A new dad has been slammed online for refusing to pay anything toward his wife's medical bills after she have birth to their child.
The new parents recently welcomed their first baby, but the mum fears the disputes could end their seven-year marriage.
She says she feels disrespected by his treatment of her, and rightly so according to shocked listeners, who begged her to end the relationship after she shared her story online.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, the mum shared her upset after her partner refused to contribute toward the costs. She had hoped he would pay half of the fee, which came to £6647 ($8000) after her insurance paid out.
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 pair, who normally split costs, received the bill, he expected her to pay all of it. To the outrage of many, he deemed the commonly-used pain relief as 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'.
Stunned, she explained her feelings but to little avail. "He refuses to budge, calling me a princess for expecting him to pay for all the 'extra add ons'" her post outlined.
As such, she wrote that she's considering leaving her partner. "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, who feels 'blessed' not to have to worry about the money in this case, said there remains an issue. "I gave in and paid the bill, but since then we haven't been talking much and honestly I feel disrespected," she explained.
But she's not the only one, as thousands of readers were horrified by the dad's attitude when the post was shared on Twitter.
"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," read one reply. A second said: "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 pointed out: "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 put: "This is maybe the worst AH I’ve ever seen on AITA and that’s saying something," referencing the name of the forum, which encourages users to identify the "a*****e" in the argument.
Meanwhile, comedian and writer Katherine Ryan waded into the debate. In a response that has received over 1,000 likes, she wrote: "He'd be paying for his own funeral." The quote tweet also prompted further replies.
"Ah the luxury of having a big a** needle in your spine yes," read one response. Someone else answered: "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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