When it comes to giving gifts, it's the thought that counts, not the price tag. However, in the case of one young woman, the low cost felt very significant indeed.
The 21-year-old woman was away on holiday with her boyfriend, also 21, and his family, aboard their yacht when he began giving out extravagant gifts.
As she herself has explained, her boyfriend is very wealthy, while she is from a more modest, middle-class background. Therefore, he really didn't need to spare any expense when it came to treating his loved ones.
And so she watched on as his parents, siblings, and their significant others were handed expensive presents, including fine wine, luxury watches, and beautiful dresses. Then it was her turn.
Unfortunately, her eager anticipation quickly turned to embarrassment after he presented her with "one of those plastic bracelets with their company name on it" which she says anybody can get for free at the company’s main headquarters.
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Taking to Reddit, the ticked-off girlfriend, who goes by the username u/aita-bfwiwowoeoe, recalled: "I was a little taken aback and a little embarrassed but didn’t want to be rude. Everyone was kind of looking at me in a way that they were both amused and also pitiful.
"I didn’t want to complain so I said thanks and moved on. When we got inside, I asked my boyfriend what that was about and he told me to be grateful and stop complaining because he always gets me nice gifts, which is true. I just stopped pushing it because I felt like I was being selfish there and he did have a point."
She continued: "I feel like what he did was very degrading. He could’ve gotten me no gift at all and that would’ve been less humiliating. I feel like trash for feeling this way, but he’s always been mindful and I don’t understand why he did that. It made me feel cheap in front of everyone."
Confused about the whole situation, she's now reached out to fellow Reddit users to see whether her hurt feelings are indeed justified.
Many people completely understood where she was coming from, and regarded the bracelet as a "pointed dig", intended to publicly embarrass her.
One person wrote: "The issue isn't that he didn't get you a good enough gift; the issue is that he very carefully and deliberately showed you up in front of his family. I would ask him in private what he was trying to do there."
Another said: "The stop complaining part feels like he did it on purpose to humiliate you. I do not care about money/stuff that much, but that would hurt.
"Not something you do by mistake either. I would let it rest since you are stuck on a ship with him, but this feels all sorts of wrong.
"After you are off the ship, best get a clear answer to why he did that. He is not a better person for having rich parents, and should not be trying to make his girlfriend feel like he is."
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