She Fasted for Her Faith, He Ate in Front of Her and Laughed

Food and faith should bring people together, not drive wedges deep into a marriage. She keeps certain religious food rules, he doesn’t, and when she’s fasting he goes out of his way to troll her at the place she loves.

Her husband’s latest stunt? Ordering her favorite dish, then eating it right in front of her while she sits quietly and watches.

When she says his actions hurt, he shrugs it off and says, “You’re choosing this. Don’t get upset with me.”
Their dynamic flipped from quirky religious difference to something darker, mocking, disrespect, and a long-time hit to her faith and dignity.

Now, read the full story:

This hits like a quiet betrayal. She’s honoring something deeply personal – her faith, her discipline – and instead of support, she’s met with deliberate disregard.

What started as personal difference now feels like a pattern of emotional injury. When your partner knows exactly what you can’t have and chooses to spotlight it, that’s not just caring poorly, it’s antagonistic.

This feeling of being stinged by someone you love—especially when you’re trying to uphold something sacred, pulls at something deep.

It transitions from “he eats when I can’t” into “he does so because I can’t, and it amuses him.”

That feels cruel. This story goes beyond dietary rules. It’s about respect, power, and whether faith matters in this relationship.

At its core, this marriage conflict is about respect, boundaries, and emotional safety. It isn’t just dinner, it’s one partner using knowledge of the other’s vulnerable moment to provoke and then responding as if the hurt person is overreacting.

Emotional abuse and disrespect: Emotional abuse often shows up as repeated patterns of humiliation or control rather than physical harm. Professionals define emotional abuse as “an attitude of entitlement and profound disrespect that discounts the other person’s right to dignity, separateness, and autonomy.”

One sign of emotional abuse: feeling constantly humiliated, walked on, or erased in a relationship.

Spiritual / religious disrespect: Relationships where one partner mocks or undermines the other partner’s faith show symptoms of what some therapists call spiritual abuse. That happens when religious convictions become a tool of power, control, or punishment.

In partnerships with differing religious habits, experts advise mutual respect, negotiation, and clear ground rules. Especially around lifestyle and faith practices.

What this means for OP?

• Her husband’s behavior isn’t just insensitive, it fits the pattern of treating her faith as a joke.

• The repeated nature (“he does this every time I fast”) suggests intention, not accident.

• His defense, that she can “just partake” if she wants, discounts the faith element entirely and shifts blame on her.

• Respect for a partner’s spiritual practice, even when you don’t share it, is a marker of healthy relationship dynamics.

Practical advice:

For OP:

• Sit him down and explain: “When you go eat my favorite dish while I’m fasting, it’s not banter, it feels like mockery.”

• Ask for a concrete boundary: perhaps “When I’m fasting, I would appreciate if you don’t eat that dish in front of me or at that restaurant, or at least ask me first.”

• Observe his response. If he brushes it off (again) or ridicules you, that’s a significant red flag.

• Consider couples counselling or faith-based counselling where your dietary rules and respect for difference are discussed.

• Protect your well-being. The emotional effects of repeated disrespect, even without violence, are real and documented: anxiety, low self-esteem, chronic stress.

For the husband (or any partner):

• Understand: your partner’s faith and fasting aren’t “just your problem” to mock, they’re part of their identity.

• Choose empathy. You don’t have to fast but you can choose respect.

• If you think your partner can “just join you,” you’re not hearing that their faith is non-negotiable.

• Show support. Even small gestures (“I’ll eat something else when you’re fasting”) matter.

This story teaches a hard lesson: love doesn’t mean “I’ll accept you, except when you inconvenience me.”
Respect means seeing your partner’s faith, values, and boundaries as valid, not optional or comedic.

When one person uses difference as provocation, the relationship ceases to be a partnership and becomes a stage. If this pattern persists, OP must decide whether she stays and enforces change—or walks away for her dignity.

At the end of the day, your faith, your body, your rituals deserve protection. And your partner should be your ally, not your antagonist.

Check out how the community responded:

Redditors focused on how the food stunt moves from insensitive into bullying territory—and applauded OP’s stance.

Some users still supported OP, but urged her to examine the bigger picture: her long-term future with a partner who won’t respect core beliefs.

Most readers agree: you’re NTA.

Your husband’s behavior goes beyond thoughtless, it shows repeated disrespect, disregard for your faith, and a maintenance of superiority when you are denying yourself something meaningful.

It might start with food, but it ends up touching identity, power, and safety in the home.

What do you think? Should the husband have adjusted his behavior out of respect, even if he doesn’t share the fasting? And if he refuses, how far would you go before you draw a hard line?