Wealthy girl refuses to pay back her roommate after her parents cut her off, roommate takes revenge by stealing her mattress: 'She's been sleeping on the couch for the last two days'

Author image for Melissa Knudson
Melissa Knudson • Writer
Sep 17, 2026 7:15 PM EDT

Can a stolen mattress fix this roommate's relationship?

Roommates can be a remarkable part of your life. They can become the best friends you never thought you needed, or the sibling you never had…in movies. In real life, they can be a challenge, to say the least. Especially when one of them owes you lots of money and seems less than eager to pay it back. In this story, college life meets Soprano-style revenge, but it revolves around a stolen mattress. 

Three roommates start having trouble when roommate 1 gets cut off by her parents. Because of this, the three roommates went from dividing rent three ways to roommate 2 trying to help roommate 1 with a little extra money (by covering a portion of her expenses). They even went as far as buying a pricey mattress for her. However, when roommate 1 got a boyfriend, things between the roommates changed once again. She barely spent any time at the apartment, and past debts seemed to get frozen for the time being, which, needless to say, roommate 2 did not appreciate. Also, roommate 2 decided to move in with their girlfriend and needed an extra mattress for their new apartment. The opportunity just started to spell itself out. 

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  • Two women in a kitchen.
    via Getty Images (via izusek)

    Two women in a kitchen.

    Scene shown is a visual representation.

  • AITA for stealing my roomate's mattress?

    AITA for stealing my roomate's mattress? Not the A-he
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  • I live with 3 roommates (alias: Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom) in an apartment right around the corner from our campus. When we first moved into our apartment last March, Buttercup was going through some serious financial trouble because her parents had completely cut her off.
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  • We were all pretty close we didn't mind helping her stay on her feet, for months we only divided the groceries and rent 3 ways.
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  • I was particularly close with Buttercup, and I really understand this kind of stress since I've been financially independent from 16, so I did my best to help out. I paid for her laundry, helped her find job listings, drove her around, and when we were furnishing our apartment I bought her a mattress. Most of the little
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  • mattress. Most of the little things I didn't mind paying for and I just wanted to help out, but the mattress was the one thing that we decided she would definitely pay me back for since it had set me back almost €1,000.
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  • In August, Buttercup got a bf, often spending entire weeks at his apartment. She still hadn't paid me back, so the mattress was technically mine but I didn't make a fuss because I didn't have any use for it anyway.
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  • A couple people sitting on the ground, talking.
    via Pexels (via Vitaly Gariev)

     A couple people sitting on the ground, talking. 

    Image for illustrative purposes.

  • However, as of a couple of weeks ago, I've been working on moving into a new apartment with my gf. Our new place has two bedrooms, and we've decided to allocate one as guest room. I'm bringing over my current bed but for the guest room, we needed another full sized mattress. I figured it would
    via Sweaty-Ad-3807
  • sized mattress. I figured it would be the perfect time to ask Buttercup about paying me back for the mattress. In the past, I've asked about it but she always says that she "Isn't able to" and always has something else more pressing to pay off. So
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  • else more pressing to pay off. So the last time I asked her I really stressed how much this means to me that I can move in with my gf but Buttercup responded that she just bought a car and she really needs to use the money for that and that she was sorry.
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  • Yes, you guessed it. Roommate 2's patience finally blew up, and the mattress was taken. They did tell roommate 1, but perhaps their cheerful personality made it look like it was all a big joke (in roommate 1’s eyes and no one else’s). The plot thickens as roommate 1’s boyfriend broke things up, and now the indebted roommate had no place to sleep. At this point, the three roommates clashed, and anger came both ways. What about roommate 3, you might wonder? As it tends to happen in this cases, they ended up caught in the middle.

