We often find ourselves telling someone that you “bet” they can or can’t do something, or do or don’t know something.
However, one should never throw a bet out too casually, especially if you don’t know the person you’re talking to quite well.
They could very well not only take you up on that bet but also expect you to deliver whatever you bet, be it cash, servitude, or just an action you’d really not have to go through with.
A recent Redditor was offered a bet by his girlfriend (gf), that he not only decided to accept but even went so far as to up the ante, so confident was he that he would come out on top.
Unfortunately for the original poster (OP), he lost the bet.
While the OP’s girlfriend expected him to live up to his promise and pay what he owed, the OP began to look for every possible way to get out of doing so.
Wondering if he was wrong for doing this, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for not paying when I lost a bet?”
The OP explained how they found themselves owing their gf money and why they were less than willing to pay up:
“My gf and I have been living together for about a year, and one of our main arguments is around my boxer mix, Max.”
“She thinks she’s a dog whisperer because her dog Jupiter is basically the perfect pet and that I’m a lousy dog owner.”
“I think it’s because she has a border collie that just train themselves.”
“She hasn’t developed any of the normal routines that dog owners do, like putting their shoes out of reach or never leaving food unintended, and she gets angry about everything she pays for it.”
“She left a grilled cheese and Max helped himself.”
“She was pissed and told me I was the a**hole for not training my dog.”
“I argued no dog is going to turn down a grilled cheese, and after arguing around, we agreed to see if Jupiter is that impressive by leaving steak in front of him, leaving and seeing if he sneaks a bit.”
“She said $100 was on the line, and I said sure and then said it was too low and said $1000, and I admit I agreed because I didn’t think it was possible for me to lose.”
“Well we cooked steaks and put 2 on plates near Jupiter and left.”
“She reminded Jupiter to leave it and we left a phone to record in case he licked but didn’t eat it.”
“We left for 5 min. Jupiter didn’t even seem tempted.”
“I was honestly shocked. I didn’t think it was possible.”
“I admit I’m kind of impressed.”
“Max would have eaten it immediately.”
“But now I cannot afford to pay the $1000.”
“My girlfriend wants me to pay her in increments.”
“$200/month until I paid it.”
“I’m trying to talk her into lowering the price.”
“I already paid her $100 but she thinks I’m the a**hole for agreeing and then backing out.”
“I already admitted she won and I only make $21/h, I’m not rich.”
“I think she’s getting a bit greedy and smug from winning, but AITA for trying to go back on paying the entire $1000 after losing our bet?”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
The Reddit community found little to no sympathy from the Reddit community, who pretty much unanimously agreed that he was the a**hole for refusing to pay his gf the $1k he promised her.
Everyone agreed that as the OP was the one who upped the ante from $100 to $1K, it was incredibly childish and cowardly not to pay up, also agreeing that his jealousy of his girlfriend’s dog only made things worse:
“She bet you 100, and you raised the bet x10 because you were SOOOOO sure you’d win.”
“Surely if Juniper would have eaten the steak, you would be wanting your $1000.”
“Beyond the bet itself – you give no credit and take no blame.”
“YTA.”- aj_alva
“YTA.”
“No untrained dog, perhaps.”
“Bruh.”
“Then you couldn’t afford to make the bet.” – StAlvis
“Yeah, YTA.”
“You agreed to the bet; you admit it was a bet; you admit you agreed to it; you admit you lost.”
“You are insulting your gf and the lack of training you have done with your own animal, and acting like that gives you the moral high ground somehow.”
“It doesn’t.”
“You are going back on your word because your ego pushed you to take a bet that was too expensive because you were so certain you would win, and now that she is being very reasonable about taking payments for this bet that you lost, you go back to insulting her for daring to expect you to keep your word.”
“Just admit to your gf that your word means nothing and that any time things get hard, you’ll revert to insulting her to make yourself feel better rather than doing the honorable thing.”- Tourettescatlady
“YTA.”
“Naw, you were the smug one.”
“FYI, food commands are kinda the most important.”
“You can get your dog to it.”
“Takes time and effort but its worth it as you won’t have to worry about your dog eating non-food/non-safe things.”
“Cause that’s the reason you do it, not about protecting your plate but to stop them from eating something dangerous while on a walk or something.”- pottersquash
“Tell me more about this mystical dog breed that trains itself.”
“YTA.”- QueenofBnB
“YTA.”
“Would you have forgiven her the money if Jupiter had eaten the steak?”
“Your confidence in raising the stakes suggests not.”
“So if you are calling her greedy, then be honest and admit you wanted to take advantage of her too and that was greedy too.”
“Your GF is right – you are welching on the bet.”
“I might suggest an extended timeline and ask her help in training your dog.”
“Breed does play a role, but know boxers trained by police dog handlers, and they knew to leave food alone.”
“Also know some pretty cagey border collies who’d have your sandwich as soon as look at you.”
“You may suggest you pay her back by getting your dog trained so she’s not constantly forking out to replace stuff he damaged.”- Timely_Egg_6827
“YTA.”
“YOU RAISED THE STAKES YOURSELF, dude.”
“You can’t cry to her now saying that it’s too much after ×you yourself× said that $100 bucks wasn’t enough.”
“And yes YTA also for not training your dog better.”
“I haven’t tried to do this with my dog with me out of the room, but if I tell her leave it, she does, even with my back turned.”
“It’s possible.”
“Further, you are also the AH for insinuating that your GF dog came pre-trained.”
“I guarantee that what you’re seeing is after it’s lots of training.”
“True, BCs can be easier to train, but I’ve also known badly trained ones, as well as ones that were as dumb as a doornail.”
“Give her the respect she has earned for putting in the work with her dog.”- NotCreativeAtAll16
“YTA.”
“For not training your dog properly.”
“If you have to put your shoes out of reach so your dog doesn’t chew them up then the dog is not properly trained.”
“Also, making bets that you won’t/can’t pay for is an a**hole move.”
“But it’s more the dog thing.”- NoHorseNoMustache
“YTA.”
“Seriously, did you even read this back to yourself?”
“Train the dog, be nicer to your girlfriend, and pay what you owe. “
“You’re an adult.”- revengeofthebiscuit
“YTA.”
“Would you have forgiven the debt if you had won instead?”- Forced_Storm
“YTA.”
“Sounds like she is a dog owner who set proper boundaries early.”
“It’s amazing what a bit of good training and habits can do.”- rora_borealis
“YTA.”
“And you’re showing all of us (including her) that your word is worth nothing.”
“You know that if you would have won you would have been all over her to pay you.”
“You know you would because YOU upped the bet thinking that you couldn’t lose.”
“You lost.”
“Pony up.”- slap-a-frap
“YTA.”
“Does your word mean nothing?”
“You agreed to the bet because you thought you couldn’t lose and I bet you’d be actively enforcing it if she’d lost.”
“I guess dogs really do resemble their owners.”- SunshineShoulders87
“YTA.”
“You decided to f*ck around, and now you’ve found out.”
“It’s unfair to renege on a bet that you yourself decided to raise just because you didn’t think you’d lose.”
“That is extremely sh*tty.”
“You should’ve just stuck to your girlfriend’s original suggestion of $100 and not gotten cocky.”
“Also train your damn dog.”- Scared_Fox_1813
“Put your money where your mouth is” is, traditionally, an expression.
However, one imagines that the OP’s girlfriend is rather hoping that the OP might literally do just that.
As just about everyone has pointed out, the OP has no one but himself to blame that he owes her $1K when he could have only owed her $100.