The Deadbeat Dad Dilemma: When Family Drama Knocks on Your Door

Alright, gather ’round, kindred spirits of the interwebs! This sizzling family drama comes straight from the confounding labyrinth of Reddit’s AITA section. So buckle up and get ready for some real, raw, and riveting storytelling.

The Preamble: A Deadbeat Dad and His Unexpected Comeback

Okay, so here’s the rundown. Picture it: two siblings – a 20-year-old guy and his 18-year-old sister – both bearing the illustrious title of progeny to a world-class absentee father. This man left their mom when she was pregnant with the girl, who we’ll call Little Sis. Their fabulous father was 24 at the time, but let’s face it, he wasn’t precisely childish, just generally terrible at parenting.

The siblings grew up sans fatherly love and support, with their mom tragically passing away when they were just kids. Aunt and Uncle stepped in like the true champs they are, raising them without a single dime from dear ol’ dad, who – plot twist! – had buggered off to another country. Fast forward 18 years, and voilà! Deadbeat Dad reappears (cue dramatic music) with his new wife, who’ll henceforth be known as New Stepmom.

The Catalyst: Enter New Stepmom with Shameless Enthusiasm

New Stepmom had the audacity to find the siblings on social media, dropping into their DMs like a cat crashing a fancy dinner party. Her initial message was all sunshine and rainbows, talking about her impending bundle of joy and how much she wanted them to meet their “new brother.” Ah, the heartwarming imagery of sibling bonds… except, oops, they’re practically strangers with a hefty debt of abandonment issues!

Her messages went right into the metaphorical trashcan. But New Stepmom is nothing if not persistent—think Terminator levels of persistence. Her follow-ups were littered with guilt trips: “Family is so important,” and “Your new brother is innocent,” and “How dare you hold a grudge over some ‘generational mistakes’?” Was she pitching a soap opera script?

Brother Breaks Bad

Big Brother, however, was not having any of it. Spoiler alert: He met New Stepmom face-to-face and served her a verbal smackdown that would’ve made Gordon Ramsay look polite. His words were icy daggers, hoping deadbeat dad abandons her child the same way he did to them and warning of a child support claim that could leave them destitute.

The Confrontation at Aunt & Uncle’s

Here comes the epic showdown: New Stepmom, in all her pregnant glory, showed up at Aunt and Uncle’s home, looking to engage Little Sis in a moral high-ground debate. New Stepmom desperately sought validation and support against Big Brother’s tirade and even tried to guilt-trip Little Sis into taking responsibility for Big Brother’s words. Ladies and gents, Little Sis, true to form, refused to play mediator and promptly shut the door in her face. Classy move, Little Sis. Watching through the peephole must’ve been satisfying.

The saga doesn’t end there, folks. New Stepmom, foiled once more, created yet another social media account (who even has the energy?) to lambast Little Sis for being rude. Yawn. If drama were an Olympic sport, she’d undoubtedly win gold for stamina.

Roger’s Sass-Tastic Take

Now that you’ve digested the drama, let me serve you some freshly brewed sass. Honestly, this entire saga feels like an episode of “Days of Our Lives” written by Dickens. Little Sis and Big Brother are practically living in one of those overwrought plots where an estranged family member reappears when it’s most inconvenient.

First off, let’s give a round of applause to Aunt and Uncle for stepping up. They are the real MVPs. As for Deadbeat Dad and New Stepmom – sorry, but their attempts at rekindling what’s essentially an arid desert of a relationship are hilariously tone-deaf. They vanish for 18 years and expect hugs and family dinners? Get outta here!

Big Brother’s cold, hard truths might’ve been harsh, but honestly, can you blame him? Seems Deadbeat Dad’s pockets and ethics are bottomless pits. His expectant wife blindly speeds towards a car crash of familial dysfunction she didn’t sign up for – but maybe should’ve read the reviews before boarding the ride.

As for Little Sis, sis, you handled it like a boss – no guilt, no shame, just unapologetic reality. You owe zilch to people who’ve given you zilch, and any attempts to change that narrative need a chill pill and a Netflix binge. Let’s be real, familial bonds involve, well, being a family, which isn’t defined by DNA alone. It’s shaped by love, support, and presence.

So, darling Redditor, you and your brother are NTA. Deadbeat Dad and New Stepmom, however? Forever stuck in the A-hole dimension.

Original story

My brother (20m) and I (18f) share the same deadbeat father. He left our mom while she was pregnant with me.

They were both 24 by that point, having my brother when they were 22, and so still young but not like 18 or 19 young, you know? But I know that excuse has always been made for him, that he was young and dumb, etc.

We didn’t ever know him or want to know him. Our mom died when we were still young (7 and 9) so our aunt and uncle, mom’s sister and her husband, finished raising us.

All without any help from our father. He evaded child support for 18 years because we had no idea where he was.

Our father actually left the country and moved back 5 months ago with his wife. We found out because she contacted us on social media.

We ignored her the first time. Then she reached out again.

The first time she was like hi, I’m married to your dad, we just moved here, we’re expecting a child together and we want you to know your new brother. The second time it touched on the move and the expecting a baby together thing but also went into how important family is and how we might be mad at our father but we have an innocent sibling who would love to grow up with his older brother and sister in his life.

There was such a deep attempt to shame us into responding. All the mentions of her child being innocent, using the word brother and not even half, talking about generational mistakes, etc.

We again didn’t respond and she tried to send us individual messages after that. Which angered my brother.

He met her once and he told her he hoped our father left her son the way he left us and then she’d understand why she was such a fucking bitch trying to shame us or claim we had any obligation to her kid, that he hoped she knew her kid was nothing to him and would never be his real sibling and he didn’t give a flying fuck if it hurt her kids feelings or not because they’re not family. He also brought up the fact our father owed tens of thousands in child support and he hoped they wouldn’t need that money because if she made contact one more time he’d chase after it and he didn’t care if it made them homeless or not.

My brother told me he’d met her but didn’t give details about how it went and I didn’t ask. Then suddenly she shows up at my aunt and uncles house and she “wanted to talk” or whatever but she basically tried putting what my brother said on me and also tried to add more shame for not showing an interest in her son.

She was also looking for me to berate my brother for what he said to her. I told her I wasn’t going to turn against my brother in favor of her or her child.

I also told her I am not responsible for my brother and I refuse to take any because she wants me to. Then I closed the door in her face (I didn’t let her inside even though she’s heavily pregnant now).

She created another social media account and told me how rude I was to her. That she just wanted me to say I didn’t agree with all the disgusting things my brother said to her.

AITA?