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Shared parents do not always mean shared childhoods.

These brothers grew up apart under very different kinds of hardship.

Reconnecting brought old resentment to the surface.

One argument forced both experiences into the open.

Let’s see how this family conflict unfolded.

AITA for telling my brother that I’m as unfortunate as him?

I (22M) reconnected with my brothers (25M, 20M) about 7 months ago. We were born from the same parents (47F, 50M) but when I was around 4 my parents divorced.

But until I was about 13, I thought my father was dead.

My mother told me and my brothers that he died while fishing on a boat and his body couldn’t be recovered but the truth is that they split up and he moved to London.

He didn’t grow up with his brothers.

When I was around 7, my mom sent my brothers to my live with my aunt because she said they were difficult. She told me that I behaved so I could stay.

She kind of disconnected from my aunt around that time so I grew up isolated and they grew up motherless and fatherless.

So when I reconnected with them, it was my effort. I felt like I needed that connection.

This younger brother sounds jealous.

My older brother is cool with me but my youngest brother isn’t. I can tell he tried but he’s not feeling me.

Last night me and my youngest brother got in a heated argument where he told me I was a spoiled brat and I was weak. It started from me not wanting to smoke weed with them.

I asked him how and he went off about me going to a private school, getting a car at 16, being in medical school currently, and most of all growing up with my mother.

Money doesn’t exactly buy happiness.

I don’t usually argue but I told him that I’m as unfortunate as him.

My mother had countless mental health crisis and would degrade me when I was younger for “trusting people cause all they would do is hurt me” and being so sensitive.

Because of that I had little to no friends and she also ran all my girlfriends away once I started dating at 17.

But she did have money and my aunt didn’t have as much.

He knows his brothers had a rough childhood.

I understand his frustration.

He didn’t reconnect with my dad until 3 years ago so he basically grew up without his father and his mother. He also has a juvenile record probably due to misplaced anger.

But him and my mom are mostly cool now and he seems to wholeheartedly forgive her I just wonder why he doesn’t forgive me.

My oldest brother tries to be a mediator but he mostly sides with my younger brother.

He’s wondering if he was wrong for what he said.

Given his circumstances, AITA for telling him that?

I don’t want to be the insensitive older brother that grew up with money and love from my mother (some of the time but it’s better than none of the time) so I’ll apologize if I was exactly that.

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None of these boys had a great childhood. The mother seems horrible for sending two of her sons to live with their aunt, but that’s not the boys’ decision. Hopefully, these brothers can realize that their mom is the one who created these circumstances and stop fighting with each other. They had no choice in the matter.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

Empathy is more important right now.

None of them had a good childhood.

They need to stop dwelling on the past.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who changed their minds about donated items, only to return to the shop to find them all sold.

They all have a right to be angry.

The younger brother called him spoiled because he grew up with money, but ignored the isolation and emotional abuse he also experienced.

This young man was not wrong to explain that financial comfort did not make his childhood happy or healthy.

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Author

Chris Allen