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It is great when you have coworkers who turn into friends, and when you can help them through a hard time, it is always a pleasure.

What would you do if after a divorce, a friend at work asked you to make her kids packed lunches, which she would pay you for?

That is what happened to the woman in this story, and she was only to happy to help since she loved cooking. Oddly, the coworker’s ex reached out to her and demanded that she stop making the lunches, but she just ignored him. She, however, doesn’t want to cause problems.

It seems that she did the right thing. She has no reason to be in touch with her coworker’s ex at all.

WIBTA If I ignored my coworkers ex?

One of my coworkers, Chealsea, is recently divorced.

Divorce is never easy.

It was pretty messy, and from what I understand, there was a lot of substance abuse issues on the former partners part.

As a result, she has the kids the majority of the time and the ex gets them a weekend a month and on holidays.

She is going to need help.

Obviously, I don’t know all the details, but I do know that she’s basically acting as a single parent now, while working 48 hours a week.

A couple of months ago, she approached me and asked me to start making lunches for her and her kids.

She offered me quite a bit of money for groceries and the time it would take.

It is great that she is able to help her out like this. And that she can make a little money for her efforts.

I used to work in a kitchen and I enjoy making and sharing food. Even without anyone paying me, I usually end up bringing in baked goods, breads, cupcakes, cookies, filled buns, etc at least a couple times a month.

I agreed, bought some bulk re-usable food containers, and sold them to her on Sundays. It’s nothing too fancy, usually some type of chicken, grain, vegetable and fruit and like a cookie or something.

Nothing she couldn’t also buy from any restaurant, but significantly cheaper. She makes their breakfasts and dinners.

And now the ex steps in.

Chelsea’s ex was a house-spouse for years and was responsible for most of the upkeep and child care while she worked.

Well, recently I received a message on Facebook from this ex partner telling me that I was ‘forbidden from continuing’ to do this with Chelsea.

What a jerk.

It was a long, rambling message about how Chelsea needed to ‘learn her lesson’ and stop ‘cheating at child care’ and I was ‘enabling her to slack off and neglect their needs’.

I was a ‘horrible person for helping this fake parenting along’. I was extremely confused.

Ignoring this guy was the right move.

I’ve never met the spouse, they’ve never met me, but apparently the kids mentioned that their mom was buying their lunches from someone at work and this person went through the business directory, found everyone they could on Facebook, and sent the same message copy-and-pasted to about 15 different people.

I have not responded, and do not plan to respond. I also don’t want to stop what I’m doing. The extra money is very nice, and since Chelsea started buying from me I’ve had other co-workers ask for similar things. Birthday cakes, things for family dinners, and so on.

Just keep ignoring him. He doesn’t even know that she is actually the one making food.

That said, I also have no desire to be involved in whatever the hell is going on in their relationship.

AITA?

How the mother gets food for her kids is really none of his business, and if he does have a problem with it, he needs to talk to her ex. Ignoring him is the right thing to do.

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Check out the comments below to see what other people think about this situation.

Keeping screenshots might be useful.

Telling her friend is very important.

She definitely should not stop cooking.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighbor who sees the chance for revenge after a neighbor who refuses to share wifi needs help with a parking issue.

Here is someone who hates the ex already. Me too.

This commenter says it is none of the ex’s business.

It is none of his business who she cooks lunches for. She should report it to her coworker, though.

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Author

Michael Levanduski

Senior Contributing Editor, Workplace & Community

Michael Levanduski is a veteran journalist and digital culture specialist with over 15 years of professional writing and research experience. While his background spans emerging technology and complex technical subjects, Michael specializes in analyzing workplace ethics, property disputes, and viral interpersonal dynamics across modern digital forums.

Since joining TwistedSifter in 2024, Michael has authored some of the publication’s most widely read coverage on corporate policy, malicious compliance, and neighborhood relations. Rather than simply aggregating online debates, he brings rigorous research, organizational context, and an empathetic editorial voice to everyday human dilemmas—transforming raw forum discussions into insightful, highly engaging narratives.

When he isn’t covering internet culture, Michael enjoys traveling, keeping up with tech trends, and spending time with his family. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook.