say, though. Culture, maybe geographically, like what part of the world are they in? Yeah. I will say, though, one of the things was like, it feels weird to know that they were all like judging each of my answers and stuff like that.

And I mean, the family's doing that regardless. Yeah. But it's even weirder when they're like all in on it because of a specific reason. But like even if they weren't all communicating on it, like they're still making these judgments in their head based off of your responses to things. So but no, it's it's really weird. And that's how I'll, that's what I'm going to run with is that it's really weird. And I don't really know. I don't know the advice to give her.

Like, I guess what would you, I'm curious to hear what advice you would tell her to move forward with. I think you just have to go based on how you're feeling. You know, if you love this person so much and you want to get past this, then you have to have a conversation of like, we are going to have stronger boundaries with your parents going forward. Like, there's no more tests. And I also think it would really depend on how involved he was in. this. If he was also involved in this and making these comments too of like, oh, I might get laid off and like also in on this scheme, then I don't think I could move forward with someone like that. It would be really tough. It would feel like it's like the Truman show where it's like what is my reality? And if going forward it's like, oh, I have a health scare. I had a health thing come up. Can you even believe that? Or are you testing me to see if I'll leave? It's, it's a, it's a good. It's a good. crazy thing to cry wolf for an entire year because how do you build trust on top of that? A year.

How do you? Not just a couple of months, not like a conversation to see how she'd take it. Right. A year. And you make such a good point. It's like how can she trust him moving forward or any of them? Like, yeah, again, if he says I have a health scare, is she going to now question it? Like, are you testing me or anything else that pops up? Or maybe he really is about to get laid off and now she doesn't trust him. So it definitely is a really good way to break trust. Completely. So if he was in on it, that would be difficult. I would say like if you guys have a

strong bond outside of that, then like, you know, maybe try going to couples therapy and and seeing if you can work through it. But again, you know, relationships are are about that trust and about vulnerability. So unfortunately, like, that's, we do get into relationships where we trust people and they betray us and we have to deal with it. But to test them up front and, like, not trust them up front and then betray them and, like, ruin the trust. That's not how you should start a relationship. That's not how you build a relationship. So it's really like they kind of screwed themselves over there, that family and him if he was involved the entire time.

But it's really what she feels. Yeah, we do have a comment too. Someone says, you'd think in real life they would have just asked you to do a pre-up. Right. Again, like my first thought. O.P. says, the thing is, we have literally discussed a pre-up, and I've agreed to it. I asked about this when he confessed, and he said that the testing was to make sure I'm a morally good person and valued him outside of his money. And that he wasn't afraid of divorce necessarily.

I feel hurt that he would even question my morality in the first place. I've never given the impression that I'm shallow. It all feels off to me. I would keep getting worse. Yeah, no, I mean, I would feel the same way as her. But again, I don't know what he's been through that has made him come to these places because I'm not rich enough to be in that mindset. So I don't know what he's thinking.

The top comment on this one, in their effort to prove you are a morally decent person, they proved that they are not. And then next comment, they thought she wasn't good enough for him. They're not good enough for her. Since they've made it very clear that his entire family, him included, is willing to conspire behind her back,

lie to and manipulate her, yeah. You've found one massive flaw in his personality, and it's absolutely one I'd consider a deal breaker. So I'm getting the vibe I mean everyone's kind of assuming he is deeply involved And based on the morality thing It seems like he did at least agree to this Yeah

It's such a bummer So we get an update You guys ready I feel like there was such an underwhelming response We've got an update Oh by me? Yeah I'm just still in my head over this whole situation

