AITA for Telling My Dad I’d Rather Live with My Grandparents? Oh Honey, Let’s Spill the Tea
Alright, darlings, gather around and let Auntie Roger take you on a wild ride through the land of familial dysfunction. We got a juicy story fresh off the Reddit vine, and sis, let me tell you, it’s brimming with drama that’d make even the Kardashians gasp. Picture this: a 15-year-old (let’s call him Timmy) stuck in the crossfire of a parental warzone. And oh, the tea is piping hot, so grab your favorite mug and let’s dive in.
The Prelude: Grandma and Grandpa to the Rescue
Now, let’s set the stage. Timmy’s mom tragically passed away when he was just a wee tot of 3. His dad, we’ll dub him Dad McClueless, crumples faster than a cheap suit and relies heavily on grandma and grandpa to pick up the pieces. So these angels of mercy swoop in, take lil’ Timmy under their wings, and basically become his de facto parents. Can you imagine? They haul ass at the crack of dawn every day, rock up to Dad’s place at 7am and return the kiddo at 8pm. Talk about heroes without capes! Sundays? Yup, still on duty, while Dad is presumably living his best child-free life.
The Plot Thickens: Enter Stepmom
Dad meets a lovely lass named Beth and BOOM, the plot thickens. Timmy gets the ‘Oh hai, Stepmom!’ treatment, and suddenly it’s sayonara to the grandparents. The kicker? Dad drops a bomb and tells Timmy he won’t be seeing his grandparents anymore. Just like that. Cue the dramatic music, folks. Things got so bad that our little hero ended up spilling his guts to a judge about Daddy Dearest and his tug-of-love escapades. Fast forward, and thanks to the court order, he’s back with his beloved grandparents—against Dad’s wishes, naturally.
The Tension: A Family Torn Apart
So now, Timmy’s visitation rights with Grandma and Grandpa are court-mandated, which, by the way, Dad and Beth absolutely loathe. Why, you ask? Because little Timmy doesn’t fit into Beth’s ‘blended family goals’ Instagram aesthetic. Beth blames the grandparents for Timmy’s audacity to not see her as ‘Mom #2’. Ugh, girlfriend, have a seat. It’s clear our boy Timmy feels a connection with his late mom’s side of the family, a sentiment that doesn’t sit well with Beth and her folks.
The Drama: One Awkward Dinner Party
Now, here’s where shit really hits the fan. Picture a dinner party at Dad’s place, full of Beth’s kin, all busy chirping about how grand and fabulous their family is. But oh no, Dad can’t keep his bitterness on mute and starts trash-talking the grandparents, saying how baffled he is that Timmy ‘still’ prefers them. And then, like a true mic-drop moment, Timmy claps back. He says it, the ultimate truth bomb: he’d rather live with his grandparents. Silence falls like a bad karaoke performance. Dad flips his lid, sends Timmy to his room, and spends the next day on an epic guilt trip tantrum.
Auntie Roger’s Verdict: Who’s the Real A-hole?
So Timmy asked, ‘AITA?’ Honey, let’s break it down. Dad McClueless expects Timmy to abandon the people who genuinely supported him through his formative years and embrace a woman he was essentially forced to live with. Oh sweetie, get off your high horse! Beth, darling, it’s not a competition. Being a parent or step-parent is about adding more love to a child’s life, not erasing parts of it to make room for yourself. Sit down, Becky, you’re giving stepmothers a bad name.
From where Auntie Roger stands, Timmy, you’re NTA at all. Your grandparents deserve medals for what they did, and honey, you have every right to want to be with them. Daddy Dearest and Stepmom need a reality check, and it’s time they learn to respect your feelings and history.
So there you have it. Unsolicited sass and all. Remember kids, family is about the people who show up for you, not just the ones who share your DNA. Until next time, keep spilling the tea and embracing the truth!
Original story
After my mom died my dad relied on her parents for 3 years to take care of me. I (15m) was 3 when mom died.
They would pick me up at 7am from dad’s house and take me to their house and dad would pick me up at 8pm after he was finished work/errands. They were more like parents to me than he was.
He worked 6 days a week and typically most Sunday’s I spent at least 4 or 5 hours with them too. They took me to my first day of school, picked me up early if I was sick, they were there when I was sick.
My earliest memories are of my time with them. I don’t really remember dad from back then.
This changed when my dad met Beth. One minute it was me going to my grandparents every day and then Beth lived with us and suddenly I was home with her instead.
My dad and grandparents fought about it a lot and he ended up telling me when I was 7 that I wasn’t going to see then anymore and he and Beth were getting married. A month before the wedding I was sitting in front of a judge and being asked questions about my dad, my grandparents and stuff.
The judge was nice. I don’t remember a lot of our talk.
But afterward I did get to see my grandparents again. My dad wasn’t happy.
I was 10 when my grandparents admitted they had to take dad to court to see me again.
My dad hates that I see my grandparents as much as I do (three days a month, one overnight a month and for a day around my birthday and Christmas). He hates that I leave my half siblings behind to go and see them.
There are times he has talked about going back to court and has asked me if I’d say I don’t like going without my siblings, and I always tell him I wouldn’t say that.
Beth hates my grandparents too, but for a different reason. She blames them for me rejecting a closer relationship with her because they never allowed me to feel like I didn’t have a mom.
And I do feel that way kinda. It’s hard to describe.
I know she’s not here. I can’t speak to her.
But I still don’t feel ‘motherless’. I don’t want to have that kind of relationship with Beth and it upsets her.
I don’t think it’s cool for her to want that so badly, because I’m sure she’d hate to be forgotten by my half siblings. So I don’t like her much for that.
My dad bitches more about my grandparents now than he did when I was younger. My half siblings are old enough to know I go to grandparents and they can’t come.
He also knows I prefer being with my grandparents and he hates it. Beth’s parents and siblings and their spouses were at our house Saturday night for a dinner party and dad was bitching about my grandparents to them and everyone was acting like my grandparents were bad people for taking dad to court and for not letting me forget mom.
Dad said during the party that he’ll never understand why I want to go there so badly still. I said I’d rather live with my grandparents than him.
Everyone went quiet and dad made me go to my room. He was so mad yesterday and he told me I should know better than to try and humiliate him like that.
AITA?