Woman Says Ex ‘Got’ Her Parents in Their Divorce. Now, They All Go on Vacation Without Her

A woman shared on Reddit that after her divorce, her parents chose to stay close to her ex-husband — even taking his side in a custody dispute.

In a post titled “My ex got my parents in the divorce,” she explained that she and her ex-husband divorced nine years ago and share two children.

“I had a bit of a difficult childhood. My father was very ‘my way or the highway’ my entire child[hood] and adult life,” she wrote. “I was a child competitive athlete with my father as my coach and not much time for anything else including understanding how to function normally in society.”

She said her marriage eventually crumbled, partly because of her demanding schedule — and partly because of her husband’s infidelity. “He started dropping our children off at my parents’ house claiming he had to go to work early (I worked night shift) so they would be better to sleep there,” she wrote. “He would drop them off and drive down the street to his girlfriend’s house and stay with her.”

Following the divorce, she tried to rebuild her life as a single mother while her ex moved in with his girlfriend. “I struggled as a single mom, ultimately needing to rely on my parents again for help,” she said.

“Well, my dad sunk his claws into my children and they also became child athletes. I did NOT want that life for them, but remember I was pretty desperately in need of help and in my head I rationalized it away. Years go by, I become a successful professional, the divorce pain fades and my ex and I are actually friendly,” she wrote.

Things took a turn when she remarried and moved about 45 minutes away. Her ex-husband filed for custody soon after.

“It got very ugly after that,” she recalled. “My parents got involved and basically sided with my ex-husband who lived down the street so they could have full access to them 24/7 (for training purposes). I sat down with my husband and them at their kitchen table one day and flat out asked them if they were on my side or his, and they said ‘it would be better for us if the kids lived with him.’ That was an absolute gut punch.”

Her ex didn’t win custody, and the children continued to live primarily with her. But her relationship with her parents never recovered.

“They would still spend time with my ex-husband and even went on more than one vacation with him. I told my parents how much this was hurting me and asked them to just take a step back from him so we could work on our relationship,” she explained. “They refused and said they couldn’t do that because he was ‘family.'”

After years of therapy, she ultimately decided to cut them out of her life. “They see my daughters through my ex-husband, but my husband and I now have a child, and he does not see my parents at all,” she shared.

Many Reddit users sympathized with her situation.

“Yikes, your parents are not very good people are they? Though I don’t think they actually like your ex, rather use him to spend time with the kids. Regardless, they are awful,” one commenter wrote.

Another added, “So glad you got away from your parents and are in a good marriage.”

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