My boyfriend is a millionaire and all I’ve ever wanted… but now I’ve seen the Christmas present he bought me I’m questioning everything

A ‘frustrated’ young woman shared her dismay after the holiday season left her feeling ‘undervalued’ by her boyfriend.

Sharing her story on Reddit, the anonymous poster explained her dilemma: despite their otherwise ‘great’ relationship, her millionaire boyfriend’s bond with his mother leaves her feeling sidelined. 

This year’s Christmas gifts are a particularly sore spot after a bit of snooping revealed her boyfriend bought her a sweatshirt from her university – the same gift he’s giving his sister – while his mother was spoiled with over $1,000 worth of jewellery. 

‘I was moving the packages into our living room when I saw a [gift tag] that said ‘to Mum’ and a receipt from a luxury jewellery brand,’ she wrote.

Her frustration with her boyfriend’s ‘awful’ gift-giving for her partly stems from his mother’s past reactions. 

‘He once got me a love knot ring, which was super sweet, but when he told his mum, she freaked. Ever since then, it feels like he’s scared to get me anything meaningful,’ she explained.

‘His mum is definitely a ‘classic boy mum,’ like no one is better than mommy,’ she wrote, adding, ‘He doesn’t really seem to realise it, which is also bothersome.’

‘I feel weird he got me and his sister the same gift. It’s just a sweatshirt for me, but a fancy piece of jewellery for her.’

And this isn’t the first time the mum’s influence has cast a shadow over the relationship, with the young woman claiming things have been ‘tense’ from day one.

‘The first time I met her, I made oatmeal-chia-banana bread because I was told she eats very clean. She didn’t eat any of it,’ the girlfriend shared. ‘Not a huge deal, but I made it specifically for her, so I felt weird.’

The tension escalated when her boyfriend revealed that, after their first meeting, his mum accused her of wanting to ‘trap him’ and ‘follow him to his next city with no plans of her own’.

‘This was all said after meeting me once, where I told her about my career goals and getting my master’s degree,’ she explained, calling the assumptions ‘frustrating and untrue’.

She has since endured frosty family dinners and snubs like being seated alone at her boyfriend’s concert, all of which have repeatedly made her feel unwelcome.

To make matters worse, his mum even boasted about breaking up his last relationship.

‘I thought she was joking,’ the poster wrote, ‘but she wasn’t.’

The Christmas gifts brought all these feelings to the forefront, especially after a challenging year that included a painful miscarriage.

‘It was incredibly emotionally taxing,’ she shared. ‘I would think that the almost mother of your child warrants a nice, thoughtful gift.’

Many commenters on Reddit sympathised, suggesting that the real issue wasn’t the gifts but the boyfriend’s inability to set boundaries with his mother. 

A few advised the girlfriend to reconsider the relationship.

‘This won’t get better,’ one commenter warned. ‘You should have dumped him after the literal first time you met his mum. She made up stuff about you, and it got to him, causing him to treat you badly as a result of her influence. 

‘It’s still happening, and you’ve been putting up with it for three years. No more.’

Another pointed out the deeper issue of misplaced priorities: ‘You will never have a healthy relationship with this guy as his mother doesn’t like you, and he will always defer to his mother.

‘Honestly, no woman will ever be good enough for him other than her in her (and his) eyes.’

Others highlighted how the boyfriend’s behaviour reflected his inability to meet his partner’s needs.

‘For someone you have dated three years, this suggests the relationship doesn’t have a good future. It might be best for you to break up. Managing parents is hard enough even when they aren’t openly hostile.’

Some commenters summed it up bluntly: ‘Never marry a mama’s boy. You will live to regret it.’