Men spill the beans on their biggest relationship boo-boos, and how they made a comeback.
Men spill the beans on their biggest relationship boo-boos, and how they made a comeback.
“My ex rang for a chat and her name showed up on my phone. My girlfriend threw a fit and refused to speak to me for days. To clear things up, I called my ex in front of her. With the phone on speaker mode, I told my ex never to call me again, not even for a casual conversation. It was hard making that call, but my girlfriend would not have forgiven me otherwise.” – Brian*, 38, accountant
“I organised an out-of-town party weekend with the guys, completely forgetting that my girlfriend’s birthday would fall on one of the travel dates. When Lydia* found out, she was super upset. I made it up to her by treating her to a fancy dinner the night I arrived home and whisking her off to Phuket the following weekend.” –Adam*, 34, counsellor
“I told my girlfriend that she reminded me of her stepmother. Big mistake, because she doesn’t get along with the old lady. She looked at me like she wanted to kill me. Thinking fast, I told her that I meant it in a good way, and listed all her stepmum’s positive qualities – she’s intelligent, articulate, well groomed, and sociable. That seemed to suffice.” – Bernard Wong, 29, self-employed
“My wife found out I’d had an aff air. It was only the one time, but I knew I’d hurt her badly. Divorce was not something we wanted and apologising was not enough, so I attended couples’ therapy with her for several months straight. Now we are closer than ever.” – Adrian*, 42, musician
“I gambled away a substantial chunk of our joint savings. When my wife found out, she warned me to clean up my act or she would leave me. I agreed to take on a second job to make up for the money I’d lost, and get counselling for my gambling habit.” –Paul*, 45, office manager
“My girlfriend had been annoyed with me all day and I couldn’t figure out why, then at about 5pm it hit me – it was her birthday and I’d forgotten to wish her! I quickly organised a little dinner party with several of our closest friends. When she showed up at the restaurant, I told her that I’d meant to surprise her. She was none the wiser!”– Allen Joseph, 36, self-employed
“Mild flirting is harmless in my opinion, but my girlfriend disagrees. When she spotted me talking to our waitress on my way back from the men’s room, she was fuming. My reply: ‘I was asking her what perfume she was wearing, because I thought it would smell good on you!’” – Terrence*, 25, student
“I broke up with my girlfriend because I felt that I wasn’t ready to take the next step with her. But I missed her terribly in the few months we were apart. When I asked her to get back together with me, she asked for a promise that I would never leave her again. So I proposed.”–David Lee, 34, insurance agent
“I regretted breaking up with my girlfriend, so I penned a song about our relationship and recorded it with a few musician friends. It took a few weeks before she forgave me. She said the song led to a change of heart.” – Louis Chan, 24, student
“I invited my ex, Emily*, to my wedding. My wife-to-be was unhappy, but there was no way I could take the invitation back. To placate her, I let her decide where Emily would sit at the reception. She seated her at the table farthest from us!” – Carl*, 38, engineer
“I quit my job without telling my wife, and we had several fights about it. She was worried about how we’d pay the bills. I begged her to give me time and promised her that my next job would pay much more. Over the next two months, I put everything I had into my search and eventually landed a better-paying role at a better company.” – Steven Kheng, 40, sales manager
*Names have been changed
