A woman decided to get a dog after her boyfriend, who is allergic, seemingly broke up with her — only for him to want her back weeks later.
The woman took to Reddit to ask for advice on how to handle this situation, explaining that her boyfriend “was going through a tough time” and said he “needed a break.”
“He said he was going to press pause on our relationship and go visit his family in Washington,” she writes. “I asked how you pause a relationship because I don’t understand how that works. He said he needed some time to work on himself and asked me to respect that.”
When the woman reached out to see if he made it back home safely, he didn’t respond. She also didn’t receive a response when she asked if his silence meant they were over.
The woman concluded that he “ghosted” her, and her friends all recommended she get a hobby. Instead, she decided to get a dog.
“My boyfriend is horribly allergic to pet dander, so I never even considered getting a pet,” she explains. “However, since he broke up with me, I decided to get one. He’s a senior dog from the shelter that needed rescuing. He’s low energy and likes to lay with his head in my lap while I read, work or watch TV.”
However, six weeks later, her boyfriend texted her, saying he was back in town and “coming over” the following day so they could talk.
“I was shocked and texted him back asking what he was talking about. He said he was back and ready to unpause our relationship,” she writes. “He said he would talk to me about everything the next day. I texted back asking what relationship. He didn’t answer.”
When he showed up at her apartment, he claimed he had “done a lot of self-examination and was ready to move forward on his life path.”
He also “wanted to talk about moving in together,” until he saw her dog and “started freaking out.” He asked her how she could get a dog, knowing “how sick he gets.”
She told him that she “didn’t think it mattered” because he ended their relationship, but he fought back, claiming that “he didn’t break up with me.”
“I said he ghosted me,” she continues. “He said he communicated with me, telling me he was pressing pause and visiting family.”
They argued in circles until he had to leave because of an allergic reaction.
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“I feel like he broke up with me, and it was okay that I got a dog,” she shares. “He says that he never did, and therefore, it’s a horrible act of disregard to have gotten a dog.”
The people in the comments of the post defended the woman, noting that not hearing from him for six weeks meant they were no longer together.
“It’s only a ‘pause’ if both parties agree. A one-sided pause when the other is against it is, in fact, just a breakup,” one person wrote.
“You can’t just walk away, ignore someone for weeks, and expect them to wait around like nothing happened. That’s not a pause. That’s a vanishing act,” another person wrote, echoing the same sentiment.
A few of the commenters advised the woman to remain single, block the man if necessary, and enjoy her life with her dog.
“Block him and move on. He has no right to disappear without communication, reappear as if nothing had happened, and expect you to be okay with it,” someone else wrote. “I’m willing to bet good money that if you accept this behavior once, it will become a recurring issue for the rest of your relationship or life. Nobody has time for that nonsense.”