If you read enough posts on Reddit’s Am I The A$$hole sub, you’ll realize that no matter what people say they’re fighting about currently, it’s always actually about something else.

It’s up to the people in the relationships to figure out the heart of the trouble – but this OP is finally grasping that it’s not really about flat seltzer.

His wife enjoys drinking seltzer, but only after she’s opened it and let it sit out for several hours, making it totally flat.

He thinks it’s a waste of money but she insists it tastes different than normal water.

My wife (29f) had a strange preference in water. She always drinks unflavored seltzer water, but instead of just drinking it normally she opens the cans first and then waits for all the bubbles to fizz out before drinking any of them.

It’s just such a waste since she’s essentially drinking regular water at this point but for such a higher price. My wife always argues that it just tastes fresher and crisper after being left out opened.

Recently he went grocery shopping and did not get the seltzer that she put on the list.

I normally do the grocery shopping and last week when I went i did not but any seltzer. When I got home my wife asked where the seltzer was (she had added it to the shopping list).

When I explained that I hadn’t bought any she immediately went red in the face but didn’t really say anything.

Later, she went and got herself enough seltzer to last a month or more, given that, according to him, she drinks around 7 cans a day.

They got in a fight about it and some of their family thinks he’s being a jerk.

Later that day, I went to the gym and when I got back, our kitchen was decked out with seltzer cans. I could barely open the pantry because there were so many packs of seltzer (there were at least 25 boxes worth).

My wife smugly told me that she had taken several trips to the grocery store because 1 trip wasn’t enough to fit all the seltzer in her car now that she knew I was trying to cut her off.

She told her family about this and they are all calling me an asshole saying I’m depriving my wife of a basic need.

He did add some information, including the number of cans she drinks and that she sometimes offers the flat seltzer to guests as well.

Edited to add:

My wife almost exclusively drinks this flat seltzer and will easily go through 7+ seltzers in a day. We can afford it but its still pretty expensive and takes up a significant amount of money.

Edit #2: My wife is in the kitchen opening all of the cans right now. I get that I might be at least partially the asshole so I’m laying low right now.

I do still feel like my wife’s habit could be unsanitary tho because she often opens the seltzers several days before drinking them so there is potential for dust to get in. Also I feel like it makes guests uncomfortable when my wife offers them several-day opened flat seltzers.

What does Reddit think? This might be a tough one!

A lot of people, including the top commenter, think a soda stream is the answer (because everyone sucks here).

This person still thinks OP is the jerk, because his wife is actually enjoying the water and they can afford it, so who cares?

So no, this is not about water.

Several people backed up the wife, saying it does taste different (even though they think she’s weird for liking it).

The world is on fire!

This is one of the weirder posts I’ve read.

Why are people so intent on not letting others like what they like? Sheesh!