Is it normal for a guy to dance more with his relatives than his wife?

My husband and I are in our late 50's and been married for almost three decades. Recently, he and I went to a formal dinner dance. When the band starting playing, his cousin (who had come alone) came rushing by our table, grabbed his arm and took him out on the dance floor. (No problem.) When my husband returned to the table after dancing with his cousin, he then reached around me and extended his hand to his aunt to ask her to dance and she obliged him. (Nice gesture, no problem.) On the way back to the table after dancing with his aunt, my husband bent over to my sister in law and told her that she was next on his list. (Just then, I felt myself get just a little upset). I thought to myself, "Wow, is he just not going to even ask me to dance?" So, I turned to him and quietly suggested that he could've asked me to dance. He responded something to the effect of, "We can dance together if you want to." Well, we danced that one time and when I mentioned my feelings he got upset and said that I was always complaining. So, after we returned to the table, he asked his aunt to dance 3 or 4 more times (her husband was there but didn't dance for whatever reason). My husband also danced 4 or 5 times with his sister (who had come by herself) and once with my sister in law. Meanwhile, from what I observed, everyone else at our table or at the surrounding tables danced mostly with their spouses/dates. It seemed to me that my husband was so focused on entertaining the women in his family that he really didn't care about whether I was enjoying myself. I told him that I was his "date" for the evening and he could have been just a bit more attentive. Am I just overreacting to the situation?

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48% Normal
Based on 25 votes (12 yes)
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Comments ( 5 )
  • kelili

    Sometimes I get the same feeling with my boyfriend. It seems that he can't say no to his family and will just do about anything to please them.

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  • Sog

    Are there intimacy issues elsewhere? In long marriages that's quite common. This may be the symptom of some larger underlying problem. Maybe he didn't want to dance with you because he feels uncomfortable being intimate with you.

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  • forever_anon

    It sounds like he was just trying to be nice to his relatives who didn't have partners for the dance, but I agree with you that he went a little overboard. You were right to ask for more of his attention. If he makes a habit of trying too hard to please family, and you consistently feel like you're playing second fiddle to them, then I would be concerned.

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  • Terence_the_viking

    Maybe he was gonna save the best till last but your jealous tendencies got in the way.

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  • audsam

    That does sound messed up. I would definitely be very upset about that. You should really make sure that he knows you're upset about that!

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