I can imagine how difficult it is to be a single mother raising two young children. Even if you are financially stable, it’s still challenging to balance life and take care of your kids at the same time.
This is the story of a Reddit user who is a single mom.
Enter her mom friend who’s struggling financially because of her husband who doesn’t have a job and wouldn’t take care of their baby. This mom friend asks the single mom to help her look after her baby, but she refuses.
Read the full story below, and you be the judge as to who deserves our sympathy.
AITA for telling my friend it’s not my problem she married a useless man?
I (32F) am a single mother of two kids (6M and 5m F). I am a single mother by choice (my kids are donor conceived).
I am lucky enough to have a good job (French teacher in a private school), and a paid off house (parents’ life insurance and inheritance).
OP did a good job planning for the life she wanted.
Before I had either of my kids, I made sure to have a year’s living expenses saved, then I would take a sabbatical to recover from birth, as well as bond with my kids.
While on sabbatical, I still tutor some kids for some extra income.
Meanwhile, her friend was kind of in the opposite direction.
My friend (34F) just had a baby 2 months ago. She is the breadwinner in her household, and her husband has been unemployed since he was laid off during COVID.
It was great to be pregnant at the same time, as well as having a friend with a newborn.
But it has turned sour.
The friend was obviously envious of OP’s “good” and stress-free life.
She has been saying how jealous she is of me being able to take off a whole year from work, how she would have loved to not worry about losing their home, how she doesn’t even have a couple hundred dollars in her savings account, let alone a whole year’s worth of living expenses.
I usually ignore it or brush it off, because I kind of can understand the stress she is under.
The friend continued dropping hints that they were struggling.
Well, starting about 10 days ago, she started hinting at not being able to afford daycare, and any mention of her husband taking care of their kid is brushed off.
Then, she started remarking on how much free time I must have, which I deflected by truthfully saying that being a single mom to a baby and a small kid left me no free time actually.
When the friend asked for a favor, she politely said no.
Then, last night she came out with it, and asked if I could “do her a favor” and watch her kid while she’s at work. I was firm, but polite, when I said that I couldn’t, that I am not capable of watching two kids under 6 months.
She started almost begging me, saying she can’t afford daycare, and if she is not back at work, she will lose her job, and they will end up homeless.
I again brought up her husband, and she said that he was not good with kids, and isn’t capable of taking care of her kid.
Now, the friend kept calling her mean things.
I kept saying no. She kept pushing, until it escalated to her calling me heartless, and me telling her that it’s not my problem she chose to have a kid with a useless man.
Now, she blocked me.
I am feeling very guilty about what I said, and feeling like an AH.
AITA?
Whew! That sounded like the start of a big friendship war. Let’s see what other Reddit users have to say about it.
Here’s one saying OP is NTA.
Another one says OP is fine, and the problem is between the friend and her husband.
This comment is on point!
Right on. Nag your husband, not your friend.
This user thinks the friend is hurt because she’s hearing the truth.
Don’t feel guilty, girl.
It’s not your problem that her life is messed up.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.