Even though I am not with my ex-husband anymore I can recognize he was genuinely mostly a good dude.
One of the things my ex did that was incredibly attractive; seeing him sit under a tree with his then 9 yo daughter ( my step daughter) playing with barbies and then having a tea party.
Picture this big gruff, angry resting face, punk rock dude wearing all black, in a Clash t-shirt and combat boots having a tea party with teeny tiny cups sitting on the ground under a tree with his daughter in our backyard for around 2 hours.
Second story, watching him zip around the block on a kids scooter as fast as he could go while his daughter yelled ” Yay, punk daddy! I love punk daddy!”
What are your stories?
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Not sure if this constitutes as unconventional, but when my husband and I were first dating I had to get a number off his phone and it was saved in his notes. Another note had my name as its title and I got nosey and read it.
It was a list of all my favourites – food, movies, tv shows brands, restaurants, etc and a check mark beside the ones we’d either gone to, watched, etc
While your ex sounds like a great Dad, it’s kind of sad that this is described as “unconventional”. All Dads should be like this and it’s a shame that it isn’t always the case 😥
When I was recovering from abdominal surgery (fibroids and endometriosis removal), my partner came up with gym routines and trained with me. I couldn’t lift much and had several incisions that were still healing. He gave up his usual powerlifting routine for a few weeks in favour of light dumbbells so that we could work out together.
During a second date with my ex, we went to a restaurant. He came back with two glasses of water: one with ice and one without. He said something along the lines of “Idk what you prefer, but I got you both so you could choose”.
He did a lot of considerate things throughout that relationship but that was the one thing I’ll always remember and that was like almost 7 years ago.
He made me the most amazing pot roast the day after we met. We met at a party in college. He walked me back to my place and we hung out talking. It got too late so I made him sleep on my bedroom floor instead of walking back home. I got up the next morning and he was gone. I figured I’d never see him again. This was 1993 so no smartphones. I went out for the day and when I came back he was waiting outside my door.
The night before he had told me that he had dreams of owning a restaurant and I gave him a jokingly hard time about cooking saying “are you even a good enough cook for that?” I figured that he was just telling me that he cooked and wanted to own his own place as a pick up line. He was the real deal. I was hooked after that pot roast.
When we were dating, my husband wrote a song about how much he loves me and sang it for me while playing his ukulele. I’d never been serenaded before and that was just very sweet.
I’m not a woman over 30, but I have a story too! 🥰 My boyfriend made a playlist with my name on it, filled with all the songs I’ve told him I like. He always plays it when I get in his car to lift my mood.
When I started an unconventional “dream”job that required data entry at home, he surprised me with a desktop (made from spare parts) and a fancy widescreen monitor all set up and ready to go. He does a lot of little things but this unprompted and unexpected gesture to show he supported me meant a lot.
When I was growing up my mom married an awful guy who did the whole “you’re gonna sit at the table until your plate is clean” routine and I spent lots of nights choking down peas that I absolutely hated. As a result I cannot stomach eating peas, I just can’t.
Early in our relationship my husband and I went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant and they brought a large bowl of rice to the table that had a small pile of peas on top. My husband immediately grabbed a spoon and scooped that pile of peas away onto his plate. I’m pretty sure I fell in love with him right then and there.
My current partner and I went ice skating for a date, and he did up my laces after I told him a fond memory of my dad doing my laces every time i went ice skating as a child.
Literally made me weak in the knees afterwards.
I have severe allergies to nuts and seafood. On our third date we drove about two hours away from our city I was pretty anxious about the menu and he reassured me about specific items on the menu being safe. After we ordered and ate our meal I went to use the washroom.
When I was walking back to the table a waitress asked me if everything went well. I responded it did and she said I was lucky to have a husband like mine (we were not married) I asked her what she meant and she said my date came into the restaurant in person the day prior and went over the entire menu with the chef to see if he could cater my favourite food to not include anything I was allergic to. He had no idea what I would order but he had a list of my favourite foods saved on his phone so he went through every menu item with the chef to be safe.
When I came into the restaurant the staff knew who we were when I told them about my allergies and the chef knew how to prepare my food safely from their discussion the day before.
When I asked my date about what the waitress said he was embarrassed and responded that I would always be safe with him and I did not need to worry about anything.
Of course we ended up getting married!
