Wife's plan to shame her husband backfires after she's slammed for getting upset that he spoke to a bikini-clad woman on Miami Beach

A couple took to Reddit to crowdsource opinions about which of them was in the wrong after clashing over the wife's perception that the husband acted too familiar with a scantily-clad woman who was 'flirting' with him.

'My wife (35F) is making me (37M) write this post,' the husband began on Reddit's AITAH forum, a more permissive spinoff on the site's notorious AmITheA**hole thread.

For context, the pair have been married for seven years and share a three-year-old son. He added that he loves his wife 'very much' and considers her 'the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on.' 

He went on to describe the core of the disagreement: 'She feels my behavior during our vacation was completely inappropriate, while I think that it was completely acceptable and she is wrong.'

A married couple took to Reddit to ask who was in the wrong after the wife got upset about a long conversation her husband had with a bikini-clad woman on their family vacation 

While the wife perceived that the woman was flirting with him, the husband swore he didn't get the same vibe (stock image)

A few weeks back, the family of three was in Miami on vacation, and were spending their second day 'relaxing on the beach chairs.'

'My son and I were playing on the beach, while my wife was soaking in the sun,' he explained.

'At one point, my son wanted to build a sand-castle, and I took him to the wet sand near the water with all his plastic toys.

'While he was playing, a lady (mid-thirties) walked up to us and told me how cute my son is. I smiled and said thanks. She was looking towards the water constantly, and I think her kids must be in the water and she was watching them.'

In the wife's opinion, he continued, the woman happened to be wearing a bikini that was 'completely inappropriate, over the top… [and] left nothing for imagination.'

The husband, meanwhile, claimed that he didn't 'notice what she was wearing and have no comments.'

'She was trying to make small talk and was asking me about my son's name, how old he is, where we are from, etc. I was also polite and had a brief conversation with her. 

'We talked about where we are from, how long we were in Miami, etc. Finally, my son had enough, and he wanted to go back. So, I said bye and came back and sat next to my wife.'

Across more than 11,0000 comments, the broad consensus was that the husband was NTA - Not The A**hole - with many suggesting that the wife should get her insecurities in check

In the man's recollection, the 'whole conversation' with the mom in the skimpy ensemble lasted for under 10 minutes.

Still, his wife was 'not happy with me talking to this lady,' he described.

'She kept on telling me how inappropriate it was to talk to 'that girl in the tiny bikini' and that she was trying to flirt with me. I told her what we talked about, and it was not even remotely flirty.'

The man told his wife that, for him, getting 'a lot of attention from other moms,' whether at the 'park or other places,' is a 'common' occurrence.

'My wife has seen this play out before and never had a problem with it. My wife thinks that this is different because that girl was in a very revealing bikini, and I as a married man should know better than talking to her.'

The husband added that the family 'saw that lady a few other times during our stay, and I cut our conversation short every time she tried to talk to me.'

Still, he claimed, his wife 'cannot let this go.'

'She thinks that I should admit that it's different to talk to a girl in a social setting vs when she is in a bikini on a beach.

'I feel having small talk with someone is fine irrespective of their state of dress or undress.

'So, dear Reddit forum, please settle this debate for us. Is my wife correct that I am the a**hole for talking to a girl when she is wearing a bikini, or she is being unfair to that lady when she was wearing an appropriate outfit for the place where she was?'

He coyly added that 'my wife will also be reading the replies, so please be nice when telling her how wrong she is.'

At the bottom of the post, the wife chimed in with an addendum, claiming her husband's play-by-play of events was 'omitting key details.'

She insisted that the 'girl on beach was clearly flirting and leaning too close' to her husband.

In an update later shared by the wife, she admitted to being humbled by the overwhelming response and committed to taking ownership of her 'insecurities' going forward

The wife added of the bikini-clad woman: 'She may not have said it explicitly, but you could see she was interested.

'She also kept on popping up in resort restaurant, bar and lobby after this incident and tried to keep on talking him through the week.

'It was disrespectful as she did not say a single word to me the whole time.

'I am not saying my husband was flirting with her, but he should have read her body language and shut her down. Plus, there are bikinis and there was her bikini. Something with her was clearly off,' the wife concluded of her side of the story. 

Across 11,000 plus comments on the post, the broad consensus was that the husband was NTA - short for Not The A**hole - with many arguing that the wife was in fact wrong for apparently projecting her insecurities on the situation.

'I would say don't go to Miami on vacation if you don't want to see women in sexy bikinis who may or may not talk to your husband,' one snarked. 

'Not even just Miami, all of Florida. Even the grandmas wear thong bikinis here,' a second added. 

'NTA. I have been married 37 years. Your wife should let this go. You were not trying to pick the woman up. You were at the beach! If anything she should feel good that someone else thought you 'might' be attractive.

'If your wife is half as beautiful as you say then she has had plenty of guys talking to her regardless of what she is wearing. Again she should let it go. Otherwise both of you are going to start monitoring each other's conversations with the opposite sex. This is a slippery slope,' a third reasoned. 

'My wife finds it hilarious when (according to her) other women try to flirt with me because I am completely oblivious and she knows that 1, I had no idea, 2, I'd never cheat on her, and 3, I honestly don't have the energy for that nonsense. NTA, your wife needs to chill,' another shared of his own experience.

'NTA at all. You're at the beach. Women will have revealing bikinis. Also, the fact that you acted normal and were as polite as you'd be if she were wearing sweat pants shows that you have a tendency to not pay attention to women's bodies. That's actually a very good sign that you respect your wife and women in general. As a woman, of course I understand how it might have looked to your wife, but you are NTA,' a fifth reflected. 

'NTA OP, but wife, why are you putting all the blame on your husband? If a woman starts talking to my man, I walk right up and wait to be introduced, or I butt in subtly and introduce myself. You don't have to sulk in the background if you feel uncomfortable. Be friendly. If she has bad intentions, let her expose herself,' someone else suggested.

'NTA. To the wife - don't expect your husband to read body language the same way you do. IF you want to "shut this person down" then stand up and do it yourself. Your husband was polite and respectful of your marriage,' offered another.

In an update later shared by the wife, she took Reddit's siding with her husband on the matter in stride, further owning up to having lingering insecurities due to her recently onset 'mom- bod.'

She also felt that, from her perspective, the lady continued 'popping up everywhere we went' during the vacation, and when her husband and introduced them, 'she just walked right past me and started talking with [him],' the wife described.

Still, she was admittedly humbled by Reddit's overwhelming response. 

'I will try to work on my insecurities and let him talk to moms in bikini,' she said.

'One PSA is please don't comment on that thread anymore and tell him how right he is. You guys are feeding the beast,' she pleaded.

'Last night, he was sending me links to frames on Amazon because he wants to print out this thread and put it on the wall.

'He says it's his first win against me and the next time we have disagreement, he can point to it and tell me about the time when thousands of people told me I was wrong,' she ended in a sigh.