#1
Everyone is quiet for what seems like an hour, and then at the same time, her dad, older and younger brothers all start laughing/crying. I thought her dad was gonna have a heart attack. To this day the f-ing guy says he’s never laughed harder and he’s like 90.
30+ years and these people have their *kids* still making fun of me man.
#2
#3
Edit: We’ve been together eleven years now :).
To learn more what it's like to embarrass yourself in front of your partner, we reached out to clinical psychologist and founder and president of Couples Therapy Inc., Dr. Kathy McMahon. Dr. McMahon was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and discuss what to do in these mortifying situations.
"Oh, those embarrassing moments! We all have them and if we’re sensitive souls, we feel them deeply and sometimes never forget them. We blush every time we think of them!" the therapist shared. "Whether your date ignores them (or it’s impossible to ignore…), how they respond (or don’t) requires a complex set of social skills that can leave the awkward among us feeling in love or running for cover!"
#4
I tried to open the window first, to throw up out the window, it did not work, I threw up on the window, and the door, and myself, and his soft gray leather seats.
When I tell you that my beloved husband of 20 years is a neat freak and a perfectionist that is an understatement.
Knowing him now, I can’t believe he ever spoke to me again. I can’t believe he cleaned all of that up and still proposed six months later.
#5
I quickly looked at the window and sure enough he was looking out and had seen what happened. I stayed sitting in the truck for a while and finally decided to face the music.
All he said is we should try to not beat our vehicles against each other and dropped it.
We'll celebrate 43 years this year.
#6
He has an acquaintance who I think is the biggest douche canoe on the planet and he was dating a colleague of mine whom I also have zero respect. Well, they got engaged in Hawaii the day before *we* got to Hawaii. I was due for a marriage proposal at any time. When I saw their social media posts, I said, "Don't do something cheesy like propose in Hawaii".
He had the ring already purchased and my perfect day snorkel trip with my favorite animal already booked.
Fortunately, he knows I am my worst enemy and carried out his original plan and it was an absolute dream day.
I'll never live this one down.
First, Dr. McMahon noted that these are not "one size fits all" situations. "In one situation, blaming the dog for changing the air scent is an appropriate and humorous solution. Or the right move is to stays silent and pretend not to notice," she told Bored Panda.
"In another, a date kindly asks the partner to 'leave the room if they know one’s coming,' and they say it kindly or in a hostile tone. Their date is humiliated and never agrees to a second date or wonders how they managed to say that without being the least bit offensive!" the expert continued.
#7
#8
A few weeks later I laughed so hard I got a fettuccine noodle stuck in my nose and had to excuse myself because I couldn’t breathe.
A few weeks after that… I smacked his cousin’s boyfriend’s a*s really hard. (I was drunk and I they looked similar from behind?)
18 years later, I’m still an embarrassment.
#9
Dr. McMahon also shared her thoughts on some of the stories that appeared in this thread. "I like the [one about the man dropping a pizza] because [he] got a 'two for one' there: Not only did he learn about his date, but about the whole clan! All felt for him, and that made the laughter even more intense!" she said.
"I love the story of a partner washing his lover’s sheets on the cruise and bringing them to housekeeping explaining he spilled 'red wine,'" the therapist continued. "He knew it was embarrassing and wanted to remove her embarrassment. That’s true love."
#10
Having combined households included an abundance of household goods.
Specifically, we owned like 5 can openers some how.
And only 1 worked well.
And I could never recall which one. So Id grab 1, try it, grab the next, etc, til I found the good one and opened the various cans needed for dinner. And leave the other can openers out with the intent to discuss what to do with them.
But before we could have that conversation, he would do the dishes, including rinsing and putting back the can openers.
This happened casually for years.
And finally, after he had already proposed to me, he asks.
"Why do you use 1 can opener per can?"
...
He was a bit relieved when I explained what was going on, and I was impressed he had been willing to marry me with the idea I was that much of a crazy person lol.
