Breakups are terrible for a lot of reasons.

From friends of the couple having to take sides to having cherished memories be ruined, there’s a lot to deal with post-split.

But perhaps the most contentious part of a breakup is dividing the couple’s stuff!

But one thing many people don’t think about is what happens when you book a vacation together before you split.

Unfortunately for this guy, that’s the exact situation he found himself in when his girlfriend broke up with him before their trip to the Canary Islands.

A bitter argument ensued because she wanted to him to pay for half of her ticket as well as his own!

Was he wrong to only be willing to pay her back for his own ticket? See for yourself!

AITA for refusing to pay for half of my ex-girlfriend’s flight that she can’t use because we broke up, and now possibly not even mine?

My girlfriend (F24) and I (M25) broke up about two weeks ago. It was more her call than mine, but we both knew things weren’t going well for a while.

So, I was sad but not surprised. We ended things amicably and said we’d still be friends, whatever that means.

Anyway, we did the exchange of things in each other’s apartment a couple days after the break up and then didn’t talk again until two days ago when she texted me.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t asking to get back together, it was settling the payment for a vacation they had been planning!

We had been planning to go on a trip to the Canary Islands this year.

The plane tickets were about $800 a piece and the AirBnb was like $1600, so we decided I’d just pay for the AirBnb and she’d pay for the flights.

The flights were non-refundable and we’re already past the date that I’d get any meaningful refund from the AirBnb, so I decided I’d just get a friend to split the AirBnb and go anyway.

I had been planning on telling my ex that I’d pay her for my ticket so she didn’t lose the money, but she texted me about it first.

As it turns out, OP’s ex had the exact same plan as him!

On Friday, she offered to pay me for the AirBnb minus the cost of my plane ticket, because she was still interested in going with a friend.

I told her that I was actually planning on going with a friend, and I was going to pay her for my ticket and still go.

She said OK, but I actually needed to pay her for my ticket and half of the cost of hers because she can’t use it now.

His ex argued that if he was going to use the ticket, then the only wasted purchase was her ticket, so they should split it evenly…

Basically, she says that she agreed to buy two plane tickets under the understanding that we would both go to on the trip.

And I agreed to pay for an AirBnb under the same understanding. But since that’s not happening, we should evenly share the lost costs.

Since I’m still using the room and my ticket, the only lost cost is her $800 ticket. And we should each bear $400 from that.

Considering she was the one that broke things off, he wasn’t about to pay up!

I told her that I didn’t think that’s fair at all.

First of all, it was her idea to break up. So the reason we aren’t going is on her.

Second, there’s no reason why she can’t use her ticket. She should just get an airbnb and still go with her friend.

I even said I’d sit in her friend’s seat and let her friend in my seat so they can sit together. Whether or not she uses her ticket is on her, and she bears any cost of that.

But apparently she would rather ruin everyone’s plans than have to pay for her own ticket!

She said she didn’t want to go at the same time as me and also the good AirBnbs are taken for that time.

Anyway, we went back and forth and she even threatened to cancel the tickets even though she can’t get any money back.

So I said, “You know what, go ahead cancel them, get whatever refund you can. I’ll just buy my own ticket and not pay you back anything.”

She said, “I’m not gonna talk to you if you’re being a jerk. Let’s talk about this later when you can be mature.”

And when he went to his friends for advice, they were split…

That’s where it is right now. My friends are divided. Most say I should at least pay her for my ticket.

Which I’m willing to do if she doesn’t cancel it! But some say I should pay for half of hers as well.

I’m sticking firm that I won’t pay for half of her ticket, AITA?

I think his solution is perfectly reasonable.

If she was still going to go on the trip anyway with her friend, why would he be the one to pay for her ticket?

Reddit was split on this one, but many agreed that he should stop engaging in this conversation altogether!

Most people were still trying to understand her convoluted reasoning why he would pay for her ticket.

And while this user agreed that it was a tough situation to be in, it’s not like she offered to pay OP $1200 for his vacation!

Many were unsure of the right thing to do because the way the former couple had purchased things for the trip had made things so needlessly complicated.

But finally, this user said his original compromise was completely fair monetarily!

I think they should still take the vacation and have a little rom-com moment!

Who’s with me?

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.