A woman in Target was initially touched when a man asked her for gift advice for his wife, but she was shocked by what came next.
Nicole, as user nicbcole on TikTok, drew more than 84,000 views on a video taken in Target as she walked the aisles shortly after an interaction with a man who asked her for advice.
According to Nicole, it was almost 7 p.m. when the man approached her saying that he was shopping for his wife’s birthday.
“I said, ‘Oh, that’s so nice, when is her birthday,” Nicole asked.
“He said, ‘Tonight. Today. It’s happening today.'”
Poor Impression
Nicole already had a poor impression of the man, and she didn’t feel any better when he showed her what he was thinking of getting for his wife.
“First of all, I’m disappointed in him anyways,” she said.
“Why aren’t you out to dinner on your wife’s birthday? Whatever. She’s probably running your kids around while you’re here shopping at Target, getting her crappy gifts last minute.”
Sure enough, the man showed her a shower curtain.
“I said, ‘Yeah, no, we’re not going with shower curtains as last-minute birthday gifts’,” Nicole said.
The man asked what he should get her, but Nicole didn’t have time to help. She asked if the couple were parents and he said they have three boys.
“The best gift you can get her at this point in the night is to relieve her of her duties,” Nicole said.
‘Please do better’
Nicole told the man to go home and do bedtime for the kids. If his wife hadn’t already cooked dinner, he needed to make it, and then let her have a relaxing bath and go to bed with a glass of wine.
“That’s the birthday gift, because you really screwed up this year,” Nicole said, “Hopefully you do better next year.”
Nicole added that she gave him one more out, asking if the couple had been considering remodeling their bathroom lately.
“No,” she said, “He literally is just shopping at 7:00 at night. So do better. Please do better.”
‘Lack of effort’
Darla Gale is a licensed marriage and family therapist from California. According to Gale, a lack of effort or attention in gift-giving can reveal deeper issues in a relationship.
“It may send the message that their partner is lazy, indifferent or doesn’t prioritize them, which can quickly cause a relationship to lose its spark,” Gale told Newsweek in an email.
“Thoughtful gift-giving is about more than the gift itself—it’s about showing your partner that they matter.”
Gale added that men do seem more likely to pass off emotional labor to women, which often stems from family dynamics and cultural norms.
“When it comes to gift-giving, for example, some men may worry about whether their partner will [like] the gift, or if it will meet expectations,” she said.
“This fear of ‘getting it wrong’ can lead to overthinking, self-doubt and even avoidance. If the gift isn’t well-received, they might feel rejected or like they’ve failed as a partner.”
After viewing Nicole’s video, Gale said it’s important to understand your partner’s love language and to choose gifts that align with that love language.
“The key is to ask, listen and plan ahead—showing that you’ve put thought and effort into making them feel prioritized,” she said.
The therapist added that it all comes down to communication.
“Open, honest conversations can make all the difference in creating a stronger, more connected relationship,” Gale said.
Newsweek has reached out to Nicole for comment via TikTok. We could not verify details of the case.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
