AITAH for locking the car door and saying my husband will never drive my car again?

Imagine this: A man loses his car because he kept leaving the keys inside. You’d think that would be enough of a lesson, right? But no—when borrowing his wife’s car, he does the exact same thing. And when she remotely locks the car to prevent potential theft, he gets mad at her. Now, she’s banned him from ever driving her car again.

Our OP (Original Poster) has been dealing with her husband’s baffling habit for years. She’s bought him key trackers, warned him repeatedly, and even watched him suffer the consequences when his own car got stolen. Yet, here they are again—except this time, it’s her car on the line. After discovering via an app that he left the keys inside, she locked the car remotely.

Hours later, she received a frantic call from him—he was locked out, with no way to get the keys. When she finally unlocked it, instead of taking responsibility, he blamed her for causing the situation. Fed up, she told him he’s never driving her car again. He’s calling her petty, but she thinks she’s just protecting her property. So, is she being unreasonable, or is her husband the real problem here?

‘AITAH for locking the car door and saying my husband will never drive my car again?’

Let’s be real—leaving your keys in the car once is a mistake. Leaving them in again after your car has been stolen? That’s just reckless. Dr. Karen Pine, a psychology professor specializing in habits, explains: “People develop bad habits out of convenience, even when they know the risks.” In other words, OP’s husband is prioritizing short-term ease over long-term consequences, despite having already suffered once.

This situation also highlights something called optimism bias—the belief that bad things happen to others but not to us. Even after losing his car, OP’s husband somehow convinced himself that it wouldn’t happen again. But let’s face it—if you keep playing with fire, you will get burned.

Beyond psychology, there’s a financial risk at play. Many insurance companies refuse to cover theft if the owner left the keys inside the vehicle. That means if OP’s car had been stolen, she might have been left with a total loss and no payout. So, who’s really being unreasonable here? Because it’s definitely not OP.

This issue also brings up an important marriage dynamic: boundaries. When someone repeatedly disregards basic responsibility, trust starts to erode. And trust isn’t just about fidelity—it’s about reliability in daily life. How can OP trust her husband with something as valuable as her car when he’s proven he won’t take care of it?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Some users even suggested solutions—lanyards, keychains, or digital locks—but ultimately, the consensus was clear: OP’s husband is refusing to learn from his mistakes. If losing a whole car wasn’t enough to teach him, what will?

Marriage is about compromise—but should OP have to compromise her own security for her husband’s bad habits? Absolutely not. She’s not being petty; she’s being smart. Cars are expensive, and at this point, her husband has proven he can’t be trusted with hers. So, what do you think? Was OP right to ban him from driving her car, or should she give him another chance? Would you trust someone like this with your car? Let’s discuss!