A husband was forced to take a paternity test twice after the first test revealed he was not the father of the child he was rearing, while his wife insisted he was, putting his marriage on the line.
A husband took to Reddit to open up about a big argument he had with his wife concerning their child, which posed a significant risk to their marriage of 10 years.
The husband met his wife in college; they had known each other for 14 years and had been married for 10. He admitted that the past year had been rocky, but they were slowly trying to rebuild their relationship.
A couple holding a pregnant belly | Source: Shutterstock
But throughout those ups and downs, the man only had good things to say about his wife. "She is beautiful, supportive, kind, classy, and all-around amazing as a wife," he gushed.
After surviving the rough patch, the wife discovered she was pregnant, and the husband was overjoyed. But for some reason, he could not shake off the feeling that the child may not be his, especially judging from the hurdles they had to overcome in the past months.
Nonetheless, his wife clarified that she would only keep the baby if he were fully committed to their marriage, and the husband swore he was. Still, the lingering thought that he might not be the father plagued him throughout the entire pregnancy.
A couple with their baby | Source: Shutterstock
When the child was born, the man had been so fixated on the idea that he wasn't the father that he struggled to be happy or even hold the baby boy. For his peace of mind, he finally asked his wife for a paternity test.
What Happened after He Asked for a Paternity Test?
The wife was upset about her husband's request but told him to do it if it would make him feel better. So he did, and two weeks later, the results confirmed his suspicions — he was not the father.
A man looking concerned | Source: Shutterstock
He felt an overwhelming amount of anger and stormed into the house, shouting, screaming, and asking how his wife could do this to him. But she gave him no reaction. "The whole time, she's just sitting on the couch, trying to comfort the baby. This made me even angrier for some reason, so I kicked her out right then and there," he confessed.
The next day, the wife called and assured him the baby was his. She asked him to take a second test with a different company, which he did because he thought he had nothing to lose. He felt a second test would help make his argument stronger in the divorce.
The husband did not only get one additional test but two, and both confirmed that he was the father. This was a huge relief, but when he called his wife to tell her the good news, she told him she was not moving back in.
A DNA test swab | Source: Shutterstock
The wife could not get over how he treated her, from when he asked for a paternity test to when he kicked her out of their house. She told him his reaction to the false paternity test "disgusted" her, so she was filing for divorce. However, she was willing to allow him to see his son.
Can the Husband Still Save His Marriage?
The husband said he believed his reaction was valid, thinking of how shocked and angry he was about the false test, but even in his anger, he never laid a hand on his wife.
A tired mother with a crying baby | Source: Shutterstock
He understood that some of his actions were uncalled for but blamed them on his emotions. He was also aware of why his wife was angry, especially knowing he was the father the whole time, but he felt she did not try to understand his side of the story.
A couple arguing | Source: Shutterstock
He intended to speak to her to see if there was any hope for their marriage, but in the meantime, Reddit commenters had a few things to say.
Many users found the husband in the wrong, claiming his wife was right to divorce him because he did not only present trust issues at a time when their relationship was vulnerable but when his wife was pregnant, too.
Reddit users also found him in the wrong for assuming a rough patch in their marriage would result in his wife cheating on him and having a temper with his pregnant wife. Although the husband clarified that he did not lay a hand on his wife, users did not feel it improved the situation.
Instead of focusing on the physical harm he did not cause, commenters made him aware of the mental and emotional damage he put his wife through when she had to protect her child from her angry husband.
Moreover, Reddit users found it unforgivable that he kicked his newborn son and wife out of their shared home and went off the rails with his temper. People thought there was nothing to save in their marriage.
Here is another story about a white man who tested his son's DNA because of how his son's skin looked and because other people questioned the child's paternity.