I was using an iPhone when I met her. An old iPhone X that my brother gave me. I never for once thought she said yes to me because of the kind of phone that I was using. To me, a phone is a phone as far as it does the job. To her, a phone is an iPhone as far as it doesn’t use Android. She didn’t tell me and I wasn’t aware that the phone I used was part of the package until my phone got spoiled.

That phone suffered in my hand. I used it for three years and within those years it went to the repairer’s shop four times. I thought it was water resistant so I took it under water and it got spoiled. I paid a heavy sum before it was repaired. The last one that broke the camel’s back was the screen. A portion of the screen became inactive so I had to change the whole screen and even that, they were not sure certain functions were going to work so I decided enough was enough.

She was so sure I was going to buy an iPhone but honestly, I didn’t have the money to buy an iPhone so I settled for an Android phone and that has been the problem between me and my girlfriend.

She looked at me and said, “Oh, is that what you bought? How can you move from an iPhone to this? How can we communicate?”

It was all a joke to me until the joke played out for so long that it became boring and annoying. She called me “Android man” anytime we had an argument and she had to make her point. One day she said, “How can you understand? You’re using an Android phone.” The conversation had nothing to do with phones but she used the opportunity to shade me.

That resulted in an exchange of words but I realized we needed to talk about it. I needed to tell her that I’d had enough of her disrespect and insinuations that sought to put me on the floor because of the phone I was using. I asked, “What has a phone got to do with it? Do you think I don’t have sense now because I don’t use the kind of phone you use? This should be the last time you’ll make that statement. If it’s your problem, then go out there and find a man who has the phone you like.”

She realized the depth of my anger so she slowed down on the name-calling. Using Android didn’t stop me from performing my role as a boyfriend. Upon all the silly jokes she was pulling on me, I was the one she called when she needed money. When she needed anything money could buy, she will call and ask me to provide it. The petty voice in my head kept saying, “Oh, I thought once you have an iPhone, all your problems go away.” But of course, I’m a reasonable man so I didn’t say it out loud. When I could, I provided. When I couldn’t, she understood me.

One day she put her phone, iPhone 11 on her status for sale. I asked why and she told me she was getting a new one. “A new one from who?” She answered, “From someone who can buy iPhone.”

I felt disrespected and I made it known to her. Again, it turned into “I didn’t mean it the way you’re taking it,” “And you’re a liar. That’s exactly how you meant it.”

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A week later, she was having a brand new iPhone 14. She didn’t tell me where she got it but I presumed it was from one of her brothers. She’s the last born so they pass phones to her when they come to Ghana and they are leaving.

She would take a nice photo of me and say something like, “How are you going to get it?” “Send it through Whatsapp,” I would respond. She would laugh and say, “On whose data? Get an iPhone. It should be that easy.” If it’s a video, she won’t even bother to ask that question.

We’ll place our phones on the table and she would take hers away. She doesn’t want her phone close to mine because my phone undermines her iPhone. I would get a call on my phone and she would laugh at me. When I post a photo of us on my status, she would come and comment, “Please cut me off the photo. What’s that? Is that a photo? When did you take it?”

She’s not going to stop no matter how hard I try and I’m not going to rob a bank to buy a phone I can’t afford so for the sake of my peace, I thought of walking out of the relationship the next time she does that. But then also, I believe she’s that petty because of her age. She’s twenty-two and I’m twenty-six. She’s yet to experience life the way I’ve experienced it. At this age, she gets things thrown at her by her senior siblings so she thinks life is easy.

I make excuses for her because of her age but sometimes it gets to me. There’s so much I can do with money than invest it in a phone. I’m the older one and she has to listen and understand me but she doesn’t. She thinks a man who uses an Android is not worth listening to so she goes around to tease me and make mockery of things I do with my phone.

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Is this relationship worth it? I mean, considering her age. Or I’m better off without her. There are so many good women out there who won’t look at my phone or judge the quality of my decision based on the phone I use. I’m tempted to leave so all these petty teasings would stop. It gets tiring, believe me.

—Jigga       

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