Some people are irked by big age gaps in relationships, while others have no problem with it at all.
One man’s female coworker got ‘upset’ after she learned that his girlfriend was younger than him
In his since-deleted Reddit post, the man explained that he was 31 years old and recently divorced. He had “been exploring the dating market for about two years, mostly around my age, and had minimal success.”
“In April, I went to see the NBA playoffs at a sports bar with my brother and some friends,” he wrote. “That’s when I met my girlfriend who was with her friends.”
He revealed that his new girlfriend is nearly a decade younger than him, at 22 years old.
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The man insisted this age difference was unimportant. “The main thing is we click, and neither of us have an issue with it,” he said. “This is the happiest I’ve been in years.”
Despite the man’s newfound happiness, not everyone felt so positive about his new relationship, including one of his coworkers.
“Last week was a busy day at work and we had to stay overtime,” he explained. “We were supposed to grab dinner afterward, but instead [my girlfriend] visited me after she was done [at] work.”
His girlfriend’s thoughtfulness was met with disdain by some. “My co-worker … let’s call her C, saw us eating together while I did my work. We talk a decent amount but she didn’t know I had a girlfriend,” he said.
The man did the polite thing and introduced his girlfriend to his co-worker. “When I introduced her, C had this weird look in her eyes but kept it friendly,” he stated. “She then asked my girl about her ‘09-11-01’ wrist tattoo, which is her birthday. Yeah, she was born on that day.”
After learning that his girlfriend was 8 years younger than him, his co-worker began acting strangely.
“The next day, C came up to me and started pressing me about my girlfriend’s [age],” he said. “I sort of knew this would happen since she’s a certain type of person, but, yeah, I owned up to it. My girl is 22, turning 23.”
This is when things started to get really strange.
“C told me she felt ‘betrayed’ and started ranting about dynamics or whatever for about ten minutes,” he continued. “I don’t get it. We’re only eight years apart. That’s the same generation.”
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“Is it really that deep?” he asked. “None of my family members or friends care either.”
Reddit commenters insisted that the man’s co-worker likely had a crush on him.
In his fellow Reddit users’ opinions, there was only one explanation for why someone would act that way: C had a crush on him.
“Maybe your co-worker had a thing for you and [is] trying to get you and her to break up,” one person suggested.
“Did she think you were going to date her?” another person asked. “That’s jealousy, pure and simple. Keep C strictly to work topics, and don’t let her into your personal life.”
A third user stated it as simply as possible: “I think C has a crush on you.”
If that is the case, this man’s co-worker is not handling her work crush very well.
The Muse shared some things to keep in mind when you have a work crush.
Perhaps their most important tip was to “remember that ‘feeling’ doesn’t always mean ‘acting.’” They explained that just because you like someone, that doesn’t mean you should act on those feelings and let them know.
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In this case, this man had a fine work relationship with C, and it likely would have stayed that way if she hadn’t spoken up about his girlfriend. Ultimately, she sabotaged their friendship.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.
