{"id":1513,"date":"2026-06-08T10:40:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T10:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1513"},"modified":"2026-06-08T10:40:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T10:40:42","slug":"dear-abby-who-should-tell-our-friend-that-his-wife-is-not-allowed-on-our-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1513","title":{"rendered":"Dear Abby: Who should tell our friend that his wife is not allowed on our cruise?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: A group of 10 couples have been friends since meeting in college. Seven of the couples have been married for more than 25 years, and three of the couples have, over the last decade, divorced.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1512\">Horoscopes June 8, 2026: Maria Menounos, keep life simple by silencing chaos<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The issue is that one man has remarried. His new wife is demanding and self-centered, with clear narcissistic traits. We love the husband dearly but not his new wife. His ex is no longer in touch with any of the group.<\/p>\n<p>We are planning a once-in-a-lifetime cruise, and nobody wants her on the ship. We know from past experience that she will ruin the trip.<\/p>\n<p>How do we tell the husband that they are not invited, and who should deliver the message? We don\u2019t want to end the relationship, but frankly, she cannot go.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 TRAVEL TROUBLES<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLES:<\/strong> No matter how you approach him, know that you run a real risk of alienating your friend if he is forced to choose between his wife and this friend group.<\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s not worth the risk, the group will have to grin and bear her presence with as much grace as can be mustered.<\/p>\n<p>If you are sure you want to exclude them both, you owe him an explanation. The person closest to him should meet up with him privately and deliver the news. Remind him of the \u201cpast experience\u201d where his wife ruined a previous trip. Be specific about what behaviors bothered the rest of the group, and tell him no one is willing to travel with her again.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>You might, however, consider extending him a solo invitation. It\u2019s possible he could use some time away from his charming wife!<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> My husband and I have been married 12 years, and we were together five years before getting married. He\u2019s an alcoholic who has been sober for several years, but he wants to argue about everything.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1510\">Asking Eric: He dropped his Marines plan but kept the money from the party. Seriously?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He has anger issues, possibly because he was in the military. His health is bad, too.<\/p>\n<p>I have reached a breaking point and am thinking about divorce because of the way he treats me, my kids and grandkids \u2014 except for my son, who he is scared of.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He badmouths my son\u2019s wife. He gets mad because I watch one granddaughter three days a week while her mother works, and sometimes I have both girls.<\/p>\n<p>My daughter-in-law is an awesome person who does anything for anyone. She\u2019s in the Army Reserves and works full time. She put herself through school and is a social worker as well as a full-time mom! My son is a truck driver, so he\u2019s gone all week. I try to help them out as much as I possibly can.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not giving up on my kids and grandkids. Am I wrong for putting them first? What can I do?<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 DOING MY PART IN OKLAHOMA<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEAR DOING:<\/strong> Your husband appears to be what is known as a \u201cdry drunk.\u201d That\u2019s an alcoholic who managed to quit drinking, but never dealt with the issues that drove him to drink in the first place. He is also an abuser.<\/p>\n<p>You are not wrong for wanting a life free of hostility and verbal abuse. You are also not wrong for wanting to protect your family from the poison he spews. Because you can\u2019t make this man change who he is, talk to a family law attorney and set yourself free.<\/p>\n<p><em>Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1509\">Harriette Cole: I\u2019ve been getting yelled at when I\u2019m at work<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Abby: We know from experience that this demanding woman will ruin the cruise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dear Abby: Who should tell our friend that his wife is not allowed on our cruise? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1513\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Abby: Who should tell our friend that his wife is not allowed on our cruise? 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