In a scene from Amazon Prime show "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," the main character, Midge, goes to sleep in full makeup, waits until her husband is asleep and then gets up and does her whole nightly makeup removal-hair curler routine, only to rise early enough to put it all back in place before he ever notices.
While that may be totally extreme, there are still little things lots of women do to keep the mystery in their relationship. It's an especially tricky thing to do once you have a baby. Here are things some women hide from their husbands–how many of these would you consider doing?
"One day I was having dental work done and my husband was in the neighborhood and stopped into the office to say hello to me. I totally freaked out and made him leave the room. He's seen me give birth but something about having him look at me with my mouth agape and that drool sucker hanging out the side set off an alarm. I guess it's because after all these years, I still want him to find me attractive!" – Marley, 36
"I've been dyeing my hair for the past three years since it started to go gray, and I haven't told my husband. I'm not sure whether he notices or not, but part of me didn't want him to see me as looking 'old.' There are some things that are ok to keep to yourself!" – Tracy, 44
"I love doing face masks, but will not let my husband see me with one on. I'm afraid he'd freak out!" – Chelsea, 49
"I have curly hair and the only way for me to get second day hair is to pile it all on top of my head in a 'pineapple' [shape] with an old school scrunchie. And if I really want it to look good, I wrap it up in a turban. I only do this when he is away on business though–I think he would laugh if he saw me in this crazy getup and that's not the reaction I want in the bedroom!" – Kimberly, 28
"My friends think this is weird, but after 18 years of marriage I will not pass gas in front of my hubs! If I need to do it, I'll run to the bathroom. I'm sorry, but I still care about being 'ladylike' in front of him." – Jenna, 41
My friends think this is weird, but after 18 years of marriage I will not pass gas in front of my hubs!
"A lot of my friends let their husbands watch them give birth and I get it–it's truly a beautiful thing. But my mother gave me advice to not let him see me like that and I had to agree. My husband was in the room but stayed up by my head. I didn't want the image of our baby's arrival forever etched in his mind when we are going to hopefully have a long and healthy sex life!" – Jody, 40
"Before getting married I would sit on the couch and give myself a pedicure, but now I get it done at the salon or go in the bathroom, at least for the clipping part. There is something really inelegant about clipping your toenails in front of the person you're having sex with." – Diana, 30
"I recently had electrolysis done, but before that I used to bleach my mustache. Hey, for some dark-haired chicks like me it's a fact of life! Needless to say, my boyfriend was never privy to any of my hair removal methods." – Rina, 38
"Now that we have kids, there's a lot of peeing with the door open that goes on in my household. I try to still keep that private. The one thing I won't do in front of him is anything poop or period-related. How can you let anyone, let alone the person who is supposed to find you attractive, see you pull out a tampon or stick a pantyliner in your undies? Doors have locks for a reason." – Abbey, 45
"I'm at a healthy weight, but I still don't want my husband knowing 'my number.' Not that he would judge–he loves my body–I just feel like that's something I'd rather keep private." – Carmela, 40
"My husband sees me naked all the time, but there is something weird about getting dressed in front of him that I don't like so I won't do it. It's like a super intimate thing and you don't always look your best, whether it's zipping up tight jeans or putting a bra on. I know he would like to watch, but it's not happening." – Jen, 29
"One of the things my husband finds most attractive about me is my intelligence. We have great conversations about serious topics and he's always bringing up the fact that I went to an Ivy League school. So when I want to indulge in some mindless TV I prefer not to do it when he's at home! If I put on one of 'my shows' he will start mocking them and then it's just not fun for me." – Sari, 33
"I know it looks cute in commercials, but I will never stand side-by-side at the sink and brush or floss with my husband next to me. There is nothing romantic about spitting out toothpaste or pulling bits of your dinner out of your teeth. In fact, I think the whole Jack and Jill sinks thing needs to be abolished." – Hannah, 34
