Man asks girlfriend to buy her own engagement ring so they can get engaged — and it went down as expected

An engagement ring is not just a simple piece of jewelry but a symbol of love and commitment. Most women do not care how expensive they are; rather, they cherish the love it symbolizes more than the price tag. But imagine if your partner asks you to pay for the engagement ring. Anyone would feel overwhelmed by the unexpected exception, right? A 24-year-old man—who goes by u/agitated-turn3949 on Reddit—shared how asking his girlfriend to buy her the ring deeply offended her.

The couple had been together for 3 years and were sure that they would eventually marry each other. The man wanted to propose to her because he did not want to wait longer. However, the problem was that he was not financially stable, whereas his girlfriend had a "good salary." "I brought this up to her the other day and said that I know she has more in her bank account than I do for now, but we'll eventually have a joint bank account. Since our money will be shared anyway, I asked if she would pay for her engagement ring. I thought this made a lot of sense and wouldn't be a problem," he shared. This did not go well with his girlfriend, as she immediately refused to buy her engagement ring.

However, the man felt there was nothing wrong in asking her partner to buy the ring since, after marriage, it would be their money anyway. "She's been kind of distant with me, and I'm wondering if my request was really so wrong," he revealed. Later, when the man was slammed by people on the platform for his bizarre proposal to his girlfriend, he clarified that he loves his partner for who she is and not for her money. Furthermore, he revealed that his financial condition isn't that great, so he can't afford the ring. "I don't see why saying the money will be ours anyway is so bad because it WILL. My money will be hers, too, in our future joint bank account," the man added.

Meanwhile, u/specialist-neck3460 commented, "That's like an extreme version of asking someone to buy their own birthday present. And just because you are married doesn't mean that you are entitled to her money." u/bluebells7788 wrote, "There are so many simple and cost-effective options for an engagement ring; it doesn't have to be a diamond. You could have gone down the lab diamond route or even an antique diamond. A few extra shifts at work to make her understand how important she is." u/apprehensive-shoe251 shared, "I would have been so mad if my partner did this to me.... and also you are not entitled to her money when you're married; that's so gross." 

u/grannywine pointed out, "You are wrong for asking her to pay for her engagement ring, you just showed her that you value her money more than her as a person or partner. And that you're going to be using her as an ATM after the wedding, which you are probably going to ask her to foot the bill for too. Seriously, what benefit do you actually bring into her life that would make that a good choice?" u/rosiestgold said, "It's not about the actual ring, but what the ring represents: your love/commitment to her. If it's all going to be your shared money anyway, shouldn't you be ok with it coming out of your account? Also, you're not entitled to her money. I'm getting the ick."