21-year-old girlfriend continually suggests dumping older boyfriend after any disagreement, she then guilt trips him when he breaks up with her: 'I'm starting to wonder if this is some form of manipulation'

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Oct 20, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Most people have had the arduous experience of a bad relationship before. When you're deep in it, it's hard to see things for what they are, but your instincts will always guide you. The girlfriend in the story here is a 21-year-old who's dating a 24-year-old. Whenever he tries to speak up for himself, express dissatisfaction with something in the relationship, she silences him with threats of breaking up. 


He finally reaches his final straw, and he breaks up with her after living a life walking on eggshells. She then turns the tables on him, and guilt trips him immensely after he dumps her, framing it like he's abandoned her. I've seen a lot of manipulative situations in relationships before, and it's never a good sign. I couldn't imagine being a perpetrator to the pain, but refusing to take any responsibility for it. Read the full story below, and comment what you think about the piece. 

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    My (M24) girlfriend (F21) threatens to break up after every argument and won’t let me voice my side— I broke up with her and now she’s guilting me. What should I do?

    Breakup
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  • 02
    Hi everyone, I'm feeling really stuck and could use some outside perspectives on this situation. Throwaway account for obvious
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    reasons. I've (M24) been dating my girlfriend (F21) for about 4 months now. Things started off great, but over the last few
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    months, every time we have even a minor disagreement, she immediately jumps to threatening to leave me or end the
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    relationship. It's like her go-to move to shut things down. For example, if I try to bring up something that's bothering me,
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    like her not following through on plans or how she dismisses my feelings. she'll say stuff like "If you're not happy, maybe we should just break up" or "I can't
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    Sad couple
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    deal with this, I'm out." It creates this environment where I feel like I can't express any grievances without risking the whole
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    relationship blowing up. I've tried to talk to her about it calmly multiple times, explaining that I just want us to communicate openly like adults, but it always
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    circles back to the same threats. It's exhausting and makes me feel like I'm walking on eggshells all the time. I started wondering if
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    this is some form of manipulation, because it effectively silences me and keeps the focus off her behavior. Finally,
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    after another argument where this happened, I decided I'd had enough and broke up with her. I told her I couldn't keep doing this
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    cycle and that I needed a partner who could handle conflicts without ultimatums. But now, she's been texting and calling, saying things like "How could you
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    do this to us?" and "You're abandoning me when I need you most." She's making me feel incredibly guilty, like I'm the bad guy for standing up for myself.
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    Part of me wonders if I overreacted or if I should give it another shot, but the other part knows this isn't healthy. Has
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    anyone been in a similar situation? Is this manipulation, or could it be something else like anxiety on her end? Should I
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    respond to her messages, or go no contact? Any advice on how to move forward would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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boyfriend dating fails drama toxic relationships girlfriend lol love family breakup reddit thread red flag Reddit funny dating
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