One more time one more time We've got an update Yay I'm really sorry. I've never posted on Reddit before. I've always just kind of lurked. I wasn't sure how I'm supposed to give an update. I replied to a comment, but I didn't know if that was correct. So here is the update. Thank you all for your comments. It means a lot to have so much support and validation. I knew right away deep down that this was wrong, but I needed validation as bad as that sounds. I don't have close family or many friends, so hearing that my feelings are

normal makes me feel less alone. This happened a couple of days ago, and I'm still staying with my fiance right now, but things are tense and I feel anxious pretty much all of the time. He knows I'm upset and knows I need space, so he hasn't tried to talk about it since. He knows I'm considering calling off the engagement, which is why I think he's been so sensitive around me the last couple of days. He hasn't been acting like it's a positive thing anymore and seems pretty remorseful since I told him how much it hurt me. This morning, I asked him if he knew about it the whole time, and he told me that his parents started making comments without his knowledge, and after he overheard a comment they made to me while over at his parents' house, he asked them privately why they said that, and they

explained that they were testing me. He decided to let them continue just to see what I would do. Hmm, not good. From past interactions with his parents, I also know he has a hard time standing up to them or disagreeing with them, so it honestly makes sense that he didn't call them out and just started going along with it. They told him that they were offended when I suggested an expensive resort for the honeymoon and made a comment insinuating that his parents would be paying for it. They got it in their head that I just expected them to shoulder the cost of an expensive resort without question, which isn't true. I happily accepted a more modest option when they suggested it because I don't want to seem pushy or entitled. Plus, typically the groom's family pays for

the honeymoon, so I didn't know they were offended by that. Maybe I really did come off as entitled. but that was honestly never my intention. Regardless, I don't think that justifies testing me like this. He wasn't the mastermind, but he never stopped them and didn't see why it was wrong or manipulative until I told him I was upset. And part of me wonders if he was manipulated by his parents to think this was acceptable. I'm torn between calling it off or having a conversation with him and asking him to go to couples counseling and set some serious boundaries with his parents.

Yeah. I also see some suggestions recommending that I talk to his brother's ex-execkel. wife. I think that's a good idea, but I'm honestly really nervous about it. I don't have her number, but I follow her on Instagram, so I'm considering DMing her and asking to call her. I'm pretty overwhelmed with the attention that this post is getting, but I'm super appreciative for everyone's support and love. I think I've realized I have a people-pleasing tendency and a need to keep the peace, but I'm trying to force myself to break out of that. It's all just really scary, and I feel really lonely. My natural inclination is to forgive and forget so I can still have a family. I know that's

not the best idea. I know change needs to happen. I'm still figuring out where to go from here. I'm sorry this post is so long. I tried to add my update to a new post, but the mods removed it. I don't know why. Okay. Yeah. We got another update. Let's go. Update two. Well, my fiance found this post. Honestly, I feel pretty stupid for thinking he wouldn't find it. I didn't expect this post to get as much attention as it did, so thank you all for that. But I was extremely detailed, which was kind of dumb. He saw the post and immediately clocked that I wrote it. He came to me yesterday with the post, and I was super afraid he would be angry,

but he was actually very understanding. He said reading the comments was super eye-opening to him on just how messed up this situation was. Oh, I'm so glad. He feels bad that he ever even tried to spin this in a positive, light. We had a pretty deep conversation and he came to realize that he has been manipulated very heavily by his parents and family. When his parents justify something, even if it's bad, his brain will immediately try to justify it too because differing opinions were not allowed in his household growing up. The whole situation has started the realization for him that he grew up

in a manipulative and emotionally abusive household, but was never given space to realize it because they had an extreme us versus them mentality. So even when an extremely normal and well-intentioned person comes into the family, aka me and his brother's ex, they will do anything they can to invalidate their character because they are uncomfortable with outsiders. I've learned a lot about myself through this situation as well. First of all, I'm emotionally vulnerable and need therapy, bad.

My need to belong has caused me to stay in situations that are unhealthy for me just because I'm so desperate for a family. I know that's bad, and I know it will be hard, but I want to change. With that being said, even though my fiancé was very remorseful and apologetic, I told him I want to call off our wedding

and take a break from our relationship. Good for her. We both have issues we need to work on by ourselves before we consider joining in marriage. I want to figure out who I am without someone to lean on, as painful as that may be. And he needs to seriously evaluate his relationship with his family and how they have affected him.

Yeah. I told him that if in the future, we find ourselves emotionally healthy and the timing works out, maybe we can be together again. I'm so proud of her. But for right now, that's not the case. So we need to go our separate ways. Oh, my God. We still live together, and I don't exactly have anywhere to go.

