They were young, in love, and making future plans…

…until a conversation about children revealed just how conditional that love might be.

Read on for the story.

AITAH for breaking up with my boyfriend after he chose our supposed ‘future’ kids over me?

I 21 (F) have been dating my 22 (M) boyfriend for 4 years now. We recently started talking about our future together and the kids issue came up.

He has known for a long time now that I’ve always been iffy about kids. He, on the other hand, insists that he likes kids, and would like to have them in the future.

This issue has often caused a massive strain on our relationship, but we’ve chosen to cross that bridge when we get there.

Not a great sign.

So, this past Saturday, the issue cropped up and the conversation turned into a sore argument.

My boyfriend said that living without kids would make his life pointless, and he feels like he would resent me in the future if I made him do that.

I listened to his argument, and it made sense. After all, we’re both young, and have some more time before we get there. So, naturally I’d assume that maybe I’d change my mind in the future, and we’d be able to have those kids.

Oh, perfect. Problem sovled.

I shared these sentiments with him to which, I got a positive response. But here’s where things got heated…

After I told my boyfriend that it would also be kind of unfair to force myself into having kids if I’m not prepared, he suddenly changed the tone and said he would have no choice but to dump me for someone that would give him kids.

This came as a surprise because I had assumed that he only wanted kids with me, and would also try and view things from my perspective.

Oh…

I felt so bad, because I expected the same support I had shown him when he told me he would resent me for not having them.

I explained my disappointment to which he said that he was equally disappointed at me for being selfish.

I got mad, and broke up with him then. We haven’t talked since then. So, AITAH for leaving?

It’s one thing to want kids—it’s another to throw down an ultimatum before they’re even on the table. She didn’t walk away from parenthood; she walked away from being treated like a placeholder.

This person says NTA, and it was a blessing in disguise.

This person votes NTA, but gives OP a dose of reality.

And this person says it’s all for the best…

Moral of the story?

When someone shows they’ll choose hypothetical children over the real you—believe them.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.