Wife Dragged for Guilting 'Cheap' Husband Out of First Class Seat to Miami

Members of a popular internet forum were outraged after one woman revealed how she manipulated her husband into giving up his first class plane ticket in the name of chivalry.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, an anonymous Redditor (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she was invited to accompany her husband to a work conference in Miami but lamented over his frugality pertaining to flights and supposed refusal to put her on the pedestal she thought she deserved.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for making my husband fly coach while I flew first class?" the post has received more than 14,000 upvotes and 2,500 comments since September 18.

"My husband's...company recently chose him to attend a conference in Miami," OP began. "The company told them that they were allowed to bring their spouses/partners but that they wouldn't be springing for plane tickets for us."

Continuing to explain that she jumped at the opportunity, the original poster said her husband was scheduled to fly first class, and asked if she would be comfortable flying coach, in order to stay within a reasonable budget.

The original poster also said she was absolutely not on board with flying in a lower class than her husband, and immediately employed numerous guilt tactics to ensure that it didn't happen.

"This really, really bothered me," OP wrote. "I understood that a first class ticket for me would strain our budget a bit, but what kind of man lives it up in first class while his wife sits in coach?

"I insisted that if we couldn't truly afford a first class seat for me...that he as a gentleman should give up his seat for me," OP continued. "We argued but he ultimately agreed to give me his seat.

"We had a good time in Miami but he's been a little mad at me since, saying that he earned his first class seat," OP added. "I think he's being a baby and that he should have put his wife's comfort above his own, especially since he made the choice to be cheap."

Like with housing, food, medical care and virtually every other industry, travel costs have skyrocketed throughout 2022.

And while astronomical gas prices over the summer were the most obvious indicator for this major uptick, airfare has also taken a major toll on bank accounts across the United States, and rest of the world.

Although flight prices are currently on the decline, recent data published by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics revealed that first quarter airfare in 2022 was up 16.9 percent from the same period in 2021.

Last month, travel website Hopper reported that the average cost of a domestic flight in August was $286, marking a 25 percent decrease from May, when airfare reached its peak in the United States.

However, first class airline tickets are anything but average and, in many cases, upgrading to first class can push a three-digit price tag into four-digit territory.

Throughout the comment section of the viral Reddit post, Redditors acknowledged the potential costs associated with first class airfare and questioned why the original poster didn't pony up the extra money to move herself out of coach, instead of guilting her husband into giving up the seat he'd earned at work.

"[You're the a**hole]," Redditor u/clave0051 wrote in the post's top comment, which has received nearly 57,000 upvotes. "What kind of wife insists her husband give up the ticket his company paid for on his behalf so she could 'live it up a little?'

"Why didn't you just cover the difference of first class yourself?" they continued.

"She is selfish, entitled, manipulative [and] greedy," another Redditor commented, receiving nearly 20,000 upvotes. "If [you're] going to be financially hurting/strapped by buying a first class ticket, then the reality is you cannot afford it and are trying to live above your means"

Redditor u/rheajenkins, whose comment has received more than 21,000 upvotes, echoed that sentiment.

"You're a hypocrite and you cheated him out of something he earned and deserved just for your personal enjoyment," they wrote. "He didn't have to bring you to Florida."

"And then called him a baby when she herself made a big deal out of it," Redditor u/hummingelephant added, receiving more than 7,000 upvotes.

"This was his moment, his trip," Redditor u/kjm158 chimed in, receiving more than 14,000 upvotes. "He wanted to share that with you, but it seems like that in and of itself wasn't good enough for you."