And, there are those that dislike, even hate, confrontation, so if the mouth is closed, confrontation won't happen. Unfortunately, confrontation is part of life and can help a person was well as hurt a person. Like my BIL, my wife's brother, we pretty much choose when to talk to that older SIL and when not to. She acts/talks so naive, that many times wife and I just can't stand it. So, instead of telling her right out, we simply won't talk to her sometimes.
We have people in the family that just enjoy being the first one to spread news whether it's good or bad that's their jolly. An example of this is if a couple has a baby and they tell this person before they get a chance to tell their siblings and other relatives this person has already spread the news now mind you it's good news but sometimes it's not yours to tell.
Unfortunately, Tony, there are those that simply have the "I don't care" attitude and will tell anything to anyone.
Hi Tony, interesting question. My experience with two wives is like a Tale of Two Cities. My first wife would repeat things I said about others. That was bad enough, but making it worse was that she often would put a different slant what I said. We talked about it, but it did not help. As a result, the communication channel slowly shut down. Not good. No more blabber-mouths for me. My second wife was different. She understood that many of our conversations were confidential. She never repeated my opinions about others. She got it. She was an adult. It was a night-and-difference between the two wives. So, my answer to your original question is absolutely yes. Spouses are privy to our most private thoughts and should have the common sense to know what is confidential. In my next reincarnation, I will try to find another wife like my second choice in this lifetime.
I find that annoying when they enhance confidential information, or like you said John, put a different slant on it.
Boy, do I agree! The blow-back when someone heard my negative opinion was not fun. I decided it would be best to avoid talking about others with my first spouse. In fact, I eventually decided to avoid discussing other people, no matter who I was talking with. Why avoid discussing others in your conversations? Because many people don’t like to hear that other people are talking about them. They wonder what else is being said besides anything good they may hear.
my reply was to the question in the post...about my husband... I guess we must have misunderstood...oops...i do that sometimes...
All of my relatives are like that, with the exception of one brother. He and I would call each other first with any news before others used us to make themselves the center of attention.
I don't know how many times I've elbowed or kicked the shin of Johnny for doing this. He would always look at me like "What did I do?' Yes, it changed what I shared with him and it's been good since. I don't talk about people unless I can say 'you' for the most part. It really doesn't matter whether you're married or just friends you just never know 'who knows who' when you're talking about someone with someone else. You must learn to hold your tongue especially if it's of a sensitive matter. Speaking from experience mind you.