A woman seeks support from the Reddit community following a tense situation with her partner’s brother that led her to put a lock on their shared freezer.
The 28-year-old explains in her post that she lives with her boyfriend and his brother, Alex, and while most things run smoothly, “the issue is food.” She shares that Alex has very specific tastes but consumes “any and all frozen snack foods,” from pizza rolls to chicken nuggets and ice cream.
While each housemate is responsible for buying their own groceries, the woman says Alex finishes his frozen food within days and then begins eating theirs. “We’ve talked to him about it countless times,” she writes, adding that although he apologizes and promises to replace what he’s taken, “he rarely does.”
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Stock photo of a man eating food
The tipping point came after the woman purchased a favorite treat — some pricey frozen veggie pies she had been looking forward to. “I came home to find the box empty in the bin,” she writes, clearly frustrated. “I was so pissed off.”
Following a heated exchange with Alex, who gave “the usual excuses,” she and her partner decided to install a hasp lock on their chest freezer in the utility room. “We moved all our frozen stuff into it and locked it,” she explains.
The decision didn’t sit well with Alex, who became angry when he realized he no longer had access to their food. “He said we were treating him like a child and being incredibly petty and hostile,” she shares, noting that Alex called the move “humiliating.”
While her partner is standing by her, telling her Alex is “just mad he got caught out,” the woman admits she’s starting to question whether they took things too far. “Now I feel a bit guilty,” she writes. “We do live together, and maybe locking up food is a step too far.”
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But Reddit commenters quickly came to her defense, pointing out that Alex had ignored repeated requests and continued to cross boundaries. One writes, “Eating OP’s food again and again is a choice he’s making again and again,” adding, “Locks were invented because some people can’t be trusted.”
Another user adds that the woman is under no obligation to support her roommate, even if he’s her boyfriend’s brother. “It is not your responsibility to feed any roommate,” they say, emphasizing that “he is not entitled to your food.”
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Stock photo of a woman locking the freezer
Despite the backlash from Alex, many commenters argue that her decision to secure the freezer was more than fair. “Your solution is completely reasonable,” one person writes.
Though she’s still wrestling with guilt over the drastic step, the woman seems to have plenty of support behind her. As one commenter puts it bluntly, “If he feels humiliated, he should, because he caused this situation to get to this point.”
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