Independence in a relationship can be a tricky thing to navigate.

One man thought his solo bar visits were harmless, but his girlfriend saw them as a threat to their relationship.

Read on for the full story!

AITA for going to the bar alone

I (late 30s M) occasionally go to the bar alone.

It’s something I’ve done since I could start going to bars.

For him, this is a very harmless thing.

I enjoy just sitting at the bar and drinking a couple of beers and chatting with folks if the opportunity presents itself.

Sometimes I’ll just watch a game on TV or read on my phone.

But his girlfriend sees things very differently.

My girlfriend (early 30s F) tells me she’s uncomfortable with this.

When I ask her why, she tells me it’s inappropriate to go alone.

She won’t say it directly, but I think it’s a trust issue.

They used to go together, but likely she hasn’t felt like going.

We’ve only been together a little over a year, and during most of the first year, we always went together.

Recently, she’s not wanted to go, but I’ve wanted to go out a couple of times.

I don’t get bombed or come home hammered.

He reiterates just how casual this habit is for him.

This is like 1-2 hours and 1-2 beers.

It’s just a way for me to get out of the house a little bit.

And it’s not like I always even do it.

I’ll go months without going to a bar at all.

But with nice weather, it’s definitely more appealing.

AITA?

A quiet drink here and there shouldn’t make him the villain here.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter encourages him to think a little deeper about what might be triggering his girlfriend’s insecurities.

If she doesn’t trust him to go alone, then why not come along?

If it upsets her that much, she’ll have to work a little harder to plead her case.

This commenter thinks this occasional habit seems completely harmless.

He wasn’t doing anything wrong here, just enjoying some well-deserved alone time.

And if that made her so uneasy, it said more about her trust than his actions.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.