Some people simply demand the better things in life.
As a result, they will only stay at the nicest hotels, only buy the finest clothes, and only eat the best food.
Often paying far more than the average person can afford to enjoy these luxuries.
The cousin of Redditor isaoas was among this crowd, and decided to wear one of her nicer blouses to meet the original poster (OP)’s daughter.
What the OP’s cousin tended to forget is that babies are not usually conscious of nice clothes, resulting in the OP’s cousin leaving the party with her blouse not in the same condition it arrived in.
Surprised by her cousin’s subsequent demand, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for refusing to pay back my cousin after my baby ruined her blouse?”
The OP explained how after coming over to meet her baby girl, her cousin left in a state of fury after the baby did what babies are known to do.
“I gave birth four weeks ago, and we decided to have a ‘baby ceremony”, where everyone gets to meet our lovely daughter Charlotte.”
“My cousin Alice and her parents were among the guests.”
“The first thing I’ll say about her is that she has expensive taste.”
“She’s the sort of person who has a minimum price range for how much she spends on clothing.”
“She doesn’t own anything that isn’t designer and has some items of clothing that cost thousands.”
“She is a banker and still lives with her parents so can afford the lifestyle.”
“It was Alice’s turn to hold the baby and she was happy to at first, but suddenly Charlotte vomited on her.”
“Alice handed Charlotte back to me and ran off crying, and spent the rest of the event crying in the car.”
“I went to see her to apologize but she didn’t want to hear any of it.”
“My mum gave her one of her shirts which was too big for her and she felt completely upset and humiliated.”
“Today I got a call from my mum, saying that she’d been on the phone with her sister, Alice’s mum, saying that they want me to reimburse the cost of the blouse, roughly £1800 since it was completely ruined.”
“I have said no.”
“At the end of the day, we all know what babies can be like.”
“She took a risk wearing something so expensive knowing a baby was nearby and unfortunately it backfired.”
“I feel bad for her but it was not my fault.”
“Am I doing the right thing by refusing to pay up?”
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
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community almost wholeheartedly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for refusing to pay for Alice’s blouse.
While some felt that the OP could have maybe offered to pay for a dry-cleaning bill but she was in no way obligated to reimburse Alice.
Reddit agreed that Alice should have thought more carefully before wearing such an expensive outfit to meet a newborn baby.
“NTA.”
“Wearing expensive designer sh*t around what is potentially a living vomit machine is one of the stupidest things you can think of to do.”
“Counter them with ‘I’ll happily pay for the dry cleaning on the shirt as a matter of responsibility, but nothing more as £1800 on a shirt is something that we can’t afford to spend at all and Alice should have known that when she attended wearing that’.”- JJSec
“NTA.”
“Not only is Alice an a**hole, but an idiot for wearing expensive clothing around a month-old baby.”
“What the f*ck does she think babies that old do?”
“They cry, eat, sleep, sh*t, and throw up.”
“It’s completely on her, and if she doesn’t like it, well tough t*tty said the kitty.”- cubiczarcarbia
“NTA.”
“Common sense to not wear expensive clothing around newborns unless you are okay with risking this happening.”
“She should have known better.”- slytherin2019
“NTA.”
“Is she for real?”
“She ran away crying?”
“Seems like the only baby in the room was Alice apparently.”
“Her fault for wearing her stupidly overpriced blouse.”- NowOutOnBluRay
“I was gonna say ESH but it’s just freaking baby vomit.”
“Wipe that sh*t off.”
“Your cousin’s a dumba** for paying that much for a dress to begin with, and to top it off, she wore it in a place where it could potentially get dirty.”
“Besides even then dry cleaning is like 30 bucks the most.”
“The f*ck is wrong with her charging you $1800.”
“You should mail your baby’s diapers to her.”
“NTA.”- hitman-_-monkey
“NTA.”
“Maybe pay to clean it?”
“How can it be ‘ruined’?”- yermomdotcom
“NTA.”
