I Went Too Far and Now My Girlfriend Blames Me for Losing Her Job

Life as a couple can be fun and cozy, but with the benefits come challenges. Adjusting your routine, schedules, and habits to your partner’s can be arduous. If not handled properly, it can lead to uncomfortable situations, directly affecting your work performance and mood. This is the case of a young couple who ended up in a difficult situation because of their differences in routines.

“I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend, Jess, for three years, and we live together. Jess is not a morning person. This is primarily due to the fact that she’s up until 2 or 3 am every day on her phone, despite having to wake up at 8 am. I’ve tried to get her to start going to bed earlier so she could wake up on time, but she says that would leave her no time to do her own things. I decided not to press the issue.

Generally, I have to wake Jess up. I wake up at 5 am, run for an hour, get home at 6:00, shower, eat breakfast, and use my computer a bit. I’ll start waking Jess up at around 7:30.”

"I fully understand it’s ridiculous to have to wake a 28-year-old woman up, but I honestly don’t mind, or at least I wouldn’t mind if it weren’t for the fact that waking Jess up is a nightmare. I start by gradually turning on the lights at around 7:30. Then I try gently to wake her up. If she gets up around this time, she’ll go to the bathroom, and then I’ll go back to the room to find her asleep again.

The worst part about waking her up is she’s so ornery in the morning. She’ll use expletives directed at me, insult me, and then later when I bring up her words, she’ll just say, 'I was sleepy and out of it. What do you want me to do?'

Well, last Friday, I was waking Jess up as usual, and when she walked past me to go to the bathroom, she made this exaggerated dry-heaving sound at me. Then she said, 'You smell. Take a shower.' I had already taken a shower and always keep good hygiene."

“That evening, I told her that our deal with me waking her up every day was done. I was done with her tantrums, with her insults, and with her facial expressions. I told her that I was not moving a finger to make sure she got up for work on time. She was naturally upset about this, but I said she could wake herself up.

Today was Monday, and she overslept and was over an hour late. Since she had already been written up twice during her probationary period for her job, this was an automatic firing.

Around noon, she called me, incoherently yelling about how I got her fired. When I got home, she immediately started shrieking at me and then demanded half my salary until she found a better job. I feel like making her go cold turkey on waking up might have been too sudden, and apparently, she really liked her job. Should I have at least tried to wake her up?”

When handling unfavorable situations, it's always best to keep this in mind:

• Consider needs and preferences: Listening to your partner’s preferences can avoid misunderstandings, so make sure you maintain an understanding and flexible attitude.
• Look for compromises: The aim is to find common ground and for both people to make some sort of adjustment. Flexibility and alternation are key.
• Create moments of connection: Every couple needs to have quality time together. Planning activities that you both enjoy, whether during the day or in the evenings, can strengthen the bond.
• Consider long-term solutions: If problems persist, you may need to re-evaluate other aspects of living together, such as the possibility of using different rooms at certain times, ensuring that you both get good quality sleep, and that neither of you feels you have to sacrifice your well-being.

In this collection, we share captivating stories of people who faced an unexpected end to their jobs.