Office Pet Names: Innocent or Harmful? She Has Jealousy Issues with her Husband's Female Colleague

Have you ever had a particularly close relationship with a work colleague of the opposite sex?

Perhaps you’ve managed to keep it platonic, but has it bothered your significant other? If so, then this story may resonate with you.

We came across a Redditor (29F) who is struggling with jealousy issues relating to her husband’s (36M) closeness with a co-worker. Let’s find out why.

Should pet names be banned in the office?

The original poster (OP) starts off by stating that while her husband hasn’t done anything major to make her suspect anything serious is going on, there have been a few small things that have been eating away at her.

The first issue is that his coworker confides in him about her dating life and often says how she wants to find a guy “like him.” Perhaps a little strange, but probably harmless on its own.

However, the next issue relates to the names that she calls him.

She Snooped his Phone

OP isn’t proud, but she has had a snoop on his phone and found a few messages between the pair. She was saddened to discover that his coworker called him pet names such as “cuddle bear” and “cute.”

The third issue relates to what OP has witnessed with her own eyes. Both OP and her husband work from home, and sometimes when he is on a video call with his coworker, they will stop chatting out loud and start typing messages instead. She finds this a little strange, and we would be inclined to agree.

Finally, she doesn’t like that the coworker seems insistent on trying to get close to her too. She wonders if it could be a “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” type situation.

OP has also found some reassurance within the messages – she has noticed that her husband often tries to shoehorn OP into the conversation, and she thinks he is doing this to subtly remind his colleague that he has a wife.

Despite that, OP still feels incredibly jealous and wants to know how she can shake these feelings off without the coworker finding out how she feels. She also really isn’t comfortable with the coworker trying to befriend her. What is the best way forward for OP here? Well, here is what the Reddit Community had to say.

Trust your gut

The Reddit community arguably stoked the flames and effectively encouraged OP to continue believing that her husband’s work colleague had ill intentions. One person said:

“I can 100% understand this and I wish to give you healthy advice but reading this gave me anger issues. Most of these types of girls will act friendly toward you while pursuing your husband. I wouldn’t be her friend because she doesn’t understand boundaries or respect your relationship. She knows what she’s doing.”

Another user pinned the blame on the husband and questioned why he was “letting her call him that.” This person also urged OP to confront her husband about it to ensure boundaries were being set.

Is there a way for OP to come out of this situation with everything she wants or will she have to tell her husband’s coworker straight? What would you do if you were her?

We hope you enjoyed this Reddit thread. This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Neon Moon.