Table of Contents
PORTLAND, Ore. — A gay couple married last month says they have been unable to determine which towel belongs to which husband following receipt of a “His & His” embroidered towel set as a wedding shower gift, a situation both men describe as “untenable” and one they did not anticipate when they registered at Bed Bath & Beyond.
The set, a 100% Egyptian cotton two-piece from the Bridal Bliss Collection by LinenLux, arrived with matching ivory embroidery reading “His” on both towels. The packaging described the product as “perfect for the modern couple.”
“We’ve been drying off with the wrong towels for three weeks,” said Declan Marsh, 34, a Portland-area dental hygienist. “Or the right ones. We genuinely have no idea.”
His husband, Travis Marsh, 36, said the situation has created what he described as “a low-grade but persistent domestic tension” that was not present before the gift arrived.
“Before the towels, everything was fine,” Travis said. “Now every morning I pick one up and I think: is this mine? It’s not labeled. They’re both labeled. It’s the same label.”
The towels were purchased and gifted by Travis’s aunt, Sandra Kowalski of Naperville, Illinois, who said she specifically sought out an LGBT-affirming product and was “really proud” of finding it.
“I thought it was sweet,” Kowalski said. “I thought they’d love it. I saw ‘His & His’ and I thought, that’s them. That’s literally them.”
Kowalski said she has since been informed of the problem and does not fully understand it. “They share everything. Hair care products. Clothes. Genital preference. I don’t get it.”
A one-star review posted to the LinenLux product page by user DMarshdds on June 3rd has received 847 helpful votes and reads, in its entirety:
“Both towels say ‘His.’ We are both a ‘His.’ We can’t tell whose towel is whose. This is a fundamental flaw in product design. We have been searching for a solution for weeks. There is no solution. Three stars for softness. One for utility. One star total.”
LinenLux did not respond to a request for comment, but the product listing has since been updated to include the tag “No returns.”
Sandra Kowalski has allegedly already purchased a first-anniversary gift, a monogrammed robe set she described as “even cuter,” featuring the couple’s last names embroidered in gold.
