Imagine getting divorced and sharing custody with your ex. If Halloween fell during your custody time, would you be willing to let your ex join you for trick or treating, or would you refuse?

This woman is in this exact situation, and she does not want to allow her ex to crash her daughter’s Halloween plans.

But this decision sparked accusations that she was intentionally excluding her ex-husband’s new girlfriend.

Read the story below to find out more.

AITAH for “excluding” my ex’s new GF?

I (29F) am divorced with a 9-year-old daughter.

My daughter’s father (32M) has been in a relationship with a woman named Stephanie for about 6 months now.

She has two younger daughters (ages 4 and 5).

This woman had a good plan with her ex-husband about introducing their child to his new family.

My ex-husband and I have had many conversations about how to ease my own child into their new “blended family” by making sure that she still has lots of time with her dad.

We talked about not combining every single special event with the other kids and keeping lines of communication open.

Overall, the introduction has been positive, but my daughter has mentioned that the younger children can be overwhelming and, sometimes, annoying.

However, despite the conversations, every single special event has been blended, for lack of a better word.

Her daughter has trick-or-treat plans with her best friend and her family.

We’re coming up on Halloween, and my daughter has trick-or-treating plans with her best friend and her family.

Halloween is my custody time.

Her ex asked if his new girlfriend and her children could join trick-or-treat, and she refused.

My ex-husband asked if he could come and bring his new girlfriend and her children.

I said no, as I wanted my daughter to be able to have time with her friend, without having the other little kids in tow.

They are not officially her siblings in any way, and I feel that she deserves protected time just for her.

Her ex didn’t take this very well.

My ex-husband says that I am purposely excluding his new girlfriend and that I should be more concerned that she doesn’t have many friends or others to go out with on that evening.

I feel like that is not my problem, and I am advocating for my own child without having her feel like she needs to people-please or feel guilty.

Now, she’s wondering if she did the right thing.

I am not asking my daughter her opinion as I do not want her to feel burdened with any guilt.

I did also invite them to the Halloween event at her school that same week to help initiate balance.

So, AITA in all this?

It seems reasonable to let her daughter trick or treat with friends without the ex and girlfriend tagging along.

Let’s read the responses of other people on Reddit to this story.

This person has a few questions.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Short and straightforward.

This should not be a topic for discussion, says this person.

Finally, here’s a valid point from this user.

The more the merrier isn’t always true.

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.