So my fiance said he will move out and try to find other living arrangements. He will pay his portion of the lease until I find another roommate. Again, thank you all for your comments and support. The parents are like, go, they mean a lot to me. Just kidding. That, no, truly, that is such a beautiful, wow. That is hard. That is hard to get to.

And I'm just so proud of her that she was like, I need to make these decisions, even though they're scary and foreign and hard. But she knew that was what was best. And so, wow, that was a really great update. And again, like, I know a lot of people probably would are probably yelling at me for even considering what the other people, like what's going through their head. But now we kind of see this. You get more of a glimpse into them. Yeah, you get more of a glimpse into it. And that's, and that was my point is that like, I don't know what they're dealing. And again, it's, it wasn't right what they did. I just don't know why they came to that, like, what they've experienced. And it's interesting because I've, I've talked to people who have, grown up with a lot of money. And that wasn't my case growing up. And when I, when I grew up, I used to think that if my family and if I had more money, then like all these problems would be solved. And there is a lot of manipulation when there is a family with a lot of money.

Like the parents will hold it over the children in so many ways. And like when you're a child growing up and then you just feel like, oh, okay, I'm either out on the streets with nothing or I have all of this and they're constantly holding that over you, that does something to you. So it's like, until you're more established and on your own. Yeah, but even when you are, you have all of those years of like growing up as a child with, with that type of like manipulation. And so hearing this, it's like, I'm not surprised that that's like how he learned to operate and cope if his parents were constantly dangling money over him and that it just became normalized for him until he finally had to face the reality, which that's why I'm so happy he came across this post and read the comments

and could actually see, like, this isn't normal. And you do need to have boundaries and you do need to get some help. And you do need to, you know, figure out how to get emotionally healthy without leaning on your parents or accepting this poor behavior of them. Yeah, this is a wild ride. Absolutely wild ride. And money can, it can make a lot of things in life a lot easier. It can also make things you didn't expect harder. It's interesting. I feel like money just can be such a problem for families.

And especially when it's like with this one, this us versus everyone else mentality, it's almost giving like this inappropriate loyalty expectation and just like everyone's out to get us. Like all these new people. It's just like, oh, I bet the brother's relationship didn't work out because. of the family, honestly. Yeah. So really interesting. And I've kind of got another one that ties into it a little bit.

Okay. This one is coming from R slash marriage. It's titled, My wife cannot get over the fact that my ex-wife is marrying a millionaire. Oh, no. I don't know what has gone into my wife. When we met, I was still married to my ex-wife. I'm not proud about it,

but my wife started at our job. job and we slept together after a party. That was about six years ago. My ex found out when she saw nudes on my phone. Hmm, brutal. It broke her and ended our marriage. I married my wife a year later. Everything was fine and my children gradually forgave me and much of it was thanks to my ex who insisted that I was still their father and that I loved my children. Wow. They never liked my wife, however, because they've overheard her, my daughter did, talking badly about how fat and old their mother was and how she was no competition.

Wow. Now my ex is happily engaged to a man who is very well off. My wife has been depressed ever since she heard that. What a actual bitch. Making comments about what he sees in her and how it wouldn't last. Oh, my. I hate you.

She has Googled everything about him, his net worth, property, social media accounts, and she doesn't stop talking about him. I'm so mad. I got very wary, and this last week, she's been extra depressed and angry, not sleeping, and she cried several times. When she was finally taking a nap, I took her phone and saw that she has sent the new fiancé some flirtatious text via Instagram. Oh my God, I was thinking this.

but I didn't think that we... No, wow. And... And she even sent a nude. You were such a bitch. Wow. He only answered the first DMs when she introduced herself,

congratulated him about the engagement, and told him that they were basically a family soon. When she was getting more flirtatious, he stopped answering, and her DMs were left on scene. This was last week. I called my ex-wife, and she confirmed that her fiancé,

has been receiving these texts and they were embarrassed and unsure what to do, so they ignored her. I confronted my wife, and she became very angry, saying that I have embarrassed her by talking to my ex. She was crying when I told her that my ex was the one who suggested that they just ignore her and not say anything. Isn't that better for her? She admitted that she sent these, but it was just because she felt my ex was a bitch that didn't deserve a fiancé like hers with a lot of money. My ex-wife would be living in a 19th century penthouse. She also told me that I was the one who drove her to this since she's never felt won by me completely. Wow. That I married her after my divorce was a fact. I made her insecure. I don't understand. I thought we were happy, that she was happy.

