When you surprise a loved one with a gift, you hope they will enjoy and appreciate it. No matter how much time or money you spent, this statement rings true. But if you did devote a lot of your resources to perfecting the present, you will be especially disappointed if the reaction falls flat.
So you can imagine one woman's dismay when she surprised her partner with a romantic getaway to Paris, all expenses paid, and he hated it. To make matters worse, she could not understand his outburst - as he blasted her for being "selfish" after she delivered what she thought was good news.
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Taking to Mumsnet, the woman explained her confusion over her boyfriend's angry response to the romantic gesture.
She wrote: "I surprised him this morning with a city break for Valentine's Day to Paris.
"I've always wanted to go and thought it would be a lovely weekend away. He's angry at me for not discussing it and said it's because I'm 'selfish' 'only child syndrome.'"
Keen to emphasise her good intent, she added: "I honestly didn't do it to be bossy or over bearing..I just wanted to do something nice."
And the woman said she had taken care of the financial aspect of the trip. "I've paid for flights /transfers /hotel so it's not like I'm asking for anything from him," she explained.
But, as she outlined, her attempt at kindness had been met with a rude response.
Stunned by the reaction, the girlfriend then turned to the parenting to ask for advice. "Should I have asked him first rather than surprising him?" her post concluded.
But nobody could understand her partner's response, and people were quick to suggest she take a friend along instead.
One person said: "Take a friend or go by yourself. He sounds nasty."
A second suggested: "You have 6 months to find a new partner who’ll appreciate it."
And another commenter said: "Some people genuinely hate that sort of surprise."
But they added: "He's being unreasonable to attack your character like that though, you seem to have done it in good faith with the best of intentions."
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
