Gifts are a way of expressing affection. For the most part, you don’t need to spend too much on them, as long as they’re practical and/or meaningful.
On the flip side, gifts are also a way of realizing how much someone doesn’t know you enough, if at all. These women of Reddit would know, and they are sharing their experiences involving their romantic partners in a recent thread.
Most of these stories are worthy of a facepalm. However, others were so bad that you’d understand why the relationship ended (yes, it went that far).
If you consider yourself a terrible gifter, scroll through and perhaps take notes on what you shouldn’t do.
Read More: “Divorced Three Months Later”: 50 Times Gifts From Partners Were Truly A Red Flag
#1
This isn’t the gift that made me realize, but it should have been. Our first Christmas together, I got him a custom-made, 3D printed action figure of himself. I designed matching packaging, and paid extra for the version you could record a message on, and recorded what he once told me would be his “entrance music”.
He got me groceries. Literally groceries. And they sat unrefrigerated under the tree for two days before I opened them in front of my family, who knew all about the cool action figure I spend weeks on. Humiliating.
Took longer than it should have, but we are no longer together lol.
Image credits: z0mbie_boner
#2
My (ex) wife got me one of those candy bar bouquets for my birthday. You know the ones…different candy bars glued to sticks, then arranged in a “bouquet”. Popular at Walmart and gas stations.
One…..it was 2 weeks *after* my birthday
Two…..I’m diabetic
That was one of the last straws before I left.
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#3
He took me to the mall the day of my birthday to pick out my own gift, then bought himself something instead.
Edit: we divorced three months later.
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#4
Okay, get ready:
Ex boyfriend comes to pick me up to go to his apartment for a “special evening”. During the car ride (almost an hour) he goes on and on and ON about that special evening that he has planned out and how he has a surprise for me that I will never forget.
Well, both the special evening and the unforgettable surprise was that he had shaven his balls. He was hoping for it to be this whole thing.
The worst part? I like my men hairy.
Image credits: The_Sibyl
#5
A kitten for my birthday. I’m allergic to cats….
Image credits: kayehareehs
#6
For my birthday one year, in August mind you, my husband went to the local GROCERY STORE and got me a gift basket that said “Happy Father’s Day” (you know, the holiday in June… for fathers… I’m a child free woman in my 30’s).
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#7
A State Farm mug (his mom was a state farm agent,) and it was full of little chocolate bars. I am SEVERELY allergic to chocolate and he knew this. He didn’t even buy the chocolate or the mug. It was a part of a bunch of free gifts his mom’s job were giving away to customers and he swiped one.
Image credits: Halloweenie85
#8
My husband of quite a few years bought me a meat slicer for Christmas one year. I have never in my whole entire life either needed or wanted to slice meat with a meat slicer.
I was so upset and embarrassed so I hid it from my parents who were there with us. I returned it of course and bought myself a Kindle instead.
Image credits: Wonderful-Fishing857
#9
My bf gave me a bath bomb and a pink yeti wine cup for Christmas… I staunchly never take baths, I’ve never owned anything pink in my adult life, and I’d never had wine at that point. When I finally said “hey wth none of these reflect anything about me” he admitted it was a regift from his mother 🙃 no shame either! He thought it was better than nothing! It wasn’t!
Image credits: Peyprika
#10
One Christmas, my ex husband got me a Home Alone Pop Doll and a handful of those little brain-teaser puzzles you get in the toy section at Barnes and Noble. We hadn’t ever watched that movie together, I have no affinity for it, and i dont even collect those dolls. And I famously hate those little metal puzzles. I was devastated and exploded into tears. I had spent a lot of money and thought on a beautiful watch to replace his that had broken. He doubled down and insisted he had put a lot of thought into the gifts and was furious with me for being “ungrateful”.
This was just one of many red flags and i am happy to say I wised up and we divorced in 2020 and I am now engaged to someone whose gifts make me tear up because they know me so well.
Image credits: nacklemary
#11
A Nintendo DS. With only games that he wanted to play. When we broke up, he took it with him.
Image credits: IvyKingslayer
#12
As a teen, my then-bf gave us a date to Buffalo Wild Wings…. I was a vegetarian 😭😂.
Image credits: apricotdrugs
#13
My ex of maaaaaany years ago gave me cooking lessons. I was 20 and he was 30…I had ZERO interest in cooking at that time (trust me, my mama tried) and was LIVID. His mom was a SAHM to 6 kids and I always felt like that’s what he wanted. My 20 year old feminist self was NOT amused. We broke up 1 month later.
Image credits: ClumsyPotter
#14
A haircut. HIS haircut, specifically. We were long distance and he had me cut his dreads off on my birthday weekend when I came to visit (I am not a hair stylist or even close). When asked why he didn’t even get me a card, that’s when he called the haircut my gift. Never once did I say that I didn’t like his hair or suggest a haircut so it really made zero sense to me.
Image credits: toriaa02
#15
I once had a ex give me peanut butter chocolate from sees candy for Christmas… I’m deathly allergic to peanuts.
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#16
An argument.
they told me i was too vague (even tho i made a list w visual aids, just in case since they were a visual person) with pricepoints all over the board, and gift ideas that were free (e.g. massage, read me a story, etc.).
they also then said it was my fault for being too picky, despite being open to different ideas. then they said it was because we were tight on money (and then proceeded to come home w a new motorcycle days later).
this was all within the same week of the same year. they were surprised when i left.
Image credits: garlicmashedpotatas
#17
A waist trainer so I would lose weight.
Image credits: adios-perrito
#18
My ex put one of his old tshirts in a box then complained that I was materialistic when I was upset.
