Talking about dietary restrictions or preferences can be a bit awkward, especially for introverts.

But it can also be inconvenient for the host if the person doesn’t mention they can’t or won’t eat certain foods.

In this story, we meet a woman who opted not to tell her friendly new neighbor that she is a vegetarian before she prepared a meal for her and her husband, but her husband thinks that wasn’t a good decision.

Let’s analyze the situation.

AITA for not saying that I am a vegetarian?

My husband (33 year old male) and I (32 year old female) recently bought our first house together. When I walked our dog in the morning I met our new neighbor who we already met and introduced ourselves right when we moved in.

To get to know us better, our neighbor asked if my husband and I would like to come over for dinner that night. I gladly accepted because I think it is important to have a good relationship with your neighbors.

This neighbor sounds like a keeper.

When I told my husband, he asked me if I told our neighbor that I am a vegetarian. I don’t eat meat since the age of 13.

I just don’t like the thought of eating something that once lived. But I hate talking about it because to me it is just not a big deal and I don’t want people to make extra arrangements for my diet.

But being honest about things like this is a big part of connecting with your neighbors.

In my experience there is always something for me to eat and I am fine with eating just side dishes or whatever. So I told him that I did not mention it to our neighbor.

My husband said that this was wrong since she is now preparing a meal for us that I might not eat and this will come off as rude. I argued that for me it seems rude to demand a special meal.

The husband has a point.

Our neighbor did prepare a meal with meat, but there were also potatoes and vegetables for me to eat, and our neighbor didn’t seem to mind me declining the main dish.

When we got home that night my husband told me again that it was rude to not tell her I am a vegetarian and that me not eating the main dish must have offended her although she didn’t say anything.

We had a rather big fight about it and now I wonder if I really was in the wrong for not giving our neighbor the heads up about my diet.

AITA?

Well, maybe they will all laugh at this together over a hearty vegetarian meal, someday.

Let’s see what Reddit has to say.

A reader starts off strong.

This commenter makes a good observation.

Another commenter makes great points.

You live, you learn.

It was risky, indeed.

Another commenter chimes in.

The husband was totally right.

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.