Aunt Invites Cheating Ex-Boyfriend to Thanksgiving Dinner, Sparking Tension with Entire Family

Thanksgiving is supposed to be about warmth, good food, and the people who make you feel at home. But for one Reddit user, this year’s holiday is already shaping up to be anything but peaceful.

In a post shared ahead of the gathering, the user explained that her aunt wants to bring her ex-boyfriend to Thanksgiving dinner — the same man who betrayed her and left the whole family furious.

According to the poster, the ex once told their family he was going on a cruise with relatives. Instead, he took another woman on a birthday trip.

“He told all of us, and by all of us I mean my mom, my little sister, my aunt and my grandfather that he was going on a family cruise,” the user wrote. “Turns out he went on a cruise with another girl for her birthday.”

Her aunt discovered the cheating after going through his phone, and the fallout was severe. The relationship ended, and she needed counseling to rebuild her mental health. To make it worse, the breakup happened on Thanksgiving itself — a holiday she couldn’t face that year.

Now, despite all of that history, the aunt seems set on bringing him back into the family space.

When she first suggested it, the poster’s mother “immediately shut it down.” But the aunt didn’t drop it. Instead, she asked their great-grandmother — who hosts Thanksgiving every year — and got permission. That one yes has left everyone else feeling cornered and uncomfortable.

The poster admitted she and her mom aren’t ready to be around him at all. “I don’t want him to speak to me because I am going to say some not so nice words,” she wrote.

In the comments, people sympathized with the anger and hurt. Still, many noted that since neither the poster nor her mother is hosting, they don’t get to decide the guest list.

One commenter offered a blunt strategy for getting through the day: “Ignore him. Say nothing. Don’t look at him. He’ll get the message and hopefully leave early without anyone asking.”