Woman Says She Canceled Upcoming Trip After Learning Friend Assumed She'd 'Pay for Everything'
A 20-year-old woman said in a Reddit post that she was ready to start making travel plans with her friend, but their trip to Los Angeles never made it off the ground
When it came time to purchase plane tickets, the woman said her friend said she didn't have the money, which led the woman to question whether her friend could even afford to go
In response, her friend revealed that she just assumed the woman would cover most of their expenses since she has more money, which led to the trip getting canceledA woman is wondering if she was wrong to abruptly call off a trip with a friend after an awkward money situation unfolded.
In a post to Reddit's "AITA" forum, a 20-year-old woman detailed how a "fun summer trip" to Los Angeles failed to get off the ground.
The woman said that her friend, 21, had been talking about the idea for months, and since they live about 8 hours away, the woman just assumed flying would be the most practical mode of transportation. When she told her friend that it was probably time to book tickets, she wrote that her friend "looked really confused" and said she couldn't afford it, suggesting they drive there instead.
That prompted more confusion.
"If she can't afford a $150 plane ticket how was she planning to pay for the activities and places SHE wants to go (Nobu, jetskiing, shopping, clubs etc) which all add up," the woman wrote.
To make matters worse, the woman wrote that since her friend doesn't have a driver's license, a road trip would mean she'd have to do all the driving herself.
When she brought up the flaws in her friend's plan, the friend shrugged it off.
"She kinda just laughed and said since I have money she assumed I would pay for a majority of her expenses," the woman wrote. "I was shocked because why would she assume I would pay for her expenses without even asking?"
The woman wrote that yes, she was fine with picking up the tab for drinks or buying them something small like ice cream, but there was a limit. She went on to note that they had previously agreed to split hotel costs 50/50, and that seemed to be the one expense her friend was fine with covering herself.
Ultimately, the woman told her friend she shouldn't have asked to go on the trip if she was expecting her to "pay for everything," but her friend didn't agree, arguing it's "unfair" because the woman can afford to pay for both of them.
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Those in the comments unanimously took the woman's side. As one commenter, put it, her friend treated her like "an ATM," which isn't okay.
"Of course this 'friend' is upset. She was dreaming of having a vacation on your dime," added another commenter.
"There is always going to be someone who has more money," read another reply. "That doesn't mean that person is obligated to pay someone else's way."
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The left turn sneaks up on you, interrupting the wall of towering trees hugging both sides of this winding two-way road in suburban New England. Through the clearing, an electronic gate comes into view, blocking whatever lies beyond. Unless Google Maps has malfunctioned, this is the place — or more accurately, the culmination. Stop No. 17 on a two-day trek across New England in search of the answer to a question that has captivated the sports world: Who is Jordon Hudson? Advertisement Hopefully, an address on the other side of that gate can provide insight on Hudson beyond her role as the increasingly famous 24-year-old girlfriend of Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as coach of the New England Patriots and is almost 50 years her elder. Official filings show that the listed headquarters for all 16 of Hudson's limited liability companies is located here, nestled somewhere in this private golf community south of Boston. 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But since Hudson has yet to give a single interview since Belichick's hiring at North Carolina in December — his first foray into college football — the world is instead left deciphering clues. Analyzing her 26-second on-stage answer at the recent Miss Maine USA pageant, where she finished as second runner-up. Scouring public records, Ring doorbell footage and the former national champion cheerleader's social media accounts for clues. Wondering if the couple is engaged, as the New York Times reported Hudson has told at least one person. Hunting for breadcrumbs, basically. Hudson did not respond to an interview request for this story, either. So in lieu of hearing from her directly, the next best option? Walking — or in this case, driving — hundreds of miles in her shoes. Start in the farthest northeastern corner of Maine, where traces of Hudson's childhood can still be found among the aging lobster cages. Head nearly five hours south — through one-stoplight towns, past countless roadside blueberry stands — until you hit Boston, where Hudson spent 1,000 hours studying cosmetology, and where she now owns multiple rental properties as part of a burgeoning $8 million real estate portfolio. From there, it's a curl around the coast to the tiniest tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown, Mass., where Hudson spent her formative years in the self-advertised 'gayest town in America.' Advertisement That unconventional backstory explains, at least partially, what led Hudson to becoming Belichick's 'creative muse,' as he wrote in his new book — and, in turn, a cultural fixation. 'I consider her a supernova,' says Dougie Freeman, a celebrity hairstylist and owner of West End Salon & Spa in Provincetown, who was Hudson's boss for several years. 'Our motto here at the salon is, 'Let us help you use what you've got to get what you want' … and maybe Jordon Hudson is a good example of that.' Belichick's NFL heyday was defined as much by winning as it was instructing his players to 'ignore the noise,' to block out any real or perceived distractions. Yet six months into his UNC tenure — before he's coached a single game on his $30 million guaranteed contract — Belichick's time in Chapel Hill has been defined by questions about Hudson's role. While the coach has maintained he has both a 'personal and professional' relationship with Hudson, who handles his promotional opportunities away from North Carolina, the line has proven to be blurry amid a series of scrutinized episodes. Hudson's Instagram profile, meanwhile, with its 110,000 followers, has been like a window into another world: one where Belichick, 73, posed as a fisherman next to her in a mermaid Halloween costume. 'This relationship has kind of pushed him into a different realm,' says Alice Leppert, associate professor of media and communication studies at Ursinus College. 'There's a clash of imagery between who fans knew him as, this one particular type of coach, versus who we're seeing in the public eye now. So it may just be that clash, that mismatch, that has gotten so many people's attention.' Amid Hudson's rise, her family's origins in Hancock, Maine, have brought attention to the 2,500-person town in the northern shadow of Acadia National Park, where Hudson was born in anonymity. Her parents, Heath and Lee, owned Frenchmans Bay Fisheries, a mussel and seaweed farming business they operated out of their rural ranch. Miss Daisy, Heath's dragger, made local headlines more than a time or two for being unceremoniously beached during sudden low tides. Advertisement Eventually, though, local fishing regulations changed, straining the Hudson's operation. That upbringing, as Hudson said both at the Miss Maine USA pageant and in various social media posts, is what sparked her passion for saving Maine fishermen. These days, the town named after founding father John Hancock is less known for its fishing scene. Instead, it's better known as the home of a summer program that trains orchestra conductors — or as the filming site of the 1989 horror film 'Pet Sematary,' based on Stephen King's novel. The local economy isn't all that's turned over. Most of the Hudsons no longer live in the area — except for Heath, who still resides in the family's old home. He was formally awarded ownership of the charcoal-colored house Hudson grew up in just last month, according to court records viewed by The Athletic. But more than a decade after Lee and Heath separated, and after Lee and her children left Hancock, there are still visible signs of Hudson's childhood. A dilapidated wooden shed out back, with a tattered sign advertising scallops. The rotting tree house next to it, which Heath once built for Hudson and her sisters to play in. David Johnston — who was born and raised in Hancock, and who now oversees its historical society — can't speak to the Hudsons personally, but he does have something to share. In a side room of the historical society, Johnston leans over and opens a long filing cabinet, where he maintains folders on every family that is, or was, part of Hancock. He plucks out two. The first folder provides a peek at the previous four or five generations of Hudsons. There's a newspaper article honoring Heath's Eagle Scout project, a footbridge over a swamp in a bird sanctuary at nearby Tunk Lake. There are children's drawings and scribbles by Jordon's sister Jenna; a birth announcement for another sister, Becca. Obituaries, communion pamphlets, records of school math meets. But save for a blank Frenchmans Bay Fisheries merchandise order form, featuring a picture of young Jordon and her sisters, there's no mention of Hudson. That's for the other folder, Johnston explains. He'd seen Hudson's name pop up in relation to Belichick, but never thought much of it — until the Bangor Daily News, his preferred local paper, started posting articles about her. At that point, Johnston made an executive decision. Advertisement 'This is something,' he says, 'we should probably record for future generations.' There's been no shortage of news to chronicle. Belichick requested his girlfriend be copied on certain UNC emails weeks into his tenure, around the same time she offered unsolicited advice to school communications staffers. In late February, as North Carolina was finalizing a deal with HBO's 'Hard Knocks,' she played an 'instrumental role' in the production pulling up stakes. All that came before her viral, off-camera interruption of a CBS interview, when Belichick was asked how the couple met. (They say it was on a 2021 flight to Palm Beach.) Most recently, the school denied a report that Hudson had been 'banned' from the football facility. The parade of headlines has done nothing to slow criticism locally and beyond. 