AITA for wearing a sweater my ex bought me?

A 26-year-old male on Reddit describes how his girlfriend, Jane, is exhibiting intense jealousy regarding a present he got from his former partner, Cindy. Even though Cindy is a good friend and has no lingering romantic feelings for the original poster, Jane demands that he dispose of the sweater Cindy gifted him during their yearly gift swap. The poster believes Jane is being irrational but is conflicted about whether his unwillingness to discard the sweater is inappropriate.

‘ AITA for wearing a sweater my ex bought me?’

Brace yourself, this will be lengthy. A decade ago, my sister and I resided in an apartment located in a rough area. Our immediate neighbor, whom I’ll refer to as Cindy, developed a strong friendship with my sister. We all formed a close bond. Regrettably, my sister became entangled with drugs and was incarcerated approximately two years after meeting Cindy. Cindy and I exerted every effort to help her overcome her addiction, but confinement was the sole measure that proved effective.

While my sister was indoors, Cindy and I became intimate and had a short romance. We were together for about 2 months before splitting up without resentment. A contributing factor to our breakup was Cindy’s realization that she was a lesbian, not bisexual as she had previously believed. We remain friends.

My sister was released, and we resumed living together. Cindy remained a constant source of support and assistance. We gained another wonderful neighbor, whom I’ll refer to as Ted. The four of us initiated a gift exchange tradition each Christmas. These weren’t extravagant presents, but it was a cherished custom. We’ve maintained this tradition for the past five years, since my sister’s release. Even though Ted (and Cindy) no longer live nearby, we all still travel across town to reunite annually.

Cindy and my sister remain extremely close, they are the very best of friends. Cindy has been in a committed relationship with a woman for several years. It’s getting quite serious and Cindy is contemplating proposing marriage. I’m only bringing this up to demonstrate that Cindy is, in fact, a very dear friend who has no amorous feelings for me.

My girlfriend and I have been together for approximately half a year. Let’s refer to her as Jane. She experiences extreme jealousy towards Cindy. She becomes upset whenever Cindy visits my home to spend time with my sister. On one occasion, Cindy visited my mother’s residence to repair her washing machine. Jane and I visited several hours after Cindy had already left, and my mother casually remarked that I was welcome to do my laundry there again if I wished, as Cindy had repaired the appliance.

Jane sobbed for more than sixty minutes and told me I couldn’t do laundry in the washing machine her former partner repaired. She is utterly irrational regarding her. Seven days prior, we had our annual secret Santa. Cindy gave me an unadorned dark sweater, and it’s incredibly comfortable. Honestly, the most comfortable material I’ve ever felt. I adore it. When Jane learned Cindy was the gift giver, she became enraged. She insists I throw it away.

It’s a really cozy sweater, and I’m unwilling to part with it. I’ve told her she’s acting absurdly. Cindy and I were together AGES ago, for just a couple of months. Furthermore, she prefers women. I’m standing firm on keeping the sweater… Am I the unreasonable one?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Minute_Point_949 −  Get rid of the girlfriend, keep the shirt.

Fun_Breakfast697 −  NTA. Jane cried for over an hour and forbid me from washing the clothes in the washer my ex fixed. This is UNHINGED.

Sir-Kyle-Of-Reddit −  NTA and you gotta ditch Jane. Jealousy has no place in a healthy relationship; either you trust your partner or you don’t. And who would want that kinda drama from a 6 month old relationship.

loricomments −  Jane probably needs to go. That kind of jealousy is a problem that will not go away. You can completely cut Cindy our of your life and she’ll just find someone else to be jealous of. It will never end because she is an insecure person, they don’t know how to trust.

Initial_Buy_4278 −  Jane sounds unhinged.

schec1 −  Keep the sweater,get rid of the crazy GF. NTA.

Gameovergirl217 −  NTA sit your GF down and have a long talk with her. if she doesnt see reason ditch her. she sounds highly insecure and honestly very exhausting. you dont need that kind of person in your life.

oxfordfox20 −  As everybody’s saying, Jane needs to sort herself out. Cindy won’t be the only one she fixates on, this pattern will recur until you deal with it. If you’re patient enough, you can try and reason with Jane and help her deal with her obnoxious jealousy, because the way she currently is, she’ll never have a healthy relationship. Or, and no one will blame you for this, you have to get rid, because two people being unhappy is not the solution to one person being unhinged.

gdayars −  Think it is time for Jane to go….

Legal_Ad_9812 −  NTA. One of my wife’s best friends is a gay man she dated in high school. If he bought her a diamond ring I’d be wondering what sweet gig he got that he could afford that for a friend. It’s called being secure, she’s insecure. Ditch her.