My wife does not want to know...but she loves magic and loves me to show things I am working on and she is always ready to tell me if I am flashing or give me great suggestions to improve.

Show her Paul Curry's Out of this World and ask her how she did it?

Nice.

I don't tell my wife everything right away. If she's enjoying the mystery of it, I don't want to take that away. But eventually, that subsides a bit and if she wants to know, I'll share. This, then, gives us something more to share between us. We stayed up for hours one night doing color changes. She got pretty good at it, actually! And we had a great time together.

At first I didn't want to tell her but she is my partner in life, we were joined as one, we're supposed to share everything and keep no secrets (and you know she brought all that up). It's really been better that way.

My wife is a strong, prideful woman who hates to be fooled. I know I've done an effect right when she gets angry, and insists I tell her how I did it...or else. I've never wanted to discover the meaning of "or else."

Interesting question. I'm single at the moment but have dealt with it in the past and chose not to tell them, but these relationships weren't as serious as being married. I wouldn't want to tell my wife everything because it would ruin the mystery for her, but perhaps telling her the general principles could ease her curiosity while still making some of the more mysterious effects that much more amazing to her. Just a thought.

My wife never wants to know. She enjoys the mystery and it makes her feel young again.

My son of 22 is a different story.

I generally don't tell. I don't show a routine until I think it is ready. I will do the entire routine for her and ask for comments. Then I will preform the trick a few times at various speeds to see if she can spot how it is done.

I generally don't tell. I don't show a routine until I think it is ready. I will do the entire routine for her and ask for comments. Then I will preform the trick a few times at various speeds to see if she can spot how it is done.

She has never asked so I never told. But usually I try it out on others first, occasionally her.

My girlfriend doesn't want to be told... but, she's extremely good at backtracking & working out methods. So her reactions provide great feedback!

I sometimes tell my wife when constructing a routine, just to get suggestions on the presentation. she sometimes ask about all the dirty works behind the magic. and I don't mind telling her, she'll forget eventually. but I get a lot of good ideas for performance from her.

My wife tries to figure everything out. Well, I'm sure many do, but for her, she's not really interested in being entertained. She just wants to say "I know how you did that. Or I saw you do...."

She is no fun at all to perform or practice for...

She says "I saw when you peeked the card"

I say "really? When?

She tells me when I got my peek

I say "what did I flash? What do I need to clean up?"

She says "Oh I didn't see anything, you just looked sneaky at that point"

I think, OK... More practice needed...


Harsh critic.

My wife and I have full disclosure. I tell her how tricks are done and she tells me what's in the casserole and what she bought at the mall

My wife usually figures everything out by herself, she doesn't really see the tricks as laypeople do.
(She has read a book or two written by Liu Qian on magic techniques so that probably helps her too)
If I can stump her though, I know that trick is a keeper as shes usually able to catch others as well

Shes much better than a mirror as she is so incredibly picky and critical.
Her feedback is usually very constructive and helpful so its better for me in the long run.
She gets the test run of a new trick before I bring it outside of the house.
Sometimes she asks me not to tell her how its done as she enjoys that magic feeling quite a bit.

Overall, I don't mind letting her in on it when she wants to be.
I can get some points and tips from a safe / trustworthy outside perspective that have at times really improved my performance.
We are both working performers. I do the magic shows and she does the belly dancing shows.

sorry to go on a mini tangent, my wife has been a huge supporter of my hobby/job.

Your comments struck a chord with me, Veirs. I agree totally!

It's so important to be able to show tricks to "non-magicians" because that's who we're supposed to be performing for

Never tell a secret to a woman.

As with many of you, I practice new tricks/routines on my wife, and she is constructively critical with my presentation, which is great (helps a lot with angle issues!).

I reveal certain things to her, but if she really got fried, then I (and usually, she) would rather keep the mystery (unless the couch is threatened of course!).

My wife hate when I tell her how a trick works. I will normally only show her if I need her to focus on what I see is a potential weak spot or a trick we sell. (she has to understand the ones we sell) I consider her an assistant.