A man has revealed how a small white lie he told three years ago about his beverage preferences has spiraled into a full-blown lifestyle commitment he never intended.

The Reddit user u/VryCuteAjaBharDuChut took to the subreddit r/confession to share how he once desperately hoped to become a “put together” 27-year-old—someone who meal prepped, tended to thriving house plants, and drank sparkling water. So, in a bid to embody that image, he bought a 12-pack of LaCroix, a popular brand of flavored sparkling water marketed as a healthy, natural alternative to sugary sodas.

According to LaCroix’s website, the drink contains “only carbonated water and natural flavor,” with no sugars, sweeteners, or calories. It’s become synonymous with wellness culture.

But this aspiring wellness glow-up didn’t go as planned.

“First sip? It tasted like someone whispered the word ‘fruit’ into a cup of TV static. Absolutely disgusting. But I had already posted it on my Instagram story with the caption: ‘New addiction lol,'” the Redditor confessed.

“And that was the beginning of my downfall,” he wrote, in a post that has since garnered more than 70,000 upvotes.

The post describes how this tiny social media embellishment turned into a long-running charade. Soon, friends began bringing LaCroix to his house. Coworkers stocked the office fridge with it just for him.

“Now I’m in too deep. I’ve become the guy who nods thoughtfully while drinking what is essentially spicy sadness. I have flavors in my fridge with names like ‘Pamplemousse’ and ‘Limoncello,’ and I pretend like I can tell the difference. I can’t. It all tastes like carbonated regret,” he shared.

Despite secretly disliking the drink, he feels stuck in his fizzy falsehood.

“But if I ever open a Gatorade, someone will say, ‘Whoa, no LaCroix today?’ and I’ll just fake laugh like, ‘Haha, gotta switch it up!’ Meanwhile my soul is quietly screaming.

“Anyway, if you’re young and reading this: never lie about your beverages. That stuff will haunt you.

“Thanks for coming to my Ted talk,” he concluded.

Redditors flooded the comments with empathy and solutions.

“Tell everyone you’re going carbonation free! Easy solution. People’s taste change over time. You could also pretend they changed something in the formula, and it’s no longer pleasing to your taste buds,” suggested one user.

“Or pretend you had COVID and now it tastes different!” another offered.

“This is a good response; from someone whose tastebuds and nose have as of yet to recover,” someone chimed in.

“My dentists said carbonation is bad for my teeth, tough getting older ain’t it,” added another.

“Or say you’ve gotten older so now the carbonation is too harsh for your stomach,” another suggested.

And for those tired of the performance altogether: “Or say nothing and don’t explain yourself because you don’t have to,” one commenter firmly advised.

Newsweek reached out to u/VryCuteAjaBharDuChut for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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