'I am a longtime UNC fan and cannot believe you are stuck with a coach who is clearly being run by a woman who is young enough to be his granddaughter dominating football practice and interviews,' one longtime supporter wrote to the school's president, according to emails obtained by The Athletic. 'It's ridiculous, won't end well, and makes UNC look foolish.' It's that view of Hudson that comes through most strongly in her official Hancock folder. The bulging collection reads as if Hudson suddenly parachuted into the world, with no meaningful backstory beyond her relationship with Belichick. There's an article about her teasing a statement on social media in the wake of the CBS interview. A New York Post story from last July recaps a romantic bike ride the couple took on Nantucket. A review of Hudson's Miss Maine USA pageant performance, another about her being likely to decline a 'Dancing With The Stars' invite. There is even a meme tucked into the back: Hudson on the red carpet at the roast of Tom Brady … next to a life-sized Sugar Daddy candy. Whenever this story runs, Johnston asks, could someone please email him a copy? Hudson's cosmetology career began inside a pink–doused proving ground in Ptown. While still in high school, Hudson started working at Dougie Freeman's salon, which he's owned and operated since 1982. She quickly proved 'very gifted' at henna tattoo, with impressive hand-eye coordination that allowed her to draw intricate designs. She also did hair, sometimes while wearing a Miss Massachusetts sash. Advertisement 'My Jordon' — as Freeman, a Provincetown institution, calls her — fit right in at the fabulous parlor tucked inside a nondescript white house on Commercial Street. Over the years, a host of celebrities — the late Anthony Bourdain, Margaret Cho, the cast of 'Queer Eye' — have sunk into Freeman's flamingo-pink chairs. 'My parents always said,' Freeman jokes, 'that people who live on the Cape year-round have something to hide.' Hudson — plus her mother and siblings — moved here around 2010, after Frenchmans Bay finally went under. The census from the same year found that Provincetown registered the highest rate of same-sex couples of any municipality in the country. Evidence of that is everywhere, including the countless variations of pride flags flying down Commercial Street. Hudson's mother, Lee, now co-owns one of Ptown's dueling LGBTQ+ sex shops, Toys of Eros, on that very thoroughfare, where a window decal of a nun smoking a cigarette and an accompanying slogan welcome couples of all ages and orientations: More toys than the Devil has Sinners … 'Growing up in this town, she saw how alternative relationships work. They can work,' Freeman says of Hudson. 'I think that validated it for her.' Hudson eventually enrolled at the New England Hair Academy, which is housed in a renovated drug store just outside of Boston. Even after enrolling at Bridgewater State University, where she studied philosophy and helped the cheer squad win two national titles, Hudson made it a priority to avoid becoming a 'beauty school drop out,' as she wrote in one Instagram post from November 2019. In that same note, she explained how she spent one 12-week period juggling cosmetology school during the day — usually until about 4:30 p.m. — before making the hour-long commute back to BSU for cheerleading practice, which usually ended around 10:30 p.m. Those experiences ultimately led to Hudson forming two of her earliest LLCs — 'Roosevelt Beauty' and 'Roosevelt Glam,' both of which date to December 2023 and derive from her full name, Jordon Isabella Roosevelt Hudson — to pursue opportunities related to cosmetics, hygiene products and event styling. Others she's created since — all since 2023, according to documents obtained by The Athletic — range from real estate oversight to book and movie production, from trademark and copyright management to information technology (IT) solutions, from business operations to merchandising. At least four of the companies are directly affiliated with her boyfriend: Chapel Bill LLC; All BB Team LLC; Coach Show LLC; and BB's Version LLC — the last of which is a play on the strategy Taylor Swift used to reclaim the intellectual property rights on several of her songs. Advertisement 'People in Ptown are veeeeery resourceful,' Freeman adds. 'Many of us wear many hats to make money.' Freeman says he last spoke to Hudson via a series of internet DMs about two weeks before our visit, after he spoke to another outlet for a profile on 'my most famous employee.' How's she doing? What did she say? 'She seems to be doing fine,' Freeman responds. 