February 1, 2025 at 12:15 pm

Boyfriend Couldn’t Grab The Gift His Girlfriend Picked Out For Her Birthday, But His Alternative Gift Threw Everything He Knew About Their Relationship Into Question

by Kyra Piperides

Source: Reddit/AITA/Pexels/George Dolgikh

Have you ever been in that situation where you asked for something for your birthday, and then what they give you isn’t right?

Maybe they got it in the wrong color, or they bought a knock-off version, or even a whole other thing entirely.

It’s hard to know how to react – you don’t want to seem ungrateful, but is hiding your disappointment and lying to them just as bad?

Unfortunately, in this story, the guy couldn’t get hold of the gift his girlfriend wanted, so chose something else instead.

But he was not prepared for her reaction.

Read on to find out how his alternative gift went down.

AITA for getting my girlfriend a birthday gift she hates?

My girlfriend’s birthday was coming up and I wanted to get her something really nice.

I’ve noticed throughout our whole relationship that she does her makeup on the floor in front of a mirror, and it always looks so uncomfortable.

She has complained of it several times, so I decided it would be a great idea to get her a vanity set.

Let’s see how this thoughtful gift went wrong.

I did some research and I found a couple she would like, but I knew she was picky and so I asked her if she was planning on buying a vanity set ever.

She showed me the vanity set she wanted, and I made sure to add that set to my Amazon list.

A few months went by and I was ready to buy the set, but I come to find out that it was sold out.

I desperately looked at other sites and the manufacturer’s own site, but the set would not come for over a month after her birthday (keep in mind that I decided to buy it a month before, so it was not last minute).

I still felt bad and so I decided to spend some more time researching what set to buy.

I finally came across one that matched the style and color of other furniture that she had purchased, and it was more expensive than the one she wanted so I bought it thinking she’d like it even if it was the one she didn’t ask for.

Let’s find out how she reacted to the gift.

I was wrong.

My girlfriend’s birthday finally comes around and she goes off to her sister’s house, while I spend two hours building this set right after work.

When she finally came home and I showed it to her, I could clearly tell something was wrong.

She was quiet and didn’t seem too happy.

She then started bawling her eyes out, saying that she hates it because it wasn’t the one she wanted.

I explained to her that I couldn’t get the one she wanted yet, but if she didn’t like it that much I could wait for it to come back into stock and buy it, and sell the one I just bought.

Read on to discover whether she agreed to his compromise.

That only made her even more mad and upset.

She then went on a rant about how she hates birthdays and that I shouldn’t have gotten her anything.

Again, this vanity set matches everything else she likes, and it wasn’t some cheap set.

She told me to simply sell the set and keep the money because she does not want anything from me for her birthday.

AITA?

Sure it can be disappointing to get something that is different to the one you wanted, but her boyfriend was more than reasonable with his offer.

Perhaps there’s something more going on here.

Let’s see what the people of Reddit had to say about this.

This person pointed out that while the boyfriend was being considerate, there could be more factors at play than he realized.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Meanwhile, others suggested a better approach to the situation.

Source: Reddit/AITA

However, some people thought that no other contexts would excuse her reaction.

Source: Reddit/AITA

It’s clear that this relationship is screaming out for a bit of communication.

Something isn’t right here – and it’s up to them to figure it out.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.