The sitting spot where bored and disgruntled husbands wait as their wives shop is referred to by some as the “schmuck bench.”
Now, the many men who sit on that throne have a place to commiserate.
The Instagram account Miserable_Men documents the real-life saps who while away weekend afternoons in the shadows of frocks and handbags rather than watching basketball and football with their cronies. The account has grown to more than 345,000 followers.
Photos of the husbands make even the most boring weekend look like a party — and comments from visitors hilariously rub it in.
Pictures submitted to the account are peppered with comments from the account’s growing follower list. An image of a guy staring off into space — while sharing his seat with a full shopping bag and his betrothed’s handbag — drew a comment that posits, “He’s wondering, ‘Would I rather be sick and quarantined at home or out shopping all day?’ ”
And, sadly, it’s not only the husbands: A kid snoozing on a pink couch in the shoe department is captioned, “Start ‘em (miserable) young.”
The phenomenon is so dire that one shopping mall in Shanghai actually has a characterless “husband nursery,” which features a flatscreen TV, a massage chair, reading materials and company for the miserable.