A Reddit user, going by the name ‘Throwawayme4158,’ shared a surprising story on July 24, 2023, sparking a range of reactions from the online community. The 55-year-old mother recounted her experiences, shedding light on her four-year marriage to her current husband, who also serves as the stepfather to her 23-year-old daughter. The daughter, grappling with dissociative identity disorder (DID) since her parents’ marriage dissolution, became the focal point of the internet’s discussions.
When her daughter told her about being bullied at school, the mom didn’t do anything. She thought all kids were innocent and was afraid that if she stepped in, it might look like an adult bothering a child. Her daughter never forgave her for this.
Because of the bullying, her daughter stopped taking care of herself, and kids started calling her “trash.” The mom’s solution was just telling her to shower and get new clothes.
Finally, when the bullies got suspended and expelled, the daughter was safe. But she still couldn’t forgive her mom. She even said a person at the school’s clinic would have allowed her to fight back against the bullies.
The Reddit user believed that permitting her daughter to reside with her during her college graduation and job search could contribute to improving their relationship. Additionally, she thought that witnessing her mother in a positive, healthy relationship might also have a beneficial impact on her daughter.
However, it appeared that her daughter was having difficulty getting along with her new husband. She explained that her daughter was introverted and prone to escapism and being on her own. Consequently, she found it bothersome when her stepfather would join her for meals, as she preferred to dine alone. Before long, the 55-year-old mom sensed her husband pulling away. The revelation hit her when her daughter said she felt uneasy around her stepfather, mentioning that “his eyes lingered for too long.”
In a heated confrontation, the husband finally revealed that he felt “attracted” to his step-daughter, and since she was in their home all the time, it felt like a “walking temptation.”
He explained that his emotional distance from his wife was due to his attraction to his stepdaughter. The 23-year-old’s mother, though upset, assured her daughter that she didn’t blame her for the husband’s feelings. Needing time to process everything, she couldn’t handle the situation with both her husband and daughter at home. Consequently, she gave her daughter money to stay at an extended hostel temporarily and advised her to access her college’s emergency financial and housing resources. This decision upset the daughter, who then shared the distressing situation with her biological father.
The ex-husband, also disturbed by the developments, portrayed his ex-wife as a villain on social media for allegedly abandoning their child. However, the mother defended her actions, stating that she knew her daughter qualified for emergency resources due to her ex-husband’s unemployment and substantial debt.
The Reddit user clarified that leaving the house with her daughter wasn’t something she considered immediately. She wanted to assess whether she could salvage her marriage first. Many users strongly responded to the post, criticizing the mother for supposedly wrongly requesting her daughter to leave, suggesting that it should have been her husband asked to leave instead. Another user labeled her a ‘terrible’ mother, accusing her of not prioritizing her daughter’s protection from both bullies and her husband.