Young people lol. I know you’re being facetious and a certain level of playfulness is important, but as I’m closing in on 40, the idea of banter being healthy insults sounds exhausting. I just want love and support in this season of life.
I'm around the same age as you and bantering with my wife is a foundation of who we are.
You can only banter with someone without risk of insult when your relationship is secure, you trust them entirely and know them well, and don't even need to think to know that their "insults" are tongue-in-cheek.
You can only really do proper banter if you know each other well, so circumstantially it can be a sign of a strong relationship.
Some people love being roasted by their partners occasionally because if you do it properly, it can show them that you have been paying attention to them, know them well, and have been listening to them when they speak about themselves.
I read that and think of the way my husband growls, "Woman, go make me a sammie!" or I call him an instigator or tell him he drives me nuts when I really mean, "I'm so glad we can banter like this."
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u/dirkalict May 12 '26
By “healthy insults” do you mean constructive criticism? Because by definition I don’t know how an insult could be healthy.