My (27f) husband (29m) won’t stop pulling stupid pranks on me and I’m almost at my limit

A Reddit user shares her growing frustration with her husband’s relentless pranks, which started as harmless fun on April Fool’s Day but have continued for weeks despite multiple requests to stop.

What began as lighthearted jokes has escalated to daily disruptions, wasted food, and ruined meals, making her feel like she can’t even use her own kitchen without checking for tampering. Now, she’s reaching her breaking point. Read the original story below…

‘ My (27f) husband (29m) won’t stop pulling stupid pranks on me and I’m almost at my limit’

It all started on April 1st when we had some friends over and we were all playing jokes on each other and laughing, all in good fun. I honestly thought it would stop there. Days after, he was still doing it – stuff like toothpaste in Oreos, Nutella all over the bathroom floor, hiding a whoopee cushion in strategic places, typical prank stuff. I thought most of it was kind of funny and we both had a laugh over it.

However, it just kept going weeks and weeks after. Almost every day, there was a prank. I started getting tired of it and nicely asked him to stop. He agreed to stop, but a couple days after the discussion, he started doing the stupid pranks again.

At one point these past couple weeks, I got extremely ticked off at how long this has been going on despite me asking him to stop several times and told him as calmly as I could that he needed to stop this immediately before I lost my mind. He just giggled as though it were funny and winked as he agreed to stop. Again, he has not stopped.

It especially frustrates me that some of his pranks involve wasting food, which he knows I hate doing. He has done things like switching similar-looking spices to different jars with different labels, which at one point ruined our dinner. I can’t eat or use anything in the kitchen without checking if it’s been tampered with.

Keep in mind that we’ve been married for five years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. Usually when we have discussions about things that bother us, we both try to work on stopping said thing.

Update here: UPDATE: My (27f) husband (29m) won’t stop pulling stupid pranks on me and I’m almost at my limit

Here’s the input from the Reddit crowd:

throwa347 −  You know, this kind of thing is only funny if BOTH people think it is. If only one person is enjoying it, it’s no longer a joke- it’s just mean. I might try to have a serious conversation at a time separate from any pranks. Start out by telling him you need to discuss something that is very negatively impacting your marriage and enjoyment of being with him.

Tell him that these “pranks” are no longer cute or funny, and ask him why he’s deliberately continuing to do something that is actively upsetting to his spouse. Ask him if he is intentionally trying to drive you away. Let him know that ever time he does this, it is chipping away at your love for him. Let him know a prank is only fun if both people enjoy it, and you are absolutely not enjoying it.

Ask him if there’s anything about your marriage that is causing him to purposefully alienate his spouse. To be clear: he is literally getting off on upsetting you, and has not stopped when you have very seriously asked. Does he put himself first in other ways? What he is doing is very disrespectful to you, especially once you’ve made it clear you are not enjoying his actions.

If he is still not getting it, and if this behavior is abnormal, you might actually want to take him to the doctor if this kind of behavior is pretty new. How is he acting otherwise? If he’s healthy and fine, I would question if he really is actively trying to drive you away but doesn’t want to be “the bad guy”.

You don’t say much about how the rest of your marriage is, so here are some resources that might help you identify other behavior. CA gives phenomenal advice *with scripts*, which is *priceless*. Scroll to the bottom for tags, don’t forget to read the comments when available.

Read this book: Why Does He Do That by Lundy Bundtcroft (he’s written it for the most common configuration he sees in the wild, but is clear it is for any relationship or gender).. Look up these terms: DARVO, g**lighting, JADE, love bombing, breadcrumbs, FOG, the Sheelzebub Principle,

narcissistic personality disorder (start with the narcissist’s prayer), projection, negging (you’re so ___! prove you’re not ___ by doing what I want!), sunk-cost fallacy, forced teaming, loansharking, gatekeeping, hoovering, sea lioning, extinction burst, codependence, and enablement.

