Divorced parents team up to force 17-year-old son to support their new relationships, insisting he treats their partners like parents, son refuses to comply: ‘Now they're angry at me’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Feb 17, 2025 9:00 AM EST

Every kid to divorced parents has found themselves being forced to pick a side in one way, shape, or form. Even parents who try to make their divorce as civil as possible for the sake of their kids eventually end up putting their kids in uncomfortable situations when they must choose between one of them, and those moments are never easy for anyone involved.

Usually, even if they would not admit it, kids have a preferred parent they gravitate towards more than the other. Whether that parent wins the custody battle or not, if the kid has a choice, they would choose to spend time with them. Does that stop those awkward situations where they are still forced to make the choice? Probably not, but at least they know which parent they rather choose.

In other, more rare occasions, kids genuinely do not know how to choose between their parents. It could be because they are equally great parents, but it's more likely that they are equally terrible. Then, the poor kids must choose between two options, while they have no desire to have either.

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  • That is what brought on the family crisis in the story below. After years of bad parenting, this 17-year-old's parents finally got a divorce. However, the divorce didn't stop them from fighting, and their latest fight is over the fact that their son is unwilling to accept their new partners as his new parents.

    Keep scrolling to read the full tale of this complicated family. Then, check out this story of a dad who got mad at his kid for getting a job interview after months of working for him for free.

  • Cheezburger Image 10468769280
    via SeventyFour

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

  • "AITA for telling my parents the people they're marrying won't ever be my parents?"

    My parents got divorced when I (17M) was 14. The divorce should have come so much sooner. The two of them were a match made in h and they made "home"
    via Small_Process_133
  • feel more like I was in the middle of an MMA fight. They were volatile together and had so much toxic stuff going on. Neither one of them was worse than the
    via Small_Process_133
  • other. They were equal in being and in being to each other to be around. And by that I mean. their moods would be so bad after a fight or after something happened and I was hesitant to go to either one.
    via Small_Process_133
  • Their divorce was sweet relief to me. But it was toxic too. I was expected to pick a side. My mom tried to use being a woman and mom to win me over saying I didn't know what it was like to be a
    via Small_Process_133
  • woman in an alive marriage. She also said her being my mom meant we had a special bond nobody could understand and living with her made sense for that reason. My dad tried to pull
    via Small_Process_133
  • the we're both guys card and your mom gets hysterical card. Neither one was directly physically a sive. Although sh got thrown all the
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  • time which is physically a sive in it's own way but they didn't hit each other. Both were equally hysterical. So their arguments didn't win me over and a judge decided 50-50 was the way
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  • to go. Of course neither liked it and the judge saw how hysterical they could be but the judge stood firm on his decision.
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  • They both entered new relationships two years ago and they're now both engaged (to other people). I'll be 18 next month and I already started my exit
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  • strategy to move in with my best friend and his family for a while. I have some stuff moved over already. My parents don't know. With their new relationships and weddings coming up in
    via Small_Process_133
  • the next year they've tried to make me a part of the families they're making. Their partners have tried to parent me too. Like sitting me down and talking about stuff they want me to change, etc. This
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  • came up because I stay out of the house a lot and they don't like it. I also got used to never saying where I was going because approaching my parents is difficult. I stopped doing chores years
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  • ago too. It was a source of conflict between my parents and I just kept my personal space clean and said the houses could burn to the ground for all I care because
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  • it was so uncomfortable and I still feel that way at both of their houses. I still don't feel like either one is home. And I really try not to be in spaces where others could be. But
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  • yeah the partners tried to parent me and insist on things and they wanted me to tell them how I was doing in school and stuff but I dodged the questions and
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  • really didn't listen to either. I was asked to pick up kids or stay with kids a few times too and I don't. My mom's fiance has like 3 kids or maybe it's 4 and dad's fiancee has two.
    via Small_Process_133
  • Cheezburger Image 10468776192
    via Africa images

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

  • I guess they complained to the parent they're marrying and my parents started fighting over it again and they teamed up sorta to talk about it and how I'm not giving my new family
    via Small_Process_133
  • members a chance and how having four parents is good. In the middle of trying to sell me on this sh they started fighting again. That's when I said to stop and they needed to let it go because their
    via Small_Process_133
  • partners are not going to be my parents now or ever and I'm too old for this sh... Now there's even more fighting and they're angry at me and so are their partners
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  • who know what I said and feel like I never even gave them a chance to be good parents to me. AITA?
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  • Temporary Alfalfa686 Nta you're a smart young man, with the intelligence you have displayed you will go far.
    via Temporary_Alfalfa686
  • Cute-Profession 9983 You were wise to formulate an exit plan. And when you get out, try some therapy just so you don't end up turning into them.
    via Cute-Profession9983
  • SummerTimeRedSea NTA they did not need a "chance" to be your parents because THEY ARE NOT.
    via SummerTimeRedSea
  • Sea_Roof3637 NTA - maybe say to them: "You've both equally messed. your relationships with me up by prioritising getting jabs at each other over being decent parents. I hope your step kids will care for you in your old age because the way you're acting you can count me out."
    via Sea_Roof3637

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divorced family drama aita marriage kids mother teenagers reddit story married life parenting divorce family Reddit women parents children Father
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