  • This is the point where I feel like I kinda turned into the ah le in this situation. I knew that Buttercup would spend weeks at her bfs house so I figured that if I just took the mattress, it wouldn't be the end of the world since she had another place to crash.
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  • Last week I got a call from Buttercup who was screaming at me. Turns out her boyfriend had dumped her and when she came home she realized her mattress was missing.
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  • Apparently, when I told her that I was taking her mattress she thought I was joking. I apologized profusely, but at one point it just felt like she was guilt-tripping me and I got angry. I told her that this whole
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  • Woman sleeping on a couch.
    via Getty Images (via fizkes)

    Woman sleeping on a couch.

    Recreated scenario included to enhance reader understanding. 

  • angry. I told her that this whole thing wouldn't have happened if she had made any effort to pay me back at all but she still refuses to admit to any wrongdoing.
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  • Bubbles texted me and let me know Buttercup's been sleeping on the couch for the last two days. I've thought about giving the mattress back but I'm genuinely hurt by how much I've supported her and how little thought she gives to me and my needs. But I know it's still incredibly petty, idk AITA?
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  • Controversy grew with some comments posted online. Some genuinely worried about the overall price of the mattress itself, and we can’t blame them. Others just got caught up on the iconic aliases chosen, as did we. But, overall, everyone agreed that it is quite important to say your debts at some point. Especially when it comes to the mattress-related ones, or you might end up having the ultimate “sleep on the couch’ experience.

    In the end, the author of this story was voted not to be guilty of the conflict at all, and roommate 1 had to pay the consequences of her actions by losing her pricey mattress until she pays roommate 2 back. 

  • Kitchen-Witch-1987 NTA You didn't steal the mattress you reposed it since she didn't pay you for it. Any furniture store would have done it. She's a mooch.
    via Kitchen-Witch-1987
  • UnabashedHonesty You not an AH, but you were utterly naive to spend that much money on a mattress your friend was NEVER going to pay you back for. What college student has a spare $1,000 floating around? Very few. So your good gesture was bound to become a point of contention, and your inability to foresee that contributed to this situation.
    via UnabashedHonesty
  • Historical_Lock_2042 NTA...she's likely upset from losing her boyfriend thus her ranting on you. Give her time, keep your mattress, she'll figure it out.
    via Historical_Lock_2042
  • Lunar-Eclipse0204 NTA- Buttercup bought a car but couldn't pay you back??? yeah no that's not ok, mattress is yours - suggest an air matress to put in her room
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  • Woman testing a mattress at a store.
    via Pixabay (via slaapwijsheid)

    Woman testing a mattress at a store.

    Licensed media provided as editorial context.

  • Traditional_Fan_2655 Life has consequences. NTA
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  • Loisgrand6 No advice but I love the aliases
    via Loisgrand6
  • SpiritedLettuce6900 NTA. She can sleep in her car.
    via SpiritedLettuce6900
  • Dorzack ESH - was the mattress officially collateral for the loan? Verbally maybe. Buttercup was always going to stiff you, but what do you expect from somebody created in a lab from unstable chemicals. On the other hand, who wants a used mattress?
    via Dorzack
  • Heavy-Macaron2004 Nta, jfc. She was never going to pay you back. Also what kind of mattress costs $1k?? Mine was under $100...
    via Heavy-Macaron2004
  • KetoLurkerHereAgain Nah, that part is legit. Way more mattresses are closer to 1K than $100, unless you're talking about the things that are barely better than yoga mats.
    via KetoLurkerHereAgain
  • TinyNiceWolf The mattress industry convinces people that a good mattress has to cost a lot, because there are far fewer manufacturers than brand names. People see five different "companies" saying their decent mattresses start at $1000, and conclude that's a reasonable price. After all, the models below $1000 at all five companies are clearly inferior junk.
    via TinyNiceWolf

  • If we had to weigh in (which of course we have to because we love the drama here), there is nothing that proper communication can’t solve. Also, written agreements don’t hurt and yes, payback was quite appropriate. 

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roommates fighting money trouble bad roommates couch friends buying a mattress finances stolen mattress mattress roommates moving out conflict
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