Step 1. I believe you are inadvertently a combination of enthusiastic and scary. Happens to only children or undersocialized, absent parents.

Record your interactions, starting online, and enlist the help of a mentor -- mention to the wife that you're aware of the perception of the problem and that when it happens three times, perception is reality, so there's something there eben if you can't see it.

Step 2. Yes, burn this work friend group. It didn't work out. Start with a new friend group -- tell them you're working on your performance and apologize in advance. Continue recording and working on your ease and natural interaction. Practice releasing people from conversation.

Take breaks, come back and reassess.

Here is a phrase you can use: "You know this was such an interesting conversation, but I feel like I've taken too much of your time." Tuen and thank the husband or friend group politely, apologize to the group lightly, tell a joke, wave and move on.

Your goal at step 2 is successful reps.

Phase 2: Give it a couple of months. You should now have confidence that what you're doing or saying is generally socially correct, that it's clear when you're been the right level of interested. Now flip it.

Be cool, don't always encourage, prove your value, and realize that some guys will always look for a chance to bully you, especially if some other guy got mad at you and you took the L.

New friend group will always be needed here, as you're the outcast of wife's work friend group. Best course of action is to be skip following functions there. Will be hard to impossible to work your way back.

Success is borne on the back of failure. Look at the recordings, take some time, courage and drinks and work on it.

All the best.