It can be hard to watch your parents get divorced and experience one of them starting a new family with someone else, no matter what age you are. It’s something many people have to go through, and getting through it requires a lot of patience and work.
One man is unsure what to do after his son freaked out when he announced that he’d be having a baby with his girlfriend, who he’s been with since splitting up with his ex-wife two years ago.
He divorced his ex-wife two years ago, and they share custody of their 15-year-old son. Their schedule is one week on, one week off.
“My ex and I agreed to get a divorce because we’d grown apart and just weren’t happy anymore,” he admitted.
“Neither of us cheated, and my son knows that. My girlfriend and I met four months after my ex, and I separated and started dating two months later. She didn’t meet my son until we were sure our relationship was serious.”
His son seemed genuinely accepting of his girlfriend for a while, and they got along. His girlfriend has a daughter from a previous relationship, and they moved into his home at the start of this year.
Things were going well at first. His son got along with his girlfriend’s daughter, and their relationship was better than he had expected. Unfortunately, everything changed when he and his girlfriend made an announcement.
“Last week, we found out that we’re going to have a child together,” he said.
“We broke the news to the children today over dinner. Her daughter was excited to have a younger sibling, but my son didn’t seem too happy. After dinner, I asked him if there was something bothering him. He asked if we were really going to have a child and how could I be sure that it’s mine.”
He tried to get his son to stop being disrespectful, but his son got angrier, calling his girlfriend a homewrecker and gold-digger. He asked his son if he’d like to settle down and relax in his room for a bit before they talked more, fearing his girlfriend would hear what his son was saying.
However, his son said he wanted to go to his mom’s house, and he drove him there later that night.
After dropping his son off at his ex-wife’s house, he debated reaching out to him or waiting until he was ready to talk. Then, he received an angry text from his ex-wife, who accused him of kicking their son out of his house and putting his girlfriend over his son.
“I didn’t want him to leave, but I also didn’t want to force him to stay here when he insisted on leaving,” he explained.
“I also think my ex might be behind my son’s reaction since she can’t stand my girlfriend. None of the accusations sounded like something my son would say, especially since my girlfriend [contributes] to our rent and groceries because she’s an adult who can pay for herself.”
Now, he doesn’t know what to do about his son’s sudden outburst and wonders if he did anything wrong.
What do you think he should do to make things right with his son?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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