She always told me how she loved me. I feel guilty like I have made her miserable and drove her to be this insecure, but at the same time, I'm very pissed. Well, yeah. There is another comment from O.P. That just says, I don't know if I need to put ages or if it's irrelevant. I'm 41. My wife is 33. Ex-wife is 43. Her fiance is 40 to 45. I'm not sure. So a bit of an age gap there. They've been married for six years. So wife would have been around 27 at the time. when she came on the scene. How does a person become like this horrific? I don't know what screw is loose in her head.

And I'm like, is she obsessed with the ex-wife, but plays it off as secretly hating her? I'm like, I just don't understand where it's like, you won, you stole her husband, and I know it takes two to tango, so he fucked it up as well by having an affair with this coworker. But it's like, you got him, but now you can't let her have anything.

She can't have any nice shiny things. So you need to try to swoop in there and steal her fiancé. Because if that guy would have been an asshole and started inappropriately messaging her back, she would have had an affair with him. Totally. So it's like, who are you obsessed with here? Are you obsessed with that ex-wife? Yeah. Or are you so deeply insecure and miserable that that's how you seek any validation?

Yeah. Both. I think she's obsessed with the ex-wife. I'm actually kind of scared for the ex-wife. Yeah, and I think that she has zero self-worth. And so she's trying so hard to find validation in any horrible way possible. She might not have even liked this guy. And she might have just wanted to see if she could do it. Like, if she could steal him away. Insane. I mean, clearly she doesn't like her husband very much because she's doing this. And then she's... It sounds more. I think she's money, social status. I think she's now like, I don't know, seeing this person and it's like, well, if she can have him, I already stole one man from her.

She doesn't deserve him. Like how? Someone like him should be with me. That would be so messed up though. Like if the guy actually took the bait, like, would you actually go forward and like date him, marry him? Like, wouldn't you feel like I think she would? Wouldn't you Just how do you like... You're always a second choice. Oh, my God. Technically. She...

Ugh. She's evil. Truly. Evil. So someone goes, So your mistress is upset that she bet on the wrong horse and has serious regrets.

I'd reexamine the entire relationship once I found that she had DMed the new fiancé with news. Reexamine. No, it's over. And also, this guy sucks, too. So I don't really fucking... I don't really fucking care.

Actually, you guys should just stay together because you deserve to be. We need you guys not to be on the market for other people. Just stay together. Goodbye. Please do everyone else a favor. Yeah. Honestly, I would probably tell her to pack up and leave

and then apologize to my ex-wife for her behavior and wish my ex well. O.P. responds. She swore that she wasn't interested in him. Just that she felt that my ex wasn't worth what she's getting and that she, ex, has been smug and arrogant about it So my wife thought she wanted to give her a wake-up call.

Despicable, grotesque human. What in the actual fuck? She's smug and arrogant. No, she's probably just happy. She who had every... Happy and in love and moving on. Like, oh, no. Like, you're such an actual asshole.

Oh, my gosh. I can't believe this. And she had every right to be mad and bitter and, like, taint the water well. Right. And she told the children. She was like, that's your dad. He still loves you to like to have that composure and still, like, like to be so wronged and go forward in such a mature way. Tactful.

Yeah. Insane. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Okay. Well, what does O.P. have to say from here? Um, so another comment says, I think it's very disturbing behavior that she helped to break up one marriage of this woman and tried to break up a second relationship of this woman. There's definitely deep-seated obsession and jealousy as if she is in competition. Bad talking your ex is also a sign of this. I give your ex so much credit in the way she handled your divorce and being able to help your relationship with your kids.

