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December 16, 2025 13 mins

The Strawberry Letter heard on The Steve Harvey Morning Show Tuesday, December 16th, 2025. Subject: "I Can Tell by the Smell"

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is time now for today's Strawberry Letter, and if
you need advice on relationships, work, sex, parenting, are more,
please submit your Strawberry Letter to Steve HARVEFM dot com
and click submit Strawberry Letter.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
We could be reading your letter live on the air.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Just like we're gonna read this one right here, right now,
and you never know, it could be yours, right Junior.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's right, it could be yours right now, ladies, Joy's
time for the Strawberry Letter with my good friend, Shirley Strawberry.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Thank you, my good friend. Junior's subject.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
I can tell by the smells this yearn Shirley. I've
been married for almost forty years. I have a thirty
eight year old son that has moved back into my house,
and my husband is overjoyed to have a running buddy.
They're out from sun up to sundown on Saturdays, and
I was cool with it at first until one of
my son's friends approached my husband and I.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
At the grocery store recently.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
His name, her name is Muriel, and she's got a
small restaurant that a lot of single men and women
hang out at, eating, drinking and carrying on. I didn't
know that my husband was hanging out at Muriels until
I smelled her. She smelled like she had been in
a kitchen and then sprayed some cheap body spray over
the grease smell in her clothes. That is what my

(01:15):
husband smells like when he comes home, comes in late
at night with our sons. I asked her how things
were going down at the restaurant, and she said things
are going great and looked at my husband. I stayed
tight lipped until we got in the car. I asked
if he'd been hanging out at her place, and he
said it's a place for our son's friends, not an

(01:36):
old man like him.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
His clothes sure do smell like he's been to.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Muriels a few times, and he even had a little
of Muriels.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Fragrance on his shirt before.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
He couldn't possibly be messing around with Muriel because she
is not a petite woman. He's five to nine and
Muriel is a tall woman. I could not get the
truth out of my husband nor my son. My son
said he hangs out there sometimes, but his dad is
never with him. I asked him where his dad is
while he's hanging out at Muriels and he said he

(02:08):
didn't know. I am too old to be driving by
Muriels looking around for my husband. If nothing is going on,
why does he smell like a cafe? Why won't they
tell me the truth? Okay, Sis, now you know that's
not happening. You know that's not gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
The truth.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Uh uh sorry, ma'am. But he's not going to tell
you the truth because he can't.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
He won't, He ain't. He refuses to.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
He wants to keep on cheating, on and on and
on whatever he's been with Muriel, because he knows how
you will react. He's never gonna admit that. Okay, He's
never gonna admit that, because he knows you're gonna go
off on him. You'll be mad, you'll be hurt, you'll
be customed, you'll be angry, you'll be upset, devastated, betrayed,
want to leave them, want to kill him, all of
those things. So many many reasons why he won't tell

(02:56):
you the truth. You know, cheating and lying go together.
You know, you usually don't do one without the other,
and you usually don't have one without the other. Or
that would be some sort of open relationship if he
told you the truth. You know that he was sleeping
with Muriel, then you know that's like an open relationship.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
He's letting you know what he's doing.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Okay, I just think you know he's a typical cheater
who wants his cake and eat it too. If you're
in a restaurant, sometimes the smell might get in your clothes,
depending on what's.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
On the menu.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
I'll give you that, But that does not explain Miss
Muriel's perfume on him, her fragrance. Like you said, he
had to be in close contact with her.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
But here's the thing.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
If you're waiting for him, waiting around for him to
tell you the truth, forget it. That's not going to
happen from him or your son. They're thick of Steve's
right now. So do you, I say, trust your instincts. Okay,
if it looks like a duck and smells like a
duck in this case, you already know what's up.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Steve.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
It's so much to unpack in this lesson.

Speaker 5 (04:00):
Yeah, first of all, I've been married for almost forty
years and got a thirty eight year old son.

Speaker 4 (04:10):
Let's just say.

Speaker 5 (04:12):
They got married at twenty Okay, they had a child
two years later. Let's just say that.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
That means that the woman is sixty.

