Getting into arguments may be second nature to many New York couples, but getting out of them can be much more painful.
And for those unable to make-up the old-fashioned way, a legion of online arbitrators is ready to step in.
Fights over everything from buying a $1,000 Gucci handbag to whether or not a spouse is cheating are being decided by a jury of cyber-peers on a site people are turning to when rational debate can’t keep the fur from flying.
“Over 50 percent of American marriages end in divorce. In a fight, each person has their side and are usually backed by their friends,” the creators of SideTakers.com say on their Web site.
“When you can create a jury of anonymous peers to decide who is right or wrong in an argument, then the bias is gone and the person at fault will just have to suck it up.”
On the site, couples each post their side of the story and the site’s readers serve as judge and jury, dissecting both arguments.
One user asked if people thought her husband was cheating after she spotted an unfamiliar number on his cellphone and called it – only to hear a woman answer. She got blasted for invading his privacy.
In another post, a man complained that his wife was getting too fat and he was not attracted to her. He got roundly lashed as a jerk.
And then there is the battle of the Gucci bag, which began with a simple question: Is it worth $1,000?
The woman in the dispute said yes. The man insisted she get a fake.
On SideTakers, the “manofthehouse” was ahead in the public-opinion race over his fashionable wife “giselesdvsmom.”
“Granted, you make enough money to buy one but why specifically a $1,000 purse?” he wrote. “I personally think it’s a status symbol for women.”
The woman – who like all posters on the site remains anonymous – replied: “I only want ONE Gucci purse, not a collection of 10 of them.”
Then she added: “I used to be high-maintenance before we were married.”
Unfortunately for “giselesdvsmom,” few of the voters on the site agreed.
“She’s a sad victim of consumerism,” said one commenter.
“Your husband has every right to be appalled,” said another.
With 570 votes in, 64 percent sided with “manofthehouse.”