Family Betrayals: When Parental Trust Is Shattered

3 Dramatic Stories Where Parents Were Betrayed by Their Children

The parents in the following stories were betrayed by their children and ended up on the receiving end. The son of a parent took the side of his spouse, who willfully and persistently went over a line the father had established.

The majority of people have heard several accounts of parents mistreating their daughters-in-law or children, but in these three cases, the roles are reversed. When a mother’s daughter refused to live under her restrictions, she moved out and lived with her father; nevertheless, she eventually had to move back in.

The adult daughter of the woman wants to return home, but she won’t accept the rules set by her parents.

A woman broke up with her husband when their daughter, Maria, was ten years old, she said on Reddit. Although OP was given the house during their divorce, she struggled financially to care for her children at home.

Thankfully, she was able to find some stability when she got a position in her industry. She still had to set aside money for expenses and refrained from overspending. Her spouse, meanwhile, made sure their daughter knew about their financial resources and showed no hesitation to use them.

Maria grew up without financial restraints because he showered her with material possessions. The mother-daughter bond eventually became strained as a result, though. When OP was unable to purchase Maria a $1,000 laptop, the child began to compare her parents and said that her father was superior to her mother.

Another time, OP attempted to place Maria in a job, but it just led to more arguments. Maria and OP had a contentious chat after she decided to drop out of high school when she reached 17. The Redditor wrote:

“She told me it was her life, and she can do what she wants.”

After a long debate, Maria eventually moved out and in with her father. OP made attempts to get in touch with her daughter, but Maria declined, claiming she was motherless. But the young woman chose to contact her mother when she was 21 years old, according to OP.

“Her dad essentially kicked her out when he got remarried. We met after she gave me a call. She desires to re-locate.”

OP did not welcome Maria with open arms, even if she was amenable to the notion of living with her daughter once more. Rather, she made a list of requirements the young lady needed to fulfill in order to be permitted to move back in.

The woman stipulated that Maria had to obtain her GED, work a minimum of 25 hours per week, and attend classes to strategize her profession. In addition, Maria had to purchase personal items and assist with domestic tasks. But she’s not obligated to pay rent.

OP did not want the adult child to continue partying every night as she was used to, while she worked on organizing her life and making plans for a bright future. On the weekends, however, she was content to let her do as she liked.

Following her mother’s disclosure of all her ailments, Maria labeled OP as insane and an awful mother. The Redditor wrote, “I told her that she made it clear that she has no mother.” Maria stormed out on her mother after the conversation.

In an attempt to get opinions from the online community forum, OP posted her predicament on Reddit, where she was met with a number of encouraging and supportive comments. “It seems from her response to your demands that she is not interested in a relationship. One user said, “She’s looking to mooch off of you and make your life hell again.”

OP’s terms were deemed reasonable by other Reddit users, primarily for Maria’s future benefit. They said she shouldn’t have objected to her mother’s wishes because she was an adult.

Mother Wounded by Daughter Who Continually Selected Her Father’s Absence Over Her

A female social media user wrote her account in the “AITA” subreddit on June 1, 2022. The forty-something woman disclosed that she had an eighteen-year-old daughter who, despite her parents divorcing before she was born, had grown up close to her father.

But when the adolescent became eight, her daughter’s bond with her father changed. Her father grew aloof after getting married and ultimately left her for his new family. The daughter of the original poster (OP) exhibited rebellious conduct as a result of this abandonment.

The young child attended treatment and appeared to be managing well despite her difficulties. The adolescent hadn’t laid eyes on her father since she was twelve years old, and their sparse communication came with hollow assurances of a potential reconciliation.

In spite of this, the young child and OP maintained their close relationship and frequently did everything together. Given how close they were, OP’s daughter even called her mother her “best friend.”

The imminent graduation of her daughter delighted the Redditor. A week prior to the graduation ceremony, the adolescent informed her mother that she planned to ask her father and his son to attend. Her father threatened to withhold OP’s attendance from the event if he showed there.

OP voiced her hurt and betrayal towards her daughter, saying that she felt unforgiveably betrayed. The adolescent replied that she wanted her father to share in her significant life events, since OP had attended numerous of them. Their disagreement turned into a furious dispute.

The night before the graduation, OP begged her daughter in a frantic attempt to get her to alter her decision. Still, the tiny child refused to back down, saying with firmness:

“I’m sorry, but I’m not changing my mind.”

After her sister suggested they go out for the graduation to take her mind off things, her mother was left heartbroken and sobbing until her sister stepped in and offered comfort. OP accepted her sister’s request. Graduation day arrived, and when OP woke up the following morning, her daughter was crying.

She glanced at the time and saw that the ceremony would start in just a few minutes. She questioned her daughter, perplexed as to why she hadn’t left yet. The disgruntled adolescent disclosed that her father had abandoned her once more and had stopped communicating.

