If you were only a teen yourself and accidentally learned that your parent was secretly having a relationship with someone your own age, how would you feel?
Not long into 2026, this 18-year-old girl found out that her dad has been secretly dating a girl the same age as her. Her dad met this girl on an app she knows he uses, because she’s seen it on his phone.
She found out about her dad’s secret girlfriend after a 50-year-old man named S, whom she’s been talking to online, tipped her off.
S was hooking up with her dad’s secret girlfriend at the same time as her dad and somehow uncovered the truth, then reached out to her to fill her in.
She has never met S or her dad’s secret girlfriend in real life, and she only knows what S has shared about this girl with her. She has stalked her online, as well, and discovered more about her.
So far, her dad and his secret girlfriend have no clue that she’s aware of what they’re doing when she’s not home.
“I know it’s confusing, basically, the girl was seeing S and my dad at the same time, and told S about her and my dad. [Unaware] of the connection, S started talking to me at the same time, and as he got to know me, he kind of just put together the dots and told me,” she explained.
“It’s been really weird, especially since S made it very clear to me what kind of [interests] this girl had…which I can only assume isn’t an exception with my dad. I also started coming home to packages for my dad, that were clearly gifts for her relating to this.”
Her parents are divorced, and she spends the majority of her time at her dad’s house, which she realizes makes it impossible for him to spend time with his secret girlfriend.
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Additionally, she feels like a guest in her dad’s house. It leaves her feeling guilty when she doesn’t give him enough alone time, due to his secret girlfriend.
“It makes me especially sad because, like any father-daughter relationship, we have our ups and downs, and at any down point, all I can think about is how he has two 18-year-old girls in his life, one of whom provides only benefits to him, and me; all I do is burden him (both of which, he’s treating like his daughter in one way or another),” she added.
Last night, she asked her dad to look for a duvet cover so she could change her sheets. She’d had a hard day due to events unrelated to her dad, and got frustrated because she just couldn’t find the duvet cover.
Her dad became angry with her, which made her sad. He then gave up and announced that he was going to bed, with no duvet cover in sight.
As her dad walked away from her, she told him that she bet he would find a duvet cover for his girlfriend. She is aware that it was a cheap shot, but she couldn’t hold her feelings in anymore.
Her dad responded that he makes his girlfriend sleep in his bed so he doesn’t have to do things like that. She replied that she knows already.
Her dad said he was teasing her and that his girlfriend actually sleeps in her bed. She informed her dad that she wasn’t joking and thought it was bizarre.
Her dad tried to make the mood lighter before smiling nervously and questioning her about how she even knew about his girlfriend.
She definitely scared her dad and herself in the process, so she backed down, said goodnight, and went to bed. But her dad totally knows she’s onto him.
“I feel bad. He can do whatever he wants, but at the same time, I just feel like I’m catching strays, and I literally cannot escape a situation that should have nothing to do with me,” she continued.
“I can’t help but feel like he would do so much more to please his GF because he doesn’t have to deal with any of this stuff with her, and that every time I mess up, all he can think is, ‘I wouldn’t be in this situation if I was with the other one.”
“I wish I never found out I didn’t have to question my worth to him because of it so often.”
She shouldn’t feel like a burden on her dad, nor should she compare herself to his girlfriend. However, it is insane to me that her dad is having a clandestine relationship with a girl her own age.
While her dad tried to be discreet, obviously, his girlfriend wasn’t, and this girl directly made her dad’s personal life her problem. He’s not necessarily a bad person, but he made a bad choice here.
I think she should just directly tell her dad she knows about his relationship and people on the internet are talking about it because of his girlfriend, or she should ask her mom to get involved and talk to him if she feels too uncomfortable.
Maybe her dad will come to his senses when he realizes his secret isn’t exactly safe, because his girlfriend has been spilling the beans.
What advice do you have for her?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
