A woman’s curt response to a breakup with her fiancé has gone viral.
A post on Reddit has gained attention after a woman, u/Past-House-2508, shared the story of the surprising end of her four-year relationship with her fiancé. Her breakup was met with internet applause for her unexpected response: “Okay.” Since the post was published, it has received 33,000 upvotes.
On Reddit, the original poster (OP) wrote that she and her fiancé, Alex, had been together since 2020. After months of tension, Alex called off their engagement in an outpour of resentment. His anger ranged from frustration over her career choices to annoyance with their apartment decor—even their ownership of a crockpot. Despite feeling blindsided, she responded with a single word.
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“I was floored,” the OP wrote. “I had already made peace with the idea that we were ending, and it hurt, but after that rant, I was just disgusted. I looked at him, probably with a disgusted expression, and said, ‘Okay.'”
In the post, the OP wrote that Alex said he rejected a “better” PhD program to stay in the same place as her, because she had already started a job. The problem? He never told her he had applied overseas.
“He said a few months ago he checked in with a friend who’s in that program, saw how they were thriving, and decided I ruined his life,” the OP added.
Newsweek reached out to u/Past-House-2508 for comment via Reddit.
Reddit users flooded the post with support.
“He chose his comforts, but now since others seem in a better position, he is venting on you and making you the culprit,” u/dan1987te wrote.
Another user, u/RantyMcThrowaway, agreed: “He sounds jealous, insecure and emotionally stunted. If what you’ve written is how things played out, then you dodged a huge bullet.”
An Expert Opinion
Newsweek spoke to Michelle Beaupre, a therapist and clinical director at Villa Oasis, about the woman’s response and whether or not it was appropriate for the end of a long-term relationship.
Beaupre said she believed the woman’s reaction was a natural, protective response to an unexpectedly cruel breakup.
“Her ‘okay’ might have been a form of self-protection or emotional detachment, especially after hearing such a bitter, misguided rant from someone she cared for,” Beaupre said. “This was her way of drawing a line, saying, ‘I’m not going to get pulled into your blame game.'”
Beaupre also said that Alex’s behavior, while deeply hurtful, seemed to stem from his own insecurities rather than anything his fiancée had done wrong.
“His resentment towards her career choices and the fact that she made more money than him speaks to his own insecurities,” she said. “He projected these feelings onto his partner because it was easier than confronting his own discomfort or decisions, such as not pursuing a PhD abroad.”
Many commenters encouraged the woman to embrace the breakup as a chance to move on to a healthier relationship. With the support of friends and family, she seems ready to turn the page, joking in her post about redecorating and even adopting a cat, something her ex was against due to allergies.
Beaupre added that focusing on self-care could help the OP fully heal. “The fact that she’s no longer hurt and more disgusted is a sign that she’s already on the path to healing,” she said.
