Maybe she should look at men instead of boys

Maybe she should look at Boyz II Men.

oh shit lmao, I love your response to that haha

Boyz II Men always get Down on Bended Knee.

Alright so I'm not sure that you're too keen here with reading comprehension so I'll explain: the boyfriend wasn't embarrassed, he didn't plan on paying for the ring.

The way you interpreted this makes it such a cute little story.

I guess my optimism got the better of me. I didn't realize it was because he didn't want to pay for it. My bad.

Maybe he wanted her to pick out the ring she liked so he could surprise OP with it later? Or maybe he is just a tool.

If that's the case, he should have made it clear before they went into the store that they were just browsing. Now he's upset OP and the employee lost a sale. Shitty all around.

52 - The problem with that would be that saying you're taking your SO to a jewelry store just for "browsing" is pretty obvious and ruins the surprise.

Not really. You can know you're going to receive a proposal (which I would hope there would be enough communication to know it is coming at some point because both parties want it) and still be surprised when it happens. The person propsing doesn't have to give all the details. Plus by browsing the recipient can illustrate their taste and style and not know which of the rings is actually chosen until if happens. If you're even somewhat smart, it's easy to still make the proposal a surprise.

You don't know. OP could be a serial killer.

Or OP's bf is just totally clueless or guilty

Nooooo. Shhhhh. *drags my palm down your face*

If you say you're gonna bring someone somewhere to pick out something, its usually implying you'll buy it.

I couldn't agree with #8 more. It is the meaning behind the ring that is important, not the price. But this guy devalued the ring, the moment, and the OP all in one blow. I sincerely hope the OP did not buy the ring, she'll never associate it with anything but this horrible memory.

#8 I can't disagree anymore then the horror of you saying the guy shouldn't be obligated to buy a ring. It's one thing to discuss being in a tight situation with money. What he did was down right insulting to OP. I would dump his ass immediately, he doesn't deserve her. I'm so sorry OP one day you'll get a proper proposal with a real man!

I'm not one for traditions, I don't think the cost of the ring matters, and it is just a symbol. However, I look at an engagement ring as sort of a gift for the impending marriage. It's a symbol you want to take this step with them, and it's a way to ask, or say this, which is why I don't think you should provide it for yourself. This is why I think the opposite party should buy the ring for the other person, the guy for the girl, the girl for the guy, and for same-sex couples too, the other person buys the ring to give to their partner. You don't generally buy a gift for yourself, you're not asking you to marry you, your partner is asking you. That's just my view.

There's nothing in the world wrong with that -- my fiance is still saving up for my ring. The problem is that OP's boyfriend very heavily implied that he would be buying the ring and then abruptly backed out in front of the jeweler. This is not only a hurtful surprise to OP but also puts her in an awkward situation in front of a stranger. The problem isn't him not buying the ring, it's him leading in making it seem like he was buying it and then dumping it in her lap.

When my parents got married, money was tight, and my mom was okay with not getting an engagement ring. Not everyone is an extreme traditionalist, and that's fine. As has been stated by others, the problem is how the boyfriend misled OP.

Where in your sentence is your grammar?

The way I see it, him buying the ring is kind-of implied. Especially if it was out of the blue. To me it sounds like this was not discussed beforehand. I highly doubt he just said "Come on, I'll take you to the jewelery store so you can buy your own ring!"

Why should it be implied. He said to pick not purchase.

Why should it be implied? Really? What do you do with a ring after you pick it out? You buy it. Unless he specifically stated that they were going to the jewellery store to pick out a ring to buy at a later date, I think it's safe to say he was going to buy it then and there. What if OP had been nagging the boyfriend to get married though? What if she had been nagging to go "pick out a ring" and this is his idea of a joke to show his position? Like, 'here, you've picked out a ring now, so I've done what you wanted me to do. You never said I had to pay for it though, you just said you wanted to pick it out, so there you go. You want to get married, you pay for it!' Now in that scenario, OP would feel that it would be implied that the boyfriend paid for it. That's the only scenario I can imagine where your comment would feel right at home. I think we could do with some background information. But guys, my instruments are malfunctioning. Am I feeding a troll here?

He's only registering as a 6 on my trolloscope, but a 9 on the moronometre.

Why thank you fellow DataWog. You've been most helpful. I'll get on to repairing my instruments. Good day.

That won't solve anything, and it would make the situation worse before it has the chance to get better.

Oops. Silly negative thinking me. When you said "I hope you left him", I thought you meant give him the left hand (punch him). My dearest apologies, sir/ma'am

Like I said in my previous comment, I'm not sure I could stay with my boyfriend if he did that. To me it would feel like he didn't care about getting married, and that he was fed up. Obviously they're at a stage in their relationship where marriage is an option, so for him to do that to her would be devastating. I wonder how long they've been together. I also wonder if they're still together.

Oh, and I ALSO wonder what the cashier's reaction was!