We often hear stories about kids ending up with stepparents who are as evil as they are in fairytales. It almost feels like good stepparents are like precious jewels, since they are so rare. Sadly, though, not everyone appreciates it when they get good ones.
Even these kids are hostile to their stepmom, as their real mother poisoned them against her. After years of disrespect, she was prepared to accept that the stepkids would never bond with her, but she wasn't prepared for the fact that her in-laws would give her a hard time over it! Here’s how it went down…
More info: Reddit
Not everyone gets stepparents who are loving and kind, but those who do, don't always appreciate them
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster's husband has two kids with his ex, who turned hostile against her after the marriage, and even fought over their kids
Image credits: Tarrysass
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster loved her stepkids just as much as she loved her own twins, but her husband's ex poisoned her kids against her by using lies
Image credits: Tarrysass
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Both the stepkids treated the poster worse than dirt, and that didn't change when they turned into adults and started their own families
Image credits: Tarrysass
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
In fact, they hate the poster so much that they don't want her involved in their life at all, and almost went no-contact with her
Image credits: Tarrysass
She finally accepted that they would never have any relationship with her, but then, the in-laws accused her of "giving up hope"
Today, we dive into quite a sad story, as the original poster (OP) tells us about how her stepkids gave her a hard time. Her husband has two children from his previous marriage, and his ex seemed fine until OP’s wedding. Then, it was as though a switch was turned on, and she became completely hostile towards her and even tried to keep her kids to herself.
OP’s husband literally had to go to court to fight for custody, and fortunately, he got it, while his ex only had visiting rights. However, the damage was already done because the woman had succeeded in turning her kids against their stepmom. She lied about many things, like OP being the other woman, a homewrecker, etc., and that was the only “truth” the children believed.
The poor poster went through hell because of this, as the kids did everything they could to make her life difficult. From shouting to arguing, or even throwing things at her, the disrespect never stopped, and no amount of therapy helped. OP also had her own twins, but life was never really stable for her and her children, as the stepkids always created so much trouble for her.
Despite everything they put her through, she was always loving towards them, but their behavior didn’t change even after they turned into adults. In fact, now that they are all grown up, the stepkids don’t want anything to do with her and have completely cut her off from their lives.
This didn’t surprise her at all, since she was so used to their hostility for ages, so she has accepted that they will never have a relationship with her. That’s where her in-laws come into the picture, as they called her out for giving up on them and “not hoping for it to get better.”
Image credits: Ambreen / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Shockingly, her in-laws were quick to point this out when they were blind to what she went through for so many years when the kids troubled her. She must have been through hell and back because of what they put her through, yet she doesn’t blame the children at all. She commented that the real culprit is their mom for turning them against her.
Experts warn that an ex-wife generally poses more challenges for the stepmom-stepchild relationship than an ex-husband, as mothers have a stronger agenda. Research also shows that turning the kids against a parent or stepparent through deliberate sabotage is called parental alienation. It’s an extremely complex issue that has negatively impacted many blended families, including this one.
The kids’ real mom also lied about their stepmom to turn them against her. Studies have revealed that exposure to parenting by lying is significantly associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes, such as externalizing problems, internalizing problems, psychopathy, lying behavior, and less prosociality.
The mom doesn’t realize that she has not only ruined things for the blended family, but her lying could also spark trouble for her own children. It’s really sad that the two will never get to know what an amazing person their stepmom really is. In fact, she’s so thoughtful that she is even respecting their boundary by staying away just as they want her to.
However, OP still hopes that one day, both of them will come around and they can all be a family. Do you think that will ever happen? We would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to jot them down in the comments below!
Folks empathized with the poster and didn't shy away from calling out her in-laws, who seem to have been blind to her feelings for so many years
