A divorce can turn a child’s world upside down and leave them dealing with a lot of difficult emotions. And when they don’t quite know what to do with all those feelings, they often start taking their frustration out on the people around them.
After one Redditor got into a new relationship following his divorce, his teenage daughter made it very clear she wasn’t happy about it. She began making nasty comments and pulling increasingly cruel stunts to make his girlfriend uncomfortable. Eventually, her dad finally reached his limit and decided enough was enough.
The man entered a new relationship after separating from his ex-wife
But his teenage daughter wasn’t happy about it and decided to make his life as difficult as possible
Children can have a hard time when a parent starts dating someone new after a divorce
Divorce is a heartbreaking and draining thing to go through on its own. When children are involved, though, everything can become a lot more complicated. A family structure they have known for years suddenly changes, and so can their everyday routine.
They might start splitting their time between two parents or getting used to having two different homes. Instead of simply going home after school, they may have to remember whose place they are staying at that night or pack a bag for the next few days. Holidays can suddenly require a schedule, and time with each parent may feel much more planned than it ever did before.
Even after things settle down, seeing one parent begin dating again can bring another big adjustment. By that point, a child might have only just started getting comfortable with how their family works now, only to find that things are changing once again.
So it’s probably no surprise that some children have a hard time with all of that. According to the American Psychological Association, around 20% to 25% of children who go through divorce and later remarriage struggle academically, socially or with their behavior, compared with about 10% of children in first-marriage families.
In this story, Georgia seemed to take a lot of that frustration out on her dad’s new girlfriend. She mocked her age, tried to embarrass her and eventually went as far as sending fake messages to make it look like her dad wanted his ex-wife back. Whatever she was feeling, it had clearly started affecting everyone around her.
Children can react badly to a parent’s new relationship for all kinds of reasons. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, seeing mom or dad with somebody new can bring back thoughts about the family they had before the divorce.
If a child was still hoping their parents might get back together one day, a new relationship can make it painfully clear that this probably is not going to happen.
After parents separate, children also often end up spending much more one-on-one time with each of them and can become especially attached to that closeness. When a new partner enters the picture, some of that time and attention naturally starts going elsewhere.
For a child, that can feel like they are suddenly having to share a parent they had grown used to having mostly to themselves, which can easily lead to jealousy or resentment.
Even if they actually like the person their parent is dating, that can come with its own guilt. Some children worry that getting along with a new partner means they are somehow being disloyal to their other parent.
When they do not really know what to do with all of those feelings, the new partner can end up becoming the person they take them out on.
Of course, understanding where that anger might come from does not make Georgia’s actions okay. It seems pretty clear that she needs some help figuring out what is behind all that resentment and finding a healthier way to deal with it.
Hopefully, the family can work through what happened before the relationship between father and daughter gets damaged even further.
Do you think the dad handled it appropriately? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Many readers supported changing the locks, while others suggested the teenager might benefit from therapy
