14 Redditors Confess Tales Of Terrible 'Karens' In Their Lives
Some of us are fortunate enough not to be personally connected to a dreaded Karen. Yes, it's considered a blessed life not to have to awkwardly hide behind your wife/mom/sister/friend while she asks to speak to the manager because she thinks the universe revolves around her.
For those who are much less fortunate, they can only speak their truth under the anonymity that a refuge like Reddit has to offer those who would answer sincerely the question: "What's it like living with a Karen?" We can only hope, maybe even pray, that the Karens never know their realities were exposed, because to be on the wrathful end of a Karen... oof.
1. "My mom is a Karen."
Not married to one but my mom is absolutely one. I spend most of my time with her in public apologizing to people after she’s walked away.The one and only time it comes in handy is when I’ve bought cars and had her come in during the price negotiation phase – she’s knocked off thousands purely due to how unpleasant she is and how much people want her to just get the hell out of the door.”
tenor2. Never, ever marry a Karen.
“My sister is a Karen.Everyone feels so sorry for her husband. Everything is his fault. He is treated like a slave. She only addresses him by yelling. She constantly insults him. We have no idea why he hasn’t divorced her or flipped out and attacked her.We have all told her to cool it and her response is that he’s just so stupid. I could go on and on but my sister really is a horrible person.”
giphy3. Did you know men can be Karens, too? Now you know.
“My dad was the Karen. He always acted high and mighty. Still does.Last year ai went to visit him. Im an adult btw. And he picked me up from the airport but insisted we stop by walmart first to get something he ordered online. They had exactly what he ordered but it was a two pack.They were giving him two of what he wanted for the same price as what he paid for one. He did not understand this and argued with the manager for 30 minutes that he “only wanted to pay for one!”My wife never understood what I meant by my dad is stuck up until that day."
giphy4. Horrible.
“My mom is a Karen. she thinks the world is supposed to cater to her, serve her and everyone else is wrong.Once we went to Carl’s Jr. she ordered 4 burgers, for the four of us. She pulls one out of the bag while the guy is getting our drinks and hides it. She complains that he forgot a burger. She pulls them out one by one and counts it in front of him.It’s obviously missing because she hid it and he’s swearing up and down he put them all in the bag. I’m stunned speechless and it happened so fast. She got a free burger, and laughed as we drive off. Im just staring at her and she opens it up to eat it on the drive home. And she ate her actual burger like the 5th one never existed.I can’t even explain how she is when she’s in the hospital. she treats it like a luxury stay in a hotel.”
giphy5. Nobody likes a man-Karen
“Dated a Male Karen for eight years.He was a semi successful business owner who was twice my age and I was young and dumb for a lack of a better word. The gist of our relationship was him trying to take over every part of my life. For instance he would order for me at restaurants and would dissuade me if I wanted to try something new.If I had a problem with something it would be brushed off but if he had a problem then he had to talk to a manager. Not knowing any better I just thought he was very particular and even started copying some of his tendencies like speaking up when I felt I wasn’t getting the right service when I was out on my own.I realized who he was when we were flying back from Vegas and our luggage was heavier than when we flew in. Obviously we’d bought extra things which made up for the weight difference so as he demanded to know an explanation from the check in clerk as to why if it was the same luggage would it somehow weigh more, I innocently answered that it must have been the extra shoes and clothes. He was quiet and paid up.Later he told me to not to do that again as he knew the reason why the luggage was heavier he was just trying to get away with not paying. At that moment a bulb went off in my head. This man who’d spent $1500 on a stripper for his friend was making an already stressful job more stressful for the clerk in order to avoid paying $60!We broke up soon after and I checked myself on the Karen tendencies he’d rubbed off on me.”
giphy6. She's got the hair and everything, of course.
“Not the married to one, but my moms a Karen. Literally overreacts to everything.Whenever something doesn’t go her way- you guessed it: gotta speak to the manager or whoever is in charge. Sometimes really embarrassing to go out in public with her because she’ll just yell at the service workers for the smallest of things. Also she has a bob cut.”
gfycat7. Good riddance.
“Divorced an abusive “Karen” who was convicted of domestic violence (that’s a misdemeanor folks), so she got half of everything. Totally worth it. My life before was a nightmare.Escape was priceless.”
tenor8. She is something else.
“Married someone with a Karen for a sister. SIL is the freaking worst. I hate more than anything going out to dinner with her, listening to her order food and talk to the servers. Holidays are also terrible, she sends out long lists of expected gifts list. She celebrates every holiday and birthday specifically for presents even when it not appropriate.Funny thing is one time I was away from the dinner table when the bill came and SIL waited for me to return to pay the bill by actually handing it to me. She didn’t give it to her sibling/my SO or pay her half, but expressly handed it to me to pay.Btw, her husband is an idiot and they are a match made in heaven.”
giphy9. The two worst weeks of the year, hands down.
