The internet has backed a woman who decided to take action after her roommate kept eating her food from the fridge.
Reddit user u/JennyAnonymous shared a post titled "AITAH [Am I the a*****e] for installing a lock on my fridge to stop my roommate from 'stress-eating' my food?" and explained that her roommate, who she had lived with for six years, made a habit of eating her stuff.
"She always says it's because she's 'stressed' and swears she'll replace it, but my groceries vanish faster than a dating app match after mentioning kids," she wrote. "The last straw was when she ate my emotional support tiramisu. For context, I'd spent hours making this tiramisu after a rough week at work. It was my therapy in a dessert."
She then explained that her roommate had eaten the whole thing due to PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and said in a text message: "I owe you."
"I lost it. I ordered a lock for the fridge for my food and moved everything into it," she wrote in the post, explaining that her roommate has now said that the "vibe" of the apartment is ruined.
"I'm 'passive-aggressive' for locking her out of the shared fridge. She even tried to rally our other roommates against me (spoiler: they also hide their snacks from her)."
While the Reddit user questioned if she was right to do so or not, many seemed to agree with her choice of action.
Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman shared her thoughts on the scenario, telling Newsweek: "Sharing space with another person, whether a partner or a family member or a roommate requires courtesy, compromise and consideration. It sounds like this roommate did not get the memo.
"Optimally, a conversation should take place when you are moving in with a roommate about expectations who is going to pay for what, how you will divide chores, and what the food situation will be. It sounds like the roommate has a habit of invading public space.
"The past is done, the tiramisu is gone, but a very direct conversation should take place on expectations moving forward.
"It's rude for someone to go in and devour anyone else's food, routinely, with a promise of repayment, and not following through. Part of the blame is on the roommate who is upset, but has not spoken up.
"This situation could be handled politely, diplomatically, yet assertively without starting a roommate feud. If the roommate is inconsiderate in this area, it's a good chance she's inconsiderate in other areas as well, and perhaps finding a new roommate next time around would be an option."
Reddit users also shared their thoughts.
"If I made tiramisu from scratch after a hard week and someone ate ALL of it without asking and then left a note on the empty dish blaming PMS, their life would be in danger," said u/Tomorrow_Bunny222.
"She can buy her own stress reduction food from now on. Send her a bill for the replacement ingredients for the tiramisu and anything else she's eaten recently," said u/pixie-ann.
Meanwhile, u/RegretPowerful3 commented: "Make a list with the price of every ingredient for the tiramisu and anything else with a date to pay you back. It's not okay for her to eat your food."
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