Woman refuses to fund boyfriend's $4k 'genius idea' with money she saved for college, asks if she's wrong

What if your boyfriend had an unconventional business idea and he wanted you to support and fund it? This happened with a woman whose boyfriend came up with a business venture to "invent a new color." The 24-year-old woman, who goes by the Reddit handle u/Rich-Painter-9008, explained in her post that her 29-year-old boyfriend of three years had always been a bit eccentric, but recently, his ideas had taken an even stranger turn. According to the woman, her boyfriend approached her a few weeks ago with what he described as a "groundbreaking" idea that would "change humanity forever."

Intrigued, she asked him to explain further. "His answer? He wants to invent a new color. I tried to gently point out that colors exist as part of the visible spectrum of light, so unless he was about to discover some new wavelength, this might not be possible," she wrote. However, her boyfriend dismissed her concerns, calling her “close-minded” and saying that he was "enlightened in a way you'll never be." The woman, who holds a biochemistry degree, did her best to listen and engage with him. But the situation escalated when he asked her for $4,000 to fund his “research.”

This funding would be used for supplies like “advanced art tools,” a lab coat (which he believed would make him "feel smarter"), and even a trip to the desert, which he thought would provide the “pure sunlight” necessary for inspiration. "I told him absolutely not," the woman said, explaining that she was saving for graduate school and that, even if she weren’t, she wouldn’t be dropping thousands of dollars on what she considered to be a nonsensical venture. Her boyfriend was frustrated, accusing her of not believing in his idea and claiming she was jealous of his “world-changing” potential. "It got really heated, and he ended up saying a lot of things about using my card, as he knew the details anyway," she shared.

For context, she added that her boyfriend had been unemployed for some time, while she had a steady job. As the argument continued, the boyfriend's behavior grew more hostile. He began telling friends that his girlfriend was “unsupportive” and “afraid of innovation,” and his friends sided with him, urging her to encourage his creativity instead of “crushing his dreams.” The situation has since left the woman questioning whether she was in the wrong, and she turned to Reddit for advice. Many were concerned about the boyfriend's mental health. u/karptonite wrote, “NTA, but I’m concerned about him. This sounds less like wacky than like a possible symptom of mental or neurological illness. I am not a doctor or a psychologist, but if someone close to me said this and seemed serious about it, I’d be seriously concerned about their health."

u/wotsname123 added, "Nta, but if this is new behavior I would assume it's a mental health break." Others added a more humorous take. u/NoSalamander7749 said, "NTA. Don't fund this. Did he get this idea from mantis shrimp? He got this idea from shrimp." Amid all the advice, the woman did mention in an update that she had moved the majority of her money into a second bank account, which her boyfriend didn’t have access to, just in case. She also considered discussing his mental health with him, recognizing that there might be deeper issues at play.