A 32-year-old mom took to Reddit to get some feedback about a recent development in her family which found her being called “Miss Piggy” by her two young children and husband. The mom explained that she has a 4-year-old and 6-month-old to care for which has been made increasingly difficult as she suffers from postpartum depression (PPD).
The mom explained that the depression has caused her to endure a “dark few months.” During that time she has not felt motivated to make trips to the gym to lose her “baby weight.” Many, many parents suffer from PPD following birth and in this mom’s case it does not seem like her family is providing the proper encouragement.
A Mom Says Her Husband, Dave, in an attempt to ‘motivate’ her to lose weight, began calling her ‘Miss Piggy.’
“I gave birth back in October,” the mom wrote. “Since then, it’s been extremely difficult for me to lose the baby weight… mainly due to my postpartum depression. I get next to no sleep attending to my children and most mornings, I can barely get out of bed, much less drive to the gym.”
The mom continued, writing that she confided in her husband, who she calls “Dave.” She told him about the tough time she was going through which she described as a “dark few months for me.”
The mom wrote that her husband told her he “understood.” However, she has major doubts about that. “Though never explicitly stating it, he makes jokes and comments that imply I’m lazy and that he’s no longer attracted to me,” she explained.
Without the proper support the mom said she suffered a bit of breakdown. “I broke down to him about not being able to lose the weight, and he said that he would push me to do so because he loves me.” While that might sound promising, how her husband decided to “push” her would be far from ideal for most people.
After the mom broke down to her husband about her insecurities around her weight, she wrote that “He’s taken a ‘Biggest Loser’ approach and started calling me ‘Ms. Piggy’ and has instructed all of my friends and family, even my kids, to do so.”
Did you just hear that record scratch? Her 43-year-old husband chose to “push” his wife, who is struggling with her body image, by calling her “Ms. Piggy.” As if that were not questionable enough, he encouraged all the people in her life to do the same.
“I hate this nickname, but he says it’s supposed to motivate me to lose weight,” the mom wrote. “I think he really believes it’s going to help me, but I feel really undermined while parenting because this nickname.” All of this caused things to come to a head.
“The other night, my family was eating and my children started oinking at me, and out of frustration, I started yelling at my husband. We have a rule not to yell in front of the kids, but we’re almost always in front of the kids during quarantine and I feel so dismissed. The kids started crying and Dave says I’m to blame.”
The mom turned it over to the Reddit community, asking “AITA?”
“NTA [Not The A**hole]- teaching your children to humiliate you into losing weight is so beyond f***ed up,” someone commented.
“What is wrong with your partner?” another person questioned. “He’s belittling you in your own eyes and your childrens’ you have every right to be upset. That’s cruel. Sh*t like this causes eating disorders, you deserve a lot better. Hard NTA and your partner deserves to get kicked to the curb.”
“NTA,” another commenter wrote in agreement. “Your husband unilaterally chose to just … start harassing you, and he roped your children into his harassment. That’s abusive of him to do, and there is flat-out no excuse to do that. Even if it’s intended to help, it’s still a fundamental violation of your human agency and right to feel comfortable in your own home, and it’s not something that should be done without your consent.”
The comment continued, “And as for your yelling — what did he think would happen? He’s the one who chose to push you to the point of yelling, and it’s not fair to blame you for the inevitable emotional reaction.”
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“This is horrifying,” replied another Reddit user. “Your partner is degrading you and presenting the answer a weight loss, with no regard for the severity of PPD.”
“Your husband did WHAT? No queen, no! You’ve got PPD and your husband’s top priority is the baby weight???” a shaken Redditor added. “And he’s roping your kids into bullying you????? NTA!”
We were shocked by this mom’s story and we hope that she’s received some actual help with the PPD she is struggling with. It’s hard enough with encouragement! Calling someone a “Piggy” is almost always a bad idea.
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