The Redditor gave her daughter a big hug and told her to enjoy her graduation no matter what. The girl, thinking she would be the only one without parents present, inquired if OP wouldn’t be attending now that her father wasn’t.

The Reddit member apologized again and said she was sorry, but she already had plans. The daughter cried out at her mother, calling her a rotten mother, in her sorrow. Even though it broke her to do so, OP persisted in her choice to teach her daughter that there are consequences for her conduct by choosing not to attend the wedding.

Upon returning from the graduation, OP’s daughter has not spoken a word, looking incredibly depressed and as if she had been crying for a very long time. OP started to feel remorseful and wondered if her decision had been too severe.

Although her sister agreed with her choice, she felt guilty about it after hearing from another parent about OP’s daughter’s seeming sadness at the graduation. The mom, tormented by her feelings, asked for advice and wondered if she was wrong to try to teach her daughter a lesson.

In an update on the matter, OP disclosed that her daughter had routinely deserted her in favor of her father for the previous ten years. Upon speaking with the child’s therapist, she discovered that the teenager appeared to be clinging to a romanticized portrayal of her bond with her father rather than engaging in any form of manipulation.

In a conversation with her daughter, OP expressed her regret about missing the graduation and how it made her feel excluded and undervalued. The daughter wanted things to get back to normal and apologized while expressing her love.

But, the adolescent said it was for the best, saying she preferred her father’s company, when questioned if she regretted not inviting her mother. OP was quite offended by this and questioned her daughter about her indifference to her emotions. Her daughter, however, did not waver and declared that she would always put her father first, even if he did not.

OP vented her annoyance at not being treated with the same respect as the father of her daughter. She reiterated her vow to support her daughter going forward, but she expressed doubt about her readiness to carry on in the case that this pattern continued to apply to important life events such as upcoming weddings or graduations.

OP said that she had behaved immaturely when she asked her daughter if she regretted not inviting her in her last update from October 2022. Despite being called her daughter’s “best friend,” the Reddit user made it clear that she still played the duty of a parent, which included providing punishment.

OP tried to get in touch with her daughter’s father after the graduation incident and got a letter back. He asserted that he had distanced himself from them because their daughter had been hostile and threatening against him and his family.

The absent father said that he had made an effort to have a good relationship with his daughter despite accusing her of stalking his family. When OP questioned their daughter about these claims, the adolescent became combative and blamed her mother for the disintegration of her father-daughter relationship.

The young lady broke off communication and refused to speak with anyone after departing for college. Despite the discomfort, the Redditor expressed relief because the experience had damaged her self-esteem. She acknowledged the flaws in her relationship with her daughter and the difficult conditions they both faced, started therapy, saw a modest improvement, and even went on a date for the first time in ten years without feeling guilty.

After crossing her mother-in-law’s boundary, the daughter-in-law is expelled from her in-law’s house.

After repeatedly being chastised by her daughter-in-law (DIL) for being a stay-at-home mom, a woman resorted to Reddit to share her story. Unfortunately, her son—the DIL’s husband—took no action in response to his wife’s actions.

The original poster (OP) claims that while her children were little, she was a stay-at-home mother who took care of their needs and assisted them in developing into responsible adults. She still enjoys being a housewife and embraces her duty as a homemaker even if her kids are grown.

Nevertheless, Beth, her 25-year-old daughter-in-law, expressed her opinion that staying at home is not a respectable career within minutes of meeting her mother-in-law. The person on Reddit said:

“When I told her I was a stay-at-home mom the first time I met her, she told me that wasn’t a job and that I was being lazy. Thirty minutes prior, I had met her.”

Sadly, Beth’s comments didn’t stop there. The subject of the OP’s employment would come up whenever she and her husband went to eat, and Beth would ask how the OP could be fatigued from not having a job. After talking to her husband about her sentiments, the Redditor surmised that Beth might be jealous since she had to work.

They threatened to ask their DIL to leave their house if she continued to make disparaging remarks. Beth stopped talking for a while, but she started talking again at a dinner gathering, which led the original poster to say:

“I was discussing how I prepared the pie for tonight.” Beth remarked, “Since I don’t work, I obviously had enough time.”

The Redditor became irate and told Beth that she was no longer welcome in their house. Family ties were further strained when the OP’s son chose to side with his wife. The OP supported her way of life by saying:

“Not working doesn’t equal lazy.”

The OP described her many duties as a housewife, including taking care of their dogs, cooking every day, going to the gym, and handling household paperwork. She maintained that being lazy would entail indolence, which would be inconsistent with her proactive role in providing for her husband through housekeeping.

She posted about her encounter on Reddit, whereupon the internet community offered their opinions. One reader hypothesized that Beth’s behavior may be the result of cultural pressure on women to be independent and in the workforce, as well as misconceptions about the duties of a housewife.

Another commentator underlined how important it was for the son of the original poster to resolve the conflict, with many more concurring that the son should have taken action when his wife disrespected his mother. Some blamed Beth’s young age and possible immaturity for her actions.