Coworker Blamed Colleague For ‘Ruining’ Proposal After Forgetting to Request Time Off Work: “Not My Responsibility…”

A coworker blamed his colleague for allegedly “ruining” his proposal after forgetting to request time off work on the day. The woman who was blamed shared her account on Reddit's r/AmItheAsshole, where commenters were divided over whether she was in the wrong

The 29-year-old woman claimed to be working in a restaurant and knew that her colleague had been planning a proposal for his girlfriend. Weeks before the planned proposal, he told colleagues he intended to propose at a concert. 

As the days got closer, he continued to maintain the hype about getting engaged. However, there was a problem: “He scheduled himself to work the same night and apparently forgot to request it off.” 

With only days to go, the coworker began asking colleagues to swap shifts or cover for him. Unfortunately, none of them agreed due to other commitments. According to the Redditor, the alleged reason they didn’t want to was that it was a Saturday night shift. 

When the coworker approached the woman, she too declined to cover his shift. The Redditor explained, “I had a pretty full week (emotional stuff), and I didn’t really feel like it, so I told him I can’t cover it.” 

She wrote that even after she declined he kept asking what she was doing that night, though she did not elaborate on her plans, and the individual fumed at his colleague, blaming her. 

Coworker Blamed His Colleague After Botched Proposal

Having worked the full shift, he rushed to the concert after clocking out in hopes of still catching the band. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, the band had already played their final song of the night.

Instead of proposing mid-concert, the Redditor claimed he proposed to his girlfriend in a parking lot. He did propose in the parking lot and his girlfriend accepted — but he told the poster the moment, “It wasn’t special anymore.” 

The coworker fumed at his colleague because she refused to switch with him and even complained about how the botched proposal was her fault. Nonetheless, the Redditor defended herself.

She said, “I feel like forgetting to request off for your own proposal is not my responsibility.” Was she being harsh, or were her actions and reasons to decline justified? That’s exactly what Redditors discussed in a thread on the post. 

Reddit's Verdict on the Botched Proposal Was Not Entirely One-Sided

Netizens on Reddit had mixed reactions in the aftermath of the botched proposal. Some claimed the coworker could’ve just done it another day. One such individual pointed out, “Dude, just plan something else, a different day.” 

The next one said, “Make an actual effort. Like, make sure you’re actually free instead of having other people responsible for making the moment you want, to take advantage of.” 

Another added, “The universe tried to get him to plan something else, because let's be real—a concert is a terrible place to propose, and he stamped his foot and did it in a parking lot instead.” 

A fourth person stated, “ A parking lot proposal perfectly matches the amount of planning he put into requesting the night off.”

Other commenters acknowledged that while there was no obligation to swap shifts, it still would have been kind to help him propose as planned. 

The user wrote, “You didn’t have to, but it would’ve been nice…” Another added, “I feel like this is a correct answer. Like, no, the OP didn’t have to help and they had no obligation to give up their free time. But it sure would’ve been nice.”