“Your cousin is spoiled.”
“Running to the car and crying? Is she five?”
“And is not considerate.”
“I am shocked she has the audacity to even ask such a thing.”
“Do me and the world a favor and call her up to tell her to grow up and act like an adult.”
“She will never be happy or satisfied in life with that personality.”- Midwestern_hotdish
“NTA.”
“Newborns are hold at your own risk.”- sansasaidsitdown
“NTA.”
“Your cousin knew she’d be holding a baby, not to mention who the hell spends £1800 on a shirt?”-joeyfromthemoon
“NTA.”
“That’s what receiving blankets are for.”
“She took the chance and got thrown up on.”
“Newborns throw up A LOT.”
“It’s her fault.”
“Crying in the car is pretty dramatic tbh.”- Darogaserik
“We first need to establish the baby’s intent.”
“This seems like a premeditated vomiting assault to me.”
“I think the baby should have to come up with the $1,800 or whatever she currently has in her possession.”
“Likely more spit up lol Clearly NTA.”- devil_ball_masher
“NOT THE A**HOLE.”
“You can offer to pay for the dry cleaning but that’s it.”
“I too love luxury items but life happens and it was a baby that she did not have to interact with by holding!”- ljp388
“So she can afford expensive things, but if one gets soiled/ruined she’s devastated?”
“Sounds like she can’t afford expensive things.”- jeremiahbootz
“NTA.”
“Alice is out of her mind if she thinks you are going to pay the cost of a 12-year-old car for a blouse that she risked.”- Sistathickness
“NTA.”
“I am commenting because a lot seem to think that the OP should pay $1800 to replace a shirt that her cousin wore while holding her infant.”
“We have been focusing on fault mostly.”
“Whether it was the fault of the OP as the parent.”
“Even though there is no way to control the behavior of an infant and puking is not uncommon, or if it’s the fault of the cousin for wearing such an expensive and fragile top to a gathering where she would be holding an infant.”
“I am going to take the position that fault does not really matter that much in this case.”
“The OP was having a gathering for family and friends.”
“Your family and friends should not be putting you in a position where you may need to replace their expensive items.”
‘Before bringing or wearing something expensive, and unnecessary, you should check with the host on whether they want to take responsibility for that item being there.”
“Or if you don’t, then if something happens to it unless someone purposely destroys it and the destroyer is the one held responsible, you can’t reasonably expect someone to pay for you to replace it.”
“A reasonable amount to pay to replace a shirt, no matter how nice, is $250 max.”
“It doesn’t matter if I accidentally bump into you with red wine, it’s a bad move to expect your family/friends to pay exorbitant amounts because you have expensive tastes.”
“If you want to wear clothes that are so much more expensive and fragile than what is normal, then you are accepting the risk of that decision.’
‘Seriously, don’t even put your family and friends in that position.”
“Accidents do happen.”
“And yes, I would refuse to pay that much to replace a shirt even if I was at fault for an accident unless informed prior to anything happening that she was wearing an expensive/fragile garment.”
“Again, the most she would get is $250.”- Circuit_Strike
There were a few, however, who felt it was unfair for Alice to be judged over her choice of clothes, even if they still felt the OP wasn’t responsible for paying for her blouse.
“ESH.”
“It’s not anyone’s business what she wears or how much money she spends on her clothes.”
“Babies are messy, however, someone that has not spent a fair amount of time around infants may not fully appreciate or understand this.”
“My son was a puker.”
“I carried a hand towel around with me all day for the first 6 months of his life and I would automatically hand it off to whoever was holding him.”
“All that said, it’s pretty crappy for her to expect you to replace her blouse.”-JustSomeBoringRando
One of the most well-known attributes about babies is their complete inability to control their bodily functions.
Leaving one to wonder why Alice chose to wear an almost priceless outfit to meet a baby.
One can only hope that this experience might teach her that she doesn’t always need to dress to impress on every occasion.