Video of husband realizing his wife's stocking went unfilled for 10 years has moms talking
What was meant as a joke felt all too real to moms responsible for creating holiday magic.
It took ten years for a husband to realize his wife received and empty stocking every year
Back in 2021, wife and mom Aubree Jones posted a video to her TikTok that she thought would provide a relatable chuckle among other moms.
Instead, other moms found it heartbreaking.
In the clip, titled “PSA for husbands everywhere,” Aubree’s husband, Josh, is filming their family unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. He goes around to each of the family members’ stockings, until he comes upon an empty one.
“Whose is this?” Josh asks. “Is this an extra one?”
Aubree answers, “No, that’s mine,” with a smile.
Josh then asks why the stocking is empty, to which Aubree quips, “I don’t know. Santa didn’t come for me.”
“It took him 10 years to notice it’s been empty this whole time,” Aubree captioned, adding “your wife’s stocking is your responsibility."
Considering Aubree meant for the video to be a “lighthearted thing to show what moms go through," as she told TODAY.com, she was totally taken aback by the visceral, negative reactions to it.
Many noted it wasn’t just Josh’s act of forgetting to fill his wife’s stocking that was hurtful, but then simply laughing it off after realizing the neglect.
“She laughs. But I knew inside it hurt,”the top comment read.
Another person wrote, “all of us women felt that in our stomach. It hurt.”
@whataboutaub It took him 10 years to notice it’s been empty this whole time. @Josh Jones #marriedlife #marriage #husbandsoftiktok #fail #ohno #christmas #psa #pregnant ♬ Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Here are a few more:
“I got a bit teary.. you can tell there is some pain behind the ‘that’s mine.’”
"The little girl in her felt so left out."
“Not just the lack of gifts. The lack of thought…”
“Believe me, she wanted to cry, not laugh.”
"This is a good example that mom does all the stuff and nobody notices."
"I would’ve been divorced.
"This literally broke my heart."
Though Aubree assured TODAY.com that her marriage dynamic was nowhere near as unhealthy as the video made it seem (she even went so far so to send a follow-up video showing how he actually did give her thoughtful Christmas gifts) her video highlighted a sad reality many moms face during the holidays.
When creating all the magic of the season—the decor, the gifts, the foods, the social plans, the outfits for the Christmas card, coming up with bigger and better Elf on the Shelf position etc., etc, etc., etc., etc., all the etc. 's—fall solely on their shoulders, many moms are robbed of the chance to actually enjoy it themselves.
So much has improved in terms of marriage equality, but it would be naive to think that there aren’t still ways that moms are often expected to pull off herculean feats in order for their families to enjoy the fruits of their labor, all the while juggling multiple other responsibilities, and still not fully being seen.
If moms are moving heaven and earth to make sure their families feel loved this holiday season, let’s make sure we are doing the same for them. The way everyone gets some Christmas joy.
This article originally appeared on 12.21.23
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