Many women in her shoes would find this very difficult. Your ex is a saint and I hope you appreciate her. Your wife needs help and if I were you, I would really think hard if she's actually a healthy partner for you. I mean, your kids don't like her and that's got to be tense for you. She trash talks to your ex. That's got to be difficult to deal with. And she basically attempted to cheat on.

you in a sick and twisted attempt to hurt your ex. And she did. Like, in a way, like, sending someone nudes, that's stepping out on your marriage at least a little bit. Yes. Yeah. O.P responds, I know that my ex is one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, both inside and out. I don't understand why my wife hates her. She never once blamed my wife for anything, and she was really helpful in making my family and friends not to shun me and my new wife. And as I said, it is thanks to her that I still have the love of my children. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

O.P. does admit in a comment that they did marry the woman to save face. I admit it was to save face marrying my wife. That's why I feel guilty now and not just outright pissed. I still love my ex. And even though I'm happy, she is happy again, I regret what I did every day. I think my wife knows this. That's why I'm not as pissed as I should be. Got it. There it is. Yeah. So are you hoping that your new wife breaks up your ex-wife and you get her back? Or what? I think he's just validating the fact that she said, you pushed me to this point. And he's like, well, I think about it in my head every day that it's the worst decision I've ever made. So she probably can feel. that. And so she's, she's not just throwing that out of nowhere is probably what he's saying. Damn. You know what I mean? It's so wild. That is wild. Yeah. Okay. So you definitely need to leave her, O.P. And it does suck that you, you know, made these decisions that hurt a lot of people and that you

deeply regret. But that's not how you move forward in life. You don't just like marry the problem. So, yeah, I think it's time to go separate ways and do some work on yourself, heal, move on, find someone who actually is right for you. Not crazy. And yeah. But you need to clean up your shit too, asshole. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. There's a comment here.

She's obsessed with your ex. Did they have a relationship prior to your affair? she's absolutely fixated. Right. And O.P responds, no, she only met my ex a couple of times before the affair. You think she chose me because of my ex, question mark? Because my ex was very well liked in my office amongst my closest colleagues. We don't have any children.

And yeah, I think that is why she sought you out. Yeah. I think it was some weird, maybe, honestly, maybe they met at a beauty salon long time ago. started stalking her. Yeah. People, I don't know. I'm like, it just is so, it's so obsessive. It's so weird.

For sure. So we do get an update. Hi, everyone. This is an update about my situation. We are getting divorced. Yep, there it is. I have had multiple conversations with my wife about what she did, but unfortunately, she doesn't seem to see how bad it is what she's.

she's done. She says that she was never interested in my ex's fiance and just wanted to make a point to herself more than to anyone. Okay. And that she still believes she could take him if she wanted. She doesn't consider what she did. Very serious help because she doesn't consider what she did cheating. It was a test. She said that if she really didn't love me, she would have left a long time ago because she can get whoever she wants. Okay. I was speechless hearing her rage and cry, but I was done. We don't have children and we have very few joint assets to divide.

She will stay in the house until she can find a place to go. But then we are done. She is raging and calling me all sorts of names. But I guess I'm just so very tired and done. Thank you all for the wake-up call. I know I'm a shitty person. But maybe it is time for me to stop punishing myself for what I did. My wife was a constant reminder of the damage I have done.

And maybe deep down, I knew she was a bad person. But I felt that I didn't deserve better because I'm a bad person too. Worse even. But maybe enough is enough. And I need to stop punishing myself. I have two wonderful children. So maybe I'm not just bad. Yeah.

You know, it's so interesting. Like, people make mistakes. and we tend to define ourselves based on our mistakes. And it gets so overwhelming. And it's also just not right and not fair, right, to ourselves. Like we should be able to, like, again, this guy obviously made a horrible mistake and it was really shitty and it hurt a lot of people and it's not good. But it is something that all of us humans have made mistakes. And I think what matters is and what does define us is our intentions moving forward.

The past, we can't change those. We can't change the things that we did that we wish that we could. So it's like we were literally talking about this last night. Yeah. Like no one's perfect. Right. You're fooling yourself if you think you have been. Right.