'She said, 'I understand you're going to do an interview with the Washington Post.' And I said, 'I said a lot of nice things about you, I think you'll be pleased with it.' And I assume she was.' Even that brief encounter makes Freeman, as far as I can ascertain, the only person who actually knows Hudson — who stays in touch with her, at least to some extent — who has agreed to speak about her. That isn't for a lack of trying. Beyond her own reticence to be interviewed, Hudson's circle has similarly bunkered down — in many ways, in Belichick-esque fashion. A dozen-plus friends of Hudson who The Athletic reached out to did not respond. Her business partners — Christian, plus the other lawyer who helped organize her LLCs, David Jensen — are similarly silent. Hudson's pageant and cheer coaches, from the high school level on up, also ignored multiple outreaches on multiple platforms. Other than Freeman, the closest I get to anyone who actually knows Hudson? Surprisingly, her parents. Lee picks up the cold call, but upon learning there's a reporter on the other end of the line, interrupts: 'I have nothing to say about that.' Click. Heath at least hears out my pitch before politely declining. 'No, thank you!' Hudson's agency in insulating herself from legacy media — even as her growing fame shatters the barrier between private citizen and public figure — is part of what makes her story so lack of information about her effectively brightens the spotlight trained on Hudson's every move (or Instagram story). Advertisement 'It empowers a lot of internet sleuthing,' says Leppert, also the co-editor of Celebrity Studies. 'Certainly I think she qualifies as a celebrity, because look at the amount of attention that has been focused on her — and the fact that she is actively courting that attention, right? That Instagram is public. She is constantly posting photos with narratives of her relationship on it.' That relationship, and everything that has come with it, is why Freeman says he no longer views Hudson as just 'one of the most beautiful young women I've ever seen.' Have you seen the CBS interview, Freeman asks? Or her Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial, alongside Ben Affleck? 'When you do that, honey,' Freeman says, 'you've arrived.' He notes that though he's never met Belichick, he does not understand how anyone can consider the couple anything but a 'we,' given all that's transpired publicly. 'You know,' he adds, pausing for dramatic effect, 'she's not less than.' If anything, Freeman says? There's room in his eyes for Hudson's star to grow. 'It's about Jordon Hudson, the book. It's about Jordon Hudson, the movie. It's about Jordon Hudson, the brand,' he adds. But before our visit ends, Freeman lowers his voice for the first time all afternoon. He's read much of the backlash Hudson has received, especially after the CBS interview, and worries about the toll that may take on her. After one of his previous stints with reality TV went wrong, Freeman knows firsthand how vitriol can overwhelm. 'Fame comes with some barbs,' he says soberingly, 'and it doesn't always come with fortune.' During the Miss Maine USA pageant in May, Hudson appeared to allude to the criticism: 'I'm hoping that anybody who's watching this finds the strength to push through whatever it is that they're going through — and embodies that hate never wins.' Back on the front porch inside the secluded golf community, it's tough to tell who is more surprised: Me … or Bill Belichick, who appears to have answered the door for a solicitor for the first time in a long time. But it's him all right, in the flesh, sporting a navy blue T-shirt and mesh Carolina blue gym shorts. His usually stoic expression is decidedly less so, though, replaced instead with something between confusion and unease. Advertisement There are, as you might expect, roughly a thousand questions ricocheting in my mind. On my search for Jordon Hudson … did I accidentally find her? Is she here, too? At no point in my search process did I expect to find Belichick. But here he was: at home, and at the headquarters of Hudson's litany of LLCs. As Freeman says, a true we. With less than 100 days until North Carolina's season opener against TCU, it's uncertain what Hudson's role in Belichick's orbit might become. But there's no doubt that the separation of love and sport will remain blurry. Also guaranteed? That the world will be watching, eagerly. After a brief whiteout, I realize it would be wise to introduce myself and explain why I'm here. Belichick tells me he doesn't know a Joshua Christian, who organized his girlfriend's LLCs. So if this isn't Christian's property, I ask, is it Belichick's? Silence. There's the coach everyone knows. Well, I continue, if Christian isn't here for an interview, would Belichick be up for one? He quickly declines. So then what would be the best way to facilitate an interview with you? 'Uh … do you have a card or something?' Belichick examines the card and says he'll have someone reach out. The end of our chance encounter, clearly, is near. But then I remember the two pairs of shoes in the front driveway and try extending the scene a few more seconds — all in the hope that maybe, just maybe, Hudson will appear. But attempts at small talk fall flat. Saturday night beckons, and Belichick has better things to do than strike up conversation with a stranger. Saying goodbye, he backsteps off the porch and into the residence. Then he politely shuts the door, away from any more prying eyes. — Additional reporting by The Athletic's Matt Baker. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images, iStock)
