Blended families can take some work, but when done right, they can be very rewarding.

What would you do if your stepmom was trying to force you to want to take your stepsiblings with you to your mom’s family events, even when they weren’t invited?

That is what the young man in this story is facing, so after years of refusing, he wants to move in with his grandparents, but that is upsetting his father.

AITAH for asking my dad if I can live with my grandparents instead of him?

I (m16) live with my dad, his wife, my stepsiblings (f10, m8) and my half sibling (m1) and my dad’s wife is pregnant again, so I have another half sibling on the way.

Blended families can be very difficult.

Things at home are tense because my dad’s wife doesn’t like me for not loving my stepsiblings like full bio siblings and wanting to include them in everything.

It started after her and my stepsiblings moved in with me and dad.

Why would they include his stepsiblings?

Dad and his wife (girlfriend then) and told me that my mom’s parents and siblings were not okay with including my stepsiblings in holidays, parties and other time I spent with them.

So, dad wanted to know how I would feel about seeing them way less or not at all.

They don’t want to treat them the same because they aren’t related.

He said I don’t have a relationship with his family (true), so they’re my only extended family but they didn’t want to treat all the members of our family, or all the kids in our family, the same.

He said he didn’t think that should be rewarded but he wanted to hear what I said.

This kid is spot on.

I told him I thought it made sense they wouldn’t want to include the kids and I wanted to see them regardless.

His wife asked what if that really hurt her kids feelings and what if this prevents us from becoming a real family and I told her I didn’t want to lose my family for anyone.

Stepmom sounds awful.

She told me I have two younger siblings to think about and I told her I didn’t.

My dad decided not to change my relationship or access to my grandparents and my aunts, uncles, and cousins. He said he didn’t want to make me pull away over this and we’d figure something out but his wife hated me after that.

And she is only pushing him further away.

She has commented at weird and random times that I might treat her kids fine but I don’t love them like siblings should be loved and that it’s disgusting for me to pick adults who could reject kids over kids who just want to be loved.

I don’t mind playing video games with my stepsiblings or making snacks for them and stuff like that.

But I don’t want them in every part of my life.

Honestly, it isn’t even up to him. His mom’s family doesn’t want them there (obviously).

And I don’t get why I would need to include them in my mom’s family when they have nothing to do with my mom (who died when I was younger) or her family.

That’s not how my dad’s wife sees it though and she has said if I loved them like real bio siblings I would say it’s all or none.

Even the half-siblings have no relationship with his mom’s family.

She didn’t put up a fight when she had my half sibling but I think things not changing for me then made he dislike of me worse.

Now she’ll ask me what I’m doing every single day. If I make a sandwich she’ll ask me that, if I get a glass of water she’ll ask me that, if I’m coming out of the bathroom she’ll ask me that.

Dad needs to stand up for his son.

I even heard her and dad argue over spending money on me to do activities. She doesn’t think I should get a penny of household money when I don’t want to be the older brother to her kids.

My stepsiblings get really quiet when the tension is super high. I get really upset sometimes. And she’s pregnant again so the whole thing is probably bad overall.

This might be a great idea.

That’s why I asked dad if I could live with my grandparents.

I already talked to them to see if they’d be okay with it and then I asked dad.

He looked really hurt when I asked and he was like why would you want that and I told him none of this is good and we need to stop living like this.

Yeah, he is rejecting them because of her!

He told me I’ll make his wife even more convinced that I reject all of them and I told him I don’t care.

That this is his family and he’s got more kids coming and I have another home to go to where there’s no constant tension.

At this point, who cares what stepmom thinks?

His wife had a weird reaction. At first she got really mad and was cursing about me. Eventually her reaction was more what I expected and she wants me to go.

I guess he should have thought of this when his wife was being emotionally abusive.

But my dad’s still upset and hurt that I want this.

I think it would be better for everyone because there’s no way I’m going to counseling with his wife, if that’s something he wanted to try.

Hahaha, I can’t blame him here.

That woman can move to Australia for all I care.

AITAH?

It is sad when someone fits the Disney stereotype of an ‘evil stepmom’ and still doesn’t realize that they are the problem.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say.

Right? He is being a fine brother to them.

This is sad, but true.

I agree with this commenter.

LOL. Too funny.

You can’t force a blended family.

Dad really failed his son.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.