Woman Upset After Her 34-Year-Old Boyfriend Forces Her To ‘Split The Bill’ On An Unexpected Valentine’s Day Date With His Parents
He even made her pay the tip.
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock A disheartened woman took to Reddit to share her Valentine's Day horror story that not only included a date with her long-distance boyfriend's parents but also splitting half their bill as well!
Her boyfriend forced her to pay for half the bill plus a tip while out on a Valentine’s Day date with his parents.
The 20-year-old woman shared that she made plans to travel over 15 hours from California to see her boyfriend, who lives in Alabama, on Valentine's Day. Although exhausted, she made it to his house at about midnight on Valentine's Day, but perhaps her hours of travel were an omen that she should have just stayed home.
That evening, the couple wanted to make the night special since it would be their first Valentine’s Day together. They planned on going to a sushi bar and walking around town.
His parents kindly offered to drive them to their destination, but that ride turned into a double date at a Mexican restaurant instead.
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Her boyfriend and his parents ordered drinks and expensive meals.
Not only did her boyfriend order tequila for the table, but he ordered expensive margaritas, as well. To make matters worse, his mom didn't even like the drinks!
As they ordered food, she was keenly aware that her boyfriend and parents all got $30 meals, she only got an $11 meal. Assuming that the two couples would split the bill she wanted to keep her share of the meal inexpensive since she was on a budget.
That's not what her boyfriend had in mind, however.
“You’re sending me half of this bill because I want to pay for my parents,” he said.
Needless to say, she was confused. By this point, the bill was well over $100, and she didn't want to discuss her financial situation in front of his parents so she kept quiet. But drinks continued to flow and, once the bill came, it was about $230.
“You are splitting this with me,” he reminded her, even asking her to pay the tip.
She ended up paying half of the bill plus a tip without arguing about it, as she wanted the night to be over and hoped they could discuss it privately the next day.
The boyfriend refused to discuss their awkward Valentine's Day date.
Irritated about the events from the night before, she confronted her boyfriend about the situation. She expressed her disappointment that the holiday wasn't spent together alone.
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“We just went where they wanted to go... and I ended up fronting over $100 after you put me on the spot,” she tried to explain.
Her boyfriend just wasn't willing to understand her position, however. She tried to reason with him, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
"I loveeee your parents it’s nothing against them," she assured, "but I didn’t think we’d be spending Valentine’s Day with them too, they could’ve went out and had dinner together."
Sadly, the Valentine's Day she had put so much stock into might very well be the end of their relationship.
Communication is key in ensuring expectations in relationships are met.
The girlfriend had every right to be upset in this situation, but at the same time, it was her responsibility to let her boyfriend know how important celebrating together truly was. Had she said to him, "let's save dinner with your parents for tomorrow night" and he still ignored her request, it would be a different story.
The same goes for splitting the bill. She should have been comfortable enough with him to say, that's not something I can afford right now.
It's obvious, however, that as a couple they struggle with communicating, but it's an important lesson to learn, and one that will serve them both well should they stay together, or not.
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.