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#19
My ex got me a garden hose and sprinkler for mother’s day one year…. we didn’t have a yard.
Image credits: findyourhappy401
#20
Ex-bf gave me an engraved stone vase that was originally intended as a gift for his mother (he forgot that I was the one who took him to the store so he could purchase it). I took one look at it and told him that it wasn’t my taste but his mother’s and that he was welcome to give it to the person that it was originally intended for.
He obviously didn’t realize that I would remember how he obtained the vase and he wanted to say that he got me “something.” I told him to keep the vase and gave him his freedom after dropping him at the Amtrak station to go visit his mommy with the vase in tow.
Afterwards it was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
Image credits: Affectionate-Low5301
#21
My ex gave me a Pandora charm of a ghost strung along a normal necklace chain. I don’t wear jewelry, and I only like very dainty stuff if I do. But he thought the ghost was cute and didn’t understand that they’re bracelet charms 😂
He also gave me a skateboard deck (I don’t skateboard, he did) and a booster box of Pokemon cards (I don’t collect them, he did). Both of those mysteriously stayed in his possession after the breakup lol.
My high school boyfriend also gave me the lovely birthday gift of leaving me on the week of my birthday to do a road trip with the boys, and then going to a strip Club on my actual birthday and not calling me. Ahhh, good times.
My partner now, however, got me a custom made allergy friendly chocolate cake for my birthday + a little crocheted bee keychain. The guy knows me ❤️.
Image credits: kinfloppers
#22
My exhusband picked out the ugliest engagement ring, he was very focused on it being flashy(it was three big princess cut diamonds that came out to 3carats and sat very high in the setting), instead of thinking about my style and what I’d actually like to wear everyday. It was very gaudy
By contrast, the “engagement”(in quotations because we aren’t going to actually get married, just live in sin) ring my current partner gave me is an aquamarine stone, with small blue sapphires around it. 10/10 no notes.
Image credits: punkrawkchick
#23
Earrings. My ears weren’t pierced.
Image credits: Highandhardcouple
#24
He got me a top saying ‘I have the best husband ever’, a book of date ideas and an ugly heart shaped jewellery box for Christmas. He had typed into amazon ‘present for my wife’. When I asked why he didn’t get me a book as I love reading, he snapped ” I don’t know what books you like”. We had been together 9 years. This was Xmas 2024. We are now divorcing. Just one of the many small cuts. FYI my presents to him were thoughtful. And the book of date ideas had many ideas I had suggested and he had said no to as they were too boring.
Image credits: dinocheese
#25
3 years and living together—for my birthday he got me/us tickets to HIS favorite artist that I literally never ever listened to. He got tickets for his twin brother and childhood friend to come too. I told him the gift didn’t really have anything to do with my interests and he got defensive at first, saying he thought it was a nice idea as something to do together for an activity. He later admitted he wanted an excuse to drop hundreds on them and didn’t have gift ideas for me . Was the last straw in feeling like he was in his own world and I ended things soon after that.
#26
My dad once gave my mom a toilet seat cover.
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#27
My ex got me the “gift” of absolutely nothing and then called me crazy for getting upset with him over it. Oh and this was on my birthday btw.
Image credits: treedecor
#28
My ex bought me Tupperware, the kind with lids attached. After watching an infomercial about them, commenting he thought they were cool, and me saying I didn’t like them. 🤷♀️.
Image credits: ZealousidealSense523
#29
My ex bought himself a new top of the line Kindle just before my birthday. He said I should get one, but I had no interest, I liked my nice books.
On my birthday he gifted me his old one, all beaten up and scratched.
#30
A locket on Mother’s Day…I don’t wear jewelry and I found out he bought his mother the same one.
#31
My ex boyfriend once bought me a tent for my birthday. We went camping one time before that and I was pretty vocal about how much I disliked it.
#32
I strictly wear silver, minimalist jewelery. My ex boyfriend would get me bold statement pieces – that were gold of course! I called him out after the first few pieces and he said he liked them and wanted to see me in more of that. LOL no thanks, dumped.
Image credits: madjerz23
#33
My ex (about ten years ago) asked what I wanted for my birthday and I said I just want to spend the day bbqing on the lake with you and our friends. He went to the mall to shop at Victoria’s Secret and flirt with the girls working there. I never wore anything VS and hated pink, and he came back with all pink VS stuff that was also all too small for me also. It was humiliating- but not as bad as the videos some of my friends took of him unknowingly while he was macking in the mall.
I dumped him and gave him the VS bag back and said he would be plenty busy making his return and replacement exchanges, and don’t call me again. He got married a few months later and I realized after that I was the only girl he’d ever dated for a lengthy time that he didn’t marry. Because I wouldn’t marry someone I’d only been with for a year. Dodged a commitment bullet there.
#34
An egg boiler, which he gifted to his brother and mother in the past, and they liked theirs. I hate boiled eggs.
Image credits: SnooRegrets3555
#35
An Amazon echo show… so we could see recipes when we are in the kitchen. I don’t cook much, we had never cooked together, and I had told him already that I was getting my mom a new echo show because hers was broken and he somehow thought it was a good idea to get me the same thing I was getting my mom. To add to the hurt, weeks before Christmas he asked me what I wanted and convinced me to tell him because it would be so much easier for him, so I sent him the website for tickets to a play I wanted to see. It was playing on Valentine’s Day and I said to him, it would be easy for him to knock out two birds with one stone.
#36
Before Christmas years ago. Ex bf gave me gift cards that he won at his job🙄probably totaled 30 bucks at a maximum. I had spent more than that for him. He had a knack for splurging on himself.
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