A selfish new dad has come under fire for refusing to contribute anything towards his wife's medical bills after she gave birth to their child. The couple recently welcomed their first baby but the mum fears the dispute could end their seven-year marriage, the Mirror reports.
She says she feels disrespected by his behaviour and said she was hoping he would pay half of the $8000 (£6647) fee it cost her to have an epidural during birth after her insurance paid out. Horrified social media users strongly sided with the new mother and urged her to end her relationship after she shared the shocking story online.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, the mum expressed how upset she was that her long term partner of fourteen years was refusing to help her pay off the costs and blamed her for 'jacking up the bill' with pain relief during labour. Her arrogant husband deemed her a 'princess' for wanting him to half the 'extra add ons' she required such as medication and an extra nights stay.
The parent, who pays for her healthcare, explained: "Throughout the duration of my pregnancy, I planned to go for an unmedicated natural birth with as little intervention as possible. That was up until I hit the 24 hour mark of labor, I caved and got the epidural (which I was open to having if needed).
"My husband had no problem with it, even encouraged it." However, when the couple, who normally split costs, received the expensive bill, the new father expected his wife to pay for it all herself.
Social media users were outraged on the mother's behalf after she explained that her husband said the commonly-used pain relief she received during pregnancy was a 'luxury'. He reportedly said: "You're the one that couldn't hold out for a few more hours and jacked up the bill with all your medication and an extra nights stay," telling his wife that if she 'wanted luxury' she should 'expect to pay for it'.
She continued: "He refuses to budge, calling me a princess for expecting him to pay for all the 'extra add ons'". She went on to say that after the argument, she is considering leaving her partner.
Looking for some advice on the situation, she added: "This is by far the biggest issue in our 14 year long relationship so far and I'm so lost on where to go from here." The mum says money is not the problem in this situation as she is 'blessed' enough to afford it but that she feels entirely disrespected and taken back by her husband's attitude.
She said: "I gave in and paid the bill, but since then we haven't been talking much and honestly I feel disrespected". The post was shared on Twitter and thousands of readers were left gobsmacked by the dad's shameful behaviour as they left comments of support for the mother.
One wrote: "What a way to get absolute clarity that your marriage is over. And at a time she needs all the physical and emotional support as well. I’m heartbroken for her".
Another person remarked: "For me the worst part isn't his refusal to help pay for bringing their child into the world. It's the insults about how she couldn't hold out, and was a princess. That's a complete lack of partnership, and respect for her which is indicative of a far bigger issue."
Someone else advised: "The husband sounds like a right t**t, but the bigger issue here is that American healthcare makes people pay to have babies. Utterly appalling."
Another commented: "This is maybe the worst AH I’ve ever seen on AITA and that’s saying something," referencing the name of the forum on Reddit which encourages users to identify the "a*****e" in the argument.
Meanwhile comedian and writer Katherine Ryan threw in her opinion of the debate and received over 1,000 replies on her response. She wrote: "He'd be paying for his own funeral."
Another person sarcastically joked: "Ah the luxury of having a big a** needle in your spine yes". Someone else replied: "This would actually sicken me & I don't think I’d get over this as it would cause me bitterness, hatred & anger towards the man.
"I'd have to leave him. She deserves better. Corrr I’m actually angry for her!!"
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