We unfortunately live in a world where it's quite typical to view children as a woman's responsibility, even if those children aren't even hers. Like in today's story, where the author not only had to take care of her boyfriend's kid their whole 10-day trip, but she was also nearly rejected for an upgrade to business class on the plane as a flight attendant assumed that the kid was hers. Luckily, she was able to explain that he wasn't and get the much-deserved upgrade, but it didn't shield her from judgment from the people around her.
More info: Reddit
For some people, it seems outrageous when a woman doesn't give up basically everything for a child, even when that kid isn't even her responsibility
Image credits: Pascal Borener (not the actual photo)
A woman used to babysit her boyfriend's 2-year-old from time to time, but when the couple went on a holiday, she ended up having to take care of the kid for the whole trip
Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Kenneth Surillo (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/CurrentCheesecake123
So, when one of them was offered an upgrade to business class on the way home, she gladly took it as a way to get away from this responsibility and the man, who was now her ex
The original poster was in a relationship with a man dubbed Matt for about a year. This man had a kid from a previous relationship, who was named Alex in the post. Sometimes, the OP babysat the kid. Yet, when the couple went for a 10-day long holiday, every now and then turned into her watching Alex nearly all the time while his dad was having the time of his life.
Another thing that happened during this holiday was their breakup after the woman learned Matt was still seeing his ex. Awkwardly, on the way home, they all had to sit together, as she purchased tickets before the breakup.
So, when the flight attendant approached them and offered the man an upgrade to business class, the woman answered that she would gladly take it. After all, she was the one who bought the tickets.
At this point, we should point out that business class isn’t the same as first class. Initially, the business class was to be a level between economy class and first class, but in many airlines, it’s now the highest offered level, as many airlines have eliminated first class.
This is due to the fact that passengers aren't buying tickets to first class as much as the airlines want, so it's not making them enough money. Also, the differences between modern business and first class aren't as big, so people simply opt for the one that is a tad cheaper. So, it's just more convenient for airlines to make business class the highest one.
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
So, basically, getting an upgrade to business class means more perks, such as lie-flat seats, priority boarding, complimentary alcoholic beverages, and multi-course meals, all depending on the airline.
When the OP offered to be the one to take such an upgrade, the attendant tried to argue she should stay with her kid, but she clarified that it wasn’t her kid and she wanted the upgrade to relax from having to take care of him.
Yet, the flight attendant wasn’t the only one who assumed Alex was the OP’s offspring. After the plane’s landing, it became apparent that a few other passengers thought that the woman abandoned her child to sit in business class, where she was likely pampered by personalized service. And it wasn't only them who thought that. Some of the author's friends and family members informed her that, in their eyes, she was a jerk for not giving the seat to her ex.
Well, at least people online didn’t seem to think that. For them, it was clear that the woman shouldn’t be responsible for the cheating ex's kid while he chilled in business class. After all, he already had the time of his life during the holiday, so the trip home was her time to relax.
It's sad that people offline didn't think that she was worth this kind of relaxation after not only taking care of a kid that wasn't hers but learning she was cheated on. What is even sadder is that their judgment got in her head enough to make her go online to see if she was really a jerk. And it's all because a cheating man was trying to put all his parental responsibilities on her!
Yet, basically everyone, except the people online, assumed that the kid was hers and judged her for taking the upgrade and abandoning him
