June 23, 2023 at 5:13 pm

Man Asks if He’s a Jerk for Wanting His Wife to Stay Awake on a Road Trip to Talk to Him

by Matthew Gilligan

Road Trip Engage Talk To Me Man Asks if He’s a Jerk for Wanting His Wife to Stay Awake on a Road Trip to Talk to Him

My philosophy has always been that TWO people should stay awake in the car on long road trips just in case something bad happens or the driver starts to doze off.

Safety first, right?

But this guy is in some pretty hot water because he wanted his wife to stay up with him while he drove a long distance on a family road trip.

Was he out of line?

Read his story and see what you think.

AITA for wanting my wife to stay up during a road trip and talk to me?

“I’m writing this right now at the hotel where I’m at because I’m genuinely at a loss of words, I don’t think I’m in the wrong but at the same time, she looks really p**sed at me.

My wife, me, and our 2 year old are going on our first family road trip to California.

We rotate driving in shifts, but the problem is that when I was driving, my shift fell during the night, and so I was feeling really lonely and bored as I was driving. I’m not someone who can be left to his own thoughts very well, and I need people around me, I thrive on energy and excitement.

My wife is a bit of the opposite. She’s generally fine with being left alone and can sit quietly for hours and hours upon end.

The problem is that around 11:00 p.m., I was driving and my wife and our son were in the backseat. I was feeling isolated, so I shook her awake, but then our son woke up, and well, you can probably guess what happens next.

Once he quieted down, my wife began to quietly blow up at me, about how much of a dick I was being. I told her that it wasn’t fair for her to just sleep like that, and it made me feel like a driver.

She then said that she doesn’t force me to stay awake or engage with her, but I told her that that’s a cheap blow because we’re not the same people, and I kept my mouth shut while she was driving because I know she doesn’t like distractions even though it bothered me terribly, so the least she could do is to stop being selfish and help keep me sane.

Despite my perfectly logical answer, she apparently got emotional, and then started whisper screaming some s**t about how raising one toddler is hard enough, and that she didn’t know there was another one in the car who needed his whims catered to at every moment, and at that point, since she got rude, I decided to disengage.

Now our whole trip is falling apart and she’s making me out to be the bad guy.”

Here’s what Reddit users said about this.

This reader said this guy is definitely an a**hole.

Screen Shot 2023 06 04 at 2.09.54 PM Man Asks if He’s a Jerk for Wanting His Wife to Stay Awake on a Road Trip to Talk to Him

Photo Credit: Reddit

And another Reddit user said he’s an a**hole and he was projecting his shortcomings onto her.

Screen Shot 2023 06 04 at 2.10.04 PM Man Asks if He’s a Jerk for Wanting His Wife to Stay Awake on a Road Trip to Talk to Him

Photo Credit: Reddit

And this individual said his excuse for his behavior was awful.

Screen Shot 2023 06 04 at 2.10.26 PM Man Asks if He’s a Jerk for Wanting His Wife to Stay Awake on a Road Trip to Talk to Him

Photo Credit: Reddit

Yeah dude… this isn’t cool.