I Broke Up Over a Fishing Game and Now Everyone Thinks I’ve Lost It
Something small can feel enormous when it arrives on top of a month of hurt. That’s the heart of one Reddit poster’s breakup story: an 18-year-old who says they left their 17-year-old boyfriend after he played through a two-player fishing game they had agreed to experience together. On the surface it looks trivial. But the poster, who lives with a chronic illness and sleeps 10–15 hours a day, says this game had become their shared ritual, the couple’s version of watching a show together. What happened next revealed a pattern that made the poster decide they’d had enough.
Exactly what went down, according to the poster
The original Reddit post, written by u/_Azumii_, lays out the timeline in plain, exhausted language. The couple has been together a year but “the relationship has been really not good for the past 3 months.” The game they played is the thing that made them feel close again: “we have that one fishing game we play together, and it’s our game in the way couples watch a series together so you can’t watch an episode without your partner.” Because of the poster’s chronic illness, they sleep a lot and sometimes miss late-night sessions. The poster says they told their boyfriend they were going to sleep early one night; he said good night as usual.
The next morning they logged on to play and saw their partner was already at max level with the best fishing rod. When the poster asked when he’d done it, the boyfriend admitted he’d “played all night and finished the game, the story,” essentially completing the shared experience without them. The poster explains a key detail about the title: “the story is separate /not synced but its 2+ players so everyone has to do the things at the same time to not get lost.” The boyfriend didn’t just finish the game solo, he finished it with another guy, and refused to reveal who that person was. That secrecy, combined with prior emotional pain, pushed the poster to leave for what they say is about the 20th time, because he keeps begging them to stay. They can’t block him because they work together, which makes cutting ties even more complicated.
Why the game mattered, it wasn’t really about the fishing
On the surface, playing a video game seems minor. But rituals like watching a show, attending a class, or playing a game together are how couples build and protect shared time. The poster made that explicit: this game was their equivalent of “can’t watch an episode without your partner.” When one person unilaterally breaks that shared rhythm, especially by finishing the emotional arc with someone else, it feels like being erased from the story you were supposed to be in together.
Beyond the ritual is context. The poster says the relationship had been getting worse for months: the boyfriend has been making them cry “basically everyday” and allegedly tells them, if they “keep being alt he will hate” them. Those are not small slights. To the poster, the fishing-game incident wasn’t the cause of the breakup, it was the eye-opener. As one top commenter observed: “It sounds really petty at first glance but in reality you aren’t ‘breaking up cos of a fishing game’. The fishing game is the eye opener. The thing that allows you to see this guy is selfish and inconsiderate.”
How strangers on Reddit reacted
The thread drew sympathy and practical takes. Multiple commenters told the poster they were NTA, not the asshole, and reframed the situation as a pattern rather than a single offense. “You are not breaking up over a fishing game – that is just the straw that breaks the camel back,” one user wrote, pointing out the mismatch between what he says (“I love you”) and what he does (causing repeated distress). Another blunt take was: “You are allowed to break up with anyone for any reason,” with a reminder that playing a two-player game they’d explicitly agreed to play together is objectively hurtful.
Commenters also addressed the poster’s worry about being “young” and needing someone who accepts their disability. Responses were compassionate and firm: this isn’t about age; it’s about needing someone patient and considerate. Several people flagged the boyfriend’s alleged ultimatum, “if I keep being alt he will hate me”, as emotionally manipulative, if not abusive, and urged the poster not to settle for someone who makes them cry every day.
The messy realities: work, boundaries, and chronic illness
What makes this story pricklier than a typical breakup is that the pair work together. The poster can’t simply block the boyfriend without risking workplace tension. They also live with a chronic condition that affects sleep and energy, so social time can be limited and precious. That combination, someone who’s allegedly unsupportive plus the practical inability to cut contact, leaves a person feeling trapped and exhausted.
That’s also why the game meant so much: for someone with limited energy, scheduled rituals are anchors. Losing that anchor to night-long gaming with someone else, and being kept in the dark about who that other player was, equals a betrayal that’s not about pixels; it’s about being marginalized in the one thing that felt reliably theirs.
Concrete next steps to protect yourself and heal
If you relate to this post, there are a few practical moves that can make a messy situation less damaging. First, document and name the pattern: keep a private record of times you’ve asked for changes, how your partner responds, and how that makes you feel. It’s easier to stand firm when you can trace a history instead of reacting to one flashpoint. Second, set boundaries you can manage at work: ask HR or a supervisor for help if conflicts start bleeding into your job and consider mediated conversations rather than private ones when safety or ongoing contact is a concern.
Reach out for emotional support. Chronic illness can make everything feel heavier; lean on friends, family, or a counselor who understands disability-related stress. If your partner is accusing you of being a problem and saying they’ll “hate” you, that’s a red flag. Trust what someone’s actions show, not their words. And remember, leaving someone who consistently makes you cry is not being dramatic, it’s protecting your emotional wellbeing.
What To Take From This
The fishing game was never the real issue. The poster’s story shows how one incident can illuminate a deeper pattern: inconsideration, emotional pressure, and a lack of respect for a partner’s limits. People on Reddit encouraged the poster to trust their feelings, to recognize the behavior for what it is, and to prioritize safety and self-respect over the fear of being alone, especially when the relationship feels exhausting rather than uplifting. If someone says “I love you” but repeatedly makes you feel small, that mismatch matters. Rituals and shared joys are currency in relationships; when someone spends that currency with someone else without asking, it hurts. And sometimes, that hurt is the clearest sign it’s time to walk away.
