22-year-old girl gifts an iPhone 17 to her 19-year-old boyfriend but he doesn't want to keep it

A 19 year old boy has landed at the centre of a viral Reddit debate after his 22 year old girlfriend gifted him an iPhone 17, a present he says left him overwhelmed rather than happy. Posting on Reddit, the boy said the gift was the most expensive thing he has ever received and admitted he is now unsure whether to keep it or hand it back.

What the boy said in his post

The boy wrote that his relationship with his girlfriend has been going well overall, which made the surprise gift even more unexpected. He said he does not want to seem ungrateful since she clearly meant well, but the price of the phone kept nagging at him.


He pointed out that he is younger than his girlfriend and does not earn as much as she does right now, and that gap is a big part of why the gift feels heavier than a normal present. In his post he asked others if they had ever been given something far more expensive than what they were used to receiving from a partner, and how they dealt with the awkwardness that followed.

Family still in the dark

One detail that stood out in the comments was that the boy has not told anyone at home about the phone. When a user asked what he plans to say if his family notices the new iphone, he admitted he has no answer ready yet.

That admission set off a wave of replies suggesting cover stories he could use, including telling his parents he won a lottery, that he picked up the phone from a mall giveaway, or that a claw machine handed it to him. What began as a question about relationship etiquette turned, for many commenters, into a running joke about excuses for parents.

Users question where the money came from

Several users told the boy he should first find out if his girlfriend earned the money for the gift herself before deciding whether to accept it. One comment warned that if the money did not come from her own income, the gift could turn into a point of contention later, adding that couples often bring up such gestures during arguments down the line.

Another user echoed that caution, saying that even small things get thrown back at people during fights, so a gift of this size carries more risk of resurfacing in disagreements.

A gifting pattern reversed

Several commenters also pointed out that the post stood out simply because it reversed the usual direction of expensive gifts in relationships. Posts about men gifting women costly items rarely draw this kind of scrutiny about where the money came from, users noted, while a woman doing the same for her boyfriend prompted immediate questions.The boy has not shared a follow up on whether he decided to keep the iphone 17 or return it, and it remains unclear how he eventually explained the gift to his family.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on a viral social media post and online reactions. The Economic Times cannot independently verify the authenticity of the content and does not claim or endorse it.)​​