My dog liked him, my dog is terrified of strangers, but walked right up to this guy like they were best friends.
I’m dating this major weeb. On our second date, he brought me a pokemon card with my favorite pokemon. In my last relationship, my ex partner was very abusive and tried to make up for it with grand gestures. I don’t know that anyone has ever just seen something and thought “Oh Fun Orange might like this, let me give it to her” before. And it wasn’t even a special thing for him. He’s talking to a coworker about his coin collection? He’ll bring in a few coins he’s willing to give away the next day. It’s amazing.
I like partners who let me kick them in the balls
I love seeing my husband overwhelmed with love when he sees our cats. He just loves them so much. He gets this look on his face. It’s so cute
He’s also the first man I’ve ever met that actively encourages me to do better, do more. He never feels insecure about my job and pushes me to earn more. It’s so refreshing
When we checked into our BnB in the Caribbean, they had left the windows open to air out, and the room had an absolute-nightmare-fuckton of mosquitoes. They always come straight for me. I hid in on the bed, safe under the mozzie net, while he patiently ran around and killed every single one. Some were resting on the ceiling, and got thwacked with a pillow. ETA it took hours
Along the same lines. I don’t want kids myself but I spoil my nieces hardcore and I have them three days a week. There’s nothing I love more than seeing my 6’ 4”metalhead give a piggyback ride to a 3 year old with pig tails so she can see better at the state fair or letting them do his hair. We just had a farm day and he taught them how to fish and steer the tractor.
Edited to add: him snuggling the cats that every day he says he “can’t fuckin’ stand”. I brought home one stray “to keep her safe while I find her real family” and she multiplied before we could get her to the clinic. She peaced out but now we have 3 of her spawn that are just as bat shit crazy as her.
Thanks for starting this thread. I love reading these. Makes my heart sing.
>Picture this big gruff, angry resting face, punk rock dude wearing all black, in a Clash t-shirt and combat boots having a tea party with teeny tiny cups sitting on the ground under a tree with his daughter in our backyard for around 2 hours. Second story, watching him zip around the block on a kids scooter as fast as he could go while his daughter yelled ” Yay, punk daddy! I love punk daddy!”
Haha. That is amazing. My partner is another big gruff punk guy. He’d totally be down for a tiny tea party if he had a daughter.
Since no babies, he is the dog’s dad. She’s a full adult cockapoo and starting to act a bit middle aged, but when he’s around she is BABY. He cradles her on his arm like an actual baby and baby-talks her. It is the silliest and most adorable thing.
What really gets me swooning is when he sings to me or reads to me. His voice is as gruff as he looks. He was worried before we first talked that he might scare me. lol. He sings me Irish love songs. 😍
My husband’s nieces share the same birthday as him. They call themselves triplets because of this (despite the two decade and change difference) and they also do something fun and cute together every year no matter what.
Last year, the triplets went to brunch and dressed super nice and cute. Our nieces got super into Powerpuff Girls so they all chose a girl and stuck to a color—my husband was Blossom (appointed but also by choice lol). It’s just very sweet he won’t budge on spending time with the girls for their birthday. I’m like low key nervous when they outgrow it cause it’ll break his heart cause those are his babies.
ETA: reading all these stories and sobbing! So glad we’ve all been witness to love and care💕 May it continue!
Your story made me tear up.
Good dad.
I wish had that.
Now I’m curious why it didn’t work out w him
This is a guy I had a big crush on but never dated (he had no interest in me and I was just a friend to him). He would remember little details about me. Like at one point, when we first met, I told him my favorite movies, and then quite some time later, he still remembered that. There were other things too, but I just remembered that one in particular because so much time had passed that I had even forgotten I’d told him that. So you can see why maybe I developed a major crush on him, and yes, I’m very certain he didn’t like me back.
Here a few, Married 12 years, together 14 years.
If there anything he loves me MORE after marriage, not any less. And I know for sure in this world, this lifetime, there no other man can loves me more than he loves me.
—– In 2021 I had a near death experience where I was bedridden for a month with oxygen tank in my nose 24/7. He took off work and care for me day and night. The bedridden me defecate on myself and my husband clean my poop and pee that whole month. He also sleep with a pillow and a blanket on the carpet right by my bedside (we had a hospital bed in our bedroom due to my illness).
The doctors offered him in home help, he refused, he said he is my husband, he wants to be the one care for me. So he rather be the one that clean my poop and pee and wipes me for the whole month when I was bedridden. Trust me, adults poop is nothing like babies.
—– I’m the housewife, he the 100% breadwinner. And throughout our 12 years marriage never once I have to touch laundry a day. He always does laundry in this house, he handwash my dirty underwear with menstrual blood and vaginal discharge on it. No kink, it just handwash it more clean, and afterward he put my underwear with our clothes to wash and dry together.
Not just he does all laundry, I never have to touch the toilets/bathrooms as his wife neither, he cleans all bathrooms/toilets too. I however do cook and do the dishes, and do light cleaning around the house. He does all the heavy cleaning.
—– Throughout our 12 years marriage he literally kisses my butt cheek (not related to sex at all, just his ways of show affection). Everytime he see me lay on my back, he will he gently slide down my underwear/pants and kiss my butt cheek, a gentle kiss, he must use his lips and his lips has to touch my butt skin, lol. No, never once he slap or grope my butt, however he must use his mouth and lips to kiss my butt.
—– Throughout marriage, we always shower together whenever we can (his insists, for the emotional connection) has nothing to do with sex. We have a huge height different (I’m 5 feet, he almost 6’3″). In the shower he kneels down on his knee and cleans and rubs my feet. And he kiss my stretch marks belly, well since he was kneeling on his knee clean my feet anyways, so why not kiss my belly, it right there lol. I lol when I type this but when in the shower, I just look at him and deep down inside I actually was very touch.
—– We met 13 years ago, we basically were neighbors, we live in the same neighborhood, is apartment was 5 min within walking distance from my apartment. He purposely chose the public stairs that closest to my apartment, quietly sit there and wait for me. Day by day gone by whenever he back from work or have the freetime, he would come back to this same stairscase wait and wait. In cold weather of winter time, he still came back to this same staircase sit and wait for me.
It wasn’t hard to get to know him, day in day out we see each others, our apartment were literally minutes walk from each others.
When we became friends. So many nights he carried me on his back (he piggyback me) and walked slowly around the neighborhood and talk. Many times when he carried me on his back walk slowly, and he said things things like: “He just wants to carry me on his back like this, he wants this moment to never passed. So he can be by my side. So he doesn’t have to find ways to see me, find ways to bump into me. So he doesn’t have to sit outside my staircase wait and wait for me.”
Here we are 14 years later and married 12 years, and he still carry me on his back just like back then. He will take me to this running route of his, instead of him run, it him for hours the whole way piggyback me, walk slowly and talk, and I watch the scenery too, lol. (I guess my petite 5 ft short height helps). And he said: “If I let him, he wants to carry me on his back like this till be become an old man, till he on his deathbed that he no longer can carry me anymore”.
—- In 2017 which after 6 years (I personally didn’t want kids, but I got pregnant while on the pills), not only he thrilled and awesome in the whole 9 months of my pregnancy. But when my water broke, he carried me in his arms from our house to the car, put me in the front sit and seatbelt me, and drove to the hospital. Then he continue carried me in his arms from the parking lot right to the hospital door, I never have to walk one step, lol. The whole labor he was at one leg and my Obgyn at one leg, he helped the baby head crown out of my vagina, and cut the baby cord.
There alot more things he does for me, but that a few. If there is a next life (reincarnation), I want to be his wife again.
My ex used to make me sleep on the couch when I was sick. He was a(n in house IP) lawyer and felt it was very important that he not get sick. So I slept on the couch, curled up and sad.
When I met my husband, two of his kids had important interviews they were nervous for and I’d made them fidgets. I was sick as a DOG the night before the interviews and had planned to drive out to him, but he was already in the car and schlepped the 50 minutes out to me on a school night. I tried to stay as far away as I could so I didn’t get him sick, and he was having NONE of it. He gave me a hug and held me until I could pull myself together, and then drove the 50 minutes home.
I have to leave for work at 6 am each day, and I teach a LONG day. Every night, he makes me lunch, and he puts a wee silly note in it so that I’m not rushing out the door in the morning and can get an extra 15 minutes of sleep.
He hid the afikomen at seder the other night, and our son found it. His prize was that husband would let son name the next Pokémon he found (since they play Pokémon and chess together), and he would carry it with him to the final four. Our son was delighted.
