talkative wife? put her to work.

zip it!

This morning while driving to the office, I was listening to the radio (yes, the radio! Heaven forbid) and heard something that made me kind of sad and disappointed. This man called into Ryan Seacrest’s radio show for some relationship advice about his wife. First of all, I have my suspicions about unmarried Ryan Seacrest being the best choice for marriage counsel, but that’s beside the point. The caller described his plaguing issue with his wife quite simply: “She NEVER. STOPS. TALKING.” He described his wife’s chatty nature and went on and on about how he can’t find a spare 15 minutes of solace without having her commentary. Even while watching TV, this man’s wife sits beside him, weighing in on what people were wearing, what so and so just said, basically anything that entered her brain comes out of her mouth. Understandably, this man just couldn’t take it and needed some advice STAT. Hey, we all need a little peace and quiet, right? Right.

So what did Ryan suggest this man do about his talkative wife? He said, and I quote, “give her busy work. Send her to a baking class. Give her challenges.”

Really?! So when our spouse is a little too much for us to deal with at times we just send them away? This is his WIFE, not his curious two year old! I feel for this poor woman, who despite her talkative nature (which I share), at least deserves the respect of having her husband sit down and say “Honey, I have to talk to you about something that’s been bothering me.” No one wants to hear their husband tell them to “Shut up” but I think any woman would prefer to have an open line of communication about things that are bothersome rather than ignoring the situation and “putting her to work to quiet her down.”

Aside from having a genuine heart-to-heart, it sounds like this couple also might benefit from a little therapy together, but, oh – the husband is against that because it would “cost too much and she’ll just talk more.”

Healthy relationships at their best. Thanks Ryan!

I know I’m a newlywed and have a lot to learn about marriage, but something about this totally set off a red flag inside. Anyone else think this advice is completely ridiculous, or is it just me?