Everyone's flawed. It's what's so beautiful about being a human. It's like our ability to make mistakes, learn and grow from them. Exactly. And so I just think it's like really important for us to remember that that like we can define ourselves based off of the choices that we decide to make in the future. Like the things that we were doing right now. Like that's what we need to start like giving ourselves more energy towards because we get so hung up on it and who is it good for? It's not good for anyone. Like no, no. That crash out just spiraling over something that you can't change. I know it's really hard. I've really, I talked about it on the Patreon, like, I'm really struggling with my mental health right now. And it's, it's something I've, you know, we all go through spurts and I really, really struggled with it in high school to where I like went inpatient for a little bit, like a couple days. But it was like, it was really bad. Like I, at one point was like suicidal. And I just like, you don't want to go down the rabbit hole for too many people. But I'm now at a point where, you know, things pop up. and I don't handle stress well and I feel horrible and I have a panic attack. And so a couple nights ago, I, you know, I'm hyperventilated and I'm like, I think I literally need to go to the hospital. Like I don't know how to handle this.

And mental health is so, it's so hard. And we get so in our heads and that just, it's just a toilet circling. And it's just like, how do you get out when you're at the bottom about to get flushed? Right. And it's, it's brutal. And so I don't know where I was going with this. Yeah. And like I just like I feel I feel this so deeply because, you know, I've gone through it recently. And mental health is, it's hard. But no, and have to forgive yourself and move forward.

Exactly. And that's why. And that's why I'm like making this point too is because I think it can probably relate to for a lot of people. Yeah. There's like a lot of us do that. We latch on to something that we said or did that like we're up at night thinking about how we wish we could change it. How it's embarrassing. We question if like, does that mean I'm a bad person because like I said something that I wish I didn't say. And like, I just think that we need to give ourselves more grace and and look forward and look at what our intentions are moving forward and strive to do things in the now and let that be what defines you. And stop defining yourself based off of something, you know, that a moment in time, a moment in time that no longer exists anymore.

especially things you can't change exactly like it's so hard to like not fester on it but you got to like you got to you don't deserve to hold that angst and it's so crazy because like it's like it's like oh talk the talk walk walk it's like but again that's the mental health of it all it's like we all we all know this but how do you deal how do you become not depressed how do you become not burnt out. You know, there's resources. I was just looking into this for the Patreon, but there's emotions anonymous. It's just like alcohol anonymous, kind of the same principles. It's free. It's not therapy. There's not psychologists, but to connect with other people and share and like learn those tools that have helped a lot of people. Like, I think it's a great way to like get out there, meet people,

talk about your feelings, feel some support, and yeah, it could be a good thing to look into if you also are struggling. Well, and Morgan was just telling me that and I had never heard of that, but it's interesting to me because I have a friend who went to AA and she actually said that that like was the best thing that's ever happened for her in her life and not even because of like that alcohol part, but like actually specifically because of the way that she was able to heal, understand herself the way she's able to communicate with people. And just like when she has really overwhelming emotions, like knowing what to do and where to put them and like how to like not, you know, again, not feel like you're in a spiral thinking about the past and thinking, you know,

trying to define yourself by past mistakes. And so it sounds like something that would be interesting to me. So I will look into that. And if I do do that, I will report back. I know. I've really been looking into something called the Hoffman process and it's like a week long intensive like mental health program and I know a woman that went through it like she talks about it a lot on her podcast and it just seems like a total brain rewiring thing and I'm just like it's just hard like I don't know especially now like I had someone be like are you going to talk about the Epstein files and I'm like that's over that's like I'm out of my depth like I'm not going to talk about something that like I'm not equipped to talk about and I'm that's at it's at it's

so out of my depth. And it's obviously a horrible, horrible, horrific thing. It's insane. It's insane that, you know, we have millions of files being released. And it's like, oh, here you go. And people are sorting through them. And it's just like, nothing's happening. What the fuck do we do with these? It's that overwhelming paralysis of like, what, like, okay, now I'm overwhelmed. I'm oversimulated. Where do I go from here? They're horrible. Well, and there are people that, like, was talking about that she could point you in the direction who really are digging in deep on these. Yeah, I mean, Annie Elise did a breakdown. I love her. She's genuinely like such a good person. There's rotten mango that's like basically like a reporter now going into courtrooms and she did a deep dive.

