This woman has had a brutal year: a divorce, moving back in with her parents, and enduring nonstop criticism from her mother.

While rebuilding her life, she’s started dating someone who’s been her closest friend for over a decade and now wants to spend Christmas with him and his family.

The timing feels right, but she knows her mother won’t see it that way. With control issues, insults, and tension already boiling over, the holiday decision feels like a ticking time bomb.

AITA for wanting to spend Christmas with my boyfriend instead of my mom?

My (37F) boyfriend (36M) (I’ll call him Larry) wants me to come spend Christmas with him and his family in Florida.

For context, we have been dating for about 3 months, but we’ve been best friends online for 11 years.

By best friends I mean we’d talk on video chats, voice chats, text messages and we even met up and hung out a few times (strictly platonic and over significant others at the time were there).

Sounds like more than “best friends.”

Well I’ve just gotten divorced and now I’m dating Larry. I haven’t told my mom (57F) that he wants me to come to Tampa and spend Christmas with him, but I want to do it.

For background this year with my mom has been awful.

I’ve been staying with my parents with my 5 year old since my separation. She has done nothing but try to make me do what she wants in my divorce.

Yikes.

She wanted me to take my ex “for everything” and I didn’t want that and she called me stupid for not doing it.

She’s been completely controlling and miserable to be around.

She also called me very harsh names several times in front of my daughter.

Well that seems uncalled for.

My daughter will be visiting her dad for the Christmas break, so it’s not like I’m missing time with her to go with my boyfriend. But I know she’s gonna flip out.

So am I the jerk for wanting to spend Christmas with my bf instead of my mom?

Would I be the jerk for going down there and doing it?

So she’s turning to Reddit to find out whether going to Florida would make her selfish…or finally free.

This person reminds OP that she’s a grown woman.

This person says she’s not out of line at all.

And this person says it’s absolutely her choice and no one else’s.

Sometimes the real Christmas miracle is realizing you don’t have to stay where you’re being mistreated.

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.