When my husband and I first started dating, It was so darn cute to me that he would literally grab and hold my hand everywhere we go. He holds my hand the entire car ride. But what we really got me weak, was watching him on the baby monitor cradling and rocking my then 3 month old back to sleep, middle of the night as I was hooked up to a machine pumping breastmilk. Pinch myself everyday.
When I spontaneously went into labor, I had to get into a dressing gown and they had to shave my bikini line. At some point, like ten people walked into the room to finish prepping everything. He closed the curtain around us so I wouldn’t feel exposed.
He did so many things that are bigger during the first week, but this is still the sweetest to me.
My husband has done some really great things but the one that really stands out right now….
His best friend is one of two people on the planet that our son latched onto when he was a toddler. This child wouldn’t even tolerate anybody looking at him from across the parking lot but for whatever reason he loved my husband’s best friend.
So my husband was going over to his friend’s house and offered that our son could go too and help out and be part of this guy time thing. Our kiddo has Celiac (as do I) so I packed him a lunch just in case and worried all day long. We get SICK with tiny exposures and my husband has always been terrified to poison us or miss one of the million things we have to check for or ask about so he usually lets me handle it since I have such detailed and experiential knowledge here.
About an hour before bedtime the two of them roll back in and our then 5 year old bursts into the house just exploding with all of these stories about how he got to help fix the house and he got to go for lunch with the guys and he had such a great time and his dad checked everything so he was okay. I looked at my husband who had this super nervous look on his face as he started word-vomiting: “I asked all the questions you always ask and we went to a place that you’ve gone and I had the cook-chef-person-who-handles-the-food come out and talk it through with me then they made his stuff separate and fresh and nothing was fried so we didn’t have to worry about the fryer and the guy seemed to understand he needed to handle it like an allergy and he’s going to be okay, right? Did I do it right?”
This man is my once-in-a-lifetime kind of love for a million reasons but in that moment, I could have fallen in love with him again a hundred times over. He listened. He learned, even though it’s stupidly complicated. He went out of his way and way out of his comfort zone to give our son this perfect experience when the poor kid is always left out of anything with food. And he was so excited about it going well and how happy our son was that he wanted to ask a thousand other questions about what to ask or look for or where else to go… with google already open to pinpoint things he had noticed but wasn’t sure on.
The way my partner talks to his cats is incredibly sweet. He loves them so much.
My partner for my birthday bought me a pour over coffee set up. Hand grinder, kettle, etc etc. Its a whole morning ritual. He’s incredibly attentive to the whole process of making me a cup of coffee despite the fact he doesn’t drink it himself. On mornings when he leaves before I get up he makes me a cup and puts it in a thermos.
But the thing that makes me fall in love with him is every time my best friend stays with us he puts in the same effort for her, he even is particular about the mug she gets.
It’s just 15 minutes a day he devoted to making me happy and it really truly makes me weak in the knees
Goodness gracious. After reading all of these wholesome stories, the only thing I have to say is: LADIES, THERE ARE GOOD AND DECENT GUYS OUT THERE! Will they be needles in a haystack? Possibly. But they are out there.
Our first date was a ride on our motorbikes together. On a bush backroad we swapped bikes for a fool about. I was used to the weight distribution of my cruiser, not his Cafe racer, and on a slow u-turn I dropped his bike and snapped off the clutch lever. I was horrified and thought that was it, it’s all over before it started.
Well he just laughed and opened the seat, pulled out a spare and fitted it. Said this can happen, don’t worry! Calm, prepared, capable. Well, that was it for me I was done for.
I got a new puppy the week we met and started dating. 2-3 months in my dog had a massive accident all over my bed and I didn’t have time to deal with it before work.
This man (who knew my door code at that point) went to my house while I was working, stripped the bed, change the sheets. Bought me a full brand new duvet and took mine to the cleaners. He didn’t seek praise, he just saw I needed help and jumped to show he cared.
Still together almost 10yrs later and this man has never let me down. We’ve encountered a lot more serious life situations since then!
My partner of 15 years knew that I hate plugging in my phone at night. I typically read until I feel sleepy, but rolling over to plug my phone in wakes me up and “resets” my sleepiness. He bought wireless chargers so I can just drop my phone on my nightstand and go straight to sleep. Absolutely helped me and something I never would have asked for/thought of.