My uncle's new girlfriend brought up his ex-wife at Thanksgiving dinner

We were all sitting around the table in my grandma's house in Akron when she just said, 'So, how's Linda doing these days?' and the room went totally quiet. My uncle just stared at his plate for a solid ten seconds before my mom jumped in and asked about the cranberry sauce recipe. Has anyone else had a new partner drop a bomb like that right in front of everyone?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyramirez25d ago

My friend's boyfriend once asked her dad, at a very quiet birthday dinner, why her parents got divorced in the first place. He said he was just curious to understand her better, which made it even worse somehow. You could hear a pin drop in that restaurant. Her dad just took a long drink of water and changed the subject to the weather. It was the kind of awkward that makes your skin crawl, and they broke up not long after that. Some people just have zero sense of timing, or they're trying to start something on purpose.

shane_mason25d ago

That guy must have thought "quiet birthday dinner" was the perfect time for a family history deep dive. Like maybe the dad was just waiting for some random dude to ask so he could unload 20 years of baggage over cake. Real smooth move. The water drink and weather pivot is a classic dad move too. That's the sound of a man who has seen some things and does not want to talk about them with you.

logan70519d ago

My uncle once asked my grandma, at a very crowded Thanksgiving, why she never talks about her first husband. She just stared at him for a full ten seconds and said, "Because he died, dear, and the gravy is getting cold." It was a master class in shutting down a line of questioning. Some family doors are just meant to stay closed, especially when there's food on the table.