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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wish my partner was funnier?

118 replies

Banoffeemuffin · 27/08/2026 19:57

I have the most amazing partner, we have been together 2 years and honestly, he has treated me so well. He's emotionally intelligent, mature, kind, great with my kids, thoughtful, great in the bedroom, consistent. We also do have a bit of a laugh together and tease each other but he's not naturally funny.
I work with a guy who just has this unbelievable sense of humor, he doesn't even try to be funny, he just is, lots of one liners and just dry, silly humour. Im constantly laughing.
I'm not physically attracted to him but I just keep thinking how fun it would be to actually be with someone who was like that and sometimes feel a bit sad that I'm not going to have that. AIBU?

OP posts:
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Renamedyetagain · 31/08/2026 23:07

Sorry, but humour is #1 on my list. I love telling my husband a funny story and watching him react....i also love the classic lines he comes out with and we are in stitches, together and with company.

He has other great qualities too, but it was the humour that drew me in, turned me on and has kept us together through children, illness, bereavement and ageing parents. Life is cruel and unpredictable and unfair, and humour is sometimes the only light.

But my friends are very funny, I am quick witted and peripheral friends have said it's Iike a fringe show when a lot of us are together, so it depends on your personality and priorities. I could never have married someone that didn't make me laugh.

Our kids are now teens and we have an amazing time together just sparking off each other when we are all on form.

Yeah, id never be with anyone I couldnt laugh with. It's life blood to me.

Lentilcakes · 31/08/2026 22:15

It’s hard if you haven’t got a similar sense of humour. That’s one thing which is very important ti me. Your partner does sound great in all other ways though.

TheFormerMrsTruelove · 31/08/2026 21:47

My DH is incredibly funny. Very quick witted and he makes me laugh more than anyone I’ve ever met. Fortunately, he’s got all the other stuff you’d want in a good relationship too. The man I dated before him was very sweet, but it was that man who made me realise that I needed to be with someone I could laugh with.

Once you start comparing your partner to other men, you’re playing with fire.

EmmaB1309 · 31/08/2026 21:39

You sound exhausting

MargotGobby · 31/08/2026 19:15

I think everyone’s looking for the perfect man - rich and successful, but free to spend lots of time time as a family, a beast in the bedroom, good looking, kind, hilarious, certain height, charismatic etc. But there are always gonna be trade offs.

However if sense of humour is of number 1 important to you and you haven’t had kids yet …

Greypanda86 · 31/08/2026 17:43

My husband is pretty funny and so am I so we’re all good in that department but I’ve worked with guys who are hilarious and I love that but it’s also very difficult to have a serious conversation with them often, there’s a lot of sarcasm and I think they would drive me mad living with them

AnonymousElephant · 30/08/2026 03:16

I love the fact that my partner is quick witted and we often naturally fall into having a bit of a joke-off. We laugh a lot, and we just wouldn’t be together if we didn’t have this fun.

In your case it doesn’t sound like you’re considering ending the relationship imminently because he’s not making you laugh, but it seems like the lack of jokes in the relationship could potentially become an issue at some point. You’ll have to decide if all the other great things trump him being funny. In the meantime as others have said, I think watching comedy together is good - it’s fun to have a laugh together like that too!

Blades2 · 29/08/2026 19:59

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · 27/08/2026 20:08

How upset would you be if you found out if he said, “I mean @Banoffeemuffin is .great but there’s a girl at work
who is like just so sweet, she just does and says the sweetest things! It makes my heart so happy to see how sweet she is!!”

Think hard about this OP.

LuckyHazelFox · 29/08/2026 06:45

Banoffeemuffin · 28/08/2026 21:48

Thanks for all the replies, he does have a sense of humor and we do have a couple of in jokes but no he doesn't actually say stuff that makes me laugh the way the other guy does. It's more a case of we laugh at some things together but he isn't coming out with stuff that is funny.. A few times he has also shown me reels of things that he finds funny and it just goes over my head and is unfunny..

I wonder how you'd feel if he was comparing you to another woman.

QueenofSouthsea · 29/08/2026 06:05

I have this exact situation but op I married him! Sometimes I wish laughter featured more in the.marriage and sometimes the other aspects make up for it (just being honest). The very funny men I have happened to meet along the way wouldn't have made good partners and tended to be the player types who knew they could laugh a woman into bed but maybe that was just my experience. I do miss laughing though luckily my kids are funny xx

Thecatspantaloons · 29/08/2026 05:57

Humour on my personal level is the only guaranteed way to get me naked win my heart and mind and will carry me far through the shittiness in life. Money, stability and having things in common helps of course, but not sharing the same sense of humour is like speaking a totally different language to me.

Also, humour doesn't have to be about jokes, slapstick and just being a clowning fanny during serious moments all of the time , for me it's about turns of phrase and just stone cold wit. The humour has to be intelligent not the Lee Evans kind.

