Fairy tales would have us believe that true love can overcome any obstacle. That is, unless the obstacle is the airport security line. Then, it's every traveler for themselves.
In a post published on March 20, a Reddit user asked the popular advice subreddit "Am I the A**hole" whether he was in the wrong for leaving his girlfriend to wait in the regular security line while he went through the TSA PreCheck line.
The post quickly gained traction, with over 5,000 upvotes and nearly 1,500 comments.
Of course, relationships are much more complex than one single issue, but this particular predicament sparked a variety of reactions.
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Like the orange peel test, this seemingly simple dilemma has the potential to be a relationship litmus test: Would you sacrifice your own comfort in order to keep your partner company, or would you rather enjoy your rightful amenities?
To wait, or not to wait?
The original poster wrote that he and his girlfriend recently embarked on a trip from New York City to Paris.
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Before their vacation, the poster encouraged his girlfriend to enroll in Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol program that gives travelers access to expedited travel services, including TSA PreCheck.
"I thought this would be a great way for us both to avoid long lines at TSA," he wrote in the post. "I even started the application for her, and all she had to do was finish it."
However, his girlfriend didn't complete the application before they embarked on their trip.
"When the day of travel arrived, I went through the TSA Precheck line, and she had to go through the regular line. For the beginning part of our trip, she was mad at me for this," he wrote.
In light of the conflict, the original poster asked others on the Reddit forum to determine whether he was in the wrong.
Commenters backed his decision
Despite his girlfriend's reaction, many Reddit users agreed with the original poster's choice.
"What happened was a result of her own decision," one commenter wrote. "If she’s happy to go through the regular TSA line, that’s fine. There’s no need for you to suffer because of her bad decision. This was entirely foreseeable when she declined to complete the Global Entry process. There’s no way she should hold her own lack of planning against you.”
Other commenters could relate to his dilemma.
“Feeling so vindicated by these responses. I’m too biased to weigh in one way or another but for years my husband did not have precheck (he didn’t travel as often as me, and didn’t ever want to make the effort to get it) and I would absolutely go through the pre-check line alone, and then relax and wait for him at the other side of security lol. Zero guilt," another Reddit user wrote.
While the majority of Reddit users on the forum voted that the original poster was correct, a few commenters had mixed feelings.
"I don’t think you did anything wrong by going in the precheck line, but I can see why she would be annoyed about it, as splitting up on the first part of your holiday is a bit of a shame," a commenter wrote.
Some Reddit users questioned the original poster's priorities.
“You could make a point and teach her a lesson, or you could have a happy start to your trip. You picked the former but I don’t see how you could [have] expected her to be anything but unhappy about it.”
Others wondered why the situation caused so much friction in the first place.
“My spouse has global entry and I don’t. We always split up for security check. This is a nonissue," a commenter wrote.
In the end, a majority of Reddit users voted that the user was not in the wrong on the post's poll.
What do you think? Would you leave your partner behind and cruise through the expedited lane, or would you accompany them in the regular security line?
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:
