In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/TemporaryTree8673 (otherwise referred to as the original poster) said they struggled in high school and that their boyfriend constantly made fun of them for it until a heated interaction brought his insulting behavior to an abrupt halt.

Titled, “[Am I the a**hole] for rubbing it in my boyfriend’s face how much I make in front of our friends?” the viral post has received nearly 14,000 votes and 1,200 comments in the last 11 hours.

Writing that they have been living with their boyfriend for the last year, the original poster said he has made fun of them for their high school struggles since their first date.

“When we were on our first date he asked if I pursued a higher education after high school, which I didn’t,” they wrote. “I explained that I failed high school and he couldn’t believe it.”

“He was a high achiever and couldn’t possibly understand how somebody could fail high school,” they added. “He finds it amusing to tease me about it.”

Despite “failing” high school, however, the original poster said they are usually unbothered by their boyfriend’s antagonistic behavior, but detailed a recent gathering at which their patience was tested and ultimately pushed too far.

“I have a good job and I’ve done great things despite not having a traditional education,” they wrote. “At the very worst it’s a little annoying but I refuse to lose sleep over it.”

“We had friends over and the conversation turned towards high school and what subjects we did,” they continued. “I listed off what I studied in my final year and he began to laugh, saying that it didn’t matter because I failed anyway. Then since he’d had too much to drink he took it a little far and started poking fun at how only idiots fail high school.”

“I tried to play it off but the alcohol got the better of me as well and I snapped, responding: ‘That’s why I earn $48 per hour and you earn $26, right? Because you did so well in high school and that set you up for success?’” OP wrote.

Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published new data revealing median annual incomes for Americans based on their highest level of education.

For those with a high school diploma and no secondary education, the New York Fed reported a median annual income of $30,000. For those with a bachelor’s degree, the New York Fed reported a median annual income of $52,000.

Despite that $22,000 difference, annual incomes for employees across the United States are not based solely on education level and in some cases, high school-educated workers are able to make more money than their college-educated counterparts.

In a 2021 report published by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), data revealed that 16 percent of high school graduates, 23 percent of workers with some college education but no degree and 28 percent of workers with associate’s degrees earn more than half of workers who hold bachelor’s degrees.

“More education doesn’t always get you more money,” CEW Director Anthony P. Carnevale said in a press release.

“There’s a lot of variation in earnings related to field of study, occupation, and other factors,” Carnevale added.

Throughout the viral Reddit post’s comment section, some Redditors echoed this message. However, the majority of commenters focused solely on the original poster’s boyfriend’s insistence on insulting his partner about high school accomplishments every chance he gets.

“He did have it coming,” Redditor u/PoseyCircles wrote in the post’s top comment, which has received nearly 18,000 votes.

“Not to be the LEAVE HIM person so early lmfao buy, if he did that on the first date and has been an a**hole about it ever since. Why stick around?” they added. “You can find someone who doesn’t find it funny to demean you as ‘fun.’”

Redditor u/GalaticA**hole, whose comment has received more than 4,500 votes, offered a similar response.

“He shouldn’t be dishing it out if he can’t take it,” they wrote. “Maybe it’s a good time to talk about how your history with high school shouldn’t really be brought up anymore. Really sounds like he…belittles you for it because he’s insecure that you’re more successful than he is.”

“It’s odd that he has held onto this ‘joke’ for so long, especially about high school,” Redditor u/jabmwr chimed in. “A healthy partner would support and uplift your accomplishments/career instead of focusing on demeaning you.”