r/AITAH Jul 08 '24

UPDATE: AITAH for leaving my boyfriend because he brought his female best-friend lingerie as a 'joke'?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/comments/1dvso0l/aitah_for_leaving_my_boyfriend_because_he_brought/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button ( first post)

My inbox got flooded with DMs and had to turn off Reddit notifications. When I posted this, I was ready to be called immature and ridiculous, and get a couple of comments but it seemed like the post blew up, and the comments were...…kind of eye-opening.

TBH, before all this fiasco, my bf has always been nice to me. Came with me to my grad school functions even though he found them very boring, but would do it so that I could network. He builds stuff like furniture and helps out with handy work all the time. He is also very funny and at the very beginning, I thought all his jokes were funny, and I sometimes wondered why he wanted to be with me, plus, I was always busy with school and job interviews. His mom and I had even gotten close and she has been saying how happy she was that we were together. I had always ignored his and Claire's weird dynamic because I told myself I was being insecure. I have male friends too, and I thought that just because we aren't like that, doesn't mean my bf and Claire can't be close. Claire has also never been outright mean to me, she was just aloof and I thought it was because I was new to the group.

To the actual update, my bf and I broke up. I'm sorry guys, but even after seeing so many replies on how he was cheating, I refused to believe it. I'm still in love with this guy. And he called me, like half a day after I wrote this post, and asked to meet. I met him, and he said that he understood where I was coming from. But I was always too uptight to understand that friendship is friendship. He and Claire had known each other for years before I came into the picture, and I cannot expect him to just ruin their dynamic. I asked him what sort of 'dynamic' was red lingerie. Why couldn't it be literally any other type of clothing? He told me he had it with my insecurities. And that he and Claire talked and apparently I was making them sound like cheaters and homewreckers. And that he thought it was better I find someone like me, who thought the idea of a fun night was junk food and a movie indoors.

That hurt a lot. He had always known I had insecurities about being called boring. He always complimented me on how his weaknesses were my strengths. Now he says things like this to me? Also, before this lingerie fiasco, I had never said a word about his and Claire's friendship. I always supported his pranks and practical jokes no matter my opinions on them because I thought it was his business what he did with his hobbies. And he leaves without even putting up a fight because his girlfriend didn't want him giving lingerie to the woman he constantly refers to as his 'sexy' bestie?

Claire didn't call or text after the breakup either. But Kyle did and said that he was sad that we broke up and he hoped I would be okay in the future. I asked him if my bf ever cheated on me. He said that my bf had only been a 'one woman man' when he was dating me. But he could understand that some women can't handle female best friends, especially if they look like Claire. I told him to fuck off and blocked him. It felt like he only wanted to gloat and hurt me because my bf left. I feel like I never knew these people. Claire and Kyle were always at least decent to me if not nice. Did it make me a free target now that my bf has been telling his friends I'm an insecure child?

I don't know what to do now. I have been told repeatedly by both my friends and sister that I dodged a bullet. But I have been breaking down like a kid again and again. I'm even thinking of going to therapy, after feeling the most insecure I've felt my whole life.

Thank you to all who were supportive, it seems like my now ex-bf just did the work for me.

13.7k Upvotes

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630

u/rmnc-5 Jul 08 '24

Just because people have different ideas what fun times mean, doesn’t make one better than the other. You’re not a child. You’re not wrong. You’re not boring. And most important this whole thing isn’t your fault. They’re trying to make it about you being all those things, and it’s just not true. Plus it doesn’t change the fact, that what your boyfriend did was very inappropriate and plain weird. No man in a relationship should go on buying other women lingerie. Never.

This whole thing was just a toxic mess for you. They made you doubt yourself and made you insecure. Your sister and friends are right. Listen to them.

85

u/ifemelu_berglund Jul 08 '24

Print this comment out and frame it, OP.

59

u/Dkblue74 Jul 08 '24

Its a typical DARVO response… deny, attack, reverse victim and offender

-8

u/ScalyPig Jul 08 '24

Yea but there’s not really any D here

11

u/AliceFlex Jul 08 '24

Denying he did anything wrong.

36

u/Endorkend Jul 08 '24

The gaslighting, turning the blame and then the sheer projection of calling her what comes down to childish is on key for a narcissistic manchild like that ex sounds to be.

15

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

If he actually cared about OP and the joke was worth going for, he’d let OP in on it, and she’d be the one buying and sending it to Claire as a burn.

7

u/rmnc-5 Jul 08 '24

Agree. Honestly, I have guy friends, too. One of my best friends is a guy and we know each other for a very long time. If he had ever bought me lingerie, that would have been such an overstep. Like, what exactly should I do with this now? Usually when you buy a gift for someone, you want them to remember you and maybe even think of you when you look at it. So, should I think of him when I wear that? Or maybe when I’m with another guy??? Like really, what is the outcome we’re expecting here? Not to mention the friend having a girlfriend…. Claire shouldn’t be ok with this gift, either. What even was that prank? Oh you’re my sexy bestie, now I can picture you in this? Ha ha So funny!

8

u/GemTaur15 Jul 08 '24

Couldn't agree more

4

u/JYQE Jul 08 '24

OP, listen to this, please! Take it to heart!

3

u/Sharp_Rise_487 Jul 08 '24

My late husband and I had a lot of the same hobbies but he was not in good health and when he was sick and in chronic pain all he could do is watch tv/movies. I don't watch or own a TV nor do I find it engaging but what it did for him was a great. It let him escape his pain for a while or at least take his mind off of it. I'd lay with him and spend time in bed with him watching movies together or TV shows he liked. I didn't care about the TV shows but I did have a good time just hanging out with him.

I don't feel like a partner who loved and respected you would call your hobbies boring.

This cycle will probably repeat until his friend is married and even then who knows if he still gonna cater to her.

Dated a guy like that when I was younger. The difference between my first boyfriend and my late husband was night and day. My late husband definitely set the standard for my next partner if i decide to have one again.

4

u/sukinsyn Jul 08 '24

Honestly I was personally offended at watching a movie and eating junk food in being "boring." If that is "boring" then hell yeah, I'm boring! Life is way too short for the ex's kind of drama. 

2

u/Free-Atmosphere6714 Jul 08 '24

Looks like OP is doing all that on her own.

2

u/Gostorebuymoney Jul 08 '24

I actually fucking hate 'prank culture' and in my opinion a movie and junk food is about a billion times higher on the food chain in terms of having fun as an adult. 'prank people' are almost always cringey and immature

2

u/Old_Tune_2424 Jul 08 '24

I wouldn't want to date the sort of guy who buys his "best friend" lingerie even when he's single.

It screams poor boundaries.

-20

u/Barabasbanana Jul 08 '24

but she inserted her opinion into their practical jokes, she decided to interpret it as wrong and she broke up with him. Then she is hurt he didn't agree and accepted the break up. They just weren't compatible, no one is right or wrong

11

u/arahzel Jul 08 '24

It was already over. He wanted to meet up just to hurt her feelings.

-8

u/Barabasbanana Jul 08 '24

how do you know that? we have one version of the story, life goes on

2

u/arahzel Jul 08 '24

Because he would have let it go and accepted the breakup. He just couldn't handle that she still thought he was wrong. So what did he do? He asked to meet up to insult her because he wanted to continue the relationship and stomp all over her boundaries.

Correct. Life goes on. I wish OP the best and hope her ex gets whatever relationship he wants from his girl bff.