One man was “caught in 4K,” as they say, while sipping a beer at a bar. In a viral TikTok, @brittan_14 caught one lonesome soul just wanting some quality time alone, even if that meant lying to his wife.
Brittan films the inside of a bar, zooming in on an older gentleman seated on a bar stool. The camera then zooms in even further on the text the man is writing on his phone, set to a fairly large font size.
“I left my keys at work I had to go back and get them I am so sorry,” the text reads. As the man sends the message to someone named Paula, he puts his phone down and takes a long sip of his beer.
Brittan adds the #caughtredhanded hashtag in the caption, and while the TikToker didn’t exactly reveal who Paula was, viewers had a good idea of who it probably is. Several automatically assumed the man was texting his wife–and came running to his defense.
Viewers think he did nothing wrong
“God forbid a guy gets a little thirsty on his way back for his keys,” a top comment read.
Another joked that he was a witness, writing, “He really did leave them. I work with him. Told him to meet me at the bar so he didn’t have to drive all the way back.”
“Sometimes we just need 15 minutes of peace,” a user added. “Sometimes just need to think of what it is that keeps us going. stay strong.”
Several users found nothing wrong with taking a drink when the man couldv’e potentially be going something worse.
“Mans by himself, probably works hard and just needs some time to himself,” a viewer said. “I get that lying is wrong but hes not with another woman. Give bro a break.”
A handful of commenters criticized the man–and by extension, the alleged marriage–for lying about something so trivial. However, is such a white lie really inconsequential?
Is lying OK in relationships?
There have always been debates when it comes to dishonesty in relationships. Some folks believe that your partner doesn’t have to know every little thing about you, while others claim lies breed distrust and resentment. But what do the studies say?
According to Business Standard, a report revealed that couples lie to each other three times per week on average. However, these lies are “harmless,” researchers found. The site states it is something called “deceptive affection.” It’s important to note the lies were never anything like lying about drinking at a bar instead of heading home, though. These white lies revolved around making your partner happy, i.e., lying about liking their haircut, or whether that dress looked good on them, etc.
Psychology Today points out that deceptive affection should be left out of the bedroom, however. Using these messages led to lower sexual satisfaction, the study found.
@brittan_14 #caughtin4k #caughtredhanded #boozetok ♬ walking on a dream by empire of the sun – sophie
When it comes to non-deceptive-affective lies, is a different story, then. Psychology Today penned another piece on the cost of lying to your spouse. It erodes trust and intimacy, and the longer it is covered up, the worse it’ll be. While the man at the bar may not have been hurting anyone, no one really knows the story behind a 14-second video on TikTok.
Several already assumed his marriage is doomed, and many conjured up an image of what kin of wife Paula was. There could be umpteenth reasons why the man did what he did. Since Brittan posted no follow-up, the gentleman’s action remains for netizens to dissect.
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