A young couple who worked at the same company found out something shocking about each other\u2014their paychecks were wildly different. They had no idea until they were already deep into their relationship and getting ready for a future together. Things got even more dramatic when, after getting engaged, the woman decided she wanted to quit her job.<\/p>\n
That decision made people on social media think she was just after money, calling her a gold-digger. But her fianc\u00e9 strongly defended her, saying that wasn\u2019t true at all.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old man, who shared his story on the AITAH subreddit, was really stressed and needed advice. He admitted he was feeling guilty and confused. According to him, he works as a researcher at a major tech company. He met his now-fianc\u00e9e about two and a half years ago during a company event. She worked in the marketing department, and from the moment he saw her, he was hooked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was absolutely smitten,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
He asked her out, and the two of them started dating. Their relationship was solid. He adored her for being smart, supportive, and super organized\u2014qualities that helped balance out his own struggles. He mentioned he has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and often finds it hard to manage everyday tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s so patient with me. She helps me with things that feel impossible for me to handle on my own,\u201d he explained. \u201cShe just makes my life better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her job in marketing was demanding\u2014she planned events and often had to travel, deal with vendors, and stay late at work. Meanwhile, his role was a regular desk job with predictable hours. This difference led to some frustration on her end.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would often say things like, \u2018You have no idea how lucky you are to just sit in an office while I run around all day.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After dating for a while, she moved in with him. That\u2019s when they finally had the money talk\u2014and both were stunned. She knew he made good money, but she had no idea how much more he made compared to her. Turns out, he earned 15 times more than she did. Fifteen.<\/p>\n
He was just as shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cNeither could I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though he owned the apartment they were living in, she insisted on paying her fair share. So they agreed to split bills based on their income, which worked fine. She was independent, proud, and didn\u2019t want to rely on him for everything.<\/p>\n
Then, about a month before he posted on Reddit, he proposed. She said yes! Everything seemed great\u2026 until the engagement ring conversation.<\/p>\n
She had asked for a $15,000 diamond ring. That made him uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I didn\u2019t feel right spending that much,\u201d he admitted. But she said it was worth it because she would wear it forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe kept saying, \u2018It\u2019s a symbol of our love. I\u2019ll wear it every day for the rest of my life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He finally gave in and bought the ring. But soon, he started noticing something odd\u2014every time she showed the ring to someone, she made sure to mention how expensive it was.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t sit well with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her multiple times to stop bringing up the price, but she kept doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the real shocker.<\/p>\n
One night, just before he posted online, she asked him to sit with her on the couch because she had something serious to talk about. He sat down, thinking it was something minor. But then she dropped a bombshell:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quitting my job next month. I\u2019m giving my 15-day notice tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was stunned. \u201cWait\u2014what? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n
She explained that she wanted to focus on planning their wedding, and organizing everything would take a lot of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting married this summer,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to start booking things right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still confused, he asked, \u201cBut why do you have to quit your job for that?\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when she said something that completely threw him off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just tired. I want to be a stay-at-home fianc\u00e9e.\u201d<\/p>\n
He actually laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s not even a thing,\u201d he told her, pointing out she still had unpaid student loans to deal with.<\/p>\n
She replied, \u201cI make less in a month than you do in a week. We\u2019re a team now. Why does it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
He asked what her plan was after the wedding, and she admitted she hadn\u2019t thought that far ahead.<\/p>\n
He told her she could take a short break, but quitting her career entirely didn\u2019t sit right with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I wasn\u2019t comfortable with her giving up on her career this early. We don\u2019t even have kids yet. What if something happens to me one day? I want her to stay independent.\u201d<\/p>\n
That talk turned into a full-blown argument. She accused him of being mean and unsupportive.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said I should want her to be happy and relaxed, especially since we could afford for her not to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, technically they could afford it. But he said it felt off. Like something deeper was going on.<\/p>\n
He ended his post with a question: Is being a stay-at-home fianc\u00e9e even a real thing? He said he loved her and wanted to support her, but couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that she was quitting her job too soon.<\/p>\n
Redditors had a lot to say.<\/p>\n
One user didn\u2019t hold back:<\/p>\n
\u201cDid someone say gold digger? She\u2019s going to milk you for everything. First it\u2019s the student loans, then the fancy ring, next it\u2019ll be a new car and a bigger house. You two are financially incompatible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others agreed, saying she was showing signs of wanting a lavish lifestyle without putting in the work.<\/p>\n
Still, OP came back with an update a few days later.<\/p>\n
After calming down, he invited her to have dinner with him at home and gently brought up the subject again. This time, he made sure to listen more and stay calm.<\/p>\n
At first, she got defensive. But slowly, she opened up.<\/p>\n
She told him she felt like her job wasn\u2019t making a difference anymore. She barely made enough to contribute, and that made her feel useless in the relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018I feel like a work-mule. I\u2019m constantly drained, and I don\u2019t even get paid enough to make it worth it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained to her that it wasn\u2019t about money. \u201cI told her, \u2018You\u2019ve worked so hard to get where you are. You\u2019re talented and skilled\u2014please don\u2019t throw it all away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He also reminded her that they didn\u2019t have enough saved up for her to live comfortably if he ever lost his job. He made a lot\u2014but that also put a target on his back during layoffs.<\/p>\n
To his relief, she listened. She agreed with many of his points and confessed that she was just overwhelmed with everything related to the wedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018You\u2019re bad at organizing stuff. I\u2019ll have to handle everything on my own.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She felt burned out and didn\u2019t have the energy to deal with both work and the stress of wedding planning. All she wanted was to feel happy while preparing for their big day.<\/p>\n
She promised she wasn\u2019t trying to be a \u201ctrophy wife.\u201d She just wanted a break.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll start job hunting after the wedding and honeymoon,\u201d she told him. \u201cI want a job that has better hours. Maybe even go back to school for my Masters.\u201d<\/p>\n
That seemed fair to him. He agreed to support her plan to resign but asked her to be serious about finding work again later.<\/p>\n
Reddit still wasn\u2019t convinced.<\/p>\n
One person wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, the ring was a huge red flag. The moment she found out how much you make, her eyes turned into dollar signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another warned:<\/p>\n
\u201cGet a prenup. She\u2019s never going back to work lol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Someone else said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHer plan is to quit, let you pay for everything, and focus on planning a wedding she\u2019s not paying for. What\u2019s her plan after the wedding? Just\u2026 exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another reader didn\u2019t like OP\u2019s comment about his parents pushing them to marry in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lost me when you said your parents are insisting you get married this year. You\u2019re not acting like an adult if you let your parents decide your timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
And someone offered strong advice:<\/p>\n
\u201cHire a wedding planner. Who quits their job to plan a wedding? Get a prenup and you be the one in charge of birth control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final message from another concerned Redditor hit hard:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re happy, that\u2019s fine. But please don\u2019t be na\u00efve. Get a prenup. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Secure your future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A young couple who worked at the same company found out something shocking about each other\u2014their paychecks were wildly different. They had no idea until they were already deep into their relationship and getting ready for a future together. Things got even more dramatic when, after getting engaged, the woman decided she wanted to quit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33980,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979\/revisions\/33980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}