My Husband Thinks My Food Is Bland—And I'm Devastated

My husband and I have completely different flavor profiles. Translation: I don’t think he likes my cooking. Cue the violins because I am, in fact, devastated by this possibility.

When we first started dating, I asked him how he liked to be romanced. One of his top three answers? Food. Naturally, I thought this was a match made in heaven because I absolutely adore cooking. I envisioned myself preparing meals filled with love, and him savoring every bite, showering me with compliments on my culinary skills.

Fast forward to us moving in together, and I started noticing a troubling pattern. He frequently asked for condiments or added seasonings to his already-seasoned food. At first, I brushed it off as a quirk. Maybe he was just experimenting with flavors? Of course, when I asked him about it, he spared my feelings with vague excuses like, “I just wanted to try something different,” or, “I like my potatoes with extra ketchup.”

But then things started to click during my pregnancy. By the third trimester, I realized we were rarely eating the same meals at dinnertime. I chalked it up to pregnancy fatigue at first. After all, the first trimester completely knocked me out, and I barely had the energy to cook. During the second trimester, I felt amazing, but the summer heat made cooking full meals in our pre-war apartment unbearable. By the third trimester, I was more inclined to cook again but couldn’t help noticing that leftovers sat in the fridge untouched—or worse, he’d quietly circle back to the kitchen to add more seasoning to his plate.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when I finally decided to confront him. I asked him to be brutally honest about my cooking. “Tell me the truth,” I said. “What do you think of the meals I’ve made this week?” He hesitated for a moment, but then he promised he’d be truthful.

“Babe,” he started carefully. “Sometimes your food tastes... a little bland.”

Bland?! My food? I was floored. Shocked. Hurt. Confused. How could he possibly think that? I’ve spent years perfecting my recipes! I season everything!

And yet, there it was. My husband thinks my cooking is bland.

I wish I could say I took the news gracefully, but honestly, I didn’t. I started questioning everything—my taste buds, my spice rack, even my entire culinary identity. I’d like to blame pregnancy hormones, but the truth is, this stung deeply.

Now I’m at a crossroads. Do I overhaul my cooking style to suit his tastes? Do I stick to what I know and let him adjust to my flavor profile? Or do we just keep cooking separate meals and call it a day?

I’m hoping that once my pregnancy hormones settle and my taste buds normalize, I’ll be able to recalibrate and find a middle ground. Maybe we’ll discover meals we can both enjoy together as a family.

For now, though, I’m mourning the dream of being the wife who sweeps her husband off his feet with home-cooked meals. Who knows? Maybe this is a chance to expand my skills and learn to cook with a little more flavor flair.

Any tips for navigating this flavor crisis?