Navigating parenthood isn’t always a straightforward journey, especially when exes and new partners are involved.

When one mother’s twins start calling her new partner “dad,” she catches some serious heat from her jealous ex, as old tensions come bubbling back to the surface.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITA for letting my twins call my boyfriend dad?

I (25f) and my boyfriend (28m) have been together for 3 years and have been living together with my twins (3m) for 2 years.

Me and their father (26m) have never been together, and he hadn’t wanted to be a part of their life until they were a year old.

We have a custody agreement that they go every other weekend with him on Saturday, with me dropping them off and picking them up.

Her new boyfriend has really picked up the slack when it comes to caring for the kids.

But last weekend, my boyfriend had to pick them up because I had a work trip.

For context, the twins don’t know life without my boyfriend.

We have been together since I found out I was pregnant, and he was there for all the ultrasounds and birth classes.

He’s gone above and beyond in every sense.

He sat and read all the books with me and was there for the labor.

He loves them like his own, and in my eyes, they’re as much his kids as mine.

He was up all the late nights taking care of not only me but them too.

So naturally, the kids start to form quite an affection for him.

Back to it, he was picking up the kids for me (this is not the first time), and they had called him daddy to get his attention while he was talking to my ex.

He said that my ex had seemed to be okay with it, and he left to take them home.

The ex wasn’t too happy about this, though.

But while I was at the airport, my ex called me screaming, saying how undermining and disrespectful it was that the twins called him daddy while they wouldn’t speak at his house.

I had not known about this, considering that the twins don’t stop talking at my house until they fall asleep.

So much so, he started rethinking their custody agreement.

Then he started complaining about custody, which was originally his idea because he was working a lot.

He said it was my fault because my boyfriend is spending more time with them and that he doesn’t have enough time to bond with them.

He begins to question his own relationship to the children.

He then started on how it was “not right” that the twins were so comfortable with my boyfriend, but his fiancé couldn’t hug the twins without bribing them with something.

I ended up hanging up on him because my plane was boarding, and he was just screaming at me.

Later, when I got home, his fiancé started calling and texting me, which I ignored because she’s been known to have a terrible attitude toward me, even when I’m just picking up the twins.

She asks her new boyfriend what he thinks.

I talked with my boyfriend to see what we should do about the twins calling him daddy.

He said that it’s up to me, and he loves it but would understand if I told them to stop.

Now she finds herself at a crossroads.

But I don’t know; I love that my twins call him dad.

I feel like he’s earned it, but I don’t know if I’m being a jerk because my ex is in their life, and he is their father.

AITA?

Love is what truly makes a family, not just DNA.

What did Reddit think?

It may be hard to come to grips with a new normal, but the sooner the ex can figure this out, the better it will be for everyone.

If her ex really is this upset, this could be a sign he needs to step up his own game.

This new boyfriend has put in the work. He deserves all the love he’s received from the twins.

“Dad” is a title that’s earned, not just given!

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.