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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU - Retracted Mothers Day Treat?

302 replies

mummytippy · 31/03/2025 12:20

So a few weeks ago my BF asked me if I’d like to go out for Mother’s Day (his treat) if I had nothing planned with my 18 yo DS who is still a college student and living at home. I said I didn’t know what I was doing as not yet discussed it with my DS. Usually my DS will usually just get me a card as not earning and we don’t go out since my Mum passed away 3 years ago. When my Dad was alive we’d all go out on Mother’s Day and he would treat me, my Mum and my DS. I thought offering to take me out was a lovely gesture from my BF and I was really looking forward to it. As the time drew nearer, I asked him if he’d like to ask his Mum and also if it would be okay to take my DS, so 4 of us. He said he thought it was a lovely idea and even remarked it would be both mums and their sons. He knows I’m struggling since the loss of my parents and that I’m struggling with the menopause in that me and him won’t have children of our own. I also had a miscarriage just before my DS was conceived and I think about that baby on Mothers Day too. My BF has grown up children. He booked a table for 4 at a local pub. This was also the first time my DS was meeting my BF’s elderly parents too. I was really looking forward to it all and felt happier he’d asked his Mum as he is very lucky to still have her and she is lovely. She was also very excited. Anyway, all was well with me until after we sat down, drinks were chosen and he headed to the bar. I went with him to help carry the drinks back to the table but upon being asked if he wanted to pay for the drinks, or open a tab for the table, he asked me what I’d like to do while he secured a tab with his card. As we walked away from the bar I said ‘what do you mean, I thought this was your treat?’ He said he was sorry he had said that and yes it was. This was while walking back to the table. It wasn’t resolved and I was very confused so after we’d all decided what to eat we returned to the bar together to order the food. He said he would get it and I could transfer my share to him? Again I said I thought this was a treat but because now I was upset/shocked/annoyed and still confused (all at the same time) and I’m currently short of money (which he knows) I said I can’t afford to transfer you money so I’ll just get it on my credit card and tapped my credit card. The amount included the drinks. We then went and sat back down and I felt really upset but obviously put a brave face on things as his Mum was there and my DS who surprisingly was very chatty were smiling away. I was so upset I could not look my BF in the eyes. For me the occasion had gone from a treat for me to us now going 50/50 which is what we normally do. From the pub we returned his Mum home and spent an hour there with his Dad too so my DS could also meet him. My DS loved them. Anyway once back at my house I told him how I felt about us splitting it 50/50 when originally it was him inviting me out for a treat, and his answer was that that was if it had been just the two of us. So I asked how could that be, was he going to ask his Mum to pay for herself? Was it because I’d taken my DS? and he didn’t want to pay for him, but I’d asked if I could invite him and he’d said yes. He said he thought I’d have realised this changed things. I told him no I hadn’t. I said unless he’d have said to me that because it wasn’t now just the two of us so would I be happy to now go halves I was left feeling like I’d caused my own Mother’s Day treat to unravel and no longer be a treat. He said he wanted me to see his point of view and apologised. To add to this the pub took a £20 deposit for the table on booking on his card which they have not deducted from the total bill which was £60. He now has to go back to the pub to have the deposit refunded. Am I being unreasonable to think the original offer of lunch out being on him should still stand as I do feel very disappointed. As it stands the cost for me and my DS is £30. My DS wanted another drink so I sent him to the bar with my card to tap for that. My BF currently has the receipt to take back to the pub to get the deposit refunded. Last night I did not sleep as this has upset me so much and I’m feeling very resentful.

OP posts:
HamptonPlace · 01/04/2025 16:48

honeylulu · 31/03/2025 12:53

It's a bit of a mess but I would say:

Your boyfriend should not have retracted the offer to treat you.

You should not have invited your son and assumed he would also be treated.

Your boyfriend should have clarified with you when agreeing you could bring your son that he would need to pay for himself or you would need to cover his share.

Your boyfriend was still being vague the first time you asked him whether he was still treating you. He said yes but didn't clarify the position with your sons bill and then wanted you to split the whole bill anyway, so you actually got NO TREAT. He should have covered 3 people (himself, mum and you) and you should have covered one (your son).

It sounds like he changed his mind and conveniently blamed you for confusing matters, despite having plenty of opportunity to address this himself, and he's ended up with a better deal than he originally proposed.

What a grim life you must lead to be so petty.. they're not buying a house! Just an inexpensive pub lunch.....

CloudywMeatballs · 01/04/2025 16:57

This is all so outside my experience that I'm finding it hard to even imagine being in your situation, OP.

