Teen Begs to Move Away with Dad to Avoid Mom’s New Husband, but She Says He Is Abandoning Their Family

A teenager recently turned to the Reddit community seeking advice after making a tough decision that stirred strong emotions within his family.

In an honest post, the 16-year-old asked if he was wrong for moving to another state with his dad and older sister while limiting contact with his mom and her new family.

“My parents have been divorced most of my life,” he shared, explaining that he and his 19-year-old sister have few memories of their parents together. Since the divorce, they have been splitting time between their mom’s and dad’s homes.

The situation shifted when his mom began dating her now-husband, who has three children of his own, around the time the teen was 10.

“Me and my sister didn’t like him,” he admitted, noting that although they got along with other men their mom dated, this man “always rubbed both of us the wrong way.”

“He’s a pretty big a– when he’s talking to people,” the teen wrote frankly. His mom defended her husband’s behavior by attributing it to his military background, but the teen disagreed.

“I don’t think everyone in the military talks to others like they’re giving orders 24/7,” he said. According to him, it wasn’t just his sister and him who felt this way; his mom’s family and neighbors also kept their distance.

He even recalled hearing that the man once lost a job due to how he treated others. Despite the tension, his mom chose to marry him, leaving the siblings feeling stuck.

“We tried to spend more time at dad’s but mom would never allow it,” the teen recalled. The courts also did not support increased time away from their mom, making it difficult to avoid her house.

When his sister was about 17, a judge allowed her to spend less time at their mom’s, but the teen still had to visit regularly.

During visits, his mom pressured him to bond with her husband. “She said he did so much and I could at least try to love him because he wasn’t as bad as me and my sister felt he was,” he explained.

He was candid about his feelings, telling his mom, “I’d never see why she loved him and that I just didn’t get it.” He said he would rather be at school every day than spend any time with her husband.

His mom also encouraged him to connect with his younger stepsiblings, but the teen had no interest, viewing them simply as “her husband’s kids.”

Still, he said he wasn’t rude and kept polite. However, he was clear: “I never tried to act like their brother or gave them false hope of a forever relationship.”

When his dad received a job offer in another state, the teen eagerly pushed to move. “I begged him to take it and try to take me with him,” he said, adding that his sister was also keen since she planned to attend college nearby.

Although their mom initially refused, they took the matter to court. The teen recalled, “I told them I wanted to go with dad and my sister and I’d give anything to move with them.”

His mom was heartbroken and cried when she found out, asking why he wanted to leave so badly. When the judge ruled in his favor, she used her remaining visits to try and change his mind.

“She asked me how I could leave her and my stepsiblings,” the teen said, describing how she tried to guilt him by mentioning her stepkids’ difficult past and custody loss years earlier.

But he stood firm, telling his mom he “didn’t want to stay there” or “deal with her decisions anymore.” He said she shouldn’t have been surprised that he didn’t want to be part of the family she chose to build.

Now, after the move, his mom calls almost daily, and his stepsiblings reach out as well. However, he admits to ignoring most of their calls and plans to go “full no contact once I’m 18.”

Though the court requires weekly contact for now, the teen has made his stance clear. When his mom recently learned of his plans, she called him “a jerk,” insisting, “they’re a family whether I like it or not.”