Man finds photos from GF's old job, shares them with friends, gets her fired. AITA?

"AITA for accidentally ruining my girlfriend's career?"

Hi everyone. I'm in a tough spot right now and I'm not sure if I'm the a**hole or not. My girlfriend (27F) (let's call her Sarah) and I (26M) have been together for three years. She's always been passionate about her job as a teacher and has worked really hard to build up her career.

However, a few weeks ago, I accidentally stumbled upon some photos of Sarah on Instagram that I had never seen before. They were pictures of her in some very revealing clothing, and some of them were even nude. I was shocked and confronted her about it, and she told me that she used to be a lingerie model before becoming a teacher.

She said she stopped doing it because she didn't want it to affect her career, and she thought I knew about it already. I didn't know how to react at first, but eventually, I told a few of my friends about it. One of my friends is a gossip and ended up telling someone who works at the school where Sarah teaches.

Long story short, the photos somehow got into the hands of the school board, and Sarah was fired for 'unprofessional behavior.' Sarah is devastated and blames me for ruining her career. She says that I should have kept my mouth shut and that I betrayed her trust.

I feel terrible about what happened, but I didn't know that it would lead to this. AITA for accidentally ruining my girlfriend's career?

People didn't hold back at all.

claireclairey wrote:

YTA. You “didn’t know how to react at first,” but then settled on the ‘let me share my girlfriend’s private—and obviously career-ending—information with a bunch of people whom I know will gossip’ reaction? Don’t tell us you didn’t know this could be a possibility. You knew.

You were uncomfortable with your girlfriend’s past, and wanted her embarrassed. Well, go you. I hope your next girlfriend is a pure innocent flower; pray she’s not appalled by anything in your past.

ComprehensiveBand586 wrote:

YTA. You say your friend is a gossip but you literally gossiped about your girlfriend to your friends. I am a teacher. Teachers are held to a different standard than most people. You knew exactly what you were doing when you opened your big mouth and blabbed her secret. You showed your girlfriend that she can't trust you.

You were upset that she was a lingerie model and didn't tell you before so you punished her for it. Shame on you. She will have a very difficult time getting another teaching job. You didn't accidentally blab to your friends. You did that on purpose. So the fact that you ruined her career was not an accident. You're just desperate to avoid looking like an a**hole. But you ARE an a**hole.

Raindripdrop wrote:

YTA and she is right. You did ruin her career.

MsJamieFast wrote:

YTA, because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. The pictures shocked you. You had to know they might shock others. Yes, these pictures could have gotten around eventually, but you expedited it AND broke your girlfriend's trust.

She has every right to send you packing at this point. You showed her that you are not on her side, and that's a requirement of a good partner.

FoxCeltic wrote:

'I didn't know how to react at first, but eventually, I told a few of my friends about it.'

Right here you became the a**hole. YTA. Also confronting somebody instead of asking them about it was pretty AH worthy.

Not only is OP TA, but OP might be a single AH very soon.