CW: eating disorders.
We can all agree that lying generally is not a good quality to discover in someone, especially someone we want to date.
But we've also heard the reasoning that a little white lie, especially when it's meant to make someone feel better, isn't such a bad to express every once in a while.
But where do we draw the line?
Redditor Old_Army90 asked:
"What's a little white lie you've told your partner to keep them happy?"
Better Sleep Hack
"My girlfriend can't sleep sometimes. I told her there is a pressure point on her lower neck that, if pressed, induces sleepiness. When she can't sleep, I will press on it to placebo her into getting tired and falling asleep."
- Iterations_of_Maj
Positive Distractions
"Her: 'Was that a dead dog on the road?'"
"Me: 'No, it was a trash bag.'"
"Alternatively me: notices a dead animal on the right side and points left: 'Hey, look at that! Aww, you missed it, it was a neat bird.'"
- schmwke
Regular Eating Schedule
"I don't know if this counts, but I tell my girlfriend I’m hungry so she’ll also eat something."
- nobearpineapples
"I've employed this, too. My ex-girlfriend struggled with an ED (eating disorder) and had to be reminded to eat. It got easier when instead of saying, 'You need to eat something,' I said, 'Hey, I'm hungry, let's go eat.' It was a little more expensive but it helped in the long run."
- Katayette
Medical Concerns
"I insist that his old man phlegmy cacophonous sinus-clearing coughs in the morning don't bother me. He can't help it, but man, they are rough and gross to listen to..."
- yekirati
"My wife has nasal issues and hearing her attempting to clear her sinuses triggers me in a primal way that I can't explain in words, but I will never ever say anything."
- mrfenegri
An Invasive Species
"We live in an area where it doesn’t rain frequently, but when it does, we get a ton of snails."
"He would get sad because we’d see some snails that had been stepped on, so I told him that they were an invasive species so he wouldn’t feel so bad about them getting smushed."
- Vicious-the-Syd
Secret Sauce
"My girlfriend hates Dijon mustard. I have a personal sauce that I make for burgers."
"She asked if it has Dijon in it. I said no."
"She loved it and I’ve made it multiple times since then. She’s even requested it a few times. (It has a decent amount of Dijon mustard in it.)"
- honeybeebryce
Quality Time with the Parents
"I tell her that I enjoy spending time with her parents. The truth is, I do like her parents, and it's always nice to see them... for a little while."
"After the fourth day in a row of listening to them bicker about how the forks were sticking up in the dishwasher when FIL (Father-in-Law) knows they're supposed to be put in with the tines down, I'm ready to go home and sit in total silence."
- urinetherapymiracle
Their First Steps
"Our child took their first steps when she and I were visiting my parents a few hours away while my husband was at work. Later that evening, he got home shortly after we did and our daughter took a few steps toward him when he came in the house."
"He got extremely excited thinking those were her first steps, so I just went with it and got excited too. She's 14 now. I've never told him the truth."
- worthlesscommotion
The Mini-Me Kids
"I say, 'The kids are looking more and more like you every day.'"
"But she spent nine months creating each of them inside her womb, enduring sickness fatigue, and torture, and the little f**kers came out looking like clones of ME."
- rawbface
"I watched my wife birth our baby. I'm pretty sure they're hers. I'm SURE they're mine."
- Shporpoise
A Hedgehog Family
"We have hedgehogs in our garden. Lots of them come to visit and we had a small guy two weeks ago. We have him some cat food and water and then he buggered off in the hedge and we didn't see him again."
"I found him dead a few days later."
"The wife thinks he's just out and about and I told her I saw him again. He's wrapped in a bag in the bottom of the bin and it will kill her if she knows."
"The next small one we saw out in the day, we weighed him and he was only 167g, so we took him to the local rescue center. They will release him back to our garden when he is strong enough."
"I love our little hedgehogs. They make me so happy to see them wandering about the garden."
- section4
Picky Eater Problems
"He's a chef and I'm a picky eater. I don't want to complain because he still took the time to make it and I can't cook for s**t."
- NiceNCozyCouch
"As a former picky eater, let me tell you, it does get easier. You’ll start to develop tastes for things that you wouldn’t expect. Keep forcing yourself to be at least a little adventurous with food sometimes, and you’ll slowly start to realize that the pickiness is going away."
- honeybeebryce
Epic Meme-Sharing
"Every time they show me something they watched or a meme, I act like I've never seen it and laugh my a** off."
- TillNatural4341
"I should try and do this more."
- DemonHunter7865
Appreciated Gift
"I asked for a cast iron griddle for my birthday. My oldest friend got me a huge one and gave it to me early. My fiancée gave me a smaller one on the day. She was so upset her thunder got stolen, even though it was unintentional."
"I put them both in the pantry until she’d sorta forgotten, then I pulled out the big one. I told her it was the one she gave me. I cook breakfast on it every day."
- KiwiSuch9951
Growing Old Together
"I say, 'You haven't aged since I met you.'"
"While I believe it to be true, many people ask me how old my partner is, and when I tell them, they're shocked."
"I'll admit that she does have features of an 'older lady,' and I know it gets to her, but I love her all the same and will do anything to make her happy."
- SheepishlyBruh
"My husband is 30 now, and he’s definitely aged since we met. I love it. I think he is just the cutest thing on earth and I love the wrinkles he’s getting around his eyes. I’ve told him this before and it makes him happy."
- mishyfishy135
Dancing Shenanigans
"I’ve never told my husband what a horrible dancer he is. HORRIBLE. Think Elaine on 'Seinfeld.'"
"He always wants to dance, but I usually tell him I’m tired or my feet hurt. If the dance floor is crowded, I’ll dance with him but in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by people."
"Love that man to death, though; he has a million amazing qualities and I’m the luckiest woman alive. Also, I’m pretty sure he could name quite a few things about me that he’s not too fond of…"
- Safe_Document_1140
It's clear that each of these Redditors had the best of intentions in making their partners feel better about something, whether it was their cooking abilities or the status of a beloved forest friend.
The important thing to remember, though, is the balance. While these things were said to make their partner feel happy, it shouldn't become an excuse to tell lies about bigger, more impactful situations.
