When you grow up with a toxic and neglectful parent, it’s obvious to want nothing to do with them, much less their partners. When their partners introduce themselves as your “new parent,” that’s probably the last thing you want, right?
It’s no wonder that the original poster (OP) of this story fled the house when her toxic father’s much younger girlfriend introduced herself as her “new mom” and also tried to hug her. The couple even tried to chase the teen, but failed as she was much faster and young and angry!
More info: Reddit
When your parent's new partner immediately inserts themselves as the "new parent," it can be quite jarring
Image credits: Anna Tolipova / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After her parents' divorce, the poster's mom never remarried, but her toxic dad had many girlfriends and he made her meet his new one
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: eugeneshemyakin9 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
This girlfriend introduced herself as the teen's "new mom," which angered her as her bio mom had raised her solo, so she tried to storm off
Image credits: anonymous
Image credits: rawpixel.com / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The couple tried to stop her, and the girlfriend, who was much younger than her father, tried to hug her and the poster couldn't stand it
Image credits: anonymous
She broke off at a run and although the couple tried to chase her down, she was much faster, and it was the last time she interacted with her dad before cutting contact
In today’s story, we dive into the life of the poster, who suffered quite a tragic childhood and teenage years. Her father was toxic and mistreated and neglected her, and her mother got 75% of her custody after their divorce. While her dad had a lot of girlfriends, her mom never remarried.
One day, he introduced her to his girlfriend in the basement where he lived as he had no money. Now this girlfriend was much younger than him as he was in his 50s, but she smiled at OP and said, “I'm your new mom.” Ugh, just picturing it sends shivers down my spine.
Anyway, this really angered the poster as her mom had raised her on her own, without any child support or financial help from her toxic father. It was only natural to be annoyed when a random woman tried to take her mom’s place, so she stormed off up the stairs but the couple followed suit. They kept asking her why she was upset and the girl even tried to hug the poster.
Alarmed, OP shoved her off, and since she had her backpack and jacket with her, she ran away! The couple tried to chase her down, but a man in his 50s and a girl in heels were no match for the poster, who was 13 and angry. Once she got far away, she informed her mom to come pick her up.
That was the last time she ever interacted with her father, and later, the mom and daughter even left town. The poor poster mentioned that although she finds it funny, humor is her coping mechanism against PTSD, and my heart really went out to her when she said that.
Image credits: bilanol / Freepik (not the actual photo)
It has been observed that kids who suffer from mistreatment and neglect face a higher risk of mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety. Honestly, we can’t even fathom what must be going through the poster’s mind and what struggles she must face every single day.
Research also states, “Children who experience mistreatment develop toxic levels of stress. Exposure to toxic stress changes the way a child’s brain is built. The area that controls the fight-or-flight survival mechanism overdevelops, while areas that control emotion, cognitive thinking, and an understanding of risk and consequence are stunted.”
Sounds quite horrifying, doesn’t it? Many netizens expressed their sympathies to the poster as she had to go through so much and they also called out her dad’s girlfriend. They couldn’t fathom how she simply decided to take her mom’s place without blinking an eye.
Research says that a stepparent should never try to take the other parent’s place, and she was not even a stepparent, but rather just a girlfriend. Redditors felt the poster’s anger at this woman quite justified, and honestly, so do we. Some even mocked the girlfriend for being with the poster's older dad who stayed in a basement, and wondered what she was thinking.
Others also said that it might be her dad who was behind the whole thing; alas, we’ll never know. We really hope that the poster is in a better place now and completely rid of her father’s toxicity. It was honestly quite gutting when she spoke about her PTSD and we hope she gets the psychological help she needs.
If your father did something similar, how would you react? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Folks online expressed their sympathies that the poster had to go through so much and even called out the girlfriend who wanted to be her "new mom"
