Being in a relationship with someone who earns a lot more than you can be tricky.
One Reddit user found herself in a dilemma when her high-earning boyfriend asked her to split living expenses - despite the fact that he was set to start earning $500,000 a year, while she was a grad school student with no income.
The 22-year-old woman - who goes handle u/ThrowRA9876234 on Reddit - took to the social media platform to ask fellow users whether her boyfriend's request was reasonable.
She began by explaining that they had started dating a little over two years ago when they were both students. Since then, she had graduated college and begun exploring grad school options. Meanwhile, her now 32-year-old partner had landed a high-paying job offer and was being asked to move across the country for it.
"My boyfriend currently makes around $300,000 per year and just received a job offer in a city across the country that would pay him over $500,000 per year with bonuses," she explained, adding that "He wants me to move with him to this new city."
"I am fine with the idea of moving there, even though it is not my first choice of places to live. I could probably attend graduate school there," she continued, before explaining the problem. "The only issue is, he wants me to pay half the rent and half of all our expenses. This would amount to around $2,500 per month."
The user went on to explain that while her family could pay the money, they didn't think it was particularly fair if they did.
"My family is capable of providing me with this money, but we are not exorbitantly wealthy, so it is a lot of money for us. My family also thinks it is really unreasonable for my boyfriend to ask me to pay these expenses when he makes enough money to support the both of us easily," she wrote.
She wrapped up the post by asking other users for their opinion, saying: "My boyfriend thinks it is completely reasonable for my family to pay these expenses for me. Do you think what my boyfriend is asking for is reasonable or not?"
Immediately, people jumped to her defense.
"This is how it works when couples want to split living expenses evenly. YOU LIVE ON WHAT THE LOWEST PAID PERSON CAN AFFORD!!!" one person wrote, while another agreed "If [you're] going to split 50/50 you need to be based on what the lowest person can afford."
Thankfully, the woman made it clear in an update to her original post that she had already decided to break up with her boyfriend because of their "incompatible" views on finances.
"I also know my worth and know that I can find someone who treats me a lot better," she wrote, adding that she had only made the post because she "was curious to see what others thought."
What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments section!
