Man Backed for Reason He Ended It With Girlfriend of 2 Years: ‘Blindsided’

Internet users have rallied behind a man for refusing to take back his girlfriend of two years after she was unfaithful.

Reddit user u/Big-Classic-7657 shared his dilemma in the Reddit thread “AITAH [Am I The A******]”, where it garnered more than 17,000 upvotes.

“A few weeks ago, Rachel admitted to me that she cheated on me during a night out with her friends,” the man wrote.

“She hooked up with some guy she met at a bar. I was completely blindsided. When I asked her why she did it, she said it wasn’t about me or our relationship but because she ‘wanted to see if she still had it.'”

The 30-year-old man wrote that he and his girlfriend Rachel, 27, had a solid relationship with shared interests and had even been discussing moving in together.

The man told Rachel that her excuse was terrible, but she broke down in tears, begging for forgiveness and saying she had learned her lesson.

“But I can’t get over the fact that she was willing to risk our relationship for something so shallow. She didn’t cheat because she was unhappy or because there was a problem between us—she cheated purely to stroke her ego,” the man added.

Mutual friends have accused the poster of being unforgiving and have pleaded with him to take her back.

“I feel like staying with her would mean betraying my own boundaries, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m being too harsh,” the man said. “AITA for refusing to take her back?” he asked.

Expert Weighs In

Rachel Marmor is a licensed mental health counselor and the chief wellness officer at the Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS) Foundation. She told Newsweek about the situation:

“In this scenario, the original poster’s decision to not take his girlfriend back is entirely valid and rooted in a healthy assertion of personal boundaries,” Marmor said. “Trust is foundational in any relationship, and once it is broken—particularly for a reason as trivial as ‘seeing if she still had it’—it calls into question the respect and commitment present in the relationship.”

Marmor said the poster’s decision not to reconcile reflects a healthy acknowledgment of the betrayal’s impact on their emotional well-being and self-esteem, emphasizing the importance of trust and respect in relationships.

Forgiveness is possible, but reconciliation is not mandatory, particularly when the infidelity stemmed from ego validation rather than relationship issues. Moving forward, the poster should focus on emotional healing through self-care, seek support from trusted individuals or therapy, and establish firm boundaries

Reddit Reacts

The online community overwhelmingly supported the man’s decision to end the relationship.

“‘Congrats, you still have it, but you sure as hell don’t have me …’ The mutual friends are just as trashy as her. You’d be crazy to take her back,” commented one user.

Another commenter posted: “It really is a terrible excuse. Take it from me, a woman in a relationship. I know I still ‘have it’ because men will hit on me and ask me out. And then I say, ‘no thank you, I have a boyfriend.’ I don’t have to do anything at all to know if I still ‘have it,’ and I don’t even want that kind of attention!

“I also know I still ‘have it’ because I have a loving partner who dotes on me. But I guess that doesn’t count in the mind of your ex?”

“Good to know she still has what it takes to be single,” added a third.

Newsweek reached out to u/Big-Classic-7657 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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