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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Starburned on 2025-01-27 01:12:30+00:00.

This happened 3 years ago, but it is, by far, the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. I went to a friend’s birthday party at her home. She was more of a friend-of-a-friend, so I didn’t know her very well and I’d never met half the people there. She has two children and several of the attendees were parents who had brought their children along. Two of her neighbors and their dog were in attendance. One was an Asian woman in her 40s and the other was an Asian teenager. You can probably see where this story is going, but trust me, it gets worse.

Both of them were pretty quiet and stayed on the outskirts of the party. I’m the same way, especially at large gatherings. The teenager had headphones on and mostly just walked around with the dog, not saying much. Pretty much what I did at most parties as a teen/young adult. The woman and I ended up at the same patio table and exchanged friendly conversation with each other, as well as the other people sitting there.

Before we get to the FU, I’d like to say a couple things in my defense:

1. She had a very quiet voice
2. It was a loud environment.
3. I often keep in earplug in one ear due to sensory issues.
4. I have mild face blindness.

I mentioned something about her son and she replied, “… my daughter …” I couldn’t make out a couple of the words clearly, but I thought she said, “she’s my daughter.” The woman was wearing a “Protect Trans Kids” t-shirt, so I thought I’d just accidentally misgendered her kid. I said something like, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Well, 15 minutes later I said something about her daughter. I heard her response clearly this time.

“She’s not my daughter. She’s my wife.”

The person I thought was a teenage boy was a woman in her 30s. I apologized profusely and she laughed good-naturedly. I could not look either of them in the eye for the rest of the party.

I ran into them last June at Pride. Much to my embarrassment, they recognized me. Turns out I got one thing right though, as her wife was now her husband.

TL;DR: Mistakenly referred to a woman’s spouse as her child… twice.