Man Says His Girlfriend Became Irate After He Ate Her Leftover Food — 'I Come From A Culture Where Sharing Food Is Love'
He should have at least asked before taking her food.
simona pilolla 2 / Shuttertstock A 32-year-old man went on Reddit to post about a small predicament he and his 36-year-old girlfriend had gotten into after coming home from “a long stressful day at work.”
He claims that he came home very hungry, so, as any normal person would do, he dug through the fridge in search of something good to eat. In his quest to satiate his hunger, he stumbled upon his girlfriend’s leftovers and, without asking, finished them.
His girlfriend was angry with him after he ate her leftover food — and he doesn’t get why.
Writing into the “r/AmItheA--hole” (AITA) subreddit, he asked people if what he did was wrong, making sure to provide context so that people could understand the entire story.
Photo: Reddit
“I returned home very hungry after a long stressful day at work,” he explained in his post. “I ate some of the leftover food [that] my gf ordered. She was so angry that I ate it and thinks I don’t care or think about her. She thinks I stole her $50 food.”
Short, sweet, and to the point, he explained that she was very angry with him for eating her expensive food, but he quickly retorted with the amount of money he spends on their relationship alone — something that isn’t typically seen as a green flag.
“I spend around $1000-$1500 every month on taking her to restaurants and takeouts,” he explained. “We were just back from [a] $6000 South American trip paid completely by me. Am I the a--hole for eating her food?”
Although the most common forms of financial abuse are thought of to be one person controlling all the money, holding the amount of money you spend on a relationship over someone’s head is another form of financial abuse. It’s essentially gaslighting someone.
However, he claimed that she was the one to bring up finances first and that he never actually said anything about it during their argument.
In his follow-up, he provided an update on their argument and explained a little more.
He claimed, “I come from a culture where sharing food is love. She is from a different culture.” In most cultures, it’s common courtesy to ask before taking someone’s food whether you paid for it or not — which, in this case, it seems like she’s the one who actually purchased it.
Photo: Kristi Blokhin / Shutterstock
“I told her to not bring up money and [that] it’s petty. I explained that it is triggering to me because she cares [more] about [a] one-off leftover $50 meal than caring about me,” he added. “I also offered her that I will order lunch for [the] next day. We both apologized and are good now.”
Although most people in the comments called him the a-hole for taking her food, one person stood against the grain and said that he wasn’t, touching on this exact notion that sharing your food shows your love.
“I think the people who think [you’re the a--hole] have never been in a truly loving relationship before, and I actually feel kind of sorry for them,” they explained.
“In a normal healthy, loving relationship, it's all about give and take. We are all human with flaws and to be so upset over some leftovers is just crazy. It's looking for drama when none has to be, especially when money is not an issue.”
They were right about most things, except that it’s not okay to just hide behind this notion of being a part of “your culture.” If that’s not something that she’s interested in, they should meet somewhere in the middle and, at the very least, he should ask before taking someone else’s food.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.