Privacy and parenting don’t always go hand in hand, but when parents completely bulldoze boundaries, all trust goes out the window.

When one overbearing mother goes through her teenager’s things one too many times, their relationship takes an emotional nosedive right before their eyes.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for telling my mom to stop overstepping on my privacy and making her cry?

I (16F) live with my mom after my parents got divorced.

I don’t really mind because I spend time with both of them, but sometimes my mom does things that annoy me.

She works at a hospital, so when she comes home, it’s early in the morning, and I’m leaving for school.

Here’s where the trouble comes in.

The problem is, two days ago, she went into my room while I was at school and went through the entire place.

I usually keep my room neat and organized, so when I came home, I knew she had been through it because of how disorganized it looked.

I was completely tired of her doing this, but I didn’t mention it to her.

It turns out, the mother found something that concerned her.

It turns out she found notes from someone I’ve been dating, and now she won’t stop talking about him. She keeps asking me nonstop questions about “my secret lover” (her words).

But the teen is left feeling totally violated.

It’s making me extremely mad because she wouldn’t have found out about him if she hadn’t gone through my things. I don’t usually hide things from her, but she still goes through my stuff anyway.

So finally, she pleads with her mother to stop.

Yesterday, I finally gave up trying to ignore her and asked, “Can you please stop going through my things?”

She looked visibly sad when I said that.

Her mother immediately becomes defensive.

She responded with, “Well, I’m your mother,” and “That’s what mothers do,” which really ticked me off.

I told her that I would’ve told her about him eventually if she didn’t overstep so much.

She started getting angry and told me that if I wasn’t so “closed off” and “told her more about things,” she wouldn’t have to overstep.

So the teen snaps back.

I was genuinely in disbelief and said, “What’d you expect me to do when you’re always pushing me to tell you things and taking stuff from my room?”

She started crying, and I immediately felt guilty for saying that.

She said things like, “I never spend time with her,” “I’m growing up so fast, and she feels like she doesn’t need me,” and “She’s failing me as a mother.”

Then came the waterworks.

I felt conflicted and really bad about what I said when she started crying. She began blaming herself for being such an “awful mother,” which confused me because she’s been great to me.

I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn’t let me. She just kept crying and walked away from me.

Her mother’s extreme reaction now has her second-guessing everything.

Now, I feel like I’m definitely the AH because I made her cry. I feel crappy as hell and think I’m just horrible after the whole situation.

My mom hasn’t spoken to me since then. When she came home this morning, she still didn’t say anything.

So she tries to seek an outside perspective.

I texted my dad about the situation, and he said my mom is being manipulative and asked if I wanted him to come and get me. I don’t feel like my mom is being manipulative, but I don’t know what I’m even feeling anymore.

I feel trapped, and I really want to tell her that I’m sorry and apologize.

AITA?

Her mother’s actions may have come from love, but they left behind hurt and mistrust.

What did Reddit have to say about all this?

Maybe there really is some truth to what her father is saying about her mother’s behavior.

This commenter commends the teen for having the insight to identify her mother’s shortcomings.

The mother has a lot to work through if she’s going to turn her relationship with her daughter around.

This user just can’t hold back their sarcasm.

The mother was searching for connection by snooping, but ironically, her actions only created more distance.

Sometimes the best way to protect a bond means learning when to let go.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.