A Dad Focused On Helping His Daughter Move Into College, But His Wife Took It Personally And Turned It Into A Family Conflict
Shutterstock
Blended-family milestones can carry years of unresolved tension.
This father wanted his daughter’s college move-in focused on her parents.
The decision reopened an old conflict.
Check out how it all went down.
AITA for not inviting my wife to my daughter’s (her step-daughter’s) freshman college move in?
My ex-wife (51F) and I (50M) were married 18 years, right out of college.
We had a good, functional, and loving marriage, but in the end, she decided it wasn’t for her and we amicably divorced.
We had 2 kids, 18F and 19M.
6 months later I met my current wife (47F) and her son (19M). We’ve now been married 8 years.
The new relationship got off to a great start and it seemed like everyone was blending well together.
My ex and I have a great co-parenting relationship and are friends.
We only talk about kid-related things, except at kid-related events where we make small talk.
We don’t communicate much outside of that.
My current wife and ex were pleasant and professional for awhile.
But then things got dramatic.
Several years ago, I was venting about my ex traveling a lot for work and having to pick up extra slack a little.
Mind you, this was just venting, and I honestly love any extra time I get with the kids.
Well, my current wife decided to text my ex-wife, basically calling her out as a bad mom and telling her to pick up the slack.
I didn’t really feel that way and felt it was out of place for her to do that.
Since then, the “relationship” between current and ex-wife has not been good and basically irreparable. They’re professional, but my current wife hates my ex, with very little cause in my book.
We had to sit separately for my son’s graduation 2 years ago, but sat together this year for my daughter’s graduation.
So when it came to the next big life event, this dad just wanted to keep things simple.
When it came time to move my daughter into college, I did not want that tension to “ruin” my daughter’s bonding moment with her mom.
College move-in day can be very emotional.
I asked my daughter about my wife coming to move in, and she said, “It might be too many people.”
Granted, I admit that the way I asked the question was a little leading, but the tension between my ex and current wife is well known in the family.
My wife wasn’t invited to move in, and my ex and I moved my daughter in…separate cars, and only for a few hours.
We did the same thing for our son last year…my wife didn’t go because she was working.
But this really upset his new wife.
My current wife was livid, and weeks later it’s still a sore spot and led to another blowup last night, somewhat related to this.
I admitted to my wife that it was a mistake and apologized.
Never Miss a StorySign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
AITA for not having my wife move my daughter into college with her mom and I?
He daughter asked for simplicity on her big day, and he delivered that.
What did Reddit have to say?
It’s valid that his wife would have hurt feelings, but he was only trying to do right by his daughter.
This commenter is on his daughter’s side.
He made the right choice for several reasons.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mother who thinks it’s the school’s job to discipline her unruly child, not hers.
His wife probably had unreasonable expectations from the start.
This dad prioritized his daughter’s comfort during an emotional milestone after his wife created lasting conflict with the girl’s mother.
He could’ve asked his daughter more neutrally, but excluding extra tension for a few hours wasn’t unreasonable.
Enjoyed this story?
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
