‘He owes me big time’

Time is money, at least for this scorned singlteon.

A 34-year-old woman who was dumped after a decade of dating says she wants financial compensation from her ex-boyfriend for stealing her “childbearing years.”

The anonymous singleton wrote to The Telegraph’s “Moral Money” advice column, saying she believes her former flame should now pay for IVF or egg freezing after leaving her high and dry.

“He tells me he feels, at 38, as though he still has a decade of enjoying his lifestyle and powering through with his career and is not ready for marriage and children, but he knows it has become a priority for me – so he is off,” the woman wrote.

“Here I am at 34, eggs twitching, ready for the marriage and parenthood stage of life but unexpectedly single and emotionally devastated. I am tipping into the furious phase of the grief cycle because I feel as though he owes me big time and I want him to pay.”

The woman further explained that she had made some career sacrifices to accomodate her ex’s ambitions, as they had verbally agreed that he would be the primary earner should they have children.

“Now I feel like these compromises have left me vulnerable and I am seeking compensation,” she fumed. “Surely he should have some responsibility for helping me mitigate the damage to our plans caused by his change of heart and broken promises?”

“Moral Money” columnist Sam Secomb was sympathetic about the singleton’s situation, but conceded it would be impossible to present a successful legal case for compensation.

“It is important to shift your mindset from seeking compensation from him to investing in your own resilience,” Secomb stated. “IVF and egg freezing are expensive and it is natural to feel he should contribute since your shared life choices affected your timing. But if he is unwilling, the legal system will not force him.”

The columb subsequently went viral on social media, where readers were less kind about the woman’s unwanted situation.

Many wondered why she waited 10 years for her boyfriend to move to the next stage of commitment, saying she should have had the agency to leave him several yearsd ago.

“Women are either adults with agency or they’re not,” one critic declared on X. “There’s no middle ground.”

“Accountability matters,” a second concurred. “YOU make your own choices, and those choices have consequences. You chose that person, so no one owes you anything for decisions you freely made.”

Another user warned women in their late twenties and early thirties to be prudent about the length of time they stayed with a man who did not actively show that he was seriously committed.

“Anybody heard of the 2-year rule?” they wrote. “If the relationship’s not going somewhere within 2 years then it’s up to you to ditch. Most things have an expiration date.”