Utah gamer wife attempts to sell MW3-obsessed husband on Craigslist

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Relax, it was all just a joke. We think.

Spousal neglect is an unspoken side effect of videogaming, and with the recent spate of AAA games, it's a problem that appears to be getting worse as the holiday release season heats up. Determined not to become another statistic, one gamer wife in Logan, Utah, took matters into her own hands and sent a clear message to her Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 addicted hubby by putting him up for auction on Craigslist.

“I am selling my 22 year old husband. He enjoys eating and playing video games all day,” read the now defunct post, obtained by ABC News. “Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade.”

The ad was submitted by 21-year-old Alyse Baddley after issuing repeated warnings to her husband Kyle's mother-in-law that she would sell his son if he continued to devote more time to the virtual battlefield than her. Motivated by her mother-in-law to go through with the threat, Alyse posted the human trafficking offer to Craiglist and awaited a reaction.

Much to her surprise, Alyse received a number of responses to her ad, many of which from people who understood its tongue-in-cheek nature, and only a few who took it as a serious cry for help. The popularity of the post has since prompted Kyle to ween himself off of MW3 for enough time to join Alyse on a Thanksgiving trip to Florida. Mission accomplished!

“The ad was all just a joke, and I love my husband and he loves me,” Alyse said. “I didn’t ever think anyone would reply to this, but it’s gotten so much attention, which is kind of cool.”

Let this be a lesson, men: if you're planning to play for extended periods of time, make sure your internet is password protected.

Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.