In a viral Reddit post shared in the Am I The ** group, which can be seen here, user aita_husband_deadex stated their husband’s friend and former ex recently died of an aneurysm.

The Reddit commenter added that their husband and the woman had known each other for more than 20 years and that they had been married, but decided to be friends after they realized they “weren’t a great couple.”

“I resented every moment of knowing her, especially when we had to be social. She understood some part of him I couldn’t. Her husband was friends with mine as well, so it’s not like I could use him as an angle,” the Reddit user said.

The spouse added: “She died after they had lunch the other day on the way to her car. He spent a bunch of time crying, but honestly, I was relieved.

He was working with her husband on funeral planning. I told him ‘you don’t think you’re going, do you?’

“My argument, summed up: She’s dead, so she’s not a factor anymore. He doesn’t get to use his ‘she’s my friend’ excuse since she doesn’t exist anymore. He had his cry for a couple days, he gets to be done with mourning her already. There’s no need for him to go to her funeral since I wouldn’t want her at his.

“He was the angriest I’ve ever seen him when I told him that, replying that he’ll be going no matter how I feel and that he’s ‘willing to burn this to the ** ground’ while holding up his wedding band. ‘Besides you, she was the closest friend in my life.’

“Him, her husband and my sisters are calling me an insensitive asshole over this, all saying that there was no romantic aspect to their relationship and that I’m heartless. Her husband went so far as calling me a ‘ghoul’ for how I’ve reacted.”

According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, about 30,000 people in the U.S. suffer a brain aneurysm rupture each year. It added that women are more likely than men to have a brain aneurysm at a three-to-two ratio.

New York psychologist and attorney Dr. Jean Cirillo told Newsweek the spouse should allow the husband to go to the funeral.

Giving Him ‘Closure’

Cirillo added: “It would be best if she allowed her husband to go to this funeral because that will give him closure as far as his ‘friend’ or ex-wife.

“She won’t be in his life anymore; so she won’t be a threat to his current marriage. If his current wife stops him from having that last bit of contact, he may begin to resent her.

“Let him finish this the way he feels is right. You’ve got the rest of your life with him and she is now truly gone.”

Since being shared on Reddit on December 19, the post has attracted more than 17,700 times and some 860 comments.

Newsweek found the overwhelming majority of people who commented on the story slammed the spouse over what happened.

Reddit user LadyCass79, whose comment received 70,500 upvotes, said: “YTA (you’re the **). When he divorces you, he probably won’t have to explain his friendship with you to the next woman because, seriously who’d want to stay friends with a woman who had treated you like this?”

Lazyfoxheart added: “Seriously. I kept shaking my head while reading this thinking it couldn’t get any worse but OP (original poster) still managed to dig deeper.

“How can you be so stone cold (she basically said ‘yeah, hubby had time to cry for a few days, that’s enough, he should move on and forget about her already’) and still ask whether you really are TA (the **)? Yes, OP, YTA. Big time. YTA.”

Disney_Mom_of_Uno posted: “I can’t even believe this is real. I can’t imagine not supporting my husband grieving a lifelong friend. To say ‘she no longer exists’? Just absolutely cruel. This marriage was doomed from the start, poor guy just didn’t know it yet.”

Newsweek has contacted aita_husband_deadex for comment.