A range of ‘work wife’ and ‘work husband’ Valentine’s Day cards at Card Factory have sparked outrage on social media.
UK-based Ellie, who goes by @elehunn on TikTok, shared a clip of the range on her profile, writing: ‘Surely not, Card Factory’.
Ellie looked in shock as she read one card that said: ‘For my work wife on Valentine’s Day. I’ve finally found someone just as inappropriate as me!’
The greeting card was also available in a different colour scheme for a ‘work husband’.
The TikTok user concluded the video by giving the controversial Valentine’s Day offering a thumbs down.
Ellie wasn’t the only one upset by the cards, with viewers flocking to the comment section to share similar thoughts.
One furious user commented: ‘I’ve lost two husbands to a ”work wife”; I’m traumatised’.
Another had undergone a similar experience, writing: ‘It’s all fun and games until your husband really leaves you for his work wife like mine did.’
A range of ‘work wife’ and ‘work husband’ cards at Card Factory (pictured) has sparked outrage on TikTok
‘Oh, imagine your husband coming home with a card to my work husband. Wow that’s just a big no,’ said another.
A fourth added: ‘They do these every year. I used to work at one years ago and would stare down anyone who bought a work wife/husband card.’
‘HR will be busy this month,’ another user added.
However, others thought differently, with one adding: ‘What if the work wife and work husband both don’t have partners lmao’.
It comes after research revealed that couples stop giving Valentine’s Day gifts or cards at the six-year mark on average.
The seven-year itch is the belief that relationships often reach a make-or-break moment seven years in, with divorce rates soaring due to feelings of frustration or restlessness.
But for couples that survive this bump in the road — whether it’s after six or seven years — it seems that X-rated gifts can help to keep the magic alive, whatever your age.
One in ten over-65s will give or receive a raunchy present or card this Valentine’s Day, according to a national survey by the stationery firm Ryman.
One card read: ‘For my work wife on Valentine’s Day. I’ve finally found someone just as inappropriate as me!’
Not surprisingly, Generation Z are even raunchier, with 37 per cent of the younger generation likely to opt for a risque gift next week.
And a quarter of this group also said they would consider breaking up with a partner if they did not receive a present from them on Valentine’s Day.
Men seem more eager to please their partners on February 14, splashing out almost twice as much as women.
They spend an average of £43 on gifts and cards, while women fork out an average £23 on romantic gestures.
Wolverhampton is home to the biggest romantics, with eight in 10 expected to buy for someone special this year.
But those in Brighton should lower their expectations, as just 25 per cent are set to give or receive a gift this Valentine’s Day.
A separate poll earlier this week revealed one in 20 people feel that Valentine’s Day has become too expensive to celebrate.
The survey of more than 2,000 people, carried out by polling firm Opinium for the website MyVoucherCodes, also found 18 per cent of us believe Valentine’s Day is over-commercialised.
TikTok users took to the comment section to share their thoughts – and many were unimpressed
Elsewhere, a poll last year found that one in 20 feel that Valentine’s Day has become too expensive to celebrate.
Those who are happy to fork out on February 14 typically spend around £39 – although 7 per cent of them are prepared to pay between £91 and £100.
Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of those surveyed said that they believed Valentine’s Day was over-commercialised.
But one in 12 (8 per cent) said they loved the occasion because it gives them an excuse to be romantic – and 3 per cent even said it was their favourite day of the year!
Going out for a meal together or cooking for each other were the most popular ways in which Britons liked to treat their partners, according to the survey of more than 2,000 people across the country last year carried out by the polling firm Opinium for the website MyVoucherCodes.
February 14 has garnered a mixed reputation in recent years as a time of misery for singles and pressure and inflated prices for couples.
The day’s origins come from St Valentine an ancient clergyman who was killed in 273AD after sacrificing his life for love by defying a ban on marriage imposed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II, who believed unmarried men were more likely to go to war.
St Valentine was imprisoned and tortured after he was found to be secretly conducting marriages of couples.
While behind bars he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter Artemias, to whom he sent a letter signed ‘from your Valentine’ on the day of his execution, February 14.
But with rising inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze, it seems fewer lovers can expect a romantic surprise.
