DIVORCE THREAT OVER WEB PICS

Dear Coleen

My husband has threatened to divorce me if I don’t drastically tone down my social media usage. He thinks I overshare and says he hates our lives being “internet fodder”.

He’s quite a private person and is on Twitter, mostly for work reasons, but doesn’t have any other social media accounts. However, he says his friends are constantly referring to things I’ve posted and it drives him mad.

The final straw was when I posted a photo of him after his friend’s stag do, passed out and spread-eagled on our bed and still (half) wearing his clothes from the night before.

I’d put some hashtags at the end which were a bit mean (i.e. whataloser). I feel bad about that and didn’t think he’d see it, but I still think he’s overreacting.

What do you think?

Coleen says

I don’t think he’s overreacting at all. If you’re posting stuff about yourself that’s fine, but you shouldn’t post about him when you know he doesn’t like it and he’s not even on these sites. I get the sense you think it’s just a big laugh but, actually, this kind of thing can be very damaging to relationships.

It’s causing a problem in your marriage to the point where your husband is threatening to divorce you! What’s more important – your marriage or a few likes on Facebook or Instagram?

He’s not asking you to come off these sites altogether, but he doesn’t want his private life all over them and he doesn’t want his mates, his colleagues and his parents knowing every detail of your lives. I think that’s fair enough. I think you need to look at why you’re craving this attention – if you want your marriage to last, then rein it in.