Man takes 'all the cool stuff' after his roommate kicks him out, 'I was blindsided.' AITA?
"AITA for taking everything that’s mine when my roommate asked me to move out?"
My (21M) roommate (21F) and I moved into an apartment together about 5 months ago. We’re friends, and she was the one who found the place and put me on the lease to sign. I was nothing but respectful as a roommate. We split chores, I did my dishes, and there wasn’t any tension between us—or so I thought.
One day, while I was out, she texted me saying she needed to talk when I got home. When I returned, she sat me down and told me she wanted me to move out. She said she didn’t think she wanted to continue living with me. She’d already talked to the landlord and set a move-out date for January 1st.
I was blindsided but didn’t put up a fight. I decided to leave as quickly as I could because why stay somewhere I’m not wanted? I scrambled to find another place, and in the process, I realized something important: I paid for pretty much everything in the apartment.
The plates, couch, TV, router for the Wi-Fi (which I also paid for), and all the “cool stuff” in the apartment were purchased out of my pocket. So, I told her I’d be taking everything I bought when I moved out. She said, “Okay.”
On the day I moved out, I rented a truck and took all my things. She wasn’t home, so when she came back to the apartment, it was basically empty. She freaked out and started texting and calling me. When I answered, she went on a rant about how I “shouldn’t have taken everything,” how bad the apartment looked now, and how she was supposed to explain the situation to her friends.
I calmly reminded her that I’d told her I was taking the things I bought, and she agreed. She hung up on me but then started telling our mutual friends what happened.
Now some of them are calling me an ahole for leaving her in a “bare apartment,” while others say I did the right thing because it was all my stuff anyway. For what it’s worth, I didn’t leave her with nothing. I left the mini-fridge (though I took the liquor that was inside it), so I feel like I was considerate enough. AITA?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
Secret_Sister_Sarah said:
You're obviously NTA - she doesn't get to evict you for no reason then keep all of your stuff. lol. Friends who are divided is why I think this might be AI; in real life, only idiots would call you an ahole for keeping things you bought with your own money. (If this is real, those people are *her* friends, not yours.)
Traditional-Bag-4508 said:
NTA. She kicks you out and wants your stuff to stay? Your friends agree? Who does that? Seriously, the delusion.
OkPsychology2376 said:
NTA. What did she expect?. She left you in a bad situation by saying she wanted you to move, even though you're on the lease. Did she expect you to leave behind all the things you bought while living there? What kind of nut case is she.
You're not a couple, and certainly not obligated to leave stuff behind for her use. She can just tell her friends she's a cheap roommate who didnt contribute to the comfort of the place, and a fool to kick you out.
TheRealMemonty said:
NTA. Your former roommate FAFO'd. I'd talk to the landlord and make sure your name is off the lease.
DesertSong-LaLa said:
NTA - You took what was yours. She doesn't have a firm grasp of what happens in real life: You are not responsible to leave your items to "help" her.
TealBlueLava said:
NTA - Sounds like she wanted to use you and didn’t realize you’d stand up for yourself when she tried to blindside you.
TheRealCarpeFelis said:
NTA, she is. She knew you paid for practically everything and agreed when you told her you were taking the things you’d bought. Now she’s recruiting your mutual friends as her flying monkeys to try to guilt you into letting her have a bunch of YOUR stuff for free.
When she blindsided you with asking you to move out, did she seriously expect you’d leave her all the furniture? And why should what her friends think of her empty apartment be your problem? She brought this whole thing on herself. And it seems she never even had the decency to give you the reason she wanted you to move out.