First of all, why was your boyfriend of 8 month's first thought about Mother's Day to take you out for a meal, not his own mother? And why wouldn't he have thought that you would want your own son to be there?

When your boyfriend did ask his mum to the meal, why on earth didn't he also invite his father? Who does that? So strange to me.

He is apparently decently well off, yet his idea of a treat is a place where you can get food and drinks for only 15 pounds each? And given how cheap it was, why would it even cross his mind not to just pay for everyone? He sounds extremely miserly, and I couldn't stand that.

Obviously there was some miscommunication between you, and that needs to be addressed if this relationship is to continue. But in your shoes I'm not sure I would want it to.

As for the people saying that your son should have treated you to the meal. That's completely ridiculous. Legally he may be an adult now, barely, but he's a teenager who's still in school and not working. Of course he doesn't pay for meals out with his parent!

honeylulu · 01/04/2025 17:10

HamptonPlace · 01/04/2025 16:48

What a grim life you must lead to be so petty.. they're not buying a house! Just an inexpensive pub lunch.....

Erm, thanks! Was just trying to be helpful to OP but never mind. I must get back to my grim and petty life 😂 I hope you have a lovely day.

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 17:12

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 01/04/2025 10:49

' I got it massively wrong thinking that on Mothers Day he would just pay £15 for my son to make me happy as part of my treat.'

this is where it all goes wrong

your ' treat ' was only £15 anyway, but now you have doubled the cost of your ' treat ' and turned it into a family day out.

he didn't offer to take you and your son out on Mother's Day, he offered to take you.

Why he did that I have no idea, you are not his mother and you are not the mother of his children, you are the mother of your son but he is not related in any way to your son.

He never met your mum, and it wasn't his child that you miscarried 19 + years ago.

and does he even know you are upset and sad that you won't be having children with him ?

Firstly it's only been 8 months, secondly I guess he must be 40+ if not early 50's - he already has children - adult ones. I wouldn't think that having babies with you ever crossed his mind.

You, as someone has already said, thought you were going to recreate the good old days when your dad paid for you and your mum.

but he is not your dad, this is not his family.

His mistake was to even suggest taking you out on Mother's Day.

did he take you out on Valentines ?

Yes, he took me out. We went 50/50 on Valentine’s Day.

OP posts:
CloudywMeatballs · 01/04/2025 17:17

"Yes, he took me out. We went 50/50 on Valentine’s Day."

That's not him taking you out then. I'm not saying a man should take a woman out on Valentine's Day, but the fact is he didn't. The two of you went out together on Valentine's Day. Big difference.

PeggyMitchellsCameo · 01/04/2025 17:20

A man earning a good wage and taking is his hard-up partner for a meal on Valentine’s Day and it’s 50/50…..

HamptonPlace · 01/04/2025 17:22

honeylulu · 01/04/2025 17:10

Erm, thanks! Was just trying to be helpful to OP but never mind. I must get back to my grim and petty life 😂 I hope you have a lovely day.

'mountain out a molehill' or similar i should have said. i do endeavour to be polite when posting, but this fell below that standard. my sincere apologies

TryForSpring · 01/04/2025 17:23

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 01/04/2025 10:49

' I got it massively wrong thinking that on Mothers Day he would just pay £15 for my son to make me happy as part of my treat.'

this is where it all goes wrong

your ' treat ' was only £15 anyway, but now you have doubled the cost of your ' treat ' and turned it into a family day out.

he didn't offer to take you and your son out on Mother's Day, he offered to take you.

Why he did that I have no idea, you are not his mother and you are not the mother of his children, you are the mother of your son but he is not related in any way to your son.

He never met your mum, and it wasn't his child that you miscarried 19 + years ago.

and does he even know you are upset and sad that you won't be having children with him ?

Firstly it's only been 8 months, secondly I guess he must be 40+ if not early 50's - he already has children - adult ones. I wouldn't think that having babies with you ever crossed his mind.

You, as someone has already said, thought you were going to recreate the good old days when your dad paid for you and your mum.

but he is not your dad, this is not his family.

His mistake was to even suggest taking you out on Mother's Day.

did he take you out on Valentines ?

What an unpleasant post. To trawl through OP's situation like this, looking for justifications for her boyfriend's tightness, reveals way more about you than OP.

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 17:49

Moonnstars · 01/04/2025 15:20

I felt it was strange to invite his mum but leave dad at home, would you invite one parent out for a meal with yourself, a partner and their child and not invited the other parent (where both parents are together?!). I might go for lunch with my mum, but I would not go out with my husband and our kids and only invite my mum and not my dad.