So there's other creators out there that like obviously it's fucking horrendous. And like I think if you know me at this point, you would know I would think that. But this is not the show that would do a deep dive on it. Exactly. So there's there. And that's the thing, right? Like we, we try to keep this is, we want this to be a place where people can, where people can turn it off for a second. So I think it is, it's important to, you know, address certain things going on in the world. But it's also important that, you know, there are places where you can have a breather. And then we can like point you in directions of where you can be informed. Because I mean, I specifically am not claiming to be an expert on. any of the things we talk about on this show. No, and like you only know what you know, too. Like, I, we were talking about it last night where we were like, I want to do some videos where it's just like we address like our early first stories we had.

Like literally the first story we ever read. I think it'd be fun to go back, watch our takes. I'm going to cringe so hard. Like, it's just, I know. I don't think I can emotionally handle that. But maybe after EA with. There you go. Oh, maybe, you know, a little champagne support.

But I think it'd be fun to, like, go back and watch some of those early videos or, or, like, react to one of my worst takes and be like, oh, my God, I've grown so much in five years. I'm a different person than I was back in 2021. Like, I've lived more life. And there's certain stories. And that's why I know sometimes when I'm like, wait, I didn't actually want to say that because there's something that I'll hear in a story that triggers me from something that happened when I was younger. but it's not completely like the story in itself. So after I say it and I'm all triggered and stuff, then I'm like, oh, wait, wait, wait.

But like back to the story. And that's when I know, that's when I'm like, I wish I didn't say it that because I was completely speaking from a different lens that no one's there with me right now. No one's back when I was like nine years old and getting pissed about this one certain topic. Yeah, no, it's coming from a very specific place. This show is a lot of different topics that bring out. some very, you know, interesting emotions. So that's kind of where we're all at, you know. But

yeah. Yeah. But I hope that that little interlude spoke to some people and maybe, I think it will. Hopefully some people found some type of comfort in that conversation. I know that we totally just went off off the tracks and off away from the Reddit stories. But hopefully that can, again, speak to somebody. I think so. I think so. Let me see if I can find a bit of a feel-good story for us just to send us off on a perfect foot wherever you're at in the world, at the gym, cleaning your house, driving, cleaning that plate with the dog's tongue. Dude, it's fine. It's fine. It's fine for a lot of people. I'm just, maybe I have the saliva thing you have too. Yeah, maybe.

But with dogs? Yeah. Did you find something light and fun? I found something funny. Okay. I think. I didn't read it fully. Can you read it to me in baby talk?

The whole way through. This little story is coming from Tiff you? People would actually kill me. My eyes started watering out of embarrassment. Can you do your behavior voice? What do you want me to say? Read the title. Today I fucked up by sweeping with someone funny.

I'm going to cry out of embarrassment. I think yours was better than mine. Today I fucked up sleeping with someone funny. I hooked up with a girl at a New Year's Eve party last year. It was one of those spur of the moment sexual encounters that happen when alcohol is involved. We never saw each other again afterwards. Cut to yesterday. My friend sent me a TikTok video.

of the New Year's Eve girl. She was on stage somewhere doing stand-up. My friend wanted me to confirm if that was the New Year's Eve girl who I had sex with. I said yes. My friend sent me a million laughing emojis and reaction gifts before telling me to skip to the four-minute mark. The video was like nine minutes long. At the four-minute mark, New Year's Eve girl said her 2026 started with a bang. and unsatisfying, but mildly entertaining, bang. Oh. Oh. She said she hooked up with a guy who should never be allowed near another naked woman again.

Oh. Because of the following. One, he repeatedly cleared his throat every time he talked dirty. Mm. Quote, uh, um, do you like that dick? Two, he extended his arms in a T shape during doggy, because apparently that stopped him from coming in that position. Oh. Three, he farted in silence during foreplay and thought vaping over the smell was a subtle way of getting away with it.

Clever. Four. He said he was going to come next year. which might have been funny if he didn't clear his fucking throat again. I think it's pretty funny. Five, he grabbed the lamp on the bedside table and made shadow figures appear on her body while she was riding. Stop! You're kidding. She did remind the audience I was very drunk, but still.

The New Year's Eve girl was definitely talking about me, L.O.L. My friends have been roasting me ever since. That is... Beautiful. I need us all to become little detectives. Literally. And find this stand-up video. Yeah.

I'm like, I need to see this video. And that's the top comment too. I think every man needs to be an experience like this. They need to be humbled. Mm-hmm. I know a little bit. That's really funny. Also, who's the comedian?

