A 35-year-old woman wrote us a desperate letter. She shared her struggles to accept that her husband turned out to be mean. He constantly made comments about her body odor, which seriously impacted her mental health. But she was absolutely furious when she found out the real reason behind his behavior. After hearing the details of his scheme, we completely sympathize with her.
The woman’s marriage to her husband has always been wonderful.
Lilly, a woman who recently wrote to us, sounded incredibly desperate about a problem she encountered in her otherwise happy family life. She mentioned that she and her husband, George, have been happily married for over ten years. During all this time, she had never witnessed any disrespectful behavior from George.
Lilly shared, “Honestly, our marriage has always been built on deep emotions, intense passion for each other, mutual respect, and trust. I’ve always seen my relationship with George as happy; it was ideal for me. He has always been a loving and caring husband.”
However, there was one thing that cast a shadow over everything: the classic tension between Lilly and her MIL. Lilly wrote, “I’ve always had a tough relationship with my MIL because I just don’t like her personality. She has always been very authoritative and entitled, genuinely believing that her opinion is the only one that matters in every situation. She loves to interfere in other people’s private lives.”
One way or another, I made an effort to get along with her and always behaved politely. It wasn’t too difficult since we didn’t see each other frequently. George and I live in a different country, so the opportunities for her to meddle in our lives were quite limited. I eventually accepted that my MIL would never be like a second mother to me.
Out of nowhere, Lilly’s husband began behaving very disrespectfully.
Lilly continues in her letter, describing how about a year ago, her husband’s behavior completely changed. She explained, “George started making rude comments about my body odor. There was no apparent reason for it—no changes in my health or lifestyle. Everything had been normal until one day, he just started doing it. Every single day, at least once, he would tell me that I stink and smell bad.”
Reflecting on the early days of their relationship, Lilly mentioned that she had always been diligent about her hygiene. When they first met, she showered daily, used deodorant every morning, and brushed her teeth 3 times a day. None of that had changed, yet George continued with these nasty comments over and over again.
Lilly admitted, “I got so paranoid about having body odor that I began showering 3 times a day. I started applying a special, strong deodorant every hour—I even set reminders on my phone. I also began using perfume and brushed my teeth 5 times a day, doing it every time I ate or drank anything besides water.”
George’s comments took a toll on Lilly’s mental state.
For anyone, being told that they smell bad can be unpleasant. When those comments come from a loved one, delivered rudely and repeatedly every day, it becomes even worse. This was exactly what Lilly experienced, and she confessed it made her feel very distressed.
Lilly wrote, “I felt like I was losing my mind. I knew I hadn’t smelled bad throughout our relationship, and I didn’t think I smelled bad at that time either. But it was clear that my husband thought otherwise. I’ve always been the type to discreetly check my armpits for any odor. I even went to see a doctor, who assured me that there was nothing medically wrong.”
The situation got so intense that I began asking my friends and family to smell my armpits and give me their honest opinions about whether I had any body odor. Everyone reassured me that I didn’t smell bad at all. One family member even said that I smelled overly clean like I had just walked out of a Lush store.
One day, Lilly discovered the real reason why her husband insisted she smelled bad.
One day, Lilly unexpectedly uncovered the truth behind her husband’s odd behavior. By that point, she had become extremely paranoid and wouldn’t even cuddle or kiss George whenever he claimed she smelled bad.
One morning, Lilly decided to go for a walk while George stayed at home. She explained, “I told George I’d be gone for about three hours. I planned to visit my sister and thought a nice walk would be refreshing. But after a while, I started feeling unwell. I decided it would be best to head back home and rest, so I returned about 30 minutes after leaving. Of course, George wasn’t expecting me to come back so soon.”
Lilly continues her story, explaining, “Because I felt unwell, I entered the house quietly, trying not to make any extra noise with my keys or anything. I had a terrible headache, and every sound made it worse. George didn’t hear me come in since he was on a video call with his mother.” Lilly noted that George and her MIL were speaking very loudly, and it sounded like they were arguing. The loud noises from George’s room irritated her, and she wanted to ask him to use his headphones while talking. Then, she suddenly realized they were talking about her.
Lilly wrote, “George was nervously telling his mother that he was fed up with this ’smelly game.’ He sounded stressed, saying that because of his constant comments about my body odor, we had stopped being intimate, and I wouldn’t even kiss him anymore. His mother, in response, told him to be patient if he wanted to keep me around. She explained that George’s father had done the same thing to her, claiming it was a foolproof method to ensure a woman never leaves. According to her, a woman would stay with one man forever because ’she’ll feel too low to cheat, be devoted only to you, and always be fresh and clean.’”
Essentially, Lilly’s MIL was advising her son on how to keep Lilly by his side, sharing the nasty tactic that George’s father had once used on her! Lilly found this disgusting and was furious that George would try such a vile technique on her. She concluded, “George doesn’t know yet that I’m aware of everything. I want a divorce, but I want revenge before I end things with him. I know that many people might not see George’s actions as a serious reason for divorce, but I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with someone who uses such ’smelly methods’ on a woman who loves him with all her heart.”
A woman experienced something strange in her family when she kept finding random tampons that weren’t hers in their bathroom. She suspected her husband and decided to dig into it, not expecting the surprising twist that followed.