At some point, this grown-ass man needs to recognize what he is doing is not cute or funny. If he can’t understand that and he is healthy, you might need some marriage counseling to get to the bottom of what is honestly edging into emotional abuse. And if you think that’s too harsh…

How much time are you spending dreading the next “prank” or cleaning up a mess from a “prank” or being upset by a “prank” or trying to figure out why he’s doing this to you after you’ve clearly told him to stop? How much of your mental and emotional capacity is being used up from this? How much of your time and energy is this crap actually taking from you?

If he is healthy but does not stop this crap, he is going to annoy you into wanting to be free of him. If he doesn’t want his marriage to end, he needs to buck the f**k up and cut the 6th grade bullying b**lshit out.. Good luck to you.

ETA – I absolutely would NOT prank him back. He needs to know this s**t is no longer acceptable, so make sure you aren’t sending mixed messages. You want to be heard loud and clear with no ambiguity. These kinds of things are absolutely relationship-killers. If he loves you, he will stop this nonsense. If he doesn’t stop, you’ll know he loves annoying you more than he loves you as his spouse. That’s no way to live.

CatSpecificTuna −  At this point it’s become a trust issue. It affects your comfort in your own home. You can’t even trust that your food hasn’t been tampered with. It’s eroding how safe you feel in your house, and your trust in your partner. Added to that you’ve explicitly told him to stop and he’s continued.

I wouldn’t prank leave or give any ultimatums yet. First I’d try talking to him one more time and make it very clear that you were serious before, just like you are now. Tell him he’s taking away your ability to be comfortable.

Home is a place you should feel safe, and his actions are causing you anxiety and to lose trust in him and his regard for your feelings. If he does it again it’s time for an ultimatum, although I’d be completely fed up with a partner who forced me to give one after multiple warnings.

CadenceQuandry −  Can you go stay somewhere else and just not tell him? Then say Surprise! I’m pranking you by saying I’m leaving if you don’t stop! Maybe a night on his own will get him to hear you. It’s super disrespectful of him all around and while one prank is funny daily pranks for months is absolutely ridiculous.

please-lunkers −  Tell him again. Tell him it was funny the first two times but now it is seriously getting on your nerves and he needs to respect you. You find it childish and annoying. Neither cute nor funny anymore. Passive aggressive things others have suggested wont solve the underlying issue of his lack of respect for you, and that you have asked several times for him to stop.

[Reddit User] −  I know you said he’s 29, but…is this guy freaking thirteen??? What kind of adult does this and keeps going long after you’ve told him to quit it?

jesuschin −  Prank him good with some divorce papers and see how fast he stops

Waziot −  I’m sure you’ve done this already but if you sit him down to talk about it again maybe ask him why he’s gone so deep into pranking? And why now? It’s weird that for as long as you’ve known him, this is the first time he’s done it. I might be wrong but potentially the more you shine a light on it or try to unpack it, it might take the wind out of his sails or cause him to think about it more.

Clearly just telling him to stop spurs it on more because the joke now seems to be that he’s beating a dead horse. Maybe a different angle framed in a less adversarial way and more concerned or curious could help.

sleepdealer2000 −  “April 1st”. “Had some friends over”. Um.

Stossel −  This is so strange. If it were me, I would sit my SO down in the most serious atmosphere I could create and really try to get to the bottom of why they feel the need to keep doing this. My first questions would be “Is there something going on? Do you need to talk to someone?” to set the tone on just how NOT kidding I am about the issue.

TheMailman36928 −  Go to him and, as straight-faced as you can, tell him that you are fully and completely done with the pranks. Tell him that if he doesn’t immediately stop the pranks, you will leave. Immediately after, follow the other redditor’s advice and go spend a night or two literally anywhere else that you can.

This is the safest, calmest, most direct way to communicate the issue effectively. I would NOT recommend the following, but I THINK it would probably be effective.
Short of that, if he still just doesn’t understand, you could react explosively:

When you encounter the prank, full-force throw something at something else where it will make a lot of noise (throw package of cookies against the wall/shelf/fridge) and scream directly in his face “that’s it, I’m f**king done”. Proceed to grab some clothes and go for a drive. He acts like a child, maybe he’ll understand like a child.

At what point do pranks stop being funny and start becoming disrespectful? Do you think the husband is just being playful, or is he disregarding clear boundaries? How would you handle this situation? Share your thoughts below!