AITA for not telling my boyfriend I bought my own engagement ring?

I met my boyfriend while I was working at a jeweler as a sales associate/url. My now ex coworker was very experienced and we were the two sales associates at this location. (We were very close for a brief moment, see how this ends) <br><br>I had been there for a few months and my coworker would often show me really expensive jewelry, and one day she showed me an insignificant diamond solitaire on a plain band. She told me it was a 2.50ct F SI1 GIA certified diamond solitaire on a platinum band. <br><br>It was love at first sight. By some miracle, it was also my size. It was gorgeous. I told her I wanted it, but I was young, (early 20’s) and couldn’t afford the $15k price at that time. She told me to forget about it and that it would be gone in a few days. <br><br>I couldn’t forget about it though. I would go to it every day and even wore it sometimes. When my boyfriend came to visit me at work, I would sometimes wear it. It was more comforting to me than anything. <br><br>I had talked about this ring to my ex-coworker and I told her I would buy it eventually. She had always been willing to let me buy it.<br><br>Months went by and somehow this ring was still sitting in the case. It was just so expensive and no one really wanted it. It had a few interested buyers but all of them made an offer that was far too low for the company to accept. <br><br>The 1 year anniversary of my job was looming and this ring was still sitting there. By this time, I had accumulated quite a few thousand dollars in jeweler credit, and I was close to a promotion that had a bonus. <br><br>I asked my ex-coworker to bring me the ring at closing one day and price the ring for me. I sold some of my old Barney’s credit cards and was able to add the 5k I got and the jeweler credit I saved to use on the ring. <br><br>She was surprised when I told her I was going to buy it. I had to special order a payment be made and it took almost 2 months to get the payment in. It was a very long wait but when I bought it, my ex-coworker didn’t tell anyone except our boss. <br><br>I stopped wearing it to work, and I almost never wore it. But when I did, I loved it so much. I just felt whole.<br><br>I ended up getting promoted and getting an additional $5k bonus, which I used to pay off my CC and my car. After that, I was getting close to 8k a month and I was getting comfortable.<br><br>A few months went by and my relationship with my boyfriend got serious really fast. I found out he was going to propose to me during a vacation we were going to take. <br><br>I was relieved because it would mean I didn’t have to spend my money on it. I decided I was not going to tell him about the ring at that time. I felt like he was jealous that I had so much money while he didn’t, and he had always commented on the fact that I was working in a jeweler. I didn’t want him to think I was cocky for buying my own ring, and I didn’t want to tell him because I didn’t want him to think it was weird. <br><br>He proposed to me with a ring he picked out with his mom, and it was just completely not my style and it was something I would never wear. It was like his mom’s style. I was sad, but I pretended to be excited and I wore the ring for a few days. <br><br>When we went back home, I put the ring I bought in my jewelry box and I started wearing it. I told him it was something I bought over a year ago but never wore because I didn’t like it. <br><br>Last week he was cleaning out my closet and he opened my plastic storage container where I store my jewelry and he found the receipt for the ring. He was so upset that I didn’t tell him and that I bought my own ring. He said he realizes now I’m not the type to be impressed by expensive things and that he could have done something more thoughtful. <br><br>To be fair, we didn’t grow up in the same socio-economic status. I will always have a leg up on him in that aspect. I was raised to not think about money and to do what I wanted (as long as I was doing well in school) He had a very thrifty upbringing because his mom was very poor. <br><br>I am not mad at him for proposing with a cheap ring, but I do think it’s sad that we didn’t discuss my style or what I wanted out of an engagement ring. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with buying my own engagement ring. <br><br>AITA?<br><br>Edit: I would like to add the following. I do appreciate the feedback. On mobile it’s hard to keep up with responses and I do appreciate the time you all took to read my post and give me your feedback. <br><br>I did not tell my ex-coworker to hide the purchase. She didn’t feel like it was her business to tell anyone about the purchase and I didn’t tell her to hide it. I didn’t think my coworkers cared about what I bought. <br><br>I did not pay for the entire ring. Maybe I didn’t say it right, but the 5k from the credit cards was added to the $5k credit I had accumulated. I had a 10% discount and I also had 10% of my sales in credit to use. I think the ring ended up being around 9k when I bought it. <br><br>This ring was not a display ring. It was an actual piece of fine jewelry. I sold hundreds of solitaires similar to this one when I worked at this fine jeweler. <br><br>I did not force this man to propose to me. We were together for quite a while. We talked about marriage and kids before this. We have talked about rings and how I didn’t care too much about having an expensive ring, just as long as it was pretty. I cared more about our wedding and the reception that followed. <br><br>I would like to add that I was not letting him pay for our wedding. We had talked about it and we decided we would get married at a courthouse and have a reception. I was willing to pay for most of the wedding because I was making so much more than him. <br><br>I’m going to make an update post. Thank you all for your honesty!