A woman claimed in a now-viral post that her roommate's boyfriend, Caleb, had an allergic reaction to a meal of hers that he consumed without her permission.
Posting to Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" forum on Monday under the username u/Unable-Percentage472, the woman shared that Caleb has made a habit of stealing her food.
Already, the post has racked up more than 14,000 upvotes and over 2,100 comments.
"[H]e would eat everything, even the things that were strictly mine i.e leftover takeout [and] dinners that I cooked for myself," she recalled.
"I've talked with my roommate about this multiple times and she said she would talk to him but it doesn't really seem like she even tries," she wrote.
Things came to a head on Saturday when Caleb ate the leftover fried chicken that u/Unable-Percentage472 had made for dinner the night before. Unbeknownst to Caleb, the recipe contained honey—something to which he is highly allergic.
The following day, u/Unable-Percentage472's roommate burst into her room and called her "irresponsible" for not labeling the food. But u/Unable-Percentage472 held her ground.
"I tried explaining to her that I simply didn't know of her boyfriend's allergy and [that] he should've never [touched] my food knowing he has an allergy," she said.
According to Spoon University, there are several ways a person can go about preventing their roommate—or in this case, a roommate's partner—from stealing their food.
"Learn your roommate's habits," the website advised. "If your roommate doesn't like to bake, hide your cookies in the pack of flour. If your roommate doesn't use those pillows on the couch, stuff them with candies."
If hiding food isn't a viable option, the website recommended that people buy food with known allergens.
"You have probably lived with your roommate long enough to know what food he/she is allergic to. Use it for your benefit and buy the food that contains the prohibited ingredient," the website encouraged.
"Just don't forget to inform your roommate about the presence of an allergen in your food, because not telling them just wouldn't be cool," the website continued.
Redditor u/Unable-Percentage472 said that she told a friend about what had happened. While the friend agreed that Caleb was wrong to steal her food, the friend also argued that u/Unable-Percentage472 was wrong to tell her roommate that she was "not responsible" for Caleb's allergies.
Redditors, however, couldn't disagree more.
"NTA [not the a**hole]. If the bf is allergic, he should not eat anything without knowing what's in. I would label everything I make as containing honey. His fault if he gets sick," wrote u/smartsassseahorse.
More than 23,000 Redditors upvoted u/smartsassseahorse's comment in agreement.
"NTA. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Don't steal people's food," wrote u/Right-Arm-619.
"You are right, you're not responsible for any of this. Her BF is a total AH [a**hole]," stated u/no_veggies_elr.
"Don't let your roommate gaslight you. You are in your own home, you are allowed to cook whatever you like, and her bf is 100000% wrong for taking your food. You don't have to watch what you cook in case her bf steals," added u/MaybeAWalrus.
Newsweek reached out to u/Unable-Percentage472 for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
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