Tom Tangney gives Cupid the day off for Valentine’s Day

Love might be in the air, but Cupid can feel free to skip KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney again this Valentine’s Day.

Tom admits for years he steadfastly refused to do anything special on the day, sparking an annual fight with his wife Paige in the early days of their marriage.

“I felt like it was calling upon me to be out of character in such a way that I wasn’t being true to myself,” Tom says of his unwillingness to buy candy, flowers or even a card.

“It’s this expression of love that seems so kind of forced and artificial. I’m a very loving guy in ways that are not obviously loving,” he laughs.

Suffice it to say Paige didn’t feel the same way. Each year her expectations for a romantic day went unfulfilled, and she didn’t hesitate to express her disappointment. It was a cold war of sorts that Tom says finally thawed when he realized his stand wasn’t doing anyone any favors, and Paige softened her stance as well.

“We realized this is ridiculous. I mean we’re perfectly rational adults who can get along great. The wisdom of age I think is, you know, this is not a fight worth having.”

And since he’s given in, he’s going all out – in his own way. Tom brags he actually got his wife two cards this year, not just one.

“One of them is funny, the other is sentimental, so I’ve got her totally covered,” he laughs. He was going to order flowers online as well. But Tom says he tried that last year, and the flowers got there late. So this year he’s sticking to paper.

Surprisingly, he’s not alone. A new survey by RetailMeNot says about 18 percent of people in relationships weren’t planning to spend anything on their partner this year.