AITA for leaving my husband in the grocery store because he started acting like a toddler?

A woman shared her frustration with her husband, who started speaking in baby talk and behaving childishly in public. When he loudly acted like a toddler during a grocery trip, she left him at the store, unable to handle the embarrassment. Tensions have since escalated, and even his mother is urging her to let it go. Was she wrong to walk away, or is this behavior too much to tolerate? Read the full story below:

‘ AITA for leaving my husband in the grocery store because he started acting like a toddler?’

We all go through phases and pick up annoying habits, and sometimes we just need our loved ones to gently tell us if we’ve picked up a particularly egregious habit.
Sometime in the last year, my husband has picked up a habit where he talks like a baby. At first it was funny, but passed into embarrassing, cringeworthy behavior quickly.

Examples: doggo, pupper, woofer/subwoofer, pibble, hooty-boy, peepo, birb, meowmeow, sammy, sammiches, sammywhammy, chicky nuggies, chicky tendies, adding a toddleresque “lisp” to words, and the ones that really get gross are childish euphemisms for genitalia or s**.

I cannot emphasize this enough: it is not endearing or sexy to have my husband talk about my “boobies” and his “weiner” and “weenie” and “wee wee”, “hoohas” and “bajingos” (Nostalgia for Scrubs be damned). We have not had s** for six months because he cannot stop talking about my “boobies” and it makes me sick.

Just before the pandemic hit, we were out at a restaurant with some friends, he actually ordered a “chicky sammy” like, said that exact phrase. Chicky. Sammy. Look, it’s totally fine that he ordered the chicken sandwich. That’s not the issue. Our friends noticed the baby talk, because he insisted on continuing the “joke” and even started talking with this god awful toddler… lilt? Accent?

After that, I just couldn’t stomach the idea of going out with him to adult places. I’d go out to the brewery with friends, but god forbid he join me and say “Me wanty ‘nother beer!” or something. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know why he’s doing this.

I finally hit my limit when we were grocery shopping and everything seemed normal and fine until he gasped like a kid, ran to the ice cream section and jumped up and down yelling “ICE CWEAM ICE CWEAM! I WANT CHOCWIT!” I was *MORTIFIED*. People were staring at him and me. He kept going and kept saying “CAN WE GET POPSICOOOS?” and I just said “Either talk to me like an adult or I’m leaving.”

He started saying OOOOOO YOU MUST BE FUN AT PARTIES and LIGHTEN UP, WILL YOU? And s**t like that. I just said f**k it, and left the store, leaving him to walk home (like a mile, it was fine) because I couldn’t even look at him. Since then, things have been very tense, and he keeps telling me that he wants an apology for embarrassing him by leaving him in the store.

I told him that people don’t get to demand apologies, if someone wants to apologize, it’s up to them, and I am absolutely not going to apologize for saving myself the embarrassment of a 35 year old man with a mortgage and retirement account asking for “CHOCWIT ICE CWEAM.”

He got his f**king Mom involved, no joke. She keeps telling me it’s just a phase and that he’s probably bored and I should be happy this is his midlife crisis, rather than him f**king 19 year olds at the local bar. I’m going crazy. AITA? Do I really just need to let my husband continuously embarrass me like this?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Befub14435 −  NTA- I’d sit him down and have a serious heart to heart. I did not marry a toddler. I married an adult partner to build a life with. I have told you repeatedly that this is not a joke, I find it annoying (and whatever other adjectives you’d like), and it has caused me to lose all s**ual attraction to you and not having s** for 6 months is a problem.

And instead of modifying your behavior and trying to respect my feelings you bring in your mother to our relationship ship to justify your actions. If you are truly a little boy who wants his mommy you can pack up your stuff and live with her.

If you are interested in saving this marriage, you will not only go to a regular doctor for a check up to make sure there isn’t some underlying medical condition for this change in behavior you will start marriage counseling with me immediately. So if this behavior is in response to some subconscious need you are not having met, we can figure it out together.

These are your options. Fight for our marriage as an adult or be a child that’s not old enough for any sort of meaningful relationship and go live with your mother. Edit as of Christmas: OP has posted an update on her account just in a different group for those of you that are interested. Her request her was denied.

Captain_no_legs −  Encourage him to go to the doctor. With the sudden change in his behavior you’re continuing talks to him about it and six months without s** and he still hasn’t admitted there’s a problem. he needs checked out there might be something serious medically going on.

FuckUGalen −  NTA – But he got his mummy involved, so tell her she is welcome to take her toddler shopping while he screams for “ICE CWEAM ICE CWEAM! I WANT CHOCWIT!” Not to bring him back till she has raised him back to adulthood. Edit: also I would suggest that a doctors visit may also be appropriate if this is in anyway non voluntary, because it may be linked to some kind of cognitive issue.

withoutguidance −  Man, by the title, I assumed he just threw a temper tantrum or something. This was soooo much worse and I have no idea how you’ve put up with it for as long as you have. NTA and your husband needs some professional interference ASAP

jadepumpkin1984 −  Nta. I have two kids. They have never talked like that because *gasp* if you talk to children with big people words they will too. What the hell is he going on about. Tell him if he insists on acting like a f**king child you will find him a nanny to take care of him. He’s an embarrassment.

Iron_winged_monarch −  NTA. Maybe you should take him to a doctor. This sounds like a brain tumor.

IchigoKakarot −  Nta, I’d show up to his work with diapers and demand to change him for going poopoo and see how he handles that.

Terytha −  NTA. I feel repulsed by this too and I’m just reading about it. I’m not big on ultimatums but I’d be tempted to tell him to choose between his disgusting joke and having a relationship.

ChemicalPorcupine −  NTA, and the MIL saying you’re “lucky” is just horrible.

SwiggyBloodlust −  If it’s a fetish he needs to be upfront about it. At this point, since he is being a baby I would send him to live with mommy. NTA

Would you tolerate such behavior from a partner, or was she justified in setting a boundary by walking away? Share your thoughts—how would you handle this situation?