“My sister AND SIL are both Karens. I will show up to restaurants 15 min early to warn them. I tell them if it’s not done to their liking they WILL hear about it and they will make your shift hell. I’m just there as a warning.I used to work in restaurants and those people made life hell. I do what I can to help. Generally my drinks are better and we get a free appetizer as soon as those two tornados walk in all hell breaks loose. Not enough ice, table is too cold, it’s too loud, etc. I also tip really big b/c I DON’T want to associated with the two tornados.I live overseas so I only see them 2 weeks out of the year. So it’s manageable.”
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10. Do not like.
“My mother is a Karen.If something minor inconveniences her, she blows it up into a huge done, constantly complains, belittles me and has a slight superiority complex.”
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11. She is a force of destruction.
“My mom is a Karen. Not fun.I think she was part of the reason the girl I loved left because whenever she was around my mom behaved much better and put on a nice face. We argued frequently about my relationship with my mom. Hurts a lot. Don’t think I can fully let this one go.”
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12. Dear Karens: your kids are watching you.
“My mom is a Karen. She literally can not help herself but to tell other her opinion. She genuinely sees it as doing everyone a favor. It destroys her relationships with my siblings. None of my other siblings will talk to her.A few years ago we went out to eat. The restaurant served bread and butter before the meal. The butter was whipped. My mom, the former dairy farmers daughter, insisted they bring her “real” butter. The waitress went back to the kitchen and came back and told her what she had was butter. How dare she!My mom, who apparently is infallible in her ability to detect butter, started acting like a complete asshole to the waitress about it. “She knows what real butter tastes like.”I go to this restaurant often and my kids are there so my first instinct was to apologize to the waitress. That was a bad idea. As soon as I did my mom went into a rage about respecting your elders and walked out of the restaurant. To this day she still won’t admit she was unkind to the waitress.”
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13. Oh no, she became her name.
My mom was a Karen in name and behavior.My dad had a massive heart attack, oxygen deprived brain, we weren’t sure if he was going to make it or how intact his mind would be. Intubated, sedated, the whole works for days.My toddler nephew visited the hospital. He was dad’s special buddy. Dad somehow roused from his critically ill state to wave his fingers and say a few words to him. A miracle!Mom tried to get dad to talk to her and then slapped him–pretty hard– on the chest because he wouldn’t say anything to her. Jealous of a two year old. Abusing a man in intensive care. The look on the nurse’s face was absolute horror.
tenor
15. Exhausting.
My mom is a Karen whose name is actually Karen. Simply put, I haven’t seen her in over a year because I couldn’t take it anymore. Living with her was just an exhausting nightmare.Karen’s world revolves around Karen. Nobody else’s issues matter. If you tell her that you had a bad day, she’ll give you 20 reasons why her day was worse. You worked 60 hours this week? Well, when she was your age, she would work 80.You’re in the hospital after having major surgery? She has a pinched nerve in her arm, which is somehow worse. Your boyfriend cheated on you? She couldn’t even begin to tell you about all the heartbreak she’s experienced in her life.She complains left and right about anything and everything. If you’re taking a week break after just getting back from college, she’ll ask why you haven’t gotten a job yet and claim you’re lazy. If you’re out to eat at a restaurant the food is always too cold or too burnt or too salty.You can only ever go to the places SHE wants to go to, because everything else is crap. My entire graduation dinner she complained about how cold the food was.She THRIVES in getting attention and constantly seeks it, but she has very few ACTUAL friends. Facebook is her lifeblood and she’s always looking to start something on there. She’s the queen of sharing uninformed, misguided, conservative propaganda, which always starts fights in her comments.Also, if a tragedy happens in the family (like the passing of my teenage cousin), she’ll make a big scene on Facebook and expect condolences from anyone and everyone, and makes note of the people who don’t give her what she wants.Don’t even get me started on the blatant racism. I’ve heard everything from, “watch out for black people on the subway. They’ll try to take your purse” to “It should be illegal for those Muslims to cover their faces. You should be able to see someone’s face.” One of my best friends is black and she once told me, “He’s one of the good ones. They should all be like him.”Minor, but the house ALWAYS has to be spotless. You have a shirt on your bedroom floor? Pick up! You kids are all slobs! We have people coming over (no we don’t and even if we do why would they be going in my bedroom?)Her house is HER house, and she’ll let you know. Any object she has spent money on doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to HER. She also spends way too much money on home decor like oriental rugs, furniture, etc. but then complains about how she has no money.
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