#11
#12
My husband and I hadn’t been dating long and we were at his apartment having movie night with pizza. We ordered Pizza Hut.
Later on, I started to have terrible gas. And he was spooning me on the couch as we watched the movie. He said something that made me laugh and before I knew it, I started slapping out farts.
I was mortified and started laughing hysterically out of embarrassment and ran to his bathroom.
My husband was very amused and maybe a bit grossed out but he was waiting for me when I finally emerged from the bathroom.
We’re celebrating our ten year anniversary in October. :).
Dr. McMahon was even willing to share an embarrassing story from her own life. "Very pregnant and having just enjoyed a large chocolate shake, the urge to hurl came over me. My dear friend and I were in the car, in rush hour, at a spot in Boston where two major highways merge (93 & 95). It’s terrible when it’s not rush hour," she noted.
"She was driving. Coolly, she told me to roll down the window or crack the door and do what I needed to do. Coordinated and nimble I was not, and the car was a mess," the therapist said. "I just realized that she never mentioned it for 30 years, and only when we could laugh together, because she knew I was so upset about it. That’s a true friend."
#13
#14
He pulled back, basically prying me off of him, and said with a knowing smirk, "Let's try that again..."
And then he leaned in for the most breathtaking kiss I've ever had.
I was so embarrassed because I'm not that big of a klutz that I absolutely blocked this from my memory. Maybe a year later, he brought it up laughing, "Remember our first kiss???"
I said that I did and talked about a totally different (later) kiss. He was quick to refresh my memory and it came flooding back that I moaned with great distress. To this day, he finds it funny that I blocked our first kiss and he only half-believes me that I "tripped." (I did, I swear!).
#15
Unfortunately, not everyone is as understanding as Dr. McMahon's friend. "You can tell a sadistic date when that happens. They offer an unconvincing reassurance. They say that whatever you did was 'fine' but in a tone where you know it’s not," the expert noted. "They later bring it up as a 'funny story' about you in a crowd of their friends, but you aren’t laughing. All will have a good laugh at your expense."
"Why aren’t you laughing? Because it’s mean. He or she brought it up to wound you, humiliate you or give you the message 'I’m better than you.' The passive-aggressive mate tells you to 'lighten up' or 'get a sense of humor' when you protest later," she explained. "Leave them or face a life of misery."
"The correct response is for your date to realize they have done wrong, apologize profusely and promise to never do it again," Dr. McMahon noted. "And then keep their promise when it comes to related embarrassing stories."
#16
I felt bad so I gave her $200 to replace them, but some of them were like sentimental and not replaceable. I felt so bad.
About a year later we started dating, and she picked this Greek restaurant, and apparently at Greek restaurants they celebrate by smashing plates on the floor, so that was a cute choice by her.
She did insist on smashing my plate for me, which I thought was fair.
#17
#18
When we finally get to our destination, I step out of the car and my foot slips. I had unknowingly stepped in fresh dog s**t right before getting in the car and during the ride had managed to grind it into the carpet.
My man cleaned that s**t up for me and it took some years, some alcohol, and singing karaoke before I felt like his mom finally accepted me.
We also asked the relationship expert if it's possible to reach a point where nothing can embarrass us in front of our partners. "Few of us reach the point of comfort where we never blunder. And some of those faux pas are downright embarrassing," she shared.
"Embarrassment is a complex feeling that arises when we believe we've violated a social norm or fallen short of others' expectations, often leading to a sense of discomfort, self-consciousness, and a desire to hide or escape the situation. It can be real or imagined, but the effects on the person are the same," Dr. McMahon explained. "The lady on the cruise hadn’t done anything wrong but felt embarrassed anyway."
"As a universal human experience, embarrassment serves as a powerful social signal that helps us navigate relationships and adapt our behavior to fit within the norms of our communities," she added.
#19
The gyno was even surprised at how swollen I was. Then I had to sit, open-legged in front of a fan for a week.
My man did allllll the things for me that week.