Woman Visits Boyfriend At Work And Faces Unexpectedly Harsh Reaction, Asks Who's In The Wrong

"When I arrived he seemed shocked."

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• October 22, 2023

In the era of digital dating and the so-called 'love languages,' the notion of surprising a loved one can sometimes become fraught with unforeseen consequences. Not all surprises are met with delight, especially when they border on the private life and workspace of the other individual.

A recent personal account on Reddit offers a lesson in boundaries, as a woman who thought she was making a "sweet gesture" ended up creating an awkward situation instead. The woman, who has been dating her boyfriend for six months, decided to surprise him at his workplace.

The boyfriend works in a laid-back art supply store, where employees are even allowed to play games on their phones during slow periods. Since they hadn't seen each other for a while due to his work schedule, she thought it would be nice to pay him an unexpected visit, especially since she had never been to his workplace before.

Neither had discussed this kind of surprise in their relationship before. Upon arriving at the store, she was met with a less-than-enthusiastic response.

Her boyfriend looked shocked, "like a deer in the headlights," she described. Taking her to a secluded corner of the store, he immediately confronted her, calling her actions "creepy" and accusing her of stalking him.

Now, the woman is left in a state of confusion, with no communication from her boyfriend since the incident. She insists she had the best of intentions and believed her surprise visit would be viewed as a loving gesture.

Read the full story below:

OP asks:

OP has been dating her boyfriend for six months and decided to surprise him at his workplace.

pon arriving at the store, she was met with a less-than-enthusiastic response.

OP posted an edit:

"Saying it feels like stalking when you've been dating six months is just weird on his part."

This Redditor had similar experience:

This Redditor enjoyed visits from boyfreind:

It was a 30-minutes drive, and out of her way

What is their situation?

This is how most people would react:

Some people have strict separation between home and work life

"Could be he sees this as a sign of moving fast"

"You should ask him why he reacted that way."

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Two schools of thought emerge here. One could argue that the boyfriend has a right to set boundaries between his work and personal life, even if those boundaries were not explicitly communicated before the surprise visit.

For some people, work is a sanctuary away from the complexities and demands of personal relationships—a space where they can focus and perhaps even recharge emotionally. Breaking that boundary, however well-intentioned, can feel like an invasion of privacy.

On the flip side, the intensity of the boyfriend's reaction could raise some eyebrows. Describing a surprise visit from a six-month partner as "creepy" and akin to "stalking" might be indicators of something more troubling.

Could he be hiding something, or was he perhaps entertaining a 'work-life' that he didn't want his girlfriend to be privy to?

Damjan