Do you think it’s possible to have foot odor and not realize it?

The woman in today’s story doesn’t seem to think so, and this is a huge problem for her coworker who is gagging from the stench.

Let’s read on to see how the story plays out.

AITA for asking my coworker to wear her shoes because I don’t want to see her feet

A little general background: I’m a first-year law student.

In my country, after high school, you typically attend law school for a five-year degree, take the bar exams, and then begin practicing law.

My college has given us an internship break until February, so I’m currently interning for two months.

She hasn’t gotten along with the new intern since day one.

I (F17) have been interning with a firm since December.

A new intern (F20-22) joined in January.

For context, we’ve had minor arguments since her first day, when she made a comment about my financial background, implying I don’t need to work because I “must have daddy’s money lying around.”

My particular law school is quite expensive.

Now she has to deal with another issue.

Over the past few days, she has been taking off her shoes while working.

Since we share the same table, the smell becomes unbearable.

(She wears shoes without socks, and with the building’s elevator out of order, we’ve been climbing five flights of stairs daily in 31°C/87.8°F weather.)

She has asked the intern to keep her shoes on.

I’ve been addressing this issue privately for a few days now—starting with subtle hints and eventually directly asking her to keep her shoes on.

Today, the same issue arose, but this time, I confronted her in front of other coworkers (who happened to be her juniors from the same college).

The fellow intern doesn’t seem to see the problem.

The conversation unfolded as follows:

Me: Hey [name], I hope this doesn’t come across the wrong way, but I’ve noticed you sometimes take off your shoes in the office. I understand wanting to be comfortable, but since this is a shared space, it might be better to keep them on to maintain a professional atmosphere. I hope you don’t mind me bringing this up again.

Her: Why does it matter to you? You already said the same thing the other day.

Me: It’s just a bit uncomfortable to see your feet while working (we have glass tables).

Her: Then don’t look.

Then she brought up the smell.

Me: You’ve also been kicking me under the table, which is really uncomfortable. Could you please stop?

Her: No, I’m wearing heels, and they’re uncomfortable to wear all day. I’ll continue to take them off.

Me: I get that heels can be uncomfortable, and I understand wanting to be at ease. Maybe you could try wearing sports shoes or office shoes like the rest of us? It must also be tough to climb the stairs in heels. But could you please keep your shoes on? The smell can get a bit overwhelming.

Nobody is on her side.

Her: No. I would know if my feet smelled.

Another coworker (to me): Show her some respect. She’s three years older than you, jerk.

So Reddit, AITA for asking my coworker to wear her shoes because I don’t want to see her feet?

I wonder if she could talk to a manager or supervisor about this, like suggesting a new rule where everyone has to wear shoes of some sort at work.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

The coworker is also a problem.

Older doesn’t always mean wiser.

She should’ve brought up the smell first.

The coworker needs to wash her feet.

She obviously knew her coworker would be offended.

What is the real issue – the smell or the sight?

If her high heels are too uncomfortable to wear, she needs to wear different shoes.

This issue definitely doesn’t seem to be resolved.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.