‘She invaded my privacy’: Stepmom reads 15-year-old's journal and discovers their true feelings about her, she accuses them of ruining the family, dad takes stepmom's side

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jan 31, 2025 7:00 PM EST

Keeping your privacy within your family is not an easy task, we all probably know that. Who hasn't argued with their parents about how they keep walking into your room without even knocking? Or wondered why, for some reason, they think they have the privilege to go through our personal belongings, or even worse, our phones?

When we grow up, we all go through this transition from our parents knowing everything about us and being up to date with every single thing that happens to us, to knowing close to nothing. Many parents don't know how to deal with this transition so they fail to respect the fact that once their kids become their own people, they also deserve some privacy.

The story down below is all about this parental inability to respect kids' privacy, except the stepmom here takes it even further. Not only does she completely invade her stepkid's privacy by reading their journal, but she also uses the information she reads to throw some serious accusations their way. 

Keep scrolling to read the full story.

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  • "We're not a family and we never will be" I and to go
    via Kevin Malik

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITA for ruining my stepmom's baby shower for her?"

    My dad and stepmom are expecting a baby together and they had their baby shower last weekend. She's been my stepmom since I was 11 and I'm 15 now.
    via BuildItSong
  • They're really excited for the baby. I'm not. I don't hate that it's happening but I don't care. I don't have a close relationship with her so even though
    via BuildItSong
  • it's dad's baby I don't see this as getting a sibling but more like a kid will be in the house and making noise and I'll be expected to help out. That's already
    via BuildItSong
  • been talked about. How they can't wait to see me with the baby and how it'll be nice to have someone to help.
    via BuildItSong
  • I have a journal and I use it for therapy that I go to bi weekly and I use it sometimes to vent. I have some stuff in there about my feelings and lack of
    via BuildItSong
  • feelings on my dad having another kid and him having a kid with someone who isn't my mom. And how I don't really feel like I'm getting a sibling.
    via BuildItSong
  • My stepmom read some of my journal before the shower started. I had it hidden but she snuck into my room while I was out with my grandma and she
    via BuildItSong
  • with my grandma and she read it. Didn't find out until Thursday. But it put her in a bad mood for the shower.
    via BuildItSong
  • JOURNAL
    via Jess Bailey
  • During the baby shower they were going around recording people's messages to the baby. I hid while that was happening. I went to the bathroom and
    via BuildItSong
  • I stayed there for ages. I didn't want to record a message. My stepmom got the videos Wednesday and she watched them all. Then on
    via BuildItSong
  • Thursday she brought up the journal and the video messages in front of dad. She started crying and saying she didn't know why I wasn't excited about
    via BuildItSong
  • the baby. She thought I'd love them already and want a sibling after being an only child this long. She said it shouldn't matter if I get a sibling from just my
    via BuildItSong
  • dad or both my parents because they're still a sibling. How she had dreamed of me being a protective big sister to her child. She said it hurt to
    via BuildItSong
  • realize I don't care about her or the baby and that I'm full indifferent. She also brought up the fact I vented about her taking down the photos of my mom from the family
    via BuildItSong
  • room. She said I should understand she wants this to be her home too and living with the dad wife's face in a space she spends a lot of time isn't fun. Then she said me not sharing a
    via BuildItSong
  • loving message to my sibling during the shower broke her heart. She asked me why but I was so pinned about her reading my journal that I didn't answer
    via BuildItSong
  • and I told her she needed to stay away from my journal and it was none of her business what I write in there. She started crying and I told her I was telling
    via BuildItSong
  • my therapist what she did. I said sneaking into my room when everyone was busy or not in the house showed she can't ever be trusted. My dad told me I
    via BuildItSong
  • was going too far and I told him he was taking her side over mine and it made him a bad dad. I went to my room and texted my grandparents to ask if they
    via BuildItSong
  • could keep my journal at their house. My stepmom tried talking to me through the door and she said I ruined the baby shower for her. I ignored her and my
    via BuildItSong
  • grandparents came and took the journal to their house. Yesterday I told her she took my journal from me by making it not safe to
    via BuildItSong
  • keep it here and I hoped she was happy. Dad told me to stop speaking to his wife like that and he said I needed to apologize for it and for ruining the baby
    via BuildItSong
  • shower for her. He said we needed to come together as a family and stop acting like this. I said we're not a family and we never will be after this and I said I didn't care if I ruined it. I said she
    via BuildItSong
  • spoiled her own baby shower when she snooped. My dad doesn't like that I won't apologize for that most of all. He said I should be able to
    via BuildItSong
  • understand why I need to. I told him his wife's feelings don't matter to me when she doesn't give a c about my privacy. AITA?
    via BuildItSong

  • When a teenager is forced to accept a new family, the need for privacy is even more important than usual, because they need that space to sort through their thoughts and feelings.

    The fact that the stepmom took that space away from her stepkid, and then turned their own father against them, is simply infuriating.

    That is in no way the path to create a happy family, and we hope she learns this lesson before she actually have her baby.

  • BAB It'A GIRL It' A GIRL
    via KristinaJovanovic
  • Immontes NTA in any way. Educational psychologist here...they are definitely in the wrong. Your feelings are valid, you are not responsible for the child so
    via Immontes
  • don't feel pressured to babysit for them. She was definitely in the wrong for snooping. She's allowed to be sad but that doesn't mean you have to change or do things for her.
    via Immontes
  • jumaca 1986 NTA She ruined her shower by invading your privacy
    via jumaca1986
  • emotionxms You're not wrong for feeling violated about your privacy. NTA.
    via emotionxms

Tags

family drama privacy aita baby babysitter kids mother siblings stepmom reddit story parenting family sister baby shower Reddit women parents children Father
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