the cut on tuesdays

15 Women on What They Wish They Could Say Sorry For

Photo-Illustration: Getty Images, Roy Lichtenstein, Rosa Schweninger

The Cut on Tuesdays

A weekly podcast from the Cut and Gimlet Media, with host Molly Fischer.

It’s the perfect time of year for apologies. Instead of thinking about everything you’re going to do right in the future, what about everything you did wrong in the past? We asked our listeners what they were sorry for … and they had a lot to say.

Some of what we heard had to do with very specific regrettable moments:

I was just calling to apologize to my middle-school crush. In seventh grade. Eric, I’m sorry for kicking you in the nuts when you asked to dance with me at the Christmas formal. I thought it was out of pity — I didn’t want to degrade myself, by accepting your pity. Sorry, Eric, again, for kicking you in the nuts.

Many of them had to do with the messiness of relationships:

I can never tell you this in real life, but i made out with your boyfriend. And it went farther than that … but we didn’t do anything; we didn’t have sex or anything. At the time, I was being so selfish. I was like, he’s obviously not happy with her, this is fine, and now every time I see your name I’m like, oh God, what have I done? You’re going to be absolutely destroyed if you ever find out about this.

And some of them were heartbreaking — whole lifetimes of regret in one phone call:

I want to apologize to my sister. I’m the big sister, I was supposed to be the one there to protect her, and I didn’t as a child. I was supposed to be your mom but I didn’t want to do it and I did a lousy job. I’m sorry I didn’t go to your wedding. I’m sorry I say the wrong things all the time. I’m sorry and I love you and I would do anything to do it over.

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15 Women on What They Wish They Could Say Sorry For