How One College Student Got the Ultimate Petty Revenge on Her Toxic Ex—and the Internet Cheered
We’ve all had a relationship or two we wish we could erase from our collective memory. But what if, instead of just blocking your ex and moving on, you had the perfect opportunity to serve up a slice of poetic justice? That’s exactly what happened to one college student—and, thanks to Reddit’s r/PettyRevenge, her story has become internet legend.
Imagine a boyfriend so bad you wonder if you were hallucinating the whole relationship: video games 24/7, questionable hygiene (bottled bathroom breaks, anyone?), controlling tantrums over how you dress, and, to top it off, tracking your every text and dollar. The cherry on top? Cheating and emotional manipulation. But when this college heroine finally had enough, she didn’t just walk away—she made sure her ex would remember her, and not in a good way.
Let’s set the scene: This wasn’t just your garden-variety bad boyfriend. According to the original poster, u/bigolecow873, her ex was a “POS” who “would watch porn and had an addiction to it, he would yell at me for the dumbest shit like using my JUUL [and] wearing anything other than baggy clothes.” He demanded access to her phone every night, read even innocuous texts to her roommate, and would make her skip class by threatening self-harm if she dared go out alone. Oh—and despite all that, he’d still ghost her and chat up other girls behind her back. If there’s a Bingo card for red flags, this guy was playing blackout.
At this point, most would have run for the hills (or at least the nearest campus counseling office). But u/bigolecow873 took a detour to the petty revenge department. One evening, after being tasked with doing his homework—yes, you read that right—she copy-pasted the entire assignment from the internet, knowing full well that plagiarism was an automatic fail at her college. The result? He flunked the class. “He deserved it,” she writes, “never saw him again after that semester.”
The internet, predictably, lost its collective mind.
Redditors flocked to the comments, offering everything from applause to roasting. The top-voted comment, from u/IcarusLSU, captured the mood perfectly: “I’m happy for you that you were able to extract yourself from that situation, far too often people struggle to realize they need to get out. Revenge was pretty nice as well.” Sometimes the greatest victory is simply leaving—and sometimes, it’s leaving with a mic drop.
But it wouldn’t be Reddit without some snarky side commentary. “You went to COLLEGE?” quipped u/NowImaBigGhe, prompting OP to clarify her credentials: “I did BSA in Communications/Journalism.” The exchange quickly devolved into a grammar roast, with u/math_rand_dude joking, “You should ask your tuition back since they failed to teach you how to write a proper reddit post, let alone an article.” Even u/svu_fan chimed in as a fellow mass comm major, reminiscing about the days before JUULs existed and confirming, “That explains your comment about plagiarism being an auto fail.”
The plagiarism angle, it turns out, was a masterstroke. Multiple commenters confirmed that, at many universities, this is the academic death penalty. “Colleges/universities do NOT play about plagiarism. Many people get expelled or academically punished for it. It’s like the one thing you should never get caught for😭,” said u/Inspector8905. Another, u/Artistic-Deal5885, added that her daughter, a professor, used all sorts of digital forensics to catch cheaters, and that some universities expel students for less. (Pro-tip: Don’t plagiarize, kids. Professors have seen it all.)
Some questioned the logistics: “How’d he fail from one bad homework assignment?” asked u/GoatCovfefe. OP was quick to clarify: “Plagiarism was an automatic fail.” Ouch.
While most comments were celebratory, a few took the opportunity for a little gentle ribbing. “We all know you didn’t go to college because you wrote this text lol,” said u/Redditluvsterrorists, with others piling on. But the majority consensus was clear: this was a well-deserved and satisfying bit of comeuppance.
The discussion even veered into deeper territory, as u/Sartres_Roommate wondered, “What were his positive qualities that made you tolerate even one of those things?” OP replied with a dose of self-awareness: “You know, now I cannot even remember. I’m sure at the time there was something but I look at younger me and wanna just yell at her.” It’s a sentiment many can relate to—hindsight is always 20/20, especially when it comes to relationships with walking red flags.
By the end, the comment section had become a group therapy session, reunion, and roast all rolled into one. “Glad you’re with someone MUCH better now,” cheered u/Maleficentendscurse. “Damn, dodged a bullet hard with that dude. Revenge was savage af, hope karma serves him well. Glad you’re in a better place now!” added u/PoppySeraph.
The moral of this story? Sometimes the best revenge isn’t just moving on—it’s making sure you leave a lasting impression (preferably one that comes with academic consequences for the truly deserving). And if you ever find yourself dating someone who keeps a bottle collection under their desk, remember: you can always find a new boyfriend, but a failed class for plagiarism is forever.
What would you have done in this situation? Have you ever served up your own petty revenge? Drop your stories and thoughts in the comments—because if there’s one thing the internet loves more than a good breakup story, it’s a creative comeback.
Original Reddit Post: College EX Bf revenge