What do you think it says about someone who never mentions their other half?

[Strawdolly]

I recently spent some time in the company of someone in a work capacity and they never once mentioned their long term live-in partner. In fact they spoke as if they were single, "I did this, I shop here", that sort of thing. It seems a bit odd to me, what do you MNers think?

[frames]

I learnt the very hard way. I will
Never discuss private life at work ever again. Nasty people find a way of twisting the detail to cause trouble:-(

[Solaia]

I would think it was odd, everyone at my work makes chit chat about their lives. Not highly personal stuff, just factually accurate I suppose: me and the kids did x, I visited my sister/cousin, we had DH's family over, that sort of level of detail.

There is a definite view by some that work colleagues are only and can only ever be that, and will never cross the boundary into friendship. I cannot get on board with that at all. I spend 40+ hours with my colleagues per week, I need to count them as friends! I would hate to work somewhere I didn't have some close friends as colleagues and I'm lucky that everywhere I've worked has had some. Each to their own though.

[daisychain01]

Frames I agree! And once you say one thing, it's like the foot in the door, people start wanting to know more and more. Sad but I learned through bitter experience that you are better off remaining relatively 'unknown'.