Newlywedbro
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- Mar 24, 2019
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Bros. I need advice. I'm a newly-wed and struggling.
Some background... My wife and I dated 4 years. We've been married about 9 months. She's pretty and outgoing and can sometimes come across as a flirt, which I attribute to her being the only girl in her family and a bit of a tomboy.
The problem I need help with is this: We went out for dinner to an Italian restaurant and it felt like her and the waiter were flirting. I don't know how to respond because I don't want to come across as jealous or a control freak.
One problem in our marriage has been that she has never seemed to be able to recognize when a guy is hitting on her or how some of her conduct comes across as leading on or flirtatious. When we went out to this Italian restaurant, she told the waiter (a dude about my age in his late 20s) that he looked familiar. She asked him some background questions and from his reaction, he seemed to take her inquiry as interest in him which, in my opinion, he appeared to return.
He barely acknowledged me after that, and I could tell from his body language and communication that he he was interested in her. For example, when she said she worked at a nail salon, he replied that he didn't ever really go to a place like that but would like to have a manicure. **** like that kept popping up throughout the conversation. In my opinion, she also asked too many questions that would easily be mistaken for interest. She asked where he went to uni, where he went to school, where he worked, and more. I get that if she genuinely thinks he looks familiar, she would ask questions. But at the same time, I can't blame him for thinking she might be interested if she's asking so many questions. I feel like I would have been aware of this line of thinking, but she doesn't seem to.
Long story short. She shared where she works out, where she works, and it just bothers me knowing that if the tables were turned, if I had prompted a conversation with a female waitress who had said some of the stuff the dude had said, my wife would probably have already angrily accused me of flirting and it would have devolved into a fight.
So here I am. 4am, can't ****ing sleep because I don't know how to talk to her about this without coming across as jealous or controlling. But it bother me and I want to be able to talk to her about anything, as my wife, with no secrets. And if the situation were reversed, I would want her to tell me because I wouldn't want her to feel upset and bottle it. I also feel disrespected knowing that the waiter didn't seem to give a **** that he was flirty even though I was right there. I'm frustrated that my wife can be so jealous of the smallest interactions I have, or assume a woman is hitting on me, but she can't seem to see when she is leading on or recognize when a dude is flirting.
I know talking to her will end in a fight, which is another problem. I come from a family that really communicated and my parents were staunch Christian, so married boundaries were strict and standards were high. But I'm not religious anymore. I don't believe quite the same as my parents, but my wife's parents didn't show good communication and never conveyed specific marriage boundaries and standards. So on one hand the role models I had were too strict and my wife's role models didn't really role model. So we're struggling to define healthy boundaries and standards of expectations. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for reading this. I know it's long and I appreciate it.
Some background... My wife and I dated 4 years. We've been married about 9 months. She's pretty and outgoing and can sometimes come across as a flirt, which I attribute to her being the only girl in her family and a bit of a tomboy.
The problem I need help with is this: We went out for dinner to an Italian restaurant and it felt like her and the waiter were flirting. I don't know how to respond because I don't want to come across as jealous or a control freak.
One problem in our marriage has been that she has never seemed to be able to recognize when a guy is hitting on her or how some of her conduct comes across as leading on or flirtatious. When we went out to this Italian restaurant, she told the waiter (a dude about my age in his late 20s) that he looked familiar. She asked him some background questions and from his reaction, he seemed to take her inquiry as interest in him which, in my opinion, he appeared to return.
He barely acknowledged me after that, and I could tell from his body language and communication that he he was interested in her. For example, when she said she worked at a nail salon, he replied that he didn't ever really go to a place like that but would like to have a manicure. **** like that kept popping up throughout the conversation. In my opinion, she also asked too many questions that would easily be mistaken for interest. She asked where he went to uni, where he went to school, where he worked, and more. I get that if she genuinely thinks he looks familiar, she would ask questions. But at the same time, I can't blame him for thinking she might be interested if she's asking so many questions. I feel like I would have been aware of this line of thinking, but she doesn't seem to.
Long story short. She shared where she works out, where she works, and it just bothers me knowing that if the tables were turned, if I had prompted a conversation with a female waitress who had said some of the stuff the dude had said, my wife would probably have already angrily accused me of flirting and it would have devolved into a fight.
So here I am. 4am, can't ****ing sleep because I don't know how to talk to her about this without coming across as jealous or controlling. But it bother me and I want to be able to talk to her about anything, as my wife, with no secrets. And if the situation were reversed, I would want her to tell me because I wouldn't want her to feel upset and bottle it. I also feel disrespected knowing that the waiter didn't seem to give a **** that he was flirty even though I was right there. I'm frustrated that my wife can be so jealous of the smallest interactions I have, or assume a woman is hitting on me, but she can't seem to see when she is leading on or recognize when a dude is flirting.
I know talking to her will end in a fight, which is another problem. I come from a family that really communicated and my parents were staunch Christian, so married boundaries were strict and standards were high. But I'm not religious anymore. I don't believe quite the same as my parents, but my wife's parents didn't show good communication and never conveyed specific marriage boundaries and standards. So on one hand the role models I had were too strict and my wife's role models didn't really role model. So we're struggling to define healthy boundaries and standards of expectations. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for reading this. I know it's long and I appreciate it.