College Student Dragged for Walking in on Sister and Husband: 'Overreacted'

A college student is being bashed online after sharing the story on Reddit about how she walked in on her sister and her brother-in-law in an intimate moment because she needed the hairdryer.

The student, u/ThrowRA3224577, earned over 10,700 upvotes and 4,800 comments on the popular u/AmITheA**hole subreddit, for her post, "[Am I the A**hole] for telling my sister that she overreacted when screamed at me for entering hers and her husband's room?"

If one has roommates, it's nearly inevitable that someone will walk in on someone in an awkward situation. But if it becomes a habit, something needs to change. Mental Health America suggests five steps when dealing with a conflict with a roommate. First, it's important to time your discussion correctly—ideally not when either party is upset. It's also important to talk in person rather than over text or email, and focus on one problem at a time. Make sure that communication is flowing both ways and, finally, try to work on finding a solution together.

But if a roommate refuses to change and continues to do something even after they've been asked not to, that might mean it's time for the roommate to go.

The original poster (OP) says that she's a 23-year-old full-time college student staying with her sister, "Claire" and her husband "Thomas" during the semester. She stays rent-free, and says she doesn't work.

Her lack of income has led the OP to borrow things from Claire for her hair care and skin care routines. At first things were fine, but OP says that after a while Claire complained that she would "randomly" walk into Claire's room to get the things she needed.

"She gave me a hard time just because I walked in on Thomas half naked to get the eye shadow I borrowed from her. and then that other time when I walked in late at night. She told me I nedded to get her permission to enter the room before I take anything but I figured this would make things complicated. It's enough that I have to ask to borrow an item," u/ThrowRA3224577 wrote.

The conflict came to a head however when she walked into her sister's bedroom to get the hairdryer around 10 p.m. When she came in, she saw Claire and Thomas in an intimate moment, which she said she didn't expect, as Thomas had been ill for two days prior.

"She lashed out at me yelling that I get out. I quickly grabbed the hair dryer then walked out and shut the door," OP wrote. "Minutes later, She came downstairs in her robe and went off on me saying she was done with me repeatedly disrespecting and violating hers and her husband's privacy. I told her it was cool, no big deal. and that I needed the dryer but didn't have time to ask for [permission]."

The OP's reasoning did not resonate with Claire who "got even louder," saying that OP shouldn't barge into "her marital space." OP apologized but said Claire "really overreacted."

"This made her more p**sed she went on about how I'm living here rent free and yet not being respectable enough. I stopped arguing and went to my room," OP wrote.

"This morning, Thomas left the house early amd Claire ignored me on breakfast. Still upset saying I don't get to say wether she overreacted or not and that my behavior was inappropriate. She even wants me to apologize to her husband for making last night 'awkward,'" she continued.

Redditors were shocked at the OP's post, with some wondering if the OP wasn't actually the sister making fun of the entitled roommate.

"[You're the A**hole] - I am honestly baffled that you are even asking. She specifically requested that you not go into her room without asking. And you ignored that, because...you didn't feel like asking. And then you validated her concerns by walking in on them. How do you not see that you are in the wrong?" u/PizzaInteraction wrote in the top-rated comment with over 35,500 upvotes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this is a flipped post -- where the asker isn't lying about the situation, but they're actually the other person in the story. Ie in this case, it's Claire wanting validation that her sister is in the wrong," u/GimerStick speculated. "For example 'I don't work so I don't have everything I need for my daily skin/hair routine so I borrow stuff from Claire.' is just such a weird way for someone to talk about themselves vs. something like 'I don't have time to work because of school, so my sister offered to let me live with her and also shares things like her nicer skincare/hair tools. However, we've recently been fighting about when and how often I get to use them, even though she offered it.'"

"Unfortunately there are a lot of people like this. My husband and I let my younger brother live in our home for a while and he claims we traumatized him. How, you may ask? We talked to him about how our water bill had almost doubled since he moved in and could he please stop taking 45 minute showers. Our infant's crying was really hard for him to deal with. And my favorite, I went off on him because he changed the oil in his car, then left the full oil pan, along with oily rags, in our basement, near the furnace. So yeah, people can be this rude and oblivious," u/Fluffy-Drawing-9046 countered.

Newsweek has run a number of stories about roommate problems. One woman wanted her married roommate to spend more time at home with her instead of spending time with her husband. Another person ended up evicting their housemate after buying the condo they both rented. And yet another was called "creepy" for telling her roommate to let her dad sleep in her bed. Of course, even the worst roommate situation can be a learning experience.

Newsweekreached out to u/ThrowRA3224577 for comment.