Crosspost "AITA for buying my wife a Roomba for Christmas?" from /r/AmItheAsshole:

This happened last year but since it still gets brought up during arguments every now and then and I just discovered this Subreddit I decided to check what you guys think.

Me and my wife have two children (15F & 11M). My wife is a stay at home mom since the birth of our second child. I (46M) work full time and earn a six figure salary. My job is highly stressful, requires me to travel a lot and mostly sleep in hotels. I only get to come home to my family on every second weekend, on average. Despite working a lot, I am glad to do it so that my family can live a comfortable life.

Last year, I decided to buy my wife a Roomba for Christmas. My wife tends to be the one who vacuums the house so I presumed that she would like this present as it would free her of this chore.

As she unpacked the present, she was heavily offended and did not hesitate to show it, which made the whole situation quite uncomfortable as my parents and other members of the family were also present. She argued that 'this should not be a present directed at her but at the whole family, as it is the entire family’s responsibility to clean up the house'.

Since I work and am the sole source of income in the family and she is a stay at home mother, I think it is apparent that she should take on responsibilities such as taking care of the kids and maintaining the house. The gift was intended to somewhat relieve her of this burden. I, personally, would have loved to have received a Christmas gift that would have somehow made it possible for me to spend less time working. As cheesy as it sounds, I think that time is one of the most precious gifts and that Roomba would have definitely bought some time for her - time that she could use to do whatever she pleased instead of vacuuming.

Unfortunately, one year later, this still often gets brought up during arguments, often coupled with her crying.

So, AITA in this situation?

EDIT: I should also add that I would have never gifted my wife a vacuum cleaner or anything along these lines. I saw the Roomba as a robot that would fully take over this task which is why I thought it was a good idea.

EDIT #2: I asked her numerous times before Christmas last year what she would have liked to receive and she repeatedly told me that she does not want anything. I was left to guess and chose the most practical gift that I was certain she could be able to make use of.

Posted by Throwaway36245128 | 20 December 2019 | Link