She called me at 3:00 a.m. My card declined at the club. Send me $2,000 right now or they won’t let us leave. I replied, “Call your dad.” Then I turned off my phone and went back to sleep. The call I got from the police station the next morning. Let me get straight to it because this story is insane.

 Going to try to keep it short, but there’s a lot to unpack here. I’m 30, engaged to Tiffany, 27F, for 8 months now. We don’t live together yet because I wanted to make sure we were compatible before signing a lease. Smart decision. As it turns out, she lives in an apartment with two roommates about 20 minutes from my place.

Background on Tiffany. Comes from money but got cut off by her parents 2 years ago for reasons she’s always vague about. Claims they’re controlling and don’t understand her independence. works at a marketing firm making maybe 40k but spends like she makes 100k. Always dressed perfect designer bags, expensive dinners, you know the type.

 We’d been having problems about money for months. She expected me to pick up tabs for everything because that’s what boyfriends do, but I’m not made of cash. I work in commercial HVAC making decent money, but I’m not funding someone else’s luxury lifestyle. Made that clear from day one. The real issues started when her friends got involved.

This group of four girls from college who all married rich guys and spend their days shopping and posting Instagram stories from expensive restaurants. They constantly pressure Tiffany to keep up with their lifestyle. Even though her situation is completely different, these friends are toxic as hell.

 Always suggesting expensive weekend trips to wine country or Vegas that cost thousands per person. When Tiffany can’t afford it, they make snide comments about her budget lifestyle and how sad it is that she has to work for a living. I told Tiffany multiple times that these women weren’t real friends. Real friends don’t pressure you to spend money you don’t have just to fit in with their crowd.

 But she was desperate to maintain her social status, even if it meant going into debt. 3 weeks ago, Tiffany’s friend Madison got engaged to some investment banker. They threw an engagement party at this upscale venue downtown with an open bar and fancy catering. The kind of party that costs more than most people’s cars. At the party, I watched these women compete over who had the most expensive dress, the biggest engagement ring, the most exclusive vacation plans.

 It was disgusting watching grown adults act like teenagers trying to impress each other with daddy’s money. Tiffany was miserable the whole night. She’d borrowed a dress from her roommate and felt underdressed compared to her friend’s designer outfits. Kept making comments about how lucky Madison was to find a man who could provide that kind of lifestyle.

That’s when I knew our relationship was in trouble. She wasn’t looking at me as a partner. She was evaluating my earning potential against her friend’s husbands. I wasn’t a person to her. I was a bank account with a pulse. The week after the engagement party, Tiffany started dropping hints about wanting a bigger ring.

 Mine was a modest 1 karat from K Jewelers, but apparently that wasn’t impressive enough for her social circle. She showed me pictures of Madison’s 3 karat Tiffany setting that probably cost 50 grand. I shut that conversation down immediately. Told her we’d already discussed our budget and expectations. That if she wanted to compete with trust fund babies, she should have thought about that before getting engaged to a workingclass guy.

 She got defensive saying she wasn’t trying to compete with anyone. Just wanted to feel special on her wedding day like any bride would. But I’d heard her on phone calls with her friends complaining about my cheap ring and how embarrassed she was to show it off. Two weeks ago, Tiffany informed me she was planning a bachelorette party in Miami.

 Not asking me about it or discussing the budget, just announcing that she’d already started making arrangements with her friends. The cost was going to be around $3,000 per person for flights, hotels, dinners, and clubs. I laughed and asked where she thought that money was coming from. She said her friends were all pitching in and she expected me to cover her portion as an engagement gift.

 $6,000 total because she wanted to bring her sister along too. That’s where I drew the line. $6,000 for a weekend of partying while we were supposed to be saving for a wedding. I told her absolutely not. and if she wanted to go to Miami, she could figure out how to pay for it herself. The fight that followed was epic. Tiffany accused me of being controlling and unsupportive.

Said any man who really loved his fiance would want her to have fun with her friends. That I was embarrassing her by making her look poor compared to the other girls. I reminded her that we’d talked about financial compatibility before getting engaged. that I wasn’t going to bank