Man telling his girlfriend she should take his surname after they marry divides opinion

He said it "irks"him

Ethan Payne, who is best known for being a member of the Sidemen YouTube group, had the discussion with his girlfriend Faith Kelly on an episode of their podcast Growing Paynes.

The couple have been going out together since 2021 and welcomed their first child together last year.

On a recent episode of their podcast, the pair discussed if Faith would take Ethan's surname if they were to marry.

In a clip from the podcast, Faith said: "Ethan won't propose to me because I want to be Kelly-Payne."

Ethan responded: "Faith doesn't want to take my name and that irks me."

His girlfriend then explained that she has no issue taking Ethan's surname, but that she just wants to keep her name as well and have a double-barrelled last name.

"I don't want to lose my association with my family," Faith added.

Her partner argued that she wouldn't be losing any link to her family if she took his name, arguing that he thinks "that's how it should be done."

Ethan went as far as to say that if Faith were to take Kelly-Payne as her last name, he would feel like she would only be "half his wife."

He joked that she's "bottling it, that's what it is."

The clip was shared on TikTok where it sparked plenty of debate.

The vast majority of people sided with Faith in the debate and wondered why Ethan felt so strongly about the matter.

One person wrote: "It means something to her, why can't he be understanding UGH."

Another said: "It's literally her identity."

A third commented: "Why does she has to take your name I don’t get it."

Some said his stance would be a "red flag" for them, with one person urging Faith to "run girl."

Another user said they would "literally leave him over this and never look back."

But some did sympathise with the YouTuber. One person wrote: "He’s not 'forcing her' she wants him to propose, and he’s giving a condition. she doesn't do it, that's fine."

Another said that they "feel" for him.

Faith's standpoint is certainly a growing trend in the UK though. The number of newlyweds who chose to retain their maiden names and double-barrel it with their partner's rose by 30 percent in 2021 compared to 2022, according to the Deed Poll Office.

This was the biggest annual increase on record by the office, and was a stark change on 2016 when 90 percent of British women took their husband's last name.

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