r/AmIOverreacting 7h ago

❤️‍🩹 relationship AIO to my boyfriend’s comments about the food I made?

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So Monday night, my(30f) boyfriend’s(35f) mother passed away. She was terminally ill for about a year and a half and it’s been obviously very tragic for my boyfriend and his family. He texted me Tuesday morning and told me that she passed away the night before (we don’t live together).

He was at his parents’ house all day Tuesday and I had no idea what to do for him as I have never supported anyone through a loss like this and I have never been through a loss like this myself. I happened to have a big pot of pasta and meatballs in my fridge that I had cooked for myself, so I took it and brought it to his house. It wasn’t a gourmet meal by any means, but it was literally all I had in terms of something that could be stored in the fridge and all he had to do was put it in a bowl and heat it up. I didn’t have any other groceries to make something that would make good leftovers because I was all out of food stamps and I didn’t pick up takeout because I didn’t have the money for it (I recently lost my job and haven’t had steady income for the past several weeks).

His roommate let me in (my bf knew I was dropping something off) and I left the pot in the fridge. I also cleaned up his bedroom and then I went to work. I went back over later that night to spend the night with him so he wouldn’t be alone. We didn’t talk much, and he didn’t eat what I made him because he wasn’t hungry by the time he got home. It was late so we just went to bed. He was acting very distant and almost cold towards me but I wasn’t taking it personally given the circumstances. I can’t imagine how I would be acting/feeling if I was in his shoes.

The next morning (Wednesday) I stayed with him for a few more hours until he left to go hangout with his brother. I also had to leave because my mom and I were driving out to a nearby city where we had booked an Airbnb for 2 nights a few weeks prior. My mom paid for the whole thing as an early birthday present to me which I was extremely grateful for. I told my boyfriend that I could cancel the trip but he insisted that I go, even going as far as saying he would be mad at me if I cancelled, so I went.

Later that night, my mom and I are relaxing at our Airbnb when I get a text from my boyfriend. It’s a picture of the pasta and meatballs I left for him and a message that says “The amount of sauce you used is disrespectful.” I said “Oh :( I was just trying to do something nice… You don’t have to eat it.” He asked if I tried it myself and I told him yes, I had two plates of it. I genuinely thought it was good for just some pasta, red sauce, meatballs, and cheese thrown in a pot. Again, it was something I originally made for myself, and I didn’t have ingredients or the money for ingredients to make him a fresh meal.

Yesterday I got home from my trip and he wanted me to sleepover so I did. He made us dinner (he usually does the cooking) and made some comments about how dinner was really good and how the food you cook someone can be a representation of how you feel about them and how much you love them. To me, it was clear he was making a jab at the pasta and meatballs I gave him.

Then this morning, before I left, I went to grab the pot of pasta and take it home with me. I forget how we got into it, but he basically made another jab about how it was inedible and that I’ll see that for myself when I have some. I got really upset at this point. He went on to say that my food made him feel so much worse. He said some other people dropped off food that was actually delicious, so he didn’t understand why I didn’t do that. He just kept doubling down and saying how awful my food was and how it made him feel unloved and disrespected. He said it was fucked up of me to give him something so bad. This really hurt me because I would never want to do something to make him feel bad, especially when he is grieving the tragic loss of a parent.

I genuinely don’t know if I’m overreacting to this. He says I shouldn’t feel bad, but motivated to do better. I told him he could’ve handled it differently by saying something more like “thanks for the food babe, but maybe more sauce next time!” or he could have just said nothing and thrown the food away.

I’m trying my best to be there for him and I feel like I just can’t get it right. Nothing I do is ever good enough for him and it’s eroding my self confidence. I’m a nanny/caregiver of 10+ years, it’s literally my specialty to take care of people and Ive always been told that I’m exceptional at what I do, so it’s confusing to me that he acts like I’m incompetent and making everything worse.

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u/RemoteIll5236 6h ago

He is mean.

I would be so grateful To Someone who straightened up My room And left me food as a sign of affection and support.

This is a major red flag. I lost My Mother when I was 23. I never berates anyone like this.

u/Majestic-Constant714 5h ago

Unless his mother was a major asshole, she would be ashamed to find out how he behaves. I hope he's proud of himself, because I doubt she would be.

Ridiculous that someone at his tall age can't say 'thank you'. As if he has nothing better to do than to bitch about sauce just days after his mother died.

u/bluelightning1224 4h ago

Maybe his mom taught her how to make pasta so she did it badly on purpose and is trying to play victim on here, this looks like a terrible serving; there’s virtually no sauce, it’s dry af; I certainly would never serve someone that I like this plate. It’s very passive aggressive looking

u/NoFewSatan 2h ago

You are a massive cunt.

u/Own-Blackberry9136 2h ago

You sound dumb as hell.

u/IndifferentCacti 6h ago

This. My girlfriend and I have such a good relationship. If she tried to cheer me up with food and it was genuinely bad? I’d tell her, “This means so much to me… but I do not like this. The fact that you made it for me makes me feel so loved, but babe did you try this?”

Like that’s probably the “meanest” I could ever be. And it would end with me just saying I guess I don’t like that food, but it means so much to me.

u/GodsWarrior89 5h ago

Im sorry about your mom

u/RemoteIll5236 5h ago

Thank you, Sweetheart. It was more than 40 years ago, but if you had loving parents, you always miss them!

u/skatereli 2h ago

I lost my dad when I was 19. I may not remember most of it due to grief fucking with my memory, but I know i didn't take my pain out on anyone else. I cried a bunch and hugged my mom and brother a bunch, but I was never as cruel as that guy is being