Speaker 5 (04:29):
Now you're thirty eight year old. To move back in
the house with y'all. You got a running maiden. They
hang out all the time. And then one of your
friends approached you all at the grocery store. The friend
happened to be a woman named Miriam, who's got a
restaurant that a lot of single people hang out at, eating,
drinking and all that. Now you say, I didn't know

(04:49):
that your husband, your husband was hanging out at Muriels
until I smelled her. Oh lord, so we got a
marriage hanging in the balance based off your skills as
a blood hound. Boy, ain't this letter taking an ignatic

(05:12):
turn right here?

Speaker 4 (05:14):
See women out?

Speaker 5 (05:16):
I respect you all for you on forensic skills, and
I respect you all for you all's intuition. I really do.
I don't think there's none greater. But this whole letter
is based on smell.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
Now what is he?

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Now?

Speaker 5 (05:32):
I'm gonna struggle with this one with you a little bit.
I gotta be honest with you. She got a small
restaurant single man hang out. You didn't know your husband
was hanging out the mirrors until I smelled her. She
smelled like she had been in the kitchen and sprayed
cheap body spray over the grease smell in her clothes.

Speaker 4 (05:49):
Dark gonna.

Speaker 5 (05:50):
That is what my husband smelled like when he come
home late at night with our.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
Sons, Dump Dundune.

Speaker 5 (05:57):
What you met smells? See Now, if your husband and
Muriel was right next to each other smelling just like
each other at the same time, I got you. But
these are never they together with the same smell.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
Oh, lord, lady.

Speaker 5 (06:20):
I asked her how things were going down in her restaurant.
She said, things are going great, and then looked at
my husband. They going great. Oh she knows you're down now.
There's a way out of this for him.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
See.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
But then we got.

Speaker 5 (06:35):
To deal with some other facts too, lady, So I'll
be right man.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
All right, hang on, Steve, Part two of your responses
coming up at twenty three minutes after the hour. The
subject of today's strawberry letter. I can tell by the smell.
All right, we'll get back into it right after this.
You're listening Steve.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
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Ai and Amazon. All right, come on, Steve, let's recap
today's strawberry letter. I can tell by the smell I
want to see you weasel and wiggle your way out
of this.

Speaker 5 (07:37):
Come on, Well, this lady's been married forty years, got
a thirty eight year old son.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
He'd have moved back into the house with the husband.

Speaker 5 (07:43):
They hang out a lot, and everything was cool with
y'all hanging out until one of your son's friends came
saw you and your husband at the grocery store. Her
name was Muriel. She got a small restaurant that a
lot of single people hang out at it. And then
you didn't know that your husband was hanging out in
me until I smelled her. She smelled like she had

(08:07):
been in the kitchen and sprayed. Somebody spray over the
grease smell in her clothes. That is what my husband
smells like when he come in late at.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
Night with our son.

Speaker 5 (08:19):
Okay, lady, So, now, like I said, you got a
marriage that's hanging in the balance based on smells. So
I asked her how things was going down at the restaurant.
She said things was going great, and then looked at
my husband. I stayed tight lipped. Now this is the

(08:43):
pro that women are fellas. I stayed tight lipped until
we got in the car.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
Wo.

Speaker 4 (08:49):
That car was crowded when they got in there.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
Oh, that car was crowded when they got in that car.
I asked if he'd been hanging out at her place,
and he said, that's a place for our son's friends.
What I'm doing down there, girl, I don't go down
there now. My son be down there at that place.
Not an old man like me. His clothes should do
smell like. He's been the Muriel a few times, and

(09:15):
he's even had a little Muriel's fragrance on his shirt before. Okay, now, lady, lady,
hold on, now, you mean you never mentioned a female
fragrance on his shirt before today. If you thought it
was a female fragrance on that you didn't say nothing. Then, See,

(09:37):
I this why I'm a little bit confused. I think
her mine is playing tricks on a little bit. He
couldn't possibly be messing in out here where she couldn't
start losing it. He couldn't possibly mess around with Murrol
because she's not a petite woman.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
He fired nine and Muriel is a tall woman.