Also he said he would treat her. No mention of mum or kid. As I have said beforehand not everyone makes a big gesture for mother's day (though on MN it seems to be a big thing). If the OP wanted to be treated she should have said sounds lovely and gone with it. Or she could have asked whether he wanted to do something with his mum that day instead. End of. No need for the 18 year old to have been involved at all, until it became the family meal which was entirely different to being taken out for a treat by your partner.

When I was originally asked, I did ask him if he’d not be taking his Mum out and his reply was he never had. He’d only ever bought her a card and given her presents. It was because I thought his offer to take me out was odd that I then asked him if he’d like to take his Mum out too. With hindsight I should have declined and arranged something with my DS on our own. After all it’s cost the same amount of money.

OP posts:
AlwaysPerfumed · 01/04/2025 17:50

OP.

I don't know who is right or wrong in this situation. You are certainly not in the wrong to ask for your share of the money back.

However, your recent update about Valentine's Day is an eye opener. I know there's a lot of old guff about why should a man pay but I think most people-of my acquaintance anyway-would expect a man to pay for his Valentine's meal.

I imagine he wouldn't go out on Valentine's Night with a male friend. He went to dinner with you to show you that he cherishes you and yet the 50/50 rule was adhered to as if you were just a mate.

In the light of that, I really would be thinking about how this man cherishes you, wants to do things for you, loves you, is delighted by you.

If he thinks you are humdrum now then it will not get better.

You sound very caring. Say goodbye to him. Let him keep the £30 as a farewell gift. I'm afraid to say I don't believe he was unable to answer your text until 10.45

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 17:52

When I was originally asked, I did ask him if he’d not be taking his Mum out and his reply was he never had. He’d only ever bought her a card and given her presents. He said she was happy with this. It was because I thought his offer to take me out alone was odd on Mothers Day and that his mum has been a bit unwell that I then asked him if he’d like to take his Mum out too. With hindsight I should have declined and arranged something with my DS on our own. After all it’s cost the same amount of money or it will have when he decides to transfer it.

OP posts:
likeafishneedsabike · 01/04/2025 17:54

Is it me, or does ‘50/50’ seem to have become a weapon of misogyny?
I seem to be hearing about this 50/50 business on mumsnet a lot, and not in a good way. Many men are demanding 50/50 when their wives are off on maternity leave, for example. Grim transactional approach.
If he flinched at the idea of £60 (a bargain) on mothers’ day then why didn’t he cook instead?

likeafishneedsabike · 01/04/2025 17:59

OP, I think the Valentine’s Day is a real red flag too. Again, transactional. It would be better to buy and cook at home than for him to put his hand out to you at the end of the meal. Gross.

hopeishere · 01/04/2025 18:01

Why did you pay the whole bill though? Why didn’t you just pay half?

Isthisit22 · 01/04/2025 18:07

Oh god, how can you even be bothered to talk to him about this? £60 for 4 Sunday lunches- that is cheap as chips.. and he won’t pay?
He is selfish, tight and mean.
You can talk all you like about ground rules but you’ll never change his inherent meanness of spirit.
Dump him or he’ll grind the life out of you.

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 18:07

TryForSpring · 01/04/2025 17:23

What an unpleasant post. To trawl through OP's situation like this, looking for justifications for her boyfriend's tightness, reveals way more about you than OP.

Nice that all the negatives in my life that trouble me by still affecting me have been put under a spot light here and not in a particularly nice way.

Only just having it confirmed I’ve gone through the menopause and the fact I can’t control whether I have any more children or not has been a difficult thing for me to accept.

OP posts:
Isthisit22 · 01/04/2025 18:08

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 17:52

When I was originally asked, I did ask him if he’d not be taking his Mum out and his reply was he never had. He’d only ever bought her a card and given her presents. He said she was happy with this. It was because I thought his offer to take me out alone was odd on Mothers Day and that his mum has been a bit unwell that I then asked him if he’d like to take his Mum out too. With hindsight I should have declined and arranged something with my DS on our own. After all it’s cost the same amount of money or it will have when he decides to transfer it.

See- he’s right and miserly with his own mother too.
This man will bring you no joy. You can do much better

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 18:13

likeafishneedsabike · 01/04/2025 17:54

Is it me, or does ‘50/50’ seem to have become a weapon of misogyny?
I seem to be hearing about this 50/50 business on mumsnet a lot, and not in a good way. Many men are demanding 50/50 when their wives are off on maternity leave, for example. Grim transactional approach.
If he flinched at the idea of £60 (a bargain) on mothers’ day then why didn’t he cook instead?

