'Actions have consequences. Lose my number': Ex-coworker who made employee’s life miserable calls him 10 years later to blame him, says she lost career and husband

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Sep 11, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

Whether in a classroom, office, or community, everyone has worked with that one person who makes life miserable. 

Ten years ago, one Australian man found himself at the center of relentless harassment at his workplace in family and community services. Fresh out of university, he had turned a failing site into one of the top-performing districts, earning praise for improving team morale and operational results. But a former colleague took issue with his success, subjecting him to constant personal attacks, lies, and threats that ultimately led to a two-week stay in a mental health unit.

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  • Now fast forward a decade, and the same colleague, who had since been blacklisted across the field, unexpectedly called him. She claimed her life and career had been ruined because of his actions and expressed anger over being turned down for a new role (one in which his aunt, a director, was involved in the hiring process).

    The man, now established and unflustered, calmly responded that actions have consequences, asked her to remove his number, and ended the call. 

    Keep scrolling for the full story from the man's perspective. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10552333824
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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


     

  • "AITA for destroying my work b*lly’s life?"

    I'll try and keep this short also I'm from Australia so things work a bit differently to the US.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • I'm a 33M and today I got a phone call from a woman (let's call her Karen) who bu ied me at my old workplace 10 years ago.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • Before I tell you about that call, here's some context: Back in 2015, I had just turned 23, graduated uni, and landed an acting management role for 12 months.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • I work in the family and community services field (my whole family works in this sector housing, health, youth, child protection services etc.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • but I wanted to make a name for myself without leaning on that). The site I was placed at was a mess. The KPIs were the worst in the state.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • I worked hard, made changes, leaned on my family for advice, and within 3 months I turned it around from worst in the state to top 20,
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • and within 6 months we were in the top 5. My team was happier than they'd been in ages. But Karen, who had been in that role before me, started relentlessly bu ying me.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • Every single day it got worse snide comments, lies about me, even dragging my family into it. Eventually she was telling me almost daily that I should "un-alive myself."
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • I went to my director multiple times, but nothing happened. After three months, I went over her head. Still, the buying got worse.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • After six months of this, I broke down completely. I had a full mental breakdown and ended up in a mental health unit for 2 weeks.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • That's when my mum (a director in a different district) found out. She went absolutely scorched earth.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • Cheezburger Image 10552334080
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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


     

  • By the time she was done, both my director and her boss were terminated turns out my buy was cheating on her husband with my director so the person I was complaining about knew what I was telling my boss,
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • and Karen was not only fired but also blacklisted across our field in our district and most surrounding ones.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • I didn't ask my family to intervene it wasn't something I ever wanted to rely on but they weren't going to let someone treat me that way.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • Fast forward 10 years. I still have the same phone number. Today, I get a call from an unknown number- it's Karen.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • As soon as she realized it was me on the other end of the call, she exploded.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • She accused me of destroying her life and career, said because of me she can't work in community services anymore, that her husband left her, and she's stuck working in fast food and driving Uber while living with her parents.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • She claimed she was recently turned down for another job because the director was my aunt. I didn't even know she had applied there.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • After the call I spoke to my aunt turns out she recognized Karen's name, told her direct supervisor she couldn't be involved due to the past, and stepped away from the panel.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • But of course, everyone knew why she recused herself. Karen finished her rant by saying I ruined her life.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • All I could respond with was: "Actions have consequences. Lose my number." Then I hung up.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • Here's the thing Normally I'm a very empathetic person. But I can't feel sorry for someone who bu ied me so badly that I ended up in a mental health unit after she told me to un alive myself daily.
    via reddit__lurker_92
  • So, AITA for not feeling bad that my bully's life turned out this way, and for basically telling her off when she called me.
    via reddit__lurker_92

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networking employee satisfying job work coworkers phone petty revenge entitled people karma comedy workplace payback funny
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