A newly-engaged couple expected their friends to buy them dinner, and people can't decide whether it's fair

• A woman shared what happened when she went out to dinner with her friends that were newly engaged.
• She said she and her partner were then expected to pick up the check, which she took issue with.

A woman shared her discomfort at her partner having to pick up the check for dinner with a newly-engaged couple.

Ebony Mackey, who runs a jewelry business with her partner Jon Nelsen, posted a TikTok about the situation on their shared account which has 600,000 followers, calling it "honestly so awkward and expensive."

She said it had been bothering her for "a few days" and she wanted to get other people's perspectives on what they would have done.

Mackey said she and Nelsen went out to dinner with their friends who had gotten engaged several months ago, but they hadn't seen them since so there was "a lot to catch up on."

She said the couple was 30 minutes late, then when they arrived, they ordered full meals including appetizers and drinks.

"We're having a great night," Mackey said. "It's been about an hour, hour and a half. We all do a celebratory shot. And at the end of that, we're noticing, Jon and I are noticing, that the restaurant is starting to close."

People were leaving the restaurant, and the staff were starting to clean up, she said, so Mackey asked for the check.

She said everyone saw the waitress drop the check in the middle of the table, and then suddenly, the man in the other couple got up to go to the bathroom.

"I'm just like, are they going to try to stick us with a bill?" Mackey said, adding that Nelsen had kneed her under the table.

"This woman looks at Jon and I, because at this point, he was in the bathroom for long enough time," Mackey said.

She said Nelsen grabbed the check and pulled out his card, which prompted the woman in the couple to ask, "Oh, you're treating?"

"And Jon goes, I guess so," Mackey said. "And I'm sitting there like, what the fuck?"

Nelsen said at that point the man returned from the bathroom, saw Nelsen's card on the table, and said, "Oh, thank you for treating."

Mackey said Nelsen said it was "no problem," but she was angered with the situation.

"I'm annoyed with her and I'm annoyed with him and I didn't say anything," she said. "And we wound up paying for their entire meal, plus their drinks, plus the tip. What would you have done in this situation?"

Mackey's video amassed 144,000 views, and generated a heated discussion in the comments.

Viewers argued about the correct etiquette to follow in a situation like theirs. Some said they should have paid up without issue, and merely suggested the couple get the next dinner.

Others said Mackey should have spoken up at the time if she had an issue.

"In the future, when someone asks, oh, you're treating? Be truthful," one comment reads. "Say, no I think it's best that we split it. It really is as simple as that."

Another person said they would have simply asked the couple how they wanted to divide the check. One also said Mackey was "fake" for not being honest about how uncomfortable they were.

"Honestly, I'm annoyed that you guys would be this bothered YET not say anything!" said another person, adding they would have told the couple to "pony up."

Others said Nelsen had done the right thing in treating.

"I love when my husband picks up the bill," one commenter said. "So long as you're not struggling financially, why would you mind? If struggling then I can understand."

Another said Nelsen had been "gracious" and that they would have done the same thing. "And it would be the LAST meal for the other couple," they said.

One commenter said they would have paid and then never spoken to the newly-engaged couple again.

"I don't like all of that funny business when it comes to paying the bill," they said.

Another joked: "That's their wedding gift."