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I thought he liked her "independence?"
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Feb 28, 2023
Blossoming relationships can be fun to traverse around — you never know when to take the next step or how early is too early to bring your partner to meet your family.
One man on Reddit, however, thought it was a perfect time two months into his relationship with his girlfriend after his parents suggested he bring her to their lake house for a weekend.
When he asked her, things took a turn for the worst and he ended up unsatisfied with her answer, resorting to Reddit’s “r/AmItheA--hole” (AITA) subreddit to see if he handled the situation poorly.
He was upset with his girlfriend after she chose to see a Broadway show instead of meeting his parents.
At the beginning of his post, the 26-year-old man touts his 25-year-old girlfriend for being “quite independent,” but seems to quickly renege his praises soon after her independence doesn’t cater to his liking.
“Last weekend, my mom called me to tell me she, my dad, and my sister would be going to our lake house for a weekend in a few weeks and asked if I could come,” he wrote.
He added that his mother said he should bring his girlfriend if he wanted to, admitting that “it could be a little early, but I was excited for her to meet them.”
The stage was set for a perfect weekend where she could meet the family, but she had plans of her own.
“She had previously bought tickets to a touring Broadway show months before we started dating and it was going to be the weekend my family would be at the lake,” he wrote after she had politely declined the invitation.
After he asked her to skip the show, she explained that the ticket was non-refundable and that she wanted to see it “at least once live.”
She even went as far as to suggest a rain check for meeting his parents as she would love to at a more suitable time.
“I thought it was weird that she never mentioned it and asked if someone was going with her. She said no, which honestly isn’t unusual,” he continued.
He pressed once again, and she remained resilient, adding that she had purchased several other Broadway tickets for the future that she also planned on attending alone since she bought them before they started dating — now, a second issue arises.
“I told her I found it hurtful she would do things that didn’t include me and wouldn’t consider canceling them since she had a boyfriend,” he wrote.
As one would normally expect, the issue wasn’t that she didn’t want him to come — in fact, she even said that if he could get another ticket then she would be happy if he came, “but honestly I hate musicals.”
He finds the whole ordeal to be “weird,” and asks “am I really asking too much for her to not do things by herself since we are together now?”
The people of the AITA subreddit let him know that he was definitely asking too much.
“Do you know how f--king expensive theater tickets are? It cost me 1200 to take my Mom to see Wicked and it sure as hell wasn't Broadway,” the top comment reads. “Further, there's a definite expiration date on live performances. Just because you can see one now doesn't mean next year you'll still be able to.”
However, none of this compares to what the real problem is — the boyfriend.
“Frankly, all I see is you trying to manipulate her emotionally to [get] her to do what you want her to do. I’d tell her to get rid of your a-- and enjoy the shows,” they ended their comment.
Many people agreed with the girlfriend and said that her life does not and should not revolve around him, no matter how long they’ve been in a relationship.
Others pointed out how strange it is that he doesn’t want her to do things without him, but doesn’t want to do the things she enjoys with her, with some saying that he’s too “immature” to be in a relationship.
He had originally praised her independence but got mad when she decided to be independent.
Hopefully, she’ll enjoy her shows without him.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.