The internet is rallying around a mother who refused her daughter’s request to use her college fund on her boyfriend.
Reddit user u/throwae_69 detailed the situation on the subreddit "Am I The A**Hole," in a post that now has over 12,000 interactions. The mother began the post by asking: “AITA for telling my daughter she can’t use her college money on her bf, which caused her to break up with him?”
She explained that she had established a college fund for her very smart daughter, who was just offered a full scholarship at her dream college. They agreed to use the money for other things she would need, like housing and food. However, that all changed when she noticed her daughter come home one day looking sad.
“I asked her what was the matter,” the mother wrote. “She said that she was not going to go to college anymore. Apparently, her boyfriend Bryan told her not to go anymore.”
The mother explained in her Reddit post that Bryan was currently enrolled in college, but had no set path for his future. “He also said that it made him feel unmanly when she has a set course for her future which will give her a good life, while he has none,” the mom added.
After this, the mother sat her daughter down and asked her the one question every daughter needs to hear: “I asked her if she actually could see a serious future with Bryan in it,” the mom wrote. “I asked her again more gently this time, and she admitted no while still crying.”
This reaction prompted the mom to seek advice in the subreddit, admitting she feels like she ruined her daughter’s relationship and hurt Bryan’s feelings. However, users were quick to support user u/throwae_69 in the comments. The top comment came from Reddit user u/SpookyArmadillo, who assured them by saying, “You’re a wonderful parent.”
They also added that Bryan’s behavior was toxic and abusive. “She absolutely loves him, but he clearly doesn’t love her, because he’s willing to wreck her future in order to feel in control,” they wrote.
Another Redditor who goes by the username u/Kimber85 shared a similar story that their sister experienced. “My sister was really academically gifted, and got a full scholarship to go to pharmacy school two states away,” they said. When she met a boy in their hometown, he convinced her to drop out of school, and her life has never been the same since. “If a guy asks you to choose him over college, RUN,” they warned.
The original post gained over 15,000 comments of support and praise for the mom. By asking her daughter to choose her own future over her boyfriend, Redditors agreed that this mom wins all the parenting awards.