Relationships that start when you’re young can go one of two ways.

For many couples, the transition to adulthood and the world of work means changing to such an extent that a once-happy relationship just doesn’t make sense any more.

But for others, who manage to go the distance, growing up doesn’t mean growing apart, as they learn to navigate adult life together.

And for the couple in this story, adult life and the benefits it brings are introducing new challenges for them to tackle – and have also led to their biggest fight yet.

Read on to find out what seemingly nice action caused the drama between them.

AITA for turning down a gift from my girlfriend?

My girlfriend and I have been together for a year now, from being college sweethearts to now a working couple.

Back in college, I often found little excuses or occasions to gift her something thoughtful.

Recently, she started earning and got me a shirt. It didn’t fit well, so I saw the opportunity and told her while I appreciated the thought and gesture, I don’t accept clothes as gifts.

I said the thought mattered, thanked her and told her to not exchange it, just return it.

But this was not the end of the matter.

Since then she has been adamant about buying me shirts, seven or eight so far, and none of them fit.

Today i stood my ground again and told her she needs to stop, and it turned into a fight.

She said she has always wanted to buy me something nice and now that she can, I shouldn’t stop her.

I said she could get me literally anything else, just not clothes.

Then, things started to get petty.

Then she brought up how she didn’t even want to accept some of the gifts I gave her.

For example, last Valentine’s I gave her a locket with a “forget-me-not” flower preserved in resin.

I bought it a month earlier because it tied back to a very memorable conversation we had before we even started dating, about “forget-me-not” flowers.

She now says the only reason she accepted it was because I had bought it a month earlier and couldn’t return it, though at the time she never even mentioned this and never showed any hesitation.

But there was more to his situation than met the eye.

The core reason I don’t want her to gift me shirts is personal.

I’ve always struggled with my weight, and though I worked hard to get into shape, during college I slipped back and now I feel like I’m in my worst shape in five to seven years.

I feel so disgusted with myself that I haven’t even bought new clothes in forever.

I’ve never opened up about this to anyone, not even her.

And there are more reasons why he’s upset here.

Another thing that upset me was the things she said during the fight about not wanting the gifts I got her, and also the difference in effort.

I put thought into every gift I gave her, making sure it meant something and was tied to our relationship whether it was the first date, first kiss, or any occasion.

Meanwhile, she bought me multiple shirts that don’t fit, despite living together and having access to my wardrobe.

Yet she is whining and crying about how she always wanted to gift me stuff and that she put in effort trying to get seven to eight different shirts over the last couple of weeks.

The fight just got worse and worse.

I asked her if this was about “levelling things back” because of all the things I got her, which didn’t help calm things down.

Now she is not talking to me.

AITA?

It’s very sweet that he has bought her gifts through their relationship, and it’s understandable that she wants to treat her boyfriend too, now that she can afford to.

But it’s not about the gifts – it’s the fact that she’s not listening to him, about his wishes, about the size of the shirts.

Perhaps if he opens up about the reason he doesn’t want to receive clothes as gifts, things might start to improve between the pair.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person thought his girlfriend was wrong for not listening to his wishes.

But others thought it was his fault for not being honest.

Meanwhile, this Redditor thought that both of their poor communication was causing the problem.

In order for this relationship to work long-term, this couple need to learn to communicate.

It’s important that he opens up about his insecurities so that his girlfriend can truly understand why he’s sensitive about being gifted shirts.

And it’s equally important that she listens and respects his wishes going forward.

They need a heart-to-heart.

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.