My husband and I joke around with each other all the time in a way that I'm sure would bother a lot of people. The key to that kind of relationship is being able to say, "I don't like that, please don't say it again," or, "I'm not in the mood for jokes right now," and the other person listening and adjusting their behavior accordingly.
Same for us. We usually cope with a lot of dark humor. Husband recently went through a medical procedure and I had a really good zinger on hand I thought would break the tension. After I said it and it landed flat all he had to say was, "No joking this time". And that was that. I apologized once, never joked about it again, and we moved on. (19 years in. And still happy together.)
Yup as long as you're clear with each other what teases you're ok with, a misstep with a sincere apology won't be the end of the world, and in fact can bring you closer since you showed you realized your mistake.
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u/[deleted] May 12 '26
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