16-year-old daughter steals Nintendo Switch from 15-year-old stepbrother, his dad files for divorce, wife tries repeatedly to win him back: ‘I’m not willing to lose my kids over your oldest daughter’

Author image for Molly Vincent
Molly Vincent
Aug 12, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Stealing is as ubiquitous and ancient an offense as it gets. Some people really struggle to withhold themselves from stealing, believe it or not. Ever heard of kleptomaniacs? Some people struggle with substance use, choosing bad men, or overeating. Then there are those who can't help but have sticky fingers. I once had a roommate with this problem. While I was away on a trip, she went in my room and stole and ate some snacks I had in there. The weirdest part was that she told me about it, and said she'd reimburse me for the chips. I guess better late than never to redeem a wrongdoing? 

When it comes to family betraying you, there's no going back. Once trust is broken, it can only be rebuilt over lots of time and patience, and even then, it may never be the same. In the story below, the protagonist is a father who's just trying to do his best as a parent. His family is mixed, and his wife has children from a prior relationship. The story below has the full details. 

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  • 01

    AITA for ending my marriage because I didn't want to force my kids to live with my wife's oldest daughter again?

    A boy playing on a Nintendo Switch.
    via 2K Studio from Getty Images Signature / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My wife and I (both 30s) are parents to five kids between us. I have two kids (15 and 13) with my late wife and my wife has
    via u/Ludleumi

  • It's admirable that this father is choosing his children over his wife and her children. You don't see many stories with that narrative, unfortunately. He should be proud of himself, and his children can grow up in a healthier environment. 

  • 03
    three a 16 year old daughter with her ex-boyfriend and two more kids (10 and 7) with her late husband. We've been married for
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    four years and we were together for two years prior.
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  • 05
    When we met she shared custody of her oldest daughter with her ex and after we had been married a little while some problems
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  • 06
    started to be brought to the surface. Family members suspected she was stealing from them while there and talked
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  • 07
    about her having an attitude. Then I noticed money was missing a couple of times and we never had proof of who it was.
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  • 08
    But my wife's ex would mention something new their daughter had bought because she was such a good saver which was not what we had experienced at all.
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  • 09
    She was someone who spent what she got the second she got it unless someone put a stop to it.
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  • 10
    And her dad was never someone who would do this. He was always the opposite from what I can tell.
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  • 11
    Then she started being more blatant about disrespect and stealing and a little over a year after we were married her dad petitioned the courts to move out
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    of state for work and take her with him. My wife fought against it but her oldest wanted to go and the judge weighed that in
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    their decision and allowed her ex to take their daughter but ordered he be responsible for paying for every visit to us.
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  • 14
    It was during her visits that she got worse about stealing. She'd wait until she was leaving and took things that were small enough that wouldn't be missed
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    immediately. One included my 15 year old's Nintendo Switch or at least some parts off the Switch that she had mentioned were
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  • 16
    broken on her own Switch at her dad's house. But other things were missing after she'd leave too. My wife replaced the stuff
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    her oldest but after the Switch, which wasn't too long ago, I told my wife we needed to figure something out because I didn't
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    want my kids dealing with that and that I had a duty to think of them first. While we were talking
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    it out her daughter asked if she could come live with us for good during her summer visit.
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  • 20
    My ex immediately said yes and she was excited. I was not. She said we could nip it in the bud now. Other family said it wouldn't
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    An old Nintendo 64 controller.
    via Tom Eversley / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 22
    be that easy because there were suspicions since she was 7 and she was getting worse. I agreed with them but I told my wife I
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  • 23
    understood she had a duty to her daughter like I had my kids. She said it wouldn't be so bad and we'd figure it out. I told her I didn't believe that to be possible
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    and I said I would move out with my kids. She asked me to at least talk to my kids first and see if they'd mind. But we both knew
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    their stance already. My son said after the Switch that he didn't want to have to see her again. My wife told me we needed to work
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    this out because her younger two couldn't lose me. I said I felt awful about that but I wasn't going to make my kids live with her older daughter. My wife said I had the
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  • 27
    same duty to all five and if I have such a problem with her daughter's behavior I should stay and help fix it instead of running.
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  • 28
    I told her I was not willing to lose my kids over her oldest and that I would stay in the lives of the younger two if that's what they wanted and she would allow but it was clear we could not make
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  • 29
    this work. My kids were so relieved when we moved out so I knew I made the right choice. They admitted they expected her to steal all kinds of stuff from them if we stayed.
    via u/Ludleumi
  • 30
    I filed for divorce a couple of weeks after the kids and I moved out. My wife has tried, and failed, to get me back. Her oldest lives there now and she said we never
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    Divorce papers and rings.
    via Kameleon007 from Getty Images Signature / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 32
    really tried to work something out. I told her there was nothing to work out when I was clear about what I would not do. She told me the youngest two are the
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    biggest sufferers because both dads chose to leave them and how was she supposed to explain to them that their second dad put his bio kids before them. She has
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  • 34
    tried to convince me several times over that I should call off the divorce and make a go of being a family again. But I refuse. Does that make me TA?
    via u/Ludleumi

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