A man has sparked an intense debate on social media after telling his girlfriend that he wants her to take his surname if they tie the knot.
Ethan Payne - who is best known for being a member of the YouTube group Sidemen - had the heated discussion with his girlfriend, Faith Kelly, on an episode of their podcast titled, Growing Paynes.
The couple have been dating since 2021 and welcomed their first child together, a little girl named Olive Ottilie Payne, a year later.
A viral clip from the pair's recent episode reveals Faith stating that the television personality doesn't want to propose to her "because [she] wants to be Kelly-Payne".
Responding, Ethan fumes: "Faith doesn't want to take my name, and that irks me," to which Faith explains that she has no problem taking his surname, but that she just wants to keep her name as well by having a double-barrelled last name.
"I don't want to lose my association with my family," the mom-of-one contended. Her boyfriend then insisted that she wouldn't be losing her family tie if she took his name, arguing that he thinks "that’s how it should be done".
Ethan then went as far as to say that if his girlfriend were to take Kelly-Payne as her last name, he would feel like she would only be "half his wife," quipping that she’s "bottling it, that’s what it is".
The pair's conversation was shared on other social media forums where it sparked a huge online debate about the topic. The majority of users labeled the father-of-one's words as a "red flag".
"That's a bit of a red flag from Ethan NGL (not going to lie)," one user commented under the video on TikTok, while another stated: "It’s just a last name and she’s had her family name longer than she’s known the man. Such a red flag, how could you not understand."
A third person on Twitter remarked that women having to "change their names, have kids, be maternal, the whole nuclear family thing" is "outdated and old fashioned," adding, "No thanks".
Meanwhile, a fourth user argued: "I literally have a double barrel surname because my mum wouldn't drop hers when she got married to my dad... And not only are they still together but I'm glad she didn't. It's a total non-issue? Why must the male erase part of the woman's identity? Marriage is equality, not power."
However, some people came to Ethan's defense, stating that they understood his way of thinking.
"I get the chicks in these comments are like 'Omg keep her name this is a red flag' they both have preferences. It's not like Ethan is forcing her," one person on TikTok said.
"Ethan is so right, Just take [his] name. Why do you need to keep it if [you're] going to say my name is 'faith [payne]' What’s the point of Kelly then?" a second user on the same platform questioned.
Faith isn't alone in wanting to keep her maiden name as the Deed Poll Office - a law firm that specializes in name changes - confirmed that women adding their husband's name alongside theirs were up by 30 percent between 2020 and 2021, per The Independent.
According to the publication, this is a massive difference from 2016 when it was discovered that 90 percent of women took their husband's names to replace their maiden names.
Do you guys think Faith is right in keeping her maiden name? Share your thoughts!
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