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Family ties don’t automatically create emotional bonds.

Years later, this woman’s half siblings desperately want to reconnect.

She feels no attachment or curiosity.

Her grandparents won’t accept that answer.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for not wanting to reunite with my half siblings and their mom?

I (26f) was 7 when my dad died.

My parents were divorced and dad was remarried and had two kids who were 3 and 1 at the time.

My mom and dad’s widow HATED each other so my mom was happy to end all contact between us after dad’s passing and we actually moved so she couldn’t interfere in my life.

I was never close to dad’s widow or my half siblings so it never upset me.

The widow and half siblings didn’t feel the same way.

But it upset them a lot.

My grandparents would tell me about it when they visited.

I was told all the time how much my half siblings and their mom missed me but I never missed them.

The half siblings and their mom still want to reconnect.

Since I turned 18 I have been asked repeatedly to reunite with them and for us to come together as a family again.

I wasn’t interested then and I never have been. I don’t think I ever will be. I’ve lived so long as an only child, even if that wasn’t technically true, and I’m happy being one.

I don’t have any curiosity about them or their mom and I don’t miss or regret us not growing up together.

Then there were letters.

Both my half siblings and their mom wrote me letters and my grandparents gave them to me during a visit last month.

They told me the whole family would love for us all to unite and I should be a part of it. They told me I am family just like my half siblings and their mom are.

I never read the letters and I didn’t keep them either. There’s nothing in them that I really need or want.

The grandparents even seem to be taking the half siblings’ side.

I told my grandparents they needed to make it clear I’m not interested. I told them the more they push the more I just want to reduce my contact with them.

They said that wasn’t fair and surely I miss them a tiny amount and would like to at least have limited contact.

And I said no.

AITA?

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At this point, the half siblings and their mom really just need to accept the fact that their half sister doesn’t consider them family and never will.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

It’s not up to her grandparents.

It’s not like the half siblings actually remember her.

There might be another reason the half siblings and their mom want to reconnect.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who moved her mom in after her dad passed, but doesn’t want to fill the role of a spouse.

This is a good suggestion.

This woman doesn’t owe anyone a reunion simply because they share a father.

Her relatives may feel rejected, but repeatedly challenging her boundary only pushes her farther away.

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Author

Chris Allen