A woman says she accidentally selected a $5 donation while buying fall sweaters, and her husband has given her the silent treatment for a week

A 29-year-old woman says her husband has not spoken to her for a week after she accidentally donated $5 during a shopping trip. The couple had gone to a mall to buy fall sweaters when she made the mistake at checkout, according to her post on Reddit.

As reported by The Daily Dot, she explained that she accidentally selected a donation option while paying with a card tied to their joint account. Her husband became angry, saying the store did not “need” the money. She said she apologized multiple times and even went online to see if she could cancel the donation, but the argument continued.

The disagreement eventually shifted from the donation itself to broader criticism of her spending habits. By the time she posted her story, the two had not spoken for a week. She said the couple earns between $120,000 and $150,000 a year, has no debt, and usually prioritizes saving over frequent shopping.

Commenters were quick to question the husband’s reaction

The woman said she has been feeling terrible about the whole situation. The post drew thousands of upvotes, and many commenters said the husband’s reaction seemed controlling.

One person wrote, “silent treatment is abuse.” Another commenter asked, “Does he do this kind of thing often? Belittle you for mistakes?” Marriage conflicts can run much deeper than a single argument, as a wife’s nine-month plan to leave showed.

Researchers have studied the silent treatment closely. A 2014 meta-analysis led by Texas Christian University professor Paul Schrodt, covering 74 studies and more than 14,000 participants, linked the “demand-withdraw” pattern, in which one partner’s complaints are met with silence, to lower relationship satisfaction, less intimacy and poorer communication, per ScienceDaily. Schrodt found the pattern itself is the problem, no matter which partner plays which role.

Not everyone jumped to conclusions, though. Some commenters suggested there might be more to the story, such as a spending problem the woman did not mention. They argued the husband could be reacting to a pattern of behavior rather than one donation.

Money is a common flashpoint for couples in general. A 2024 Ipsos survey conducted for BMO found that one in three partnered Americans identify money as a source of conflict in their relationship. Even so, 84% of couples in the survey said they were on the same page as their partner about finances.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the husband’s side of the story, as this account comes solely from a Reddit post.