I'm like, is it? Who is it? O.P. does respond to give people clues to help find the video. The account that the video is posted on belongs to a local comedy club. The video is on the comedy club's social media. The video was recorded in mid-January from what I know, but the comedy club reposted it for Valentine's Day. Someone goes, name the club in the city. O-P is like, because people are like, this didn't happen, blah, blah, blah, blah. People are like, you forgot to. include the link. And now I'm like, how can we find this? I just love that like, O.P. got so creative in his, his sexual pursuits. Someone comments, quote, I haven't come since last year.

Is legitimately hilarious and I feel most comics would really appreciate it. It's all about the delivery. He shouldn't have cleared his throat first. Well, he doesn't want it to come out all gargly. I'm going to do a deep dive on the internet to find this video I thought you were going to try to reenact it gargily

You you put the pressure on me To reenact things Try things in baby voice You know I would like I would appreciate A little more initiative Where you do everything first You always give it back to me

Yeah because I feel so embarrassed I have to Yeah so I thought that was our thing Now you're telling me you have a problem with it I'll do it after you I have a problem with it I have stage fright. I have stage fright.

Why can't we both have stage fright? You have a podcast. There's no one here. And it's not on a stage. You get to edit out the bad parts. I don't get to do that. I've told you you can edit many times. The grass is not always greener.

No, you said I suck at editing. It wasn't good, guys. I was trying to find the video, but I cannot find it. If anyone is feeling in a sleutie mood today, there's got to be someone. Please have a go at it and then send us her link. I'm going to love that. If you guys find that, I'm going to be so proud. We find like our next favorite stand-up comedy gap.

Yes, and then have her on. We do love a comic. I think it's great when you bring comedians on here. I know. I love it. Taylor Tomlinson. I love her. She's so sweet, so fun. Hannah Burner, our gal. We saw her last night. Again, so sweet. They're both so witty and, like, the smart. I love, I think what I've really grown to appreciate about stand-up comics, but I feel like a majority of the women doing it are so smart. Smart in the jokes they tell. Yeah. And, like, I think that's my humor. And, like, maybe there's some guys doing it. Please send me some links. There's a new guy on SNL that I really love, and he's also from Minnesota. Oh, cool. So I've been trying to get him on.

Mm-hmm. But I like the, I like the comics. I feel like they can, they have the speed to banter enough on the pod. No, I think that if I were you inviting guests on, I would definitely look for a lot of comedians because I do think that there is a type of intelligence with comedians that a lot of people don't even like, they don't, they don't think about it because they're busy laughing. But again, yeah, to be able to be. as quick to piece things together and make people laugh is it is a type of intelligence. You have to be so quick. So quick. That improv, that training they get. Would you want to go to an

improv class with me to help our brains work faster? Yeah. Okay, cool. I don't want to go alone. Yeah, I'm totally down. Okay, cool. What if you became like the next big stand-up? Yeah, why not? I honestly could, oh my God, I felt my toe out. I could honestly see that from you. I think like I would have to get overstage right first. Beta blockers. That's what we're going to do next time. There we go. Love beta blockers. But only if they're prescribed to you, talk to your doctor, especially if you're having tummy issues. Mm-hmm. Column Cancer Awareness Month. But okay, that's all we got. Oh, Gly. We're going to be back with Rare Breed 2.0. very soon. If you see any utter weirdos upon Reddit, send them our way. Yeah. Send them my way. And I'll put it in my little folder. I have so many good stories. I'm like, I would just want to sit here for like two more hours and get through more stories. Should we just record the other one right now?

Um, no. You're tired. I'm hungry. Okay. Back soon. Thank you both. Thank you all. two of you out there. Thank you to both of my cameras for being here. I'm so out of it and tired. Thank you for both of my brain cells for coming through. There's not both. There's just one. There's only one brain cell up there fighting for its life. You know like the inside out movie where there's all the little emotions, punching buttons. Yeah. I only have one. There's only one up there. Thank you for both of the people listening. Mom, dad. Really. appreciate.

Man, love you all. If you want more. Love you guys. Go over to Patreon. Until next time. Until next time. Bye. Bye.