Sometimes, blended families work perfectly, but that doesn’t mean that parents don’t feel hurt when stepparents try to take their role. Especially when it’s someone who betrayed them in the past, yet their children warm up to that person like nothing happened. Sounds pretty painful, doesn’t it?
This woman was also hurt when her teen daughter wanted to call her dad’s mistress-turned-wife “mom,” especially as the woman had previously been her best friend. However, she never stopped the teen from doing what she wanted. Much to her frustration, her ex-mother-in-law threw wild accusations at her! Here’s what happened…
More info: Reddit
It can be painful for any parent to see their children's stepparent trying to hijack their role
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The poster's husband cheated on her with her best friend, then married the mistress, and their 16-year-old daughter wanted to call the stepmom "mom"
Image credits: Freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Although the poster was hurt and not fine with it, she didn't stop her daughter, but suddenly, she got a screaming phone call from her ex-mother-in-law
Image credits: prostock-studio / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The woman accused her of alienating the children from their stepmom, and the poster was taken aback that her daughter gave the woman her number
Image credits: Afraid_Assignment_97
The poster reiterated that she didn't have any problem with her daughter calling the stepmom "mom," but she warned her not to give her number to her ex's family
In today’s tale, the original poster (OP) laments how her 16-year-old daughter hurt her with a simple question. To start from the beginning, her husband of 20 years cheated on her with her best friend, left her, and got married to the other woman. Well, OP cut ties with the two after that, and even the couple’s kids knew the truth, so they celebrated everything separately.
One day, her youngest daughter suddenly asked whether OP would be fine with her calling her stepmom “mom.” Well, our lady had an honesty policy with her kids, so she answered truthfully that she wouldn’t be fine with it. However, she also added that the daughter could call her what she wanted, as OP wouldn’t stop her just because she wasn’t fine with it.
The other kids were mad at the teen, but the poster shut them down pretty fast. What she had not expected was a screaming phone call from her ex-mother-in-law. The woman went ballistic and even accused OP of “alienating” the children from the stepmom. Well, the poster didn’t lie to her kids. Besides, she never stopped them from doing anything just because she didn’t like it.
She explained this point to her daughter again, but also told her not to give away her number to the grandma. The poster also elaborated that compared to the other kids, her youngest was pretty close to the best friend who betrayed her. That’s probably why the teen was still attached to the woman and wanted to call her “mom,” no matter how hurtful it was to OP.
Image credits: Freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
A study reported that infidelity affects roughly 20% to 25% of marriages. Researchers emphasize that the pain caused by a partner’s cheating behavior can have emotionally devastating and long-lasting consequences. In fact, professionals have coined the term post-infidelity stress disorder, as it can feel like PTSD, causing anxiety, depression, and trust issues.
As though her husband’s infidelity was not painful enough, OP was also backstabbed by her closest friend, whom she considered her own family. Experts stress that being betrayed by a friend can cause considerable distress. Moreover, it can trigger wide-ranging effects including shock, loss and grief, morbid preoccupation, damaged self-esteem, self-doubt, and anger.
Obviously, she didn’t want to associate with either of them, and it must have really hurt when her teen wanted to call the other woman “mom.” Besides, professionals define parental alienation as a child refusing a relationship with a parent because of being manipulated by the other parent. OP didn’t do anything wrong, so her ex-mother-in-law’s accusations were a total bluff.
However, netizens still felt the daughter was old enough to understand right from wrong in this situation. They felt that she didn’t really consider her mother’s feelings in the matter, but that OP handled it quite maturely. Do you agree with what the Redditors had to say? We would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to drop them in the comments below!
Netizens commended the poster for handling the situation maturely, but some felt that her daughter was being extremely harsh
