Money can be one of the most complicated parts of any relationship, especially when incomes don’t match.

When one man noticed his girlfriend was struggling to keep up with their 50/50 budget split, the agreement started to feel anything but equal.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for telling my girlfriend I don’t want to split bills 50/50 anymore?

I (28M) have been dating my girlfriend (27F) for almost two years.

From the beginning, we agreed to split everything 50/50—rent, groceries, dates, etc.

I thought that was fair, even though I make significantly more than she does (I’m in tech, she’s a teacher).

But lately, the arrangement has begun to feel less fair.

Lately, I’ve started to feel weird about it. I cover some extras here and there (like vacations or bigger gifts), but the basic stuff is always split down the middle.

The thing is, she’s clearly struggling financially, and I know she’s been dipping into her savings just to keep up.

When he brought it up, she didn’t react the way he expected.

I brought it up and said I don’t think we should do this strict 50/50 anymore—maybe something more proportional to income.

Her reaction was not great. She said she doesn’t want to feel “kept” or “less independent,” and that she wants to be treated as an equal.

But to him, this was the right thing to do.

I get that, but isn’t real equality also being realistic with our situations?

I don’t think I’m being manipulative or trying to control her. I just don’t think someone should go broke to maintain a split that only works on paper.

AITA for wanting to change the dynamic even though she didn’t ask me to?

They both wanted equity — they just had different ideas of what that looked like.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s clear this couple is approaching this issue from two differing sides.

No matter how you slice it, money is a difficult subject for couples.

Perhaps the issue goes deeper for his girlfriend than he initially realized.

Above all, it’s important to communicate that he’s on the same page as she is.

He wasn’t trying to take anything away from her — he was only trying to be fair.

Ultimately, his solution came from a place of care, not control.

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