'I'm not here to help her stepkids in any way': Man catches his entitled ex-wife stealing from their 12, 14, and 16-year-old kids to provide for her new family, he gets payback and recoups their property

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Sep 14, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

This mother shamelessly confiscated her kids' belongings to provide for her new family, using nonsensical parenting logic to cover up her thievery. However, this dad caught on to her little plot just in time to save his kid's iPad, along with a few other precious belongings that never should have been taken in the first place.

Kids don't usually realize their privileges until they're taken away. Time spent on their phones, TV show access, and extra-special toy purchases are often overlooked, butakes those luxuries away, their value becomes clear. However, these two exes shared dual custody of their three children, a 12, 14, and 16-year-old, and it seemed like each time they went to their mom's house, something of theirs mysteriously (or not so mysteriously) went missing. Once this dutiful dad realized that his ex was punishing their kids in order to provide nice things for her new family, he took justice into his own hands.

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  • AITA for reporting my ex and her husband to the police for stealing my property?
    via Paulozoo
  • Cheezburger Image 10551847936
    via Elisaveta Ivanova

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My ex-wife (39f) and I (41m) share custody of our three children (16, 14 and 12) equally and no child support is paid. Our marriage didn't end on the best of terms and we communicate through an app
    via Paulozoo
  • only when required to for the sake of the kids. She has since remarried and has a 15 year old stepchild and a 13 year old stepchild. Her husband and I do not speak also.
    via Paulozoo
  • We've had some issues with my ex keeping property that is mine if the kids have it on her time. It started with a cell phone. I gave our eldest my old phone when one of ex's stepkids broke his phone. My
    via Paulozoo
  • ex then told our oldest they were keeping it at her house and she refused to return it even when I went over there and asked. I was told she had every right to confiscate it. I
    via Paulozoo
  • followed up with an email and she told me to get over it and she would not hand it over. The next time our daughter (14) brought some of my tools. into school with her for an assignment but it was a
    via Paulozoo
  • custody exchange day so she left my house but went home to her mom's. My ex believed it wasn't appropriate for her to have them so she took them and refused to return them to me. Again I got a written exchange as proof.
    via Paulozoo
  • This last time was with our youngest. I let him use an old iPod for a class assignment on recent old tech gadgets. Apparently her 13 year old. stepchild had the same
    via Paulozoo
  • assignment on a different day and she decided both should get to use it. I told her it was my property and she had to return it, got another email exchange and then I contacted the police.
    via Paulozoo
  • My ex gave the stuff back but she lost her mind over me getting the police involved for petty stuff. She said I could have demanded it back after her stepkid used the iPod and I
    via Paulozoo
  • told her she wasn't giving any of it back and what I give for my kids is not for her stepkids. She brought up how more serious trouble could have
    via Paulozoo
  • come from it and I told her it would be deserved because you cannot steal someone else's property. She told me it was just my spiteful side emerging because none of it was a big deal or I never would
    via Paulozoo
  • have given them to my kids, which I think is the dumbest argument. The phone was because her stepkids broke our eldest's phone and she wasn't about to replace it, our
    via Paulozoo
  • daughter needed tools for school and it was only for school and she wanted to return them to me but her mom said no and then the iPod was
    via Paulozoo
  • just for our youngest. I'm not here to help her stepkids in any way. My ex and her husband and their mom if she's still in the picture can do that.
    via Paulozoo
  • Zombie Zookeeper NTA. Next time she will think twice about stealing your property.
    via Zombie Zookeeper
  • do2g ⚫ She sounds insufferable. NTA and congratulations on not being married to her.
    via do2g

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family drama dads stepkids famiies drama stealing kids brother siblings moms parenting dad story family sibling sister stories parent mom cousins parents thief
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