Imagine growing up with two parents who seem to have a pretty solid marriage, but one day your dad announces that he’s leaving your mom for a younger woman. If he later changed his mind, would you forgive him, or would you forever be hurt by what he said?

In this story, one teenage boy is in this exact situation, and he doesn’t think he can ever forgive his dad.

Let’s read all about it.

AITA for refusing to forgive my dad or speak to him after he left my mom for a 21-year-old?

I (M17) live with my mom (46), my brother (13), and my dad (50).

My relationship with my dad has always been rocky, and he’s let me down many times before, but this time feels like the final straw.

His dad made an unexpected announcement.

Last Wednesday, he told us completely out of the blue that he asked my mom for a divorce because he “wasn’t in love with her anymore” and had feelings for his 21-year-old coworker, Rebecca.

For context, she just turned 21. We would’ve literally been in high school at the same time.

I was furious.

My parents have been together since 2003. Their relationship has had issues, but this was still shocking.

It gets weirder.

What made it even weirder was how impulsive and unlike him it was.

He left the house the next day after nonstop fighting, packed his stuff into our car, and went to sleep in a parking lot.

The car and the house are both in my mom’s name, and he only had $18 in his personal bank account when he left.

He came back.

Then, the next morning, he suddenly came back saying he felt like he was in a trance, that “the fog had lifted,” and that he made a huge mistake.

He begged for another chance.

My mom thinks he was genuinely delusional and believes it may be tied to his health. He had a severe case of West Nile Virus in 2021 that caused lasting neurological issues and personality changes.

She’s choosing to forgive him and is letting him stay.

OP thinks he knows why his dad really changed his mind.

I don’t buy it. I think he only came crawling back because the fantasy he built in his head wasn’t actually going to work.

My mom is the sole breadwinner and has supported us our entire lives.

My dad has a part time job as a pizza delivery man, however his money is only used for his stuff (cigs, gas, etc.)

I think he realized he blew up his entire life for a girl half his age who didn’t actually want him, and now he’s trying to do damage control.

He doesn’t know that he can forgive his dad.

He’s been trying to talk to me, apologizing, saying he loves me and wants to fix things.

I’m ignoring him completely.

I feel guilty sometimes, because I can tell it hurts him, but I honestly don’t think I can forgive him.

This situation is just the most recent in a long pattern of disappointment and selfishness.

Let’s see how his mom feels about the situation.

My mom respects my decision, but she clearly hopes I’ll try to work on my relationship with him again.

I’m not interested.

I still live at home for another year before college, so I’m just planning on avoiding him completely.

AITA for refusing to give my dad another chance, even though he might’ve been mentally unwell when he made that decision?

I think the real question is why his dad said those things and immediately regretted it. Was it due to a mental issue, or did he just realize it wasn’t going to work?

Let’s see what Reddit has to say about this situation.

This person thinks the mom is gullible.

But another person thinks the dad needs to see a doctor.

The 21-year-old may not even exist.

But this person feels bad for the mom.

His dad needs to see a doctor.

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.