The woman has always had an amazing relationship with her husband.
Lilly, a woman who reached out to us, conveyed a sense of desperation regarding a situation within her otherwise happy family. She expressed that she and her husband, George, have enjoyed over a decade of blissful marriage, during which she has never observed any signs of disrespectful behavior from him.
Lilly disclosed, “In fact, our marriage has always been grounded in deep affection, immense passion for each other, mutual respect, and trust. I’ve always considered my relationship with George to be incredibly fulfilling and ideal for me. He’s consistently shown himself to be a loving and caring husband.”
One aspect that dimmed the brightness of Lilly’s otherwise happy marriage was the classic conflict between her and her MIL. Lilly explained, “I have always been in tough terms with my MIL, because I just didn’t like her personality. She’s always been a very authoritative and entitled person, she sincerely believed that it’s only her opinion that counts, in absolutely every matter. And she adores to interfere with other people’s private lives.
This way or that, I did try to come to terms with her and just acted politely all the way, and it wasn’t a big deal for me, because we didn’t see each other very often. George and I live in another country and the chances that she would be interfering with our life, were relatively small. So, I just accepted the fact that my MIL will never become my second mother.”
Lilly’s husband suddenly began displaying highly disrespectful behavior.
Continuing her letter, Lilly revealed that approximately a year ago, her husband’s demeanor underwent a dramatic shift. She elaborated, «George started making rude comments about my body odor. And there was no visible reason for it, no change in my health or lifestyle, everything had been normal, up until one day, and ever since George started doing it. Every single day, at least once, he would tell me that I stink and smell of body odor.»
Reflecting on the inception of their relationship, Lilly recalled maintaining meticulous hygiene habits. She recounted showering daily, applying deodorant in the morning, and brushing her teeth three times a day. Despite adhering to these routines consistently, nothing had shifted in her hygiene practices since they first met. Nevertheless, George persisted in making disparaging remarks about her personal hygiene repeatedly.
Lilly confessed, «I became so paranoid about my body smelling bad that I started to shower 3 times a day, I applied a special strong deodorant every hour (I even had a reminder on my phone). I used a perfume, and I brushed my teeth 5 times a day, it was anytime I ate or drank something that wasn’t water.»
Lilly’s mental well-being suffered as a result of George’s comments.
Receiving daily, rude reminders from a loved one about body odor can be deeply distressing for anyone. Lilly acknowledged feeling profoundly upset by George’s behavior.
The woman wrote, «I felt like I was going crazy. I was sure I didn’t smell bad all the time of our relationship. And I didn’t think I smelled bad at that period of time, but it was obvious that I did smell bad to my husband. I’ve always been this type of a person who would sneakily smell their own armpits. I visited a doctor, and he told me there was nothing medically wrong.»
«The whole thing was getting to the point where I literally started asking my friends and family members to smell my armpits and to tell me honestly if I smelled bad,» Lilly recalls. «They all said I didn’t smell like body odor at all, one family member even said I smelled too clean like a lush store.»
One day, Lilly discovered the reason why she was smelling bad for her husband.
One day, Lilly unexpectedly stumbled upon the truth behind her husband’s suspicious behavior. By that point, she was consumed by paranoia, to the extent that she refrained from cuddling or kissing George whenever he mentioned her supposed odor.
One morning, Lilly ventured out for a stroll while George remained at home. She said, “I went away and told George that I’d be back in around 3 hours. I was thinking of visiting my sister and decided to go on foot and to take a gulp of fresh air, when I suddenly felt bad. I thought I’d better come back home and lay down instead of walking, and I returned home in approximately 30 minutes after I left. Of course, George wasn’t expecting me to be back.”
Lilly goes on with her story, saying, “Just because I felt bad, I entered the house silently, trying to not make any extra noise with my keys, etc. I had a terrible headache and every sound resonated in my head with a growing pain. George didn’t hear me coming in, he was on a video call with his mother.” Lilly said that George and her MIL were speaking very loudly, and it seemed they were having some argument. The woman was irritated by the loud noises from George’s room, and she wanted to come in and ask him to put his headphones on while talking to his mother. Then, she suddenly realized they both were talking about her.
Lilly wrote, “George was nervously saying to MIL that he’s fed up with this ‘smelly game’. He sounded pretty much stressed, and he was saying that because of his remarks about my body odor, we stopped getting intimate at all and that I wouldn’t even kiss him anymore. His mother, in her turn, was saying that he should be patient if he wants to keep me beside him. Turned out, George’s father always said such things to her, and it was a sure fire technique to have a woman never leave you. The woman was supposed to stay with one man forever, because ‘she will feel too low to cheat, will be devoted only to you, and will always be fresh and clean.’”
So, essentially, Lilly’s mother-in-law was advising her son on how to manipulate Lilly into staying with him, even divulging the distasteful tactics his own father had employed on her. Lilly was appalled by this revelation and furious that George would resort to such despicable methods. The woman concluded, “George doesn’t know yet that I’m aware of everything. I want a divorce, but I want a revenge before I split up with him. I know that for many people George’s actions would not be a serious reason for divorce, but I just can’t imagine living the rest of my life with a person, who applies the ‘smelly methods’ on a woman, who loves him with all her heart.”
Here’s another woman who stumbled upon a surprising discovery when she came across a tampon in her husband’s car. Dive in to uncover how she transformed into a real-life detective and unraveled the truth.
Preview photo credit Billie / Unsplash