Lovelylydia · 29/08/2026 01:54

Banoffeemuffin · 28/08/2026 21:48

Thanks for all the replies, he does have a sense of humor and we do have a couple of in jokes but no he doesn't actually say stuff that makes me laugh the way the other guy does. It's more a case of we laugh at some things together but he isn't coming out with stuff that is funny.. A few times he has also shown me reels of things that he finds funny and it just goes over my head and is unfunny..

It really depends on how important it is to you. I’ve had partners that are all the things you mention (kind, attractive etc) but our sense of humour hasn’t been compatible. My DH has all the lovely positive attributes PLUS we’re on the same page humour-wise, and we laugh together so much.
It’s hugely important IMO.

It gets you through the tough times.

Datgal · 29/08/2026 00:33

Empress13 · 27/08/2026 20:10

For me when choosing a partner humour trumps over looks! Love a man that makes me laugh so important

Me too. Humour wins the day and heart! Me and my partner laugh so much every day, and I love it. Can't imagine not being with someone who you didn't find funny.

islanddreamer1 · 29/08/2026 00:23

I would never repeat anything that I was told in confidence to anyone, including my husband. If someone trusts me enough to share something personal, I respect that trust and keep it to myself. I honestly can’t believe how many people think it’s okay to share their friends’ private business with their partners — it’s not.

Chocolateistheanswer2026 · 28/08/2026 23:39

concertinacornflake · 27/08/2026 20:08

Sometimes you have to value what you've got.

Sometimes funny people use humour to avoid real conversation. Sometimes funny people are covering up sadness with humour. Sometimes funny people refuse to ever take anything seriously. You don't really know this guy.

This is such a good point. Many people use humour to deflect. The grass often seems greener but if you found a really funny bloke, he'd probably be deficient in areas that your partner isn't. If you feel loved and supported by him and can have a laugh with your friends you've got all bases covered.

Banoffeemuffin · 28/08/2026 21:48

Thanks for all the replies, he does have a sense of humor and we do have a couple of in jokes but no he doesn't actually say stuff that makes me laugh the way the other guy does. It's more a case of we laugh at some things together but he isn't coming out with stuff that is funny.. A few times he has also shown me reels of things that he finds funny and it just goes over my head and is unfunny..

OP posts:
LuckyHazelFox · 28/08/2026 20:48

You would soon get bored at the constant jokey banter. Not to mention how many times you had to listen to the same jokes in front of different friends.

DirtyBird · 28/08/2026 20:23

I would tell my ex all the time that he should've been a standup comedian. He was constantly making jokes/being funny. However, he never laughed at my jokes, but always laughed at me and made jokes about me. He had more of a slapstick type of humor when I prefer more witty/sarcastic type of humor. He had to be the "class clown" which gets old after a while. He was also missing a sympathy/empathy chip and could be very mean and cruel.

I realized that my best relationship was with someone who had a similar sense of humor as myself, where we laughed but it didn't have to be constantly bantering and laughing all the time. Now I stay away from any man that is too funny, always cutting up, it's just too much for me.

MyTakeIsntYourTake · 28/08/2026 20:06

I think its important that you have the same sense of humour and laugh together rather than being entertained by someone.
My ex could be right miserable except when it suited him to laugh at his own jokes. I suspect that he was a right joker at work and with his friends. If they'd had seen him at home, they wouldn't have recognised him. It took too much effort to put on a front at work to then be able to make the effort at home.

TrishM80 · 28/08/2026 19:48

DebbieSavage · 28/08/2026 14:43

Why are you blaming the OP for her husband being a sour puss dour pants? This is supposed to be a site for solidarity amongst women and in a time of crisis you instead try to make an attack on her character. What is wrong with you?

Are you the boring husband is that it?

Fucking Hell, get a grip! 😂

Thatsillymama · 28/08/2026 19:38

One of the best pieces of advice I've been given is dont create problems where there are none. You're happy, you have a good man so don't overthink it.

gannett · 28/08/2026 19:16

A shared sense of humour and finding the same little absurdities funny is way more important than someone actively being a comedian in their own right. (People constantly trying to be funny, even the best ones, can be exhausting after a while. The ones who do it but aren't actually funny are intolerable.)

I know plenty of men who make me laugh but I can't say it's ever made me more attracted to them. And whoever said that funny people often use humour to deflect from intimacy or serious conversations is right - I know because I do it myself a lot.

Stelladid · 28/08/2026 19:14

DebbieSavage · 28/08/2026 14:43

Why are you blaming the OP for her husband being a sour puss dour pants? This is supposed to be a site for solidarity amongst women and in a time of crisis you instead try to make an attack on her character. What is wrong with you?

Are you the boring husband is that it?

Where did you get this description of the guy from. The orginal poster stated that they laugh together, but the bloke at work is good with the ‘one liners’

Stelladid · 28/08/2026 19:12

Oh do come on OP 🙄 By your own admission, your partner is a lovely guy and a good lover and your winging because he isn’t performing one liners 🤷‍♀️ This here is a case of ‘he deserves better’.

FaceIt · 28/08/2026 19:08

I do get it, but people can hide behind humour, and not actually be that nice.

Personally I would stick with him and possibly try to draw it out of him over time.