Humor can bring people closer, but it can also cross the line when the jokes stop feeling playful.

A boyfriend soon realizes that the woman he loves might be using mean humor to laugh at him more than to laugh with him.

As her teasing becomes more personal and more public, he starts questioning whether he’s supposed to laugh or finally speak up.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for failing to recognize my partner’s jokes/bits?

My partner likes to joke around a lot, she’ll constantly say brainrot words from TikTok and I’m more than happy to follow because I do find it funny.

She makes jokes around every situation if she can find an entry, and I do really enjoy it.

But there is a downside to her constant clowning.

Sometimes her jokes are situational, for example, a typo can mean something completely different and she’ll joke about that to no end, but oftentimes she’ll joke about something about me, like how I probably have so many other girls that she doesn’t know about (I don’t), or that I have a secret family (I also don’t), or that I’m a terrible boyfriend (I hope I’m not).

He tries to be a good sport, but lately, it’s starting to feel like it’s going too far.

I do play along, it’s fun and funny, but sometimes it goes on for too long, and sometimes she involves other people (she once showed our friends an out-of-context screenshot of something I said that sounds bad), and when she does that, I feel uncomfortable.

I even feel like deep inside she really feels that way about me.

But when he tries to talk to her about it, she’s kind of manipulative about it.

Whenever I show discomfort or if I bring this up, she gets sad and tells me she’ll never joke about anything ever again, which makes me sad because I do enjoy her jokes. It’s just that sometimes it makes me uncomfortable.

Now he feels conflicted on how to move forward.

I don’t want her to feel like I don’t find her funny or that I’m limiting her expression, but at the same time I really can’t tell if she’s still joking or if she’s really trying to say something.

AITA for telling her this?

She shouldn’t have to tear her own boyfriend down just to get a laugh.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter picks up on a big red flag in all of this.

It’s time to talk about this like adults.

He’s not really doing himself or her any favors by pretending to like jokes that are actually hurting him.

Her friends also probably don’t find the “jokes” that funny either.

He’s allowed to say when a joke goes too far, even if she doesn’t like hearing it.

If your jokes require you to mock someone else, it’s time to get some new material.

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