I was quick to suggest 50/50 at the start of the relationship as I did not want to be labelled a taker or seen to sponge of my BF.
This is the main reason I wanted us to pay this way. He has taken me out 4 times and paid in full. One of these occasions was my birthday.

OP posts:
Whatinthedoopla · 01/04/2025 18:15

I went out for a meal on mother's day and had to pay for myself, 2 kids, half of my mum's, and my partners! All because he says he doesn't celebrate mother's day! And he got about 3 drinks which he normally doesn't do. Consider yourself lucky!

ThreePointOneFourOneFiveNine · 01/04/2025 18:41

mummytippy · 01/04/2025 08:28

Thank you for the further comments. So as it currently stands my goodnight message at 21:30 remains unread and no further comms from him or transfer of any money. He’s wanted us to book a mini break for sometime next month but due to me being so short of money and my DS having A level exams then too it hasn’t been arranged. I have told him on numerous occasions that I cannot afford to do anything like that and when he asked again about this yesterday when discussing this situation over the bill (and I think he feels I’m potentially going end things) I stated that I definitely cannot afford it (adding I feel like he is pressuring me). He said so you don’t want to go away now and I said yes, but not when DS has exams and it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t afford to. All I can think is he is thinking I don’t want to go when I genuinely cannot afford it. I also have a vehicle which needs a costly repair, major home improvements (building work that is not completed) and I’m currently on sick leave from work SSP. I feel so stretched atm.

This honestly sounds like there’s bigger issues here. Does he maybe not believe you about your financial situation? He certainly shouldn’t be pushing you to go away when your son has exams and you’ve said you want to be here to support that. The paying for dinner could be explained by a miscommunication, and I do think you’d we’re in the wrong on that, the offer of a treat was for you alone and once you changed the situation you could not expect that offer to stand. However, the pushing you to spend money you don’t have and expecting you to cook for him is ringing alarm bells for me.

TryForSpring · 01/04/2025 18:52

Whatinthedoopla · 01/04/2025 18:15

I went out for a meal on mother's day and had to pay for myself, 2 kids, half of my mum's, and my partners! All because he says he doesn't celebrate mother's day! And he got about 3 drinks which he normally doesn't do. Consider yourself lucky!

Raise your standards.

nomas · 01/04/2025 18:53

mummytippy · 31/03/2025 23:44

Because he was ready to tap with his debit card and said just transfer to me once we’ve got the final receipt. I’m short in my current account right now so said I would have to pay with my credit card and just tapped it when ordering the food (tab) not at the end. It just so happened we didn’t order more drinks or desert.

Why didn’t you let him pay with his debit card and then transfer your share when you had the money?

You’re so intent on proving you’re not a gold digger that you’re letting men walk all over you.

Stop being so nice to him. No more leftovers for him, extra meals at yours, or any treats.

Moonnstars · 01/04/2025 18:56

Isthisit22 · 01/04/2025 18:08

See- he’s right and miserly with his own mother too.
This man will bring you no joy. You can do much better

Not everyone is big about mother's day. My brother and I have never taken my mum (parents) out for a meal. That is not the norm in our family. It's only on MN that expectations about mother's day seem to be sky high!

It is only a relatively new relationship. You say he earns good money, do you actually know that or is that something he has suggested to impress you? Maybe he doesn't have as much as you think.
There are definitely some odd traits so I would be mindful about how long lasting the relationship will be.

nomas · 01/04/2025 19:01

Moonnstars · 01/04/2025 18:56

Not everyone is big about mother's day. My brother and I have never taken my mum (parents) out for a meal. That is not the norm in our family. It's only on MN that expectations about mother's day seem to be sky high!

It is only a relatively new relationship. You say he earns good money, do you actually know that or is that something he has suggested to impress you? Maybe he doesn't have as much as you think.
There are definitely some odd traits so I would be mindful about how long lasting the relationship will be.

I hardly think an invitation to your mum (which his mum readily accepted) for a £15 meal means OP has ‘sky high expectations.’

It’s £15!

And yet he is pressuring OP to go halves on a break which will cost a lot more than that.

Isthisit22 · 01/04/2025 19:25

nomas · 01/04/2025 19:01

I hardly think an invitation to your mum (which his mum readily accepted) for a £15 meal means OP has ‘sky high expectations.’

It’s £15!

And yet he is pressuring OP to go halves on a break which will cost a lot more than that.

Edited

Yes it’s not even really about the money. It’s the fact that OP has had 3 conversations about it now and told him how it upset her but still £60 is more important to him than that.
i think he is now withholding the £30 in case they break up.
He’s one of the tightest people I’ve read about - even by mumsnet standards! Why would anyone want to be with someone so selfish and mean?

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