May 8, 2024 at 11:16 pm

His Dad Told His Stepmother His Deepest Secret. Now He’s Incredibly Upset With Both of Them.

by Matthew Gilligan

Source: Reddit/AITA

What’s a teenager supposed to do when they feel betrayed by a parent?

Well, everyone handles things differently, but this kid decided to put his foot down and he’s not budging.

Is he wrong?

Get all the details below and see what you think.

AITA for refusing to attend a therapy session with my dad or stepmother?

“I (17m) have been in therapy for many years. I don’t go so often anymore. Like once a month now.

But when I was younger (starting age 6) I went twice a week and eventually once a week. Therapy is a place that continues to help me after a traumatic experience I had when I was 5/6.

The only people, other than my parents, I ever told about the experience were my maternal grandparents and my best friend I’ve known since I was 4.

This is still his secret.

When mom passed away and dad got remarried I had zero wish to tell my stepmother. I never cared that deeply about her to tell her and I do not trust her that much.

She’s not in my inner circle of trust and love, which is what my therapist helped me see it as. The inner circle are the people I am okay with telling and it might ever grow much. It makes it easier for me.

The fact I never told my stepmother is something my dad always struggled with. He asked me for permission to tell her before and I told him I wasn’t okay with that. He asked me why and I told him she wasn’t part of my inner circle.

A couple of times he brought it up around his wife and she started asking questions and was hurt to hear my best friend knew, because he was a kid, but not her, an adult and she considers herself my parent even though I don’t.

This wasn’t cool…

Then a couple of weeks ago my dad told her anyway. He knew I wasn’t okay with it. He never had my permission. I had always refused to tell her myself. She tried to talk to me about it and I refused. I told my dad I would never forgive him for telling her.

That I will never trust him again. I told him he was now removed from the circle and technically I only had one parent still in there and I can’t even talk to her because she died. My dad claimed my reaction was too harsh and I shouldn’t remove him from the circle.

His wife told me she felt she earned her place in the circle. I told her she was never even close to the circle and would never have been part of it. I told her if my wishes had been respected she never would have known about my past trauma.

He’s very upset about this.

I refuse to forgive my dad or engage with either of them on the topic. So my dad and his wife wanted us to go to a therapy session together and I put my foot down and said no. They told me it was the only way to move forward as a family and therapy can help us. I said I only invite people I love and trust into therapy with me.

My dad said I can’t stop loving him over this and I admitted I hadn’t, but I no longer trust him. His wife asked if it was her I didn’t love and I said yes.

They accused me of acting out of malice and contempt and said I would regret it in the future. They also told me I need to leave room for differences of action and opinion.

I told them this was not something to be shared with anyone against my will and my dad made his choice and he chose to lose my trust. They keep insisting I need to attend therapy and I need to give this a chance to be resolved and for us to move on.

AITA?”

Check out what folks had to say about this.

One person explained why he’s NTA.

Source: Reddit/AITA

This individual shared their thoughts.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Another person said he’s NTA.

Source: Reddit/AITA

This person spoke up.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Another Reddit user shared their thoughts.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Don’t ever be forced into a situation that makes you uncomfortable.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.