Internet commenters rallied in defense of one father who used money intended for his fiancée’s wedding dress to replace his daughter’s broken iPad.
In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/No_Masterpiece7661 (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said his soon-to-be stepdaughter was responsible for the damaged device and detailed the heated aftermath of his decision to right a wrong, right away.
Titled, “[Am I the a**hole] for taking money from the dress budget we had to pay for the iPad my fiancée’s kid broke?” the post has received more than 10,000 upvotes and 1,700 comments since September 17.
“My fiancée and I are getting married in three months,” OP began. “We both have a kid from a previous relationship, my daughter Spencer (15F) and her daughter Emma (8F).
Continuing to explain that their children get along well, the original poster said he purchased his daughter an iPad last year, and that the 15-year-old brings it everywhere she goes, using it for creative and academic purposes.
The original poster also said his fiancée’s 8-year-old daughter recently became interested in the iPad—so much so that rules were put into place to ensure the device didn’t end up broken.
Unfortunately, they were less than effective.
“Emma likes to sit by the stairs and watch videos on my or my fiancée’s phone,” OP wrote. “Five days ago, she took Spencer’s iPad and sat there.
“She got scared when she heard my fiancé calling her and dropped it. It broke the screen completely and my daughter was so sad,” OP continued. “My fiancé said all of her money is currently going to her, her [maid of honor], bridesmaids’ and mom’s dresses and I said I’ll take the money from there and [buy] Spencer a new one.
“I guess she didn’t believe me…[but] the next day I went to buy it and paid [with] the card we use for the wedding expenses (it has BOTH of our money in it),” OP added. “[My fiancée] came at me, calling me an [a**hole] and saying she’ll now have to get cheaper dresses…because ‘I stole from her.'”
Last year, couples in the United States spent an average of $28,000 on weddings, according to The Knot’s 2021 Real Weddings Survey.
Including an engagement ring, that figure jumps to a whopping $34,000.
But while ceremony and reception venues, as well as catering companies, come with the largest price tag, the perfect wedding dress is sure to cost a pretty penny.
In 2021, 93 percent of brides-to-be elected to purchase new gowns, rather than opting for a second hand, sentimental option. And according to The Knot’s Real Weddings Survey, the average cost of a new wedding dress was $1,800.
Add in gowns for the maid of honor, other bridesmaids and the bride’s mother, and couples that elect to cover outfits for their wedding party are looking at a multi-thousand dollar tab for dresses alone.
iPads on Apple.com range from $329 to $1,099, comparatively.
Mother picking up tablet with smashed screen. Members of Reddit’s r/AmITheA**hole were shocked by one mother’s objection to replacing an iPad her 8-year-old daughter broke.
AndreyPopov/iStock / Getty Images Plus
However, Redditors responding to the viral Reddit post were adamant that, no matter the cost, the original poster’s fiancée should have taken financial responsibility for the device her daughter broke. Regardless of how it would affect her plans to buy dresses for herself and her bridal party.
“Emma broke an [iPad] she was expressly told she was not to touch,” Redditor u/Helia-axis wrote in the post’s top comment, which has received more than 18,000 upvotes. “You told your partner you would be using money to replace it from a joint account.”
“Her dresses and wedding costs do NOT take precedence over other bills and obligations,” Redditor u/1moreKnife2theheart chimed in, receiving more than 6,000 upvotes. “Replacing the [iPad] is an obligation and expense. Her daughter took something that wasn’t hers, that she had been told on numerous occasions not to touch…and ended up breaking it.”
Redditor u/cryinoverwangxian, whose comment has received more than 1,000 upvotes, warned of what OP’s fiancée’s reaction to his replacing the iPad could mean for his family’s future.
“If Spencer had learned your fiancée wouldn’t replace it and would make her wait ’til later, how would she feel about your soon to be wife?” they questioned. “Life is about more than her wedding.”
“Take this incident as a window to your future life,” Redditor u/unpopularcryptonite echoed, receiving more than 7,000 upvotes. “Visualize where your daughter is on your fiancée’s priority list.”
Newsweek reached out to u/No_Masterpiece7661 for comment.
