Man asks wife for divorce for breastfeeding their newborn

A husband reportedly asked his wife for a divorce after he saw her breastfeeding their newborn son, claiming the act was disrespectful and “incestuous”.

The bizarre exchange, conducted via text message, has been shared online, prompting concerns for the new mum’s safety from her “psychotic” partner.

“You’ve been breastfeeding? You know how I f***ing feel about that,” the outraged dad writes.

“I finally understand that you truly don’t respect me,” he adds.

He suggests he might not even return to the hospital to pick up the nursing mum, as she scrambles to placate him by offering to breastfeed out of sight.

He counters that he can’t unsee the act, telling her: “You go behind my back and do something I’ve stressed about not doing.

“It’s a proven scientific fact that breast milk is no better than modern formula. I’ll never be able to look at you the same way again.”

Plunket NZ strongly advises new mums to breastfeed, stating on its website: “Breastmilk provides your baby with all the nutrition they need to grow in the first six months.

“It’s the best food because it’s easy for your baby to digest. It adapts to your baby’s needs, is the right temperature, and it’s free.”

The breastfeeding caused the man to fly into a rage.

But the considered, fact-based, support for breastfeeding adopted by Plunket seems unlikely to win much favour with this irate dad, who has a very specific and twisted reason for opposing it.

“I think you’re a bad wife. I think you don’t respect me. I think you took a joy away from me. I think a lot of things,” he rants.

“I enjoy your boobs. Now they’ve been in another man’s mouth, I no longer enjoy your boobs.

“He’s male. And your son. That makes it incestuous in my eyes.”

The message screenshots show him telling his wife that he wants her to move from the family home and that he will be seeking 50/50 custody.

The dad shared a shocking ignorance of the science around breastfeeding.

The unhinged responses caused shock online.

Dark messages

The messages quickly went viral when they were shared online and a woman claiming to be the mother involved went on social media site Reddit to reveal further details.

The new-deleted comments reveal that the couple also have an older son who she claims the man is withholding from her, also suggesting that he views baths and nappy changing as a problem.

“I was told that after a certain age I won’t be allowed to facilitate baths or diaper changes or be in any situation where I’ll see the kids undressed. He believes that’s incest, too.”

She said she had tried to end their marriage in the past but he threatened violence and was scared for her safety, highlighting one terrifying conversation about Chris Watts, the US man convicted for murdering his wife and children.

“When the Chris Watts situation happened, David defended Chris and put down Chris’ wife. Said it was her fault he killed her and the kids. That’s what scares me,” the woman wrote.

The irate man could not deal with a basic human act. File photo / 123RF

‘What has this world come to?’

Comments online firmly supported the wife and poured scorn on the man for his bizarre take.

“Seriously, breasts are literally for nourishment of an infant,” one person wrote.

“This guy is insane, an infant is not a man, it wants to eat and survive that’s its instinct besides searching for its mother. I hope she can escape this psychotic asshole.”

Some also expressed concern for the couple’s two boys.

“Those poor boys do not deserve to be subjected to this lunacy and taught things that will ruin their outlook on life,” one said.

Others suggested that the shocking nature of his response may have a silver lining in forcing the woman’s hand to leave him.

“In a horrible way, he’s done her a real favour because he’s shown her his true colours in the most disgusting way, and she can’t ignore that now.”