Speaker 5 (09:53):
Now this is where when Tommy's not here, I take
full advantage the situation because we have somebody when I
s five nine and and you know, and most women
to him is not petit.

Speaker 4 (10:07):
Because he's petit.

Speaker 5 (10:12):
Your husband is the same size as time he fired nine,
and Muriel is a tall woman.

Speaker 4 (10:20):
You know, if you find nine, a lot of tall
women in your life.

Speaker 5 (10:23):
I can't rarely meet tall women myself personally, but you
know I ain't no little petite man.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
I could not get the truth out of my husband
nor my son.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
What truth?

Speaker 4 (10:35):
What you want him to say?

Speaker 5 (10:36):
Yeah, I was back in the kitchen with Mrel and
we was hugging so tight that the smell from her
restaurant and fragrance is on my shirt. That's you think
you finna get that truth? My son said, he hangs
out there sometimes, but his dad is.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
Never with him.

Speaker 5 (10:52):
That's a true statement, because if his dad is at
the restaurant, he's not with him because your boy be
out there in the front with the single piece. But
your son ain't the best judgment either, because he didn't
just move back into the house at thirty eight, so
he ain't doing all that good like father likes.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
So this is a mess, hot mess.

Speaker 5 (11:14):
I am too old to be driving by Muriels looking
around for my husband. If nothing is going on, why
does he smell like a cafe?

Speaker 4 (11:24):
Well, let me tell you something. Do I think he's
been down there?

Speaker 6 (11:28):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (11:29):
Yeah, yeah, I do. Do I think he been in
the kitchen?

Speaker 5 (11:32):
Yeah, But if it's a small cafe, the food set
probably everywhere, right, so he would necessarily have to go
in the back.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
Muriel owns the restaurant. She come out and hug all
the customers.

Speaker 5 (11:45):
You hugged with five nine he little bitty man, big
mreld and put on around and put everything on his
he didn't have on when he came in there, because
when he hugged her, fragrance is all in the top
of his hair. Big amrield and put him up on
one of her breasts and got him in the head
like and hugged him, and he liked that, and he
come home every night with that smell on him. That

(12:07):
could be all that is. I don't think they seeing
each other, none of that. If nothing is going on,
why does he smell like?

Speaker 4 (12:15):
Now?

Speaker 5 (12:15):
Why won't they tell me the truth? Now, let's just
deal with this right here. Why would he tell you
the truth?

Speaker 2 (12:22):
Because the truth matters?

Speaker 5 (12:23):
See, no, girl, the truth will all the smell fitn't
get him a divorce? She finish start driving by murals
in the car based on some older detection skills she
has as a bloodhound.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Well, if he if he was, if he wasn't calm down,
if he wasn't doing anything, why didn't he just say, yeah,
I hang out with at muriels.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
Why didn't you just say that, No.

Speaker 4 (12:48):
You don't want to do that.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
Why now?

Speaker 5 (12:50):
Because that's too much Now, So now I ain't been
down I don't know. Why would I hang out there?
He didn't say he wouldn't down there? He listened to me. Yeah,
he said no, no man, no, no, no, no, no,
that's not what he said.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Okay, what he say Let me see, I'm gonna give
you the quote he did not lie. He did not lie.
He did not give her all the information. He said,
it's a place for our son's friend, not an old
man like me.

Speaker 4 (13:22):
They ain't say he ain't say he ain't been down there.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
Uh huh.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
But she can smell that he's been down there, all right. Lady.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Comments on Today's Strawberry Letter on Instagram and Steve Harvey FM,
and check out the Strawberry Letter podcast on demand.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
Everybody's your Favorite Place, Cousin Junior.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
We want to thank you for rocket with the Steve
Harvey Morning Show all year long.

Speaker 6 (13:42):
It is the holiday season and we want.

Speaker 3 (13:44):
To wish you a very merry Christmas, for the Sea
Harry Morning Show, and especially for your favorite place, Cousin Junia.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
Man.

Speaker 4 (13:49):
I love y'all. Happy holidays.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
You're listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show.
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Shirley Strawberry

Shirley Strawberry

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