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Losing an important or expensive piece of jewelry is never fun, but it is your responsibility to keep your things safe.

What would you do if you were swimming with a friend, and after getting out of the pool, she noticed that one of her expensive earrings was missing, and then later asked you to pay for half of it?

That is what happened to the young woman in this story, so she refused to pay for it since it wasn’t her fault. Her ‘friend’ then blocked her and won’t speak to her anymore, so she wonders if she should have paid.

Personally, I think she did the right thing by standing her ground. She didn’t lose the earring; her friend did. Read through the full story below and see if you agree.

AITA for refusing to help pay for my friend’s $900+ earring after it was lost during an accident?

A few weeks ago, a group of us (all 21+) went to Havasu.

Everyone is having a good time.

We had been drinking, hanging out in the water, and just messing around. At one point, I got on my friend’s shoulders in the water.

She never mentioned she was wearing expensive earrings, and I didn’t pull on them or anything like that.

Why would she wear such expensive jewelry while swimming?

When we got out, she realized one of her earrings was gone. It turns out it costs $900+ to replace just the one earring.

I immediately felt awful. We both searched for it, but we couldn’t find it. I apologized multiple times because I genuinely hated that it happened. I never saw it as anything other than an unfortunate accident while we were all goofing around.

This should not ruin the friendship.

After the trip, she became distant. She didn’t come to my birthday or wish me a happy birthday. Later, I found out from another friend that the earring situation was why.

I reached out because I wanted to clear the air. We ended up having a long conversation, cleared up some miscommunication, and she explained she’d been dealing with a lot of personal stress outside of this situation.

They don’t even know for sure that she caused the earring to get lost.

During that conversation, she asked if I would help pay to replace the earring. She also told me her parents weren’t replacing it, so she’d have to pay for it herself.

I didn’t answer right away because I wanted to really think about it. I talked it through with my parents and a few other people to get different perspectives instead of reacting emotionally.

There is no reason that she should have to pay for the lost earring.

The general opinion I got was that it was an unfortunate accident. We were both participating in what we were doing, and accidents like this can happen, especially around water while wearing jewelry.

I ended up telling her kindly that I was really sorry it happened and that I cared about her, but I wasn’t comfortable contributing toward replacing it.

What an unfortunate situation.

I wasn’t trying to be dismissive, I just didn’t feel it was something I should pay for, and I’m also a nursing student with a limited budget.

After that she blocked me.

AITA?

Clearly, this friend didn’t value their friendship very much at all. It is always hard to lose a friend, but this time it was likely for the best.

Check out what the commenters on this story had to say about it.

Don’t dress up to go swimming next time.

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This person is asking the important question.

Wearing expensive jewelry to swim is never a good idea.

Here is a good question.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who is annoyed that her brother is making their mom’s international trip all about how broke he is.

This person thinks it was irresponsible to wear those earrings.

Why would she wear these earrings while swimming? This is her own fault for being so irresponsible.

On top of that, they don’t even know that this person was the cause of the earring getting lost.

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Author

Michael Levanduski

Senior Contributing Editor, Workplace & Community

Michael Levanduski is a veteran journalist and digital culture specialist with over 15 years of professional writing and research experience. While his background spans emerging technology and complex technical subjects, Michael specializes in analyzing workplace ethics, property disputes, and viral interpersonal dynamics across modern digital forums.

Since joining TwistedSifter in 2024, Michael has authored some of the publication’s most widely read coverage on corporate policy, malicious compliance, and neighborhood relations. Rather than simply aggregating online debates, he brings rigorous research, organizational context, and an empathetic editorial voice to everyday human dilemmas—transforming raw forum discussions into insightful, highly engaging narratives.

When he isn’t covering internet culture, Michael enjoys traveling, keeping up with tech trends, and spending time with his family. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook.