Mother tries to force 18-year-old son into family therapy after he moves out and lives with grandparents, he refuses to have a relationship with her and stepfather: 'I don't want anything to do with your new family'

Author image for Briana Viser
Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Oct 3, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

I remember when I was a kid, my best friend at the time was going to family therapy after her parents got a divorce. I couldn't imagine the hardship of seeing your parents sunder their marriage, and being forced to pack a bag every week or every month just to spend time with a parent. I'm not sure the family therapy did any good, and I feel like I have some complicated opinions about therapy in general, but it can help if the person is open and they have a good therapist. 

I read somewhere that the parent should be the one to pack their bags and move in and out of a home that the child stays stable in. Sounds like a great idea on the surface, but I don't know any parents willing to do that. The parent is also trying to support their kid, but all of this is besides the point. In the story below, the narrator describes his childhood. He distanced himself from his mother early on, and doesn't want to be involved with his stepfather, or his stepsiblings. But you'll have to read the full story to find out why. 

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  • 01

    AITA for refusing to try and repair the relationship with my mom and her husband so I could know my half siblings?

    Family therapy
    via ElenaNichizhenova / Canva

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

  • 02
    My dad d d when I (18m) was 9. When I was 11 my mom brought home a guy and told me they were engaged. He told me he was
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  • 03
    looking forward to being my dad and getting to know his first son. My response was you'll never be my dad followed by telling them I
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  • 04
    wasn't ever going to let them pretend he's my dad. My mom. told me I should give it a shot and she was marrying him
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  • 05
    regardless of what I wanted and he would be my new dad. Her (now) husband told me I'd see their reasons for not giving me a
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  • 06
    choice in time and I told him I wasn't going to listen to him and I even told him to leave me alone
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  • 07
    and he couldn't ever talk to me again. They laughed it off but I refused to acknowledge him whenever he came over and four
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  • 08
    months after mom brought him home for the first time, she told me he wasn't going to accept
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  • 09
    such disrespect from me. She told me I needed to lose the attitude and I told her he'll never be my dad.
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  • 10
    So I was sent to my paternal grandparents. My mom tried to make me give in so it wouldn't happen but I told her I was never
    via u/Kylurunnz
  • 11
    going to accept him and that she was replacing dad and never really loved him. Mom tried telling me it wasn't fair. I said that
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  • 12
    if she loved dad she'd never force me to call someone else dad.
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  • 13
    I spent the rest of my childhood being raised by my paternal grandparents and I still live with
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  • 14
    Family
    via Eziutka / Canva

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

  • 15
    them. My mom and I didn't really I have contact after that. She invited me to the wedding but I
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  • 16
    didn't go and I didn't ever call or text or try to see her.
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  • 17
    She has two kids with her husband now. She'd text me to say she was pregnant and offered for me to come and meet the
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  • 18
    babies but I always said no. And I told her not to send me photos because I didn't care. Mom told
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  • 19
    me when I was 16 she expected my mind would change. But I guess it didn't happen like she expected because she told me she hates this distance between
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  • 20
    us and I should know the kids. I told her I don't care about her kids and I don't want anything to do with her new family. She said
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  • 21
    that's grief talking. I told her it was disgust and disappointment in her talking and disdain for the man she married who thought he
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  • 22
    Therapy
    via Markus Winkler from Pexels / Canva

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

  • 23
    could replace a kid's de d dad. I told her they should be happy together because I was never
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  • 24
    going to let them forget my dad if I was in their lives and I would never let them forget I'm not his kid.
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  • 25
    A week after I told her all that she told me she had set up an appointment for the three of us with a therapist. She sent me the
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  • 26
    date and time and told me to please come and work on our relationship and save our family. She said even if I can never
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  • 27
    forgive the two of them I could at least work on figuring out how to be the brother her kids need. She
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  • 28
    said surely I want to be a brother to them. I answered with one word; no.
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  • 29
    I didn't attend the appointment and she called and called afterward and eventually texted me that she finds me really cruel.
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  • 30
    She said her kids never asked for this and that I should want her to be happy and glad she could build herself back after dad. I told her she knew what the problem
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  • 31
    was and she was ignoring it but I never would. When she tried to say I could have two dads and her husband just wanted to make me feel loved I said f her husband
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  • 32
    he didn't matter to me. I told her at least the two of them could take comfort in how easy they'd be to replace if they di . AITA?
    via u/Kylurunnz

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