Man Makes Girlfriend Leave The House For 6+ Hours A Day So She Won't 'Distract' Him — Even Though She Pays Half The Rent
She was rightfully upset at her boyfriend's request.
Andres Ayrton / Shutterstock "I am Canadian and have been in the US for 10 months, where I have been living with my American girlfriend for 7 of them," a man started off a confessional posted to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA).
The subreddit is an online forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them.
In his Reddit post, he explained that his time living in America is "almost up" and he will soon have to return to Canada, where his family is heavily reliant on him making money to support his grandmother and all of her medical needs.
He told his girlfriend she needed to leave their house for six to seven hours a day so she won't 'distract' him.
On top of making enough money to support this family, he also pointed out that he tries to earn more to support and provide for his girlfriend.
"Because I have so many side hustles going on to earn money, I admittedly don't spend a lot of time with my girlfriend, but I've always been open with her that I am not able to give her a lot of attention right now even though I love her more than anything."
His girlfriend recently lost her job and has been spending a lot of time in their one-bedroom apartment because of it.
While she understands that his job keeps him quite busy most of the day, he still doesn't like when she's sitting in the same room as him while he's working.
He argued that her presence is extremely "distracting" as she will often start up conversations while he's trying to work and will leave their space a bit messy.
As a solution, he tried to banish her to their bedroom while he worked in the living room, but she began complaining about being stuck in the room all day.
She tried to point out that the compromise is unfair since she pays half of the rent on the apartment.
When she confronted her boyfriend about him making her stay in their bedroom, she told him that it was unfair since she is just as responsible for the rent as he is.
"So, after a few big fights, we agreed she would leave the house during the day and I would leave the house at night. Well, now she's upset that she's spending all day out of the house."
He told Reddit users that he is unable to leave his home during the day, and can only give his girlfriend space in the evenings for her to come back.
Though, things eventually blew over after he invited his friend over to their apartment to hang out.
While his friend was over, his girlfriend attempted to sit in her usual spot on the couch but was intercepted by her boyfriend, who told her to go eat in the kitchen so she'd have more room.
"She went to the kitchen, but I could tell she was pissed. When I asked her if everything was ok, she said she was tired of me controlling her."
He argued that she was being "selfish" for not "considering" that he needs a certain environment to concentrate while working.
"I am doing all of this for her and my family and one day I will be able to spend all the time in the world with her, but that right now I am really grinding and most strong relationships are built on sacrifice."
A majority of people who commented on the man's Reddit post agreed that he was in the wrong.
"She's right. She pays half the rent. She is entitled to be there," one user wrote.
"If you need isolation to work I suggest you find a secluded location to hide yourself in. Your expectations are unreasonable."
Another user added, "Why did you let her move in if you need her to leave half of waking time? This ask is far too big. She pays half the rent, she shouldn't have to leave half the day."
"It sounds like you need to ask her to move out, which will probably be the end of the relationship. Good luck."
A third user pointed out, "She should be able to use her home too. I understand her giving you space while you're working but it's really just odd that you guys are at the point of not even being in the house together at the same time."
"You even allowed your friend to hang out with no problem but still told her she has to eat somewhere else in the home where she pays half the rent."
A fourth user wrote, "If you were at an office, you understand you would also have to deal with the presence of other people in the office, right? Pretend your home is a real office."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.