Nothing sets social media ablaze like a good debate. And this wild Reddit post on who should pay travel bills was…a lot.
A user on the popular Reddit thread ‘Am I The Asshole’ posed a question to the platform to get some outside perspective on an issue that he’s probably now wishing he kept to himself. The poster stated that he and his girlfriend of two years shared all bills 50/50 since the beginning of their relationship. Things got a bit complicated, however, when they agreed to go on an expensive international vacation with his seemingly wealthy family.
For context, he works as an IT consultant pulling in $150,000 a year, while his girlfriend is a teacher with a $45,000 per year salary. To prepare for the travel bills, she picked up a second job as a waitress on weekends. But even that extra income wasn’t enough to offset the costs of the trip. She opted out of several activities like wine tasting and scuba diving and only ate two meals per day.
“My parents thought it was very strange that she only eats 2 meals a day, although normally she eats 3,” he shared.
The Reddit user reportedly asked his girlfriend about the change in habits saying that he heard her stomach growling at one point and claiming to be “concerned about her having an eating disorder.”
She admitted being unable to afford the expensive itinerary, including more meals, and feeling overwhelmed by the whole ordeal.
“She doesn’t know if this is going to work long term if she is expected to go on vacations like that with people who make so much more than her,” he explained, adding, “I feel bad that I did not pick up on her discomfort sooner. But we did agree to split everything 50/50 and I don’t know why she agreed to come if the cost was an issue.”
In a move that should surprise no one, the other users overwhelmingly agreed that he was indeed the ‘A-hole’ in this situation and gave him the dragging he deserved.
“You make three times what she does. You knew she had to take a second job to be able to go,” said the top voted commenter @Sleepy_felines. “Don’t plan for your budget when you know she makes so much less than you.”
Another user commented, “People who split things 50/50 when they don’t have similar incomes have toxic relationships.”
TeamChaos17 offered an alternative. “He could have covered the entire hotel room, and suggested some lower price point restaurants or told his parents they were going to do their own thing for lunch if they didn’t want to go cheaper.”
Safe to say throwawayj38sld was infuriated.
“How out of touch are you?!?!? She was literally STARVING… How on earth do you know how much disposable income she has, and you believe it was fine that she was having to anxiously figure out how she’d cover travel bills whilst on the trip?”
Twitter users also had a lot to say about the vacation debacle.
This one stressed on the meaning of partnership.
This one chose violence.
And this one pointed the lesson in all of this.
For his par the original Reddit poster appeared to be doubling down on his dubious actions. When one user expressed their desire for the girlfriend to break free from the shackles of this lopsided relationship, he responded:
“I also deserve better. So she can date someone that matches her budget.”
