Woman sues boyfriend's 60-year-old friend for "pranking" her by spilling red Jell-O in her new designer purse and refusing to pay for damages

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Apr 19, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

As an adult, I am not typically too interested in buying designer clothes, bags, or shoes. However, as a preteen, I wanted so badly to be on trend with the other girls in my grade. One year, Vera Bradley purses were all the rage, and I begged my mom to buy me one. After lots of begging, she finally relented and got me a crossbody bag with little owls. Honestly, it was really cute, and I would totally still wear it. That is, if I hadn't ruined it by spilling shrimp étouffée all over it. No matter how many times I washed it, the fishy smell never quite went away, and the sauce stained all of the white parts. 

In our story today, a woman's designer handbag was similarly ruined by red Jell-O stains. However, it wasn't her clumsiness that rendered her bag useless; it was a mean-spirited prank conducted by a man way too grown to be pulling such antics. When he refuses to pay for the damage, she considers legal action. 

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  • 01

    WIBTA For Considering Suing My Boyfriends Friends For Destroying My Purse

    Cheezburger Image 10495183360
    via Morakot Kawinchan

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I'll try to keep it short and sweet. I recently bought an authentic designer purse. I realize the privilege I have to do so, but I work an extremely demanding job that requires I work very long hours and get compensated well to do so. It's something I've
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 03
    wanted my entire life and I've finally reached a point where I can afford to do it. Not super relevant, but I grew up poor so in a way it was cathartic to me to buy something frivolous that I really wanted which is
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 04
    partially why it means so much to me. I've had this purse less than a month and have only worn it out twice, once to a work event and once to a nice dinner we went on with my boyfriend and his friends this last weekend.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 05
    Cheezburger Image 10495069440
    via Shaimolata

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    We were hanging out at my boyfriends friends house after the dinner and I hung my purse on the chair behind me. At this point I trusted everyone in the house and wasn't really concerned about it.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 07
    We've all been hanging out for years now. We moved to another room right next to the one we were in to play a game. When I came back, my purse was right where I left it. When we left for the night, I grabbed it and thought it felt heavier but didn't look inside of it until I went to unload it when we got home.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 08
    For some reason, someone thought it would be funny to put uncovered RED JELLO SHOTS into my purse with WHITE interior where they proceeded to leak. The entire inside was stained a splotchy pink shade and to say I was livid is an understatement.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 09
    We're all between 30-60 (we have some older folks that are family friends of people in the group that hang out with us sometimes), so everyone is old enough to not do something so stupid.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 10
    I attempted to clean it to no avail. My boyfriend reached out to the group chat that has about half of his friends in it and asked if anyone knew who had done it. One person admitted they saw someone do it and told us who. It was one of the older members
    via u/catdog_XXII
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    Cheezburger Image 10495069696
    via Skylar Kang from Pexels

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 12
    of the group who is known for messing with peoples belongings, but never to this degree. For example, when we went swimming last summer he filled the pockets of my shorts up with Chex mix. It was annoying but didn't really damage anything. Also no
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 13
    one really finds his antics funny. In my opinion it's common sense to refrain from putting red goo (that turns liquidy when warm) into a white bag, but he claims that he was just being funny and didn't think they would leak.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 14
    I asked him for money to either repair the bag or replace it and he claims he does not have that much money. He says the bag "looked cheap" so he didn't think it would be a big deal even if the shots had leaked. I know that he has ample assets (multiple sports cars, a million dollar home, etc.) and can find a way to compensate me for what he had damaged.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 15
    When I pointed this out, he told me that it was MY fault for bringing around an expensive bag and that something could've easily been spilled on it instead. While I would've been upset if that had been the case obviously, I wouldn't have been anywhere near as upset because this had been done
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 16
    INTENTIONALLY and is now being blamed on me. I can take responsibility and say I shouldn't have left it out of my sight, but I knew no one in the house would steal it or the contents in it and I never would've thought someone would fill it with sticky red goo regardless of how expensive or cheap it
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 17
    was. I told him that he needed to find the money or I would be suing him for the damages and a couple people in the group think I'm going too far. My boyfriend is thankfully as angry as I am and I don't want this situation to come at the cost of any of his
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 18
    friendships, but I also want compensated for my property that I worked my bet off for. WIBTA if I take legal action, or should I try some other method to recoup my losses? I personally don't think so because this wasn't an accident, but some people seem to think I'm going too nuclear.
    via u/catdog_XXII

  • These are not the sorts of issues one should be having with a friend group of this age range. This man is way too grown to pull pranks like this, and so childish for not owning up to his mistake.

