Ex requests money from former girlfriend to help his brother reunite with his long-distance girlfriend, then ghosts her after she says no: ‘He left me on read’

Cata Holmes • Writer

Jun 3, 2026 6:00 PM EDT

There are awkward favors, and then there's asking your ex to fund someone else's love story…

Before taking her dilemma to r/AITAH, u/Artic_mage3 found herself dealing with a situation that was far stranger than the average awkward text from an ex. Maybe they want closure, maybe they want to reconnect, maybe they accidentally liked a photo from 2018 at 2 a.m. What most people don't expect is an ex showing up in their messages asking for money so his brother can visit a long-distance girlfriend overseas.

To be fair, long-distance relationships are expensive. Flights aren't getting cheaper, and anyone who's ever counted down the days until seeing their partner again knows how exciting those reunions can be. But there is usually an unwritten rule that the people responsible for funding those trips are the people actually in the relationship, not their siblings' former girlfriend.

Things get even stranger when you learn that this wasn't some random acquaintance. The woman and her ex had dated for several months before he suddenly stopped responding to her messages after moving back to his home country. The relationship ended, they stayed friends, and everything seemed normal until he decided she might be the perfect person to sponsor his brother's love story.

When she turned him down, explaining that his brother's romantic life wasn't really her financial responsibility, the ex didn't take it particularly well. Instead of accepting the answer and moving on, he stopped responding altogether. Now she's left wondering if saying "no" ruined the friendship, or if asking your ex to bankroll your brother's vacation was the friendship-ending move in the first place.

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Before turning to Reddit for answers, u/Artic_mage3 explained that the breakup had been amicable enough for the pair to remain friends and stay in regular contact. Still, the unexpected request left her questioning whether she had crossed a line by saying no. Fellow members of r/AITAH quickly weighed in with their opinions.
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The overwhelming majority of commenters felt that refusing the request was completely reasonable. Many pointed out that asking an ex to help fund a sibling's romantic trip was unusual to begin with, while others argued that his reaction to being told "no" revealed far more about the friendship than her response ever could.