Woman's Best Friend Leaves Her Stranded At A Restaurant After She Refused To Split The Check, Despite Her Only Ordering Less Than Half Of The Meal

After a woman informed her friend that she would only be covering her portion of the bill after they went out to dinner, her friend became angry since they had always split the check. However, the woman claims that her individual order only accounts for less than half the bill, and believes that it is unfair that she has to continue paying extra expenses. 

Now, the woman is wondering if she was in the wrong for breaking the tradition. 

The woman argues that she should not have to split the check during one dinner with her friend since she only ordered $145 worth of the $560 meal. 

Sharing her story to the subreddit, r/AmITheA–hole, the 25-year-old woman revealed that she and her best friend, Vanessa, have known each other since the second grade and up until the recent incident, have always maintained a healthy friendship. “We've been supportive of each other's successes and accomplishments, and we're always there when one of us needed the other,” she wrote. 

The woman and Vanessa often catch up with one another over dinner and brunch. They have always agreed to split the bill at the end of the meal. 

“We've agreed to do that for a long time, plus it saves time and doesn't complicate things for us and the servers and it didn't matter how much one of us ordered,” the woman explained. 

Vanessa was the one who originally proposed the idea and the two have always stuck to it. Although, the woman claims that she is “not a big eater” and only orders around 15-35% of the total bill. Vanessa on the other hand “always has a huge appetite” and her order accounts for 65-85% of the total bill. 

Photo: frantic00 / Shutterstock

“Recently, Vanessa got a huge promotion at her job for which she has been working her a-- off and she wanted to celebrate, so she suggested that we go out to this fine dining restaurant nearby,” the woman shared. “I agreed because she deserved it.” 

This time, the woman informed Vanessa that she would only be covering her portion of the bill before they placed their orders. Initially, Vanessa seemed okay with the idea until the check arrived and she noticed her friend covering her meal. 

“When she saw that I was actually paying for my own food, she was like, ‘Wait, you were being serious before?’” the woman wrote. “She said, ‘Oh, I wouldn't have ordered so much if I knew you were being serious.” 

The total bill was around $560. The woman claims that she only ordered $145 worth of food. Vanessa was reportedly thrown off and believed that the woman was joking since they had always split the check. 

“I told her that I'm just sick and tired of paying half when I only order a small percentage,” the woman wrote. “She became a bit mad and said, ‘And you just decided to be a b–tch and pull this stunt on the day when I got promoted? Fine then, I will pay for my food.’”

After Vanessa covered her portion of the bill, she got up and left the restaurant, leaving the woman stranded there. 

“She had picked me up at my place and drove us here so I had to call an Uber and pay $36 for the ride home,” the woman shared. The next morning, she revealed that her phone was “full of messages” from her other friends criticizing her for refusing to cover half of the check, calling her a “cheapskate.” 

“I just don't want to overpay so much,” the woman admitted. “It's fine if it's $10-$20 more than what I ordered, but over $50?? That amount can go towards necessities and bills.” 

The woman added that her annual salary is around $90,000, while Vanessa earns six figures given her new promotion. 

Redditors sided with the woman and believed that her friend was taking advantage of her by making her split the check. 

“The fact that she flat out said that she would have ordered less if she knew you weren't subsidizing her meal? She's been doing this, on purpose, for a long time,” one user commented. 

“She got a promotion and wants you to pay more for her to celebrate it,” another user pointed out. 

Others noted that since Vanessa was the one who recommended going out to dinner to celebrate her promotion, she should have been more than satisfied to pay for her own meal, and if she wanted to be even more generous, pay for her friend as well. 

Dining out can be expensive, despite what your paycheck is. It is important to have discussions with your friends beforehand to establish to discuss payment methods and how the check will be divided before going out, especially if you do not want to find yourself in an awkward situation where you are expected to cover a significant amount.

Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.