Is it the thought that counts in a relationship?—Woman receives weekly flowers from boyfriend, gets annoyed when coworker tells her they come from their workplace lobby

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Oct 2, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

A man wanted to make a romantic gesture for his partner, but his colleague didn't realize that he wasn't telling the whole truth about it.

There are plenty of people out there who complain about their relationships lacking romance. Couples get into a routine, forget what brought them together in the first place, or simply don't like each other very much, and they stop doing all the things that actually make dating fun. It is a rut that most who are coupled up hope they never get into.

To ensure this doesn't happen, it is important to regularly engage in those small gestures that keep the relationship alive. This can be as simple as planning a low-key date night or surprising them with a small gift, but these humble gestures go a long way in maintaining relationship satisfaction. They are a tangible representation of what somebody gets out of being in their relationship.

At the same time, many would argue that one of the most important qualities in any relationship is honesty. If your partner is gifting you things regularly but doesn't tell the truth about how they source them, is that going to be a problem? There are some people who wouldn't be happy with that.

*_{A woman looks happy as her boyfriend gives her a bunch of flowers. Not actual story subjects.}*

A hotel employee unwittingly put himself in the middle of his coworker's relationship drama when his coworker's girlfriend turned up at a work event. He had been giving her flowers every week, which were the flowers that had been in the hotel lobby and would otherwise have been thrown out.

She talked about the flowers to the employee, and he told her where he had been getting them from. She hadn't known, and she was annoyed at her boyfriend's colleague for embarrassing him and also shattering the illusion.

Am I wrong for telling my coworker’s girlfriend the flowers he brings her every Friday are our hotel lobby leftovers?

I work at a hotel and every Friday the flower arrangements in the lobby get replaced. The old ones usually still look good, so employees can take them before they get tossed. One of my coworkers takes flowers almost every week.

His girlfriend came to a work event recently and mentioned how sweet it was that he buys her flowers every Friday. She joked that he must be keeping a florist in business. I said, "Wait, you mean the lobby flowers?"

She looked confused and I realized he'd never told her where they came from. Later he pulled me aside and was pissed. She had assumed he was buying them and he never corrected her.

The employee played dumb.

I told him I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret. Now she's annoyed because she's been telling people how he never misses a Friday, and he thinks I embarrassed him over something harmless since she still got flowers either way. AITA?

*_{A woman hugs her boyfriend while holding a bunch of flowers. Picture does not depict real parties.}*

The most important thing was that he was thinking of her.

Scarlett_Antu I mean I wouldn't care either way. That just means he thinks about her every time he looks at those flowers. Sweet gesture either way. I would rather my husband not spend money on flowers anyways.

Cheska1234 YTA. You just had to tell her. You're full of lies if you say you didn't realize it was a secret. You know full well what he was doing. The only thing you succeeded at was making sure she no longer felt special. Dude. He wasn't hurting anyone and was making her feel good. You did it on purpose.

Picaboo13 NTA. These are the small actions that make a woman decide this guy is the one. It was thoughtful he brought her flowers every Friday even though the effort in his part was very low as work bought and provided them and

put them up for takimg which would be a reminder to him. He wanted to portray it as a high effort in that he went out of his way unpromted every week to go to a florist, choose the flowers, buy them amd bring them home. It is two very different levels of effort. Bg wanted the brownie points with out the emotional and financial work.

He didn't have to say what he said.

TheAlmightyFuzzy YTA. That made him look bad, made her feel bad and .. for no good reason. There was no harm being done, you just sullied happiness.

Glittering Role1658 YTA: You did not need to tell her anything. He was making his girl feel good and you just had to go and tell her. Did it make you feel happy when you told her?

Rivsmama Of course you are. There was literally no reason to say that other than to be a snarky asshole. Yta

It was a malicious interaction.

RedFlamingo222 YTA you told her just to be mean. Even though it was none of your business. She was happy and you enjoyed making her sad.

mochicastle I wouldn't care if my fiance brought me leftover flowers from work. That's super sweet.

Rolex_Art Hotel workers don't make big $. Guy is saving $ and doing the right thing for his gf. You don't see it that way then YOU are the AH.

It mattered that the boyfriend had lied.

Silly Jeweler1288 IF IT WERE ME: I'd be happy if I were told I was getting lobby flowers that were headed for the garbage. They're still good, still pretty. no harm and it still requires the effort to salvage them and bring them home.

But if the bf lied and said he was buying them? I'd be pissed. NTA. If the bf was honest, she wouldn't be shocked. you exposed his LIE.

Wooden_Employer_2287 He thinks to give her flowers regularly. Irrespective of where he gets them, as they were not stolen, why should he be shamed for doing this?

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