Woman stunned by boyfriend’s ‘altitude-induced’ same-sex fling during Utah trip

A woman’s Reddit post has gone viral after she described her boyfriend’s bizarre explanation for cheating while on a business trip in Utah. In her story, shared on the “Am I the Asshole” (AITAH) subreddit, the woman detailed her shock upon discovering that her boyfriend, who has identified as straight throughout their three-year relationship, had a one-night stand with a male coworker — and was blaming the incident on Utah’s high altitude.

“Every now and then, he has to go to Utah for a few days because his team has a customer service branch that operates out there. I got a text from one of his co-workers who has become a friend of ours, and it said that on the trip, my boyfriend cheated on me with some guy on the customer care team,” she wrote. “I did not believe it at first. Because, first of all my boyfriend has always identified as straight. And second of all, I just couldn’t believe it.”

“When he got home I asked him about it, basically expecting him to confirm it was nonsense. Instead he got real quiet and had us sit down and said he had to tell me something. He said it was true, he did have a ‘one night stand’ with a guy. I couldn’t believe it. I asked him if he was telling me he was gay? Or bisexual? And regardless cheating is cheating.”

Due to the altitude

The boyfriend insisted he was not gay, but “the strangest thing happened.”

“He said that when he was at dinner with his Utah co-workers, he ‘suddenly became gay’. I was like…what? What the fuck? He said he thinks it was ‘due to the altitude,’” she continued, saying he must have been fucking with her. “But he said after he had done it with this guy, he got really confused as to how ‘all of the sudden he was gay.’ He said that higher altitudes can have an impact on how people think and on their emotions, and he thinks that the high altitude made him gay temporarily. He said that as soon as he landed back home, he was ‘back to being straight.’”

The boyfriend told her he did “a lot of thinking on the drive back from the airport” and confirmed within himself that he is straight and that his only conclusion could be that he was “temporarily turned gay due to the attitude.”

When she told him, “I guess we are breaking up,” the boyfriend seemed to look confused, she wrote, and said she shouldn’t blame him because “human actions are just a byproduct of accidental brain chemistry,” and that, “his chemistry had been altered, through no fault of his own, due to the higher altitudes of Utah.”

“He said he ‘couldn’t believe’ I would blame him for something ‘medical and scientific’ that was out of his control. He really looked bewildered that I was angry about this.”

She ended her post, asking, “Should I throw away a 3-year relationship for this? He’s acting like I’m being rude and weird.”

The community responds

“Been to UT a ton, haven’t felt the slightest change in sexuality,” user Nucf1ash replied. You realize that he’s feeding you a crock of shit, right?”

Another user explained that Mormons wear special underwear — “Compression undies to keep the brain chemistry STRAIGHT.”

Another blamed it on sexy ski instructors in Utah. “I would imagine even the straightest of men would find them attractive. Add that to OP’s bf’s hidden sexuality, AND the high altitude. There might be even some lesbians who would go straight under the influence.”

User thelittlestdog23 explained, “Dude, the fatal error OP’s boyfriend made: You always say ‘no homo’ as you’re traveling up a mountainside. Rookie mistake.”

“You wouldn’t believe what he gets up to on planes,” wrote JudgyRandomWebizen.

“You mean you’ve never been driving past Provo and just been overcome with a sudden, unexplainable urge to find the nearest truck stop glory hole!?,” wrote buffinator2. “I mean… neither have I.”

But, it seems the rational False_Dimension9212 wrapped up the question on whether or not the writer is the asshole:

“Yeah, let’s pause logic for a moment and say that altitude could make someone temporarily gay, that still doesn’t excuse the conscious choice to have sex with someone and cheat on your partner, regardless of gender. If you can’t help turning gay, you can still control where your dick does or doesn’t go.” they wrote. “He doesn’t want to take responsibility for his actions because he would have to acknowledge that he cheated. Also, I think he’s trying to rationalize this whole experience because he hasn’t come to terms that he’s either gay or bi. NTA.”