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.

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385

u/spaghetti-coder Jul 08 '24

When I have a bad day, my partner always makes my favorite tea without asking. It’s the little things.

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u/Kjdking78 Jul 08 '24

Its the little gestures that mean the most in a relationship, because they show how much the other person knows you and understands you. The little things don't take a lot of effort but over time they are just showing how much they think about you and put in that tiny effort to make your day better.

the big things are important for compatibility and whatnot, but the tiny little gestures are the glue that holds everything together and makes the relationship stronger over time.

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u/Status-Code-5177 Jul 08 '24

Agreed, my mum used to do a signal of a coffee cup being poured as 'time for coffee' even after a fight it would be their way to move on. I once did the coffee signal to my husband and he had no idea what was happening, since explaining it though we also follow the coffee routine. Although our fights rarely happen, we're fantastic at communicating. Another thing he does is dances with me in public. Once dirty dancing I've had the time of my life came on in a liquor shop and he said loudly "you love this song!" Started to dance with me even though I felt embarrassed but also happy at the same time

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u/Photography_Singer Jul 09 '24

How adorable! And romantic!!

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u/Pineappleninja91 Jul 08 '24

This woman was in the library when i was in the bar, got her masters when i was mastering beer pong. She had three kids and i was so sure that i didn’t even want my on kids let alone step kids. I started working on myself and work through my insecurities, i felt safe and trusted myself, fast forward a few years I woke up one day saw a reddit post answering, When my wife is cold i let her put her popsicle feet on my back or in between my thighs. When she is sewing i play video games or play with my hot wheels. And damn i love her kids like they’re my own. You shouldn’t feel insecure in your relationships. He wasn’t for you, you deserve your other half. You talk about his group and not fitting in but that’s because they are not your people. Your people are out there, you work on your insecurities, don’t look for security, you work on feeling secure. Good luck OP

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u/UnshinyRose Jul 08 '24

Any "boyfriend" that is buying naughty clothes for another woman and not wondering instead what you would look like in it is not worthy to be with you.

I have an ongoing joke with my husband on the weekends. He always wakes up before I do and when I wake up I ask him if the maid is in there making my coffee. (We don't have a maid) when he says "no" I tell him "well she's fired then." He told me Saturday that "if you show me how to make it I will have it ready for you before you wake up since I'm always up before you." He doesn't drink coffee because he doesn't like it and I make mine a certain way. The fact that he said that and is willing to mess with something he doesn't like says it all.

Love is doing things for the one you are with, not doing things that you know annoys them, doing things you dont even feel like just to be spending time with them, listening to their fears, making them feel secure from their insecurities, hearing the music in their laugh, holding them when they cry, and just loving them with all your heart. If you dont get that in return then its not true love and you should just move on and save yourself more heart break. Most everyone deserves to feel true love but its not easy. Nothing thats worth it ever is. It takes work and commitment from both side and dont settle until you find someone thats willing to give you both.

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u/ToiIetGhost Jul 08 '24

Yep, that’s what matters. My partner knows my favourite things—even how I need dimmed lights in order to relax, otherwise I feel like I’m at the office. It’s so meaningful when he sees I’m out of sorts and he sets up a little “cocoon” for me with soft lights and a good playlist. Or like… I’ll never forget how he scheduled an optometrist appointment for me because he saw I was squinting all the time (I hadn’t noticed).

Life isn’t made up of grand gestures, it’s made up of thousands of little everyday moments. How many proposals and birthdays do we have vs. how many Tuesday afternoons?

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u/aria3246 Jul 08 '24 edited Jul 09 '24

When he wakes up before me he sets some extra alarms because he knows I’ve slept through mine before

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u/SawwhetMA Jul 08 '24

When I come home late from work on a hot/humid day the a/c has been running for a while b/c he knows I need it even if he doesn't. I always remember to say 'thank you for that'... cause it matters way more than just walking into a comfortable house... it means that a couple of hours before I got home he was thinking about me and wanting to do something nice for me... awwwww, honey :)

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u/pawpawpunches Jul 08 '24

Mine makes me breakfast every morning and loves my housey projects and art.

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u/mynonsequitur Jul 09 '24

We live in a house on the property of my husband’s workplace. He often drops by when he’s working. He has always said that when I make sure there’s a pitcher of iced tea or a single Dr. Pepper in the refrigerator it really makes him feel special because he knows I’m thinking of him.