Man's Girlfriend Claims He Ruined Her Birthday Breakfast by Substituting 1 Ingredient

A man turned to the Reddit community for advice following a birthday surprise that went very differently than he'd imagined. He explained that he had hoped to make his girlfriend feel loved and celebrated, but instead, the day spiraled into hurt feelings and an unexpected fight.

He shared that his girlfriend had always been a selective eater and admitted that “she will try things but if it doesn’t blow her mind or make her happy/excited to eat it then she won’t finish it.”

He added in his post that although it caused some early tension in their relationship, he had since “adjusted to her palate” and felt confident in the dishes she usually enjoyed.

For her birthday, he decided to wake her up with breakfast in bed, choosing to make breakfast burritos with eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and bacon. He had made the meal before, noting that she often said “it’s one of her favorite things I make for her,” so he felt certain the gesture would make her morning special. But as he began cooking, he noticed a small problem.

He realized they were out of whole milk, which she preferred in her eggs, and only had 2% left in the fridge. He was already halfway through cooking and didn’t want to spoil the surprise, so he said, “I just used 2% because I couldn’t stop halfway through to run out for 30 minutes to get milk.” He assumed it wouldn’t matter — but quickly learned it did.

After setting the scene with candles and their favorite show, he brought her the plate, only for her excitement to fade as she examined the food. She asked, “Did you have to run out and get whole milk?” and when he admitted he hadn’t, she “started tearing up because she couldn’t eat anything with the eggs in it then.”

She explained she had tried eggs made with 2% milk as a child and didn’t like them, leaving her too disappointed to give the meal a chance.

He begged her to try a bite, hoping not to “start her bday off on a bad note,” but she refused and only ate the sides. He tried to shake off his frustration and focus on “keeping her happy for the rest of her bday,” saying that the rest of the day went smoothly — until one unprompted comment changed everything.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As they were leaving her parents’ house after dinner, she turned to her father and said, “Thank you dad for cooking dinner, because I need at least one guy in my life that knows how to cook good food.” He emphasized that “the tone was not playful” and she “was staring straight at me with a serious face” as she said it, leaving him stunned and hurt.

The remark started a fight during the drive home, and the couple barely spoke for the rest of the night. He later admitted he felt terrible about arguing on her birthday, but also genuinely believed he hadn’t done anything wrong. “I made a mistake with the eggs,” he wrote, but felt she had escalated the situation unnecessarily and humiliated him with the comment about cooking.

Commenters overwhelmingly agreed with him, with one writing, “NTA. She sounds incredibly childish and coddled. I’d be so appreciative if my SO went through this much effort for my birthday.”

Another echoed the sentiment, saying, “You’re NTA but your girlfriend is. If she didn’t want to try the eggs okay, that’s her choice. But the dig she directed towards you about cooking was uncalled for.”