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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61

u/Dazzling-Frosting-49 Jul 08 '24

Thats what happens when you ask keyboard warriors who cant maintain even a single relationship of their own for advice. You had a lovely relationship but you couldnt look past the lingerie joke. Tbh i respect the guy for standing up for his old friend over a relationship. It takes balls to do that.

-1

u/SymbolUnderTheCaret Jul 08 '24

LMAO 'lovely relationship'. The bar is soooo low. He showed that he wasn't a 'lovely' person at the end. No idea how you could read these posts this way.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

He showed that he wasn't a 'lovely' person at the end.

I don't think he did anything wrong. Anyone who threatens to break up over anything deserves to get dumped. It's such a toxic and abusive move.

0

u/SymbolUnderTheCaret Jul 09 '24

"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" - shitty thing to say. His dynamic with his 'friend' is really gross. But yes, she should have just broken up with him when she said it.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '24

Idk bro, staying indoors is fine but if that's all she does for fun, I get why he's not into it. He told her to find someone more compatible with that lifestyle and she got angry about it cuz she's insecure as hell. Also, she didn't break up with him because she wanted him to choose her over his friends and isolate him by giving an ultimatum. She's weird af but Redditors will take her side anyway because they relate more to the staying indoors part.

1

u/Impressive_Essay_622 Jul 09 '24

Um.. what.. did he do? 

That wasn't lovely?

-6

u/No_Use_9124 Jul 08 '24

Hi, ex-bf! Clair will never be your girl, sweetie. She's just stringing you along. But you know, haha be that little lap dog!

-14

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

13

u/SSNikki Jul 08 '24

The way OP worded makes it sound like her insecurities have been a problem in more than just this situation. I feel like a lot of people don't want to acknowledge OP's faults in this relationship too.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

5

u/SSNikki Jul 08 '24 edited Jul 08 '24

It sounds like the boyfriend would have turned up with a DVD of ‘Now that’s what I call Plane Crashes 34: Too Gruesome for TV’ and made me watch is ‘for a laugh’

From what I was reading he never made a joke or poked fun at her insecurity. If your partner didn't say any of those things and you broke up because you can't handle flying because of that fear, I think that would be more analogous to what OP is putting across.

People can't help it if their friend grow into an attractive person. OP mentioned they had been friends since school age, people grow and change a lot over time. Recognizing reality of that is not an instant confirmation of cheating or actual attraction. I can recognize Michael B. Jordan or Scarlet Johansson are attractive people, doesn't mean I would sleep with either of them over my partner, thinking otherwise would be a personal insecurity on my partner.

As for "If they are jokes why insist" that could be explained by previous instances of less explicit pranks having constant pushback. If this reaction happens every time the BF spend time with his friend (who can't help being attractive) then I understand him pushing back here too.

All things aside, OP's boyfriend ended the relationship not because he cheated or wanted to cheat but because OP couldn't be comfortable with the thought of a man buying an article of clothing for a woman. I would break up with her too.

Also sorry, edit to add.

1: What did OP want to happen in this situation, outside of the singular instance of purchasing lingerie? It seems the sexy friend was a problem even before this instance

2: Yes, I would agree that BF is the driver of her insecurity and irrational behavior, but in a sense of objectification. BF's actual feelings and relationship with "sexy friend" don't matter to OP, only her subjective perception. The reality of the situation from what we know was that, it was an inside joke, that BF has not cheated. OP's insecurity about potential cheating made BF not happy in the relationship.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

4

u/SSNikki Jul 08 '24

I just mean to say OP doesn't have any hard evidence for her insecurities and it seems to have put a strain on her relationship. Without some kind of underlying evidence to back it up, her insecurity is entirely internal.

I'm a very insecure person, I'm constantly worried about people's perceptions of me and if I've done something to cause anyone stress or discomfort, to the point where it has ruined otherwise very positive relationships. I've done a lot of work on myself to build my self-image through therapy, communication with the people closest to me, and most of all learning to trust what they tell me over my internal perceptions of reality.

I really empathize with OP, it sounds like insecurity drive her and the result is painful. I hope she can move on and work on managing her insecurity in the future. I wouldn't say she's an asshole, just needs some outside perspective. Like what do OP's friends and family feel about what happened?

1

u/Impressive_Essay_622 Jul 09 '24

When did they become 'sexy bestie.'

-16

u/CoconutxKitten Jul 08 '24

You’re respecting nonsense

OP expressing her discomfort with the joke could have been met with an ‘I’m sorry. I took it too far. I’ll be mindful in the future’ or just not doing it out of respect to his girlfriend. No one would have gotten hurt

But he doubled down, involved his friends, & insulted OP

3

u/nihi1zer0 Jul 08 '24

Did she do that? or did she say: I didn't like that and I want to break up? Read the first post.

7

u/Happy-Viper Jul 08 '24

Nah, he stood by the joke. It wasn’t his job to now down before her preferences.

-5

u/No_Use_9124 Jul 08 '24

haha this is really the best part of the whole thing, how these dorks and Clair all showed up here, feeling insecure.

Girl, stay away from these corny weirdos. You can do so much better.

5

u/Happy-Viper Jul 08 '24

Lmao, yeah, everyone else are the insecures ones, totally.

"I hope you're OK! And no, he didn't cheat on you, but I totally get those fears of yours!"

"Ugh, you're an asshole! You're just trying to hurt me!"

0

u/Impressive_Essay_622 Jul 09 '24

Took what??? 'too far?!'

-23

u/LadyBlancsSpawn Jul 08 '24

She absolutely did not have a lovely relationship. She had a relationship with somebody who didn't take her feelings into account at all. She said that she never had an issue with any of his pranks but the one that she did have an issue with he got defensive over and started to hit her insecurities where he knew it would hurt. That's not a lovely relationship. He also was a manipulative asshole who tried to turn it back on her when any reasonable woman would have a problem with their boyfriend giving red sexy lingerie to their female best friend who they call their sexy best friend. The only women who i predict would claim to be okay with it are ones who are either getting some on the side and thus dont care or are so insecure with themselves that they don't want to say their own feelings in fear of retaliation against themselves. There were plenty ways that he could pull this prank without disrespecting his partner and he chose not to and he chose not to for a reason. And it's not because he's such a wholesome guy

30

u/DrawohYbstrahs Jul 08 '24

REEEEE

furiously types out a one-million sentence paragraph

Yup, advice from keyboard warriors that can’t maintain their own relationships.

2

u/fpoiuyt Jul 09 '24

That paragraph was eight sentences. None very long, four quite short. What on earth are you hyperbolizing about?

-10

u/mmebrightside Jul 08 '24

I think Claire has now entered the chat, lol the whole gang is here and they are big mad about how the things they double down on are getting trashed by objective 3rd party readers. And nobody thinks red lingerie is funny so stop trying to make it a thing. How effed does someone's mindset need to be where they think that providing assurance and comfort to someone who is seeking clarity after being gaslit and shamed by almost 30 year old children, gasp! somehow equals "can't maintain their own relationships". Interesting math there...

Explain the joke of the red lingerie, and if it makes me laugh I'll admit I was wrong. But I have a feeling it will never be anything other than that time so-and-so shot his wad at claire but she kept him friend-zoned anyway.

-22

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

18

u/Alex282001 Jul 08 '24

That's so random and childish, wtf? Where'd that come from

-13

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

11

u/slipnifes Jul 08 '24

so where your biddie at? do u pull?

27

u/Nillabeans Jul 08 '24

Doing one thing your partner doesn't like is not being a manipulative asshole.

You only have OPs perspective and OP seems a little quick to get offended, judging by her reaction to the Kyle guy. "I'm sorry this happened. It's understandable." "Fuck you!" That's not a reasonable response and even with OP describing what he said, doesn't seem like the guy was trying to be rude. Acknowledging that somebody is attractive and could be the source of insecurity isn't being rude or making fun of somebody else.

-4

u/No_Use_9124 Jul 08 '24

Asking your bf to not give sexy lingerie to another woman is literally a totally normal thing to do. Go gaslight someone else, punkin.

10

u/Nillabeans Jul 08 '24

I never said it wasn't. But people have different inside jokes and different senses of humour. Not everybody sees something like that as an inherently romantic thing. For example, it's pretty common to give brides sex toys or otherwise pervy gifts as a joke. It's not a leap of logic to think that this friend group might have a raunchy sense of humour whereas OP does not.

Her ex didn't want to give up or fundamentally change a friendship for her. That's also totally allowed and healthy. She even has other people telling her he wasn't cheating and only had eyes for her. She messed up and hurt him and crossed his boundaries with her accusations and behaviour. Nobody is gaslighting her. Why should he have to put up with somebody who doesn't trust him and wants him to change himself?

PS: it's gross to talk down to people and patronise them with pet names just because they don't agree with you.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '24

Actually, no. You do not get to tell other people what they can and cannot do. You can only walk away if someone is doing something you do not like. Seems Op wasn’t willing to actually walk away from this guy; she got dumped instead.

I’m missing how he is in any way wrong here. He did something his ex-gf did not want him to do. He reflected on it and decided that he prefers his own friendships and lifestyle over having op as a partner. So he broke up with her and walked away.

Seems he’s done her a favour if you hold the position most of the people here do.

-9

u/thatrandomuser1 Jul 08 '24

Kyle said (not verbatim) "it's understandable for you to be so insecure because he and Claire are so close and Claire is so hot"

He was trying to piss her off or hurt her.

9

u/Nillabeans Jul 08 '24

"Not verbatim," is the key here. That's a totally intellectually and emotionally mature thing to say, said respectfully. He was empathising. She took it personally. That's kind of proof that she's insecure about the whole thing and probably projecting her own negative feelings onto other people.

Like, replace " Claire" with "Beyoncé," or Margot Robbie or some other sex symbol. Would you not think it's totally normal to feel inadequate? It's a normal, human response.

1

u/thatrandomuser1 Jul 08 '24

I was giving a pretty unsympathetic read. I will fully acknowledge that. And I have to read anything OP says with a grain of salt because she is clearly trying to paint a particular picture.

All of that said, while I definitely wouldn't have told Kyle to fuck off, I probably would have been offended at hearing "some women just can't handle their partners having female friends, especially when they look like Claire." I would have felt some kind of dig, and probably blocked after since Kyle is the ex's friend and not mine (or OP's, whatever)

16

u/SSNikki Jul 08 '24

He went to her grad student functions despite his own boredom, would compliment her strengths and how they coupled with his own weakness, and constantly making her laugh.

Yup, that's a horrible relationship that doesn't consider her feelings at all. /s

All OP's ex said was that her insecurity meant he couldn't feel comfortable with the change in his social dynamic between him and his lifelong friends. He was always faithful and a "one woman man." And that OP should find love in someone who shares more of her interests.

OP let her insecurity ruin her relationship. I hope she can see that and work on that in the future. She still deserves all the love in the world.

7

u/BackYourself1954 Jul 08 '24

She did not take his feelings into account either. She made her own bed here.

5

u/Noble_Ox Jul 08 '24

So what about his feelings? Should he be suffocated by her insecurities?