He Helped Raise His Stepchildren For Over A Decade, Yet Now That He Has Divorced His Ex-Wife, He Plans To Cut Contact With The Teens
This man and his ex-wife had been together for just over 13 years, and when they first met, she had two children– a 2-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
Then, just one year into their relationship, his ex “fell on hard times” and wound up losing her job. So, he allowed both her and her kids to move into his home.
Now, he actually never wanted to have children of his own. In fact, right after his now-ex moved in back then, he went to the doctor to have a procedure to make sure that he could never get her pregnant.
His ex-wife knew about his feelings, too, and she tried to respect them as best as she could.
“And even though there is a bit of resentment for her and the kids for thrusting me into dadhood, I still treated them as my own,” he admitted.
“To be honest, if I had biological kids, there would be a level of resentment as well.”
Anyway, while they were still together, his ex-wife wound up going to school and starting a career as a mechanical engineer. So, she now earns more money than him.
However, back when she was still in school, he financially supported them the entire time by working two jobs. It was then that he and his ex started to become distant in their relationship.
“And I found my resentment growing, and I was unhappy,” he added.
Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
That’s why he wound up talking to his wife about splitting up, and while she was reportedly “devastated,” they were still able to agree to separate on “amicable terms.” He also swore that there wasn’t some other woman, and he actually doesn’t even plan on dating anytime soon.
Despite that, the divorce still made him feel awful– mostly because he just wasn’t able to get past his feelings and make their relationship work, even though he tried his best.
On top of that, it left him in a strange situation with his stepchildren. On the one hand, he’s been present in their lives for over a decade, and he does consider them to be his own kids.
“They are bright young teens entering adulthood with a good mother and future ahead of them,” he said.
Still, he did not plan to stay in contact with them following the separation. So, he wound up telling his ex-wife that if the children needed anything, he would be there for them but that he would not be keeping in touch.
And now, in the wake of the split, he’s been left wondering if cutting off his stepkids following the divorce is really a jerky thing to do.
Why do you think he wants to cut contact if he considers his stepchildren to be his own kids? How would you feel in the teens’ shoes? What do you think he should do?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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