NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Kiwi woman's epic Eiffel Tower triumph over 'most unromantic ex'

NZ Herald
10 Apr, 2022 11:55 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

She wanted to buy a ticket to go up the tower and take in the views of the world's most romantic city. Her "cheap-ass" ex-boyfriend refused. But that wasn't the end of it. Photo / Getty Images

She wanted to buy a ticket to go up the tower and take in the views of the world's most romantic city. Her "cheap-ass" ex-boyfriend refused. But that wasn't the end of it. Photo / Getty Images

We've all been there: in a relationship where everything seems to be going swimmingly until a single action leaves us realising we're dating a dud.

For Wellington woman Angela Creet, it was a ticket to the top of the Eiffel Tower that was the beginning of the end of her rose-tinted view of her "first love".

The first part of the above sounds plenty romantic indeed, but as Creet has explained in a hilarious post to Facebook group, Kiwi Corona Bar, that ticket didn't exactly involve her.

Beginning her post by asking, "What's the most unromantic thing your ex ever did?" Creet, 42, shared that back when she was "a sweet young 20-year-old off to see the world with my first love", their adventures took them to Paris and the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

While Creet wanted to buy a ticket to go up the tower and take in the views of the world's most romantic city, her "cheap-ass" ex-boyfriend refused.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I'm heartbroken", writes the portrait photographer, before continuing to perhaps the worst part of the story:

A few months later, Creet has returned home to Wellington and is "on a break" from her former flame. But he has decided he misses her and comes back to New Zealand too.

"He feels bad about what happened in Paris. He gives me a ticket. Of the trip HE took up the Eiffel Tower as a memento for ME to remember.:

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He thinks this is sweet," writes Creet.

She tells the Herald she remembers thinking "wow" but shares that she "didn't really say too much to him because I was a little bit more reserved back then".

"But I was thinking, 'You d**k'. I was blown away to think that he thought that was a romantic gesture. The way he handed the ticket to me, he thought he was being very sweet and I just was like, 'I can't believe you're doing this.'

"It was just insulting."

Creet goes on to write "we did not end up getting married". She tells the Herald that the incident was "the doozy" in their two-year relationship and things didn't last much longer after that.

Eventually, Creet made her way back to Paris on her own and "had the trip of a lifetime", including going up the tower herself.

"I bought my own ticket and rectified that pretty quick," she says, adding that as she took in the views of the Seine and the pretty "City of Light" from that special vantage point for the first time, it felt extra special.

Angela Creet, now 42, has shared "the most unromantic thing" her ex ever did. Photos / Facebook
Angela Creet, now 42, has shared "the most unromantic thing" her ex ever did. Photos / Facebook

For readers who may be thinking the crux of Creet's tale feels a little too familiar, she says while it took her some time to realise, she's learned: "don't let some guy stop you from doing what you want to do. If it's going up the Eiffel Tower, go up yourself and don't give a stuff about needing a man to take you up, sort of thing. I missed my opportunity at that point because I was too shy and didn't want to go up by myself. Looking back, I felt very stupid and should've just done it and thought, to hell with him.

"The longest relationship you'll ever have is with yourself. Make sure you make yourself happy - never settle for someone who doesn't think you're worth it."

Today, Creet is happily married with two children and while she's been back to Paris a few times, she's planning to take her son, daughter and her husband of 12 years on her next trip soon.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

How to make a family-friendly tomato relish

18 May 01:00 AM
LifestyleUpdated

Dr Libby on the one health fix 'that changes everything'

17 May 08:00 PM
Premium
Lifestyle

Seven easy ways to make your basil (and other herbs) last so much longer

17 May 07:00 PM

Sponsored: How much is too much?

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

How to make a family-friendly tomato relish

How to make a family-friendly tomato relish

18 May 01:00 AM

It can take the humble cheese sandwich to new heights.

Dr Libby on the one health fix 'that changes everything'

Dr Libby on the one health fix 'that changes everything'

17 May 08:00 PM
Premium
Seven easy ways to make your basil (and other herbs) last so much longer

Seven easy ways to make your basil (and other herbs) last so much longer

17 May 07:00 PM
Matilda Green on 10 years since The Bachelor, and why people have the wrong idea of influencers

Matilda Green on 10 years since The Bachelor, and why people have the wrong idea of influencers

17 May 07:00 PM
Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year
sponsored

Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP