Fury Over What Man Won't Buy Gen Z Girlfriend Despite Her Being 'in Pain'

The internet has rallied behind a woman after her boyfriend refused to buy her sanitary products when she unexpectedly got her period.

In a post on Reddit, the 25-year-old woman, who goes by /u/Normal_Young_7698, said that as she was about to leave work, she asked her 28-year-old boyfriend of three years to pick up some sanitary pads while he was at the supermarket. His refusal led to a tense exchange.

"His answer was 'I'm not doing that,'" the poster wrote, "then I said 'I'm going home, they are on the personal hygiene aisle, I need them.' His answer was 'So go get them?' And I replied: 'aren't you going to the store?'

"He said: 'Yeah...' so I replied: I'm telling you to please get it for me' and his answer was 'I said I'm not doing that but you keep asking' and I ended the conversation by saying 'ok thanks,'" she continued.

The post has received 19,000 upvotes. Newsweek contacted /u/Normal_Young_7698 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

The poster said that though she was in pain, she ended up going to the store herself for the pads, having to use scrunched-up toilet paper in the meantime to avoid making a mess.

She added: "I always say: it's not what you say it's HOW you say it. IF he feels uncomfortable he could've said 'I'm sorry but that makes me uncomfortable so I won't be able to do so' and I could see it with a different perspective... However, he is 28 and I think it's a very immature thing to be embarrassed about."

The user later edited the post to say that when her boyfriend had a terrible skiing accident, in which he fractured his right leg and dislocated his left shoulder, he could not move, so she had to help him use the bathroom.

After their argument, the couple had a long conversation in which the boyfriend said he was in the wrong. The poster summarized his reasoning, explaining that he was dealing with nicotine withdrawal, the supermarket he visited didn't carry personal hygiene products, and he had social anxiety about buying them.

According to the poster, he said his mother never taught him about pads and that he was never asked to buy them in past relationships. Ultimately, he acknowledged his behavior was unacceptable and apologized.

Despite the apology, the poster was left questioning the relationship.

Expert Insight

Channa Bromley, a relationship expert, weighed in on the situation.

She told Newsweek: "Refusing to buy your partner pads isn't about pads. It's about emotional maturity, empathy, and the invisible contract of partnership. When someone you love asks for help, especially with something tied to their physical well-being, the automatic response should be to step up, not shut down. The pads are just the symptom. The real issue is his discomfort with basic caretaking when it's inconvenient for him.

"The boyfriend's excuses like social anxiety, lack of exposure, and nicotine withdrawal are just noise. They're the adult equivalent of saying the dog ate my homework. At 28, if he's capable of navigating a supermarket aisle, he's capable of handling a request that requires minimal effort and basic human decency."

Bromley said the poster should focus on what her boyfriend's behavior revealed about him.

"It's about whether you want to build a life with someone whose default setting is self-preservation over partnership. The right person doesn't need to be begged to care. They just do," she said.

Reddit Reacts

The post prompted 10,000 comments from Redditors, many of whom shared their own experiences and opinions.

One user wrote: "I had been with my boyfriend for 6 months when I asked him to please buy some tampons for me on his way to my apartment. He called 20 minutes later in a panic saying 'why are there so many?! What can be so different?! And why are they so expensive, did you know they were that expensive? I'm gonna FaceTime so you can tell me what flavour you need.'

"6 years later and he proudly tells people he knows what brand I need, when we talk about him buying them for me, which he often does since he shops more than me. Your boyfriend is an a**."

"Wait, you wiped his a** when he was injured and he is too embarrassed to buy you pads at the grocery store? Girl, it's time to dump him," another user said.

"Girl, no. Is he embarrassed to buy f****** toilet paper, too? This is a child, not a man. Wtf. Seriously, at 28 years old, if a man can't go buy pads or tampons, then they can't be counted on when life gets real. Just run. Please. It does not get better from here, I promise," a commenter wrote.

Another added: "If you have kids, he's probably not going to ever change a diaper! Think about it."

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