  • 19
    Update: I had my appointment to have the bag looked at. They would be able to mostly repair it, however it's likely that the liquid seeped through the lining and may have damaged the bag beyond repair. They wouldn't know until they really got into it. Even so,
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 20
    the smell of crusty old jello and liquor would likely linger and deteriorate any resell value the purse may have in the future. For these reasons, I will be going after him for the entire value of the purse. Thank you to the person who mentioned that this could
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 21
    hurt resell value in the future, I didn't even think of this. I asked the person that looked at it and she told me the severity of the staining and odor definitely would. Thankfully it is not a limited edition bag and I can currently buy a new one. Hopeful that this
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 22
    doesn't change anytime soon as I really loved my bag. I am going to reach out to my attorney in the morning to see if he can help me or refer me to someone who can. I can update again with what they say, but I am pretty sure I have a strong leg to stand on.
    via u/catdog_XXII

  • She is giving this man so much grace by trying to get it fixed before demanding the money that she deserves.

  • 23
    To answer some common questions: 1. Why don't I kick this guy from the friend group? Easiest answer here is that it isn't my friend group. This man is a family friend of one of my boyfriends friends. He truthfully isn't around much, but it seems like whenever he is he causes problems so I'm not sure why he is still invited, even occasionally. My boyfriend and I made it clear we would never be in the same place as him ever again, which kind of puts the ball in everyone else's court.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 24
    2. Does he not like you or does he torment everyone? He has a weird fixation with me mostly, but he does also torment most of the women in the group. I mentioned this in the comments but it may have gotten buried, but during my first interaction with him I had left my phone out while I had quickly gone
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 25
    to the bathroom. At some point he snatched my phone up, went SOMEWHERE else in the house, took a picture of his , and replaced my phone in the same spot. I found the picture a few hours later when I opened my camera roll to show someone my dog and my boyfriend asked me horrified why I had a hairy in my phone. I was mortified and had no explanation and it wasn't
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 26
    until this man was hammered that he admitted he did it. We were all disgusted and he stopped being invited for awhile because my boyfriend refused to be around him. Last year he started being invited again and immediately started "pranking" me in harmless ways. He liked to do this with new
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 27
    girlfriends especially I noticed and I am one of the newest in the friend group (even though it's been a few years now). One of my boyfriends friends started dating a new girl and she got a similar treatment, but nothing as severe. He really likes to tamper with our clothes mostly. I don't know what the motive is, but he doesn't usually mess with the guys, just the women.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 28
    3. Did he steal anything? No. As I had mentioned he's wealthy and I don't think he'd really do anything like that, he doesn't seem like the type to get a thrill from theft, rather he wants to annoy women. I only kept my credit card, a small amount of cash, car keys, and a sentimental keychain in the bag. Everything was sticky and coated in goo, but everything was also there.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 29
    Manic MondayMaestro I would likely go to small claims over this since he obviously can pay. He's a adult responsible for his actions. I think it's relevant to know the amount you're talking about. Designer could be $300 or $3000, or much more.
    via u/MondayMaestro
  • 30
    SMALL CLAIMS COURT HEARING IN THE (STATE). Plaintiff/Petitioner: VS Defendant/Respondent: COURT OF COUNTY, ACTION-LAW Number ON QUALIFIED ORDER day of inal decree dated ( icipant
    via KLH49

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 31
    catdog XXII OP It was $2,800. My understanding is if it can be cleaned costs would be around $400, if it cannot repairs could be anywhere from $700- it just needing to be replaced. I am taking it in to be looked at tonight and I'll have a more solid answer.
    via u/catdog_XXII
  • 32
    Naive_Labrat Youre actually being super nice by trying to clean and repair it first. No way in h The cant afford 400$
    via u/Naive_Labrat
  • 33
    Sufficient_Metal_912 NTA what kind of grown man still plays pranks on people and if you're going to play some kind of dumb destructive prank at least have the decency to back it up if you ruin something that belongs to someone what if they had spilled all over the interior of your car?
    via u/Sufficient_Metal_912
  • 34
    catdog XXII OP I'm shocked it didn't because they were borderline liquid by the time I found them. The fact it didn't soak through to the exterior of the bag or on the friends furniture or in our car is shocking, but speaks to the quality of the interior of the bag I suppose.
    via u/catdog_XXII

Tags

boyfriend friendship fashion lawyer toxic friends relationships girlfriend couples prank love pranks dating entitled people
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