'I overreacted and ruined the trip for everybody': Stepfather of 25 and 28-year-old stepdaughters cancels vacation after stepdaughters hide his18-year-old daughter's passport so she can babysit their kids

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 27, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

This man has some thinking to do about how he proceeds with his stepdaughters and biological daughter following a vacation debacle. 

Joining your kids with your stepkids into one big blended family can work out well, or it might take some time for everyone to adjust to their new family roles. Especially if the kids are around the same age, they may take some time to establish how to talk to each other respectfully and co-exist in the same household. Just because the two parents get along and have chemistry, doesn't mean the kids will feel the same!

However, this guy's children and stepchildren are adults. Like, the stepdaughters are fully into adulthood: they're 28 and 25 years old! So why are they acting like petty teenagers? As you'll read about in the story below, they totally sabotaged their 18-year-old stepsister from getting on a plane. The 18-year-old got caught at the airport without any passport, which as we all know, is a huge deal. The TSA agents won't let you through, and you won't be flying that day. It's a very stressful and upsetting position to be put in, and that's exactly why commenters are urging this father to put his foot down and get his family affairs in order! 

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  • 01
    Grandmother turns to 2 young grandkids next to grandfather all dressed in white
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02
    I've been married to my wife Beth for 5 years. I have a bio daughter named Jessica (she's 18). And I also have two stepdaughters named Monica and Leah. They're 25 &
    via u/Positive-Elk-8110
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    28. Both are single moms and live with us currently. there's been issues about my stepdaughters asking my daughter to babysit the kids.
    via u/Positive-Elk-8110
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    Jessica didn't have a problem with it at first since this is what she does to earn money but since her stepsisters don't pay her much, she'd just refuse to babysit. We worked
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    this out by having my wife take care of paying for the babysitting. I planned a family vacation for 3 days and everyone wanted to go.
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    However, Both Monica & Leah suggested that Jessica stay home and watch the kids since Beth doesn't want her grandkids to come. They said it's because the kids
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    are used to Jessica and hiring another babysitter would cause issues. And also said that Jessica isn't too "fond" of our destination but it was obvious that
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    Jessica wanted to go. They insisted and Beth offered to pay her double and there was just..a lot of back and forth on this til I demanded they stop bringing it up.
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    We were supposed to go last week but when everybody had bagged their bags and was time to go, Jessica found out that she didn't have her passport on her.
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    We searched her bag then went home and searched there. Beth and my stepdaughters kept insisting that we go back to the airport or else we'd miss our flight. They
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    insisted that Jessica stay at home with the kids. They even told the new babysitter to go home cause she was no longer needed. I refused to go and kept searching for
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    the passport til Monica admitted that she helped Leah hide Jessica's passport to get her to stay home with the kids. I was livid I tried to get her to tell me where it was
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    but she said Leah had it, Leah denied so I threatened to cancel the vacation that's when they gave it back. I decided to actually cancel the vacation and blew up at both
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    of them and berated them. They stayed upstairs for a while and Beth refused to speak to me and said that I punished my stepdaughters for worrying about their kids and
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    wanting them to stay with someone they know. I got told I overreacted and ruined the trip for everybody.
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    Editing to mention that kicking my stepdaughters out isn't possible since my wife co-owns the house that we currently live in.
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    (1) I cancelled the vacation that I promised to my wife and stepdaughters after I found out they took my daughter's passport.
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    (2) I might be the ah because while hiding the passport was wrong, my stepdaughters were obviously concerned about their kids and wanted Jessica to stay
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    with them since they love her. I might have blew this out of propotion and went over the top with the cancellation.
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  • 20
    Interesting_Bug... NTA. To be honest, I would have kicked your wife and lazy no-good stepchildren out right then and there and ended the marriage.
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    If they were 12 I might understand this level of entitlement and immaturity. But in their late 20s??? And WTF with your wife??? She should have roasted them for pulling this BS.
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  • 22
    ra... NTA. You don't just have a stepdaughters problem, you have a wife problem. I would rethink your current family situation, and how your daughter is being. treated.
    via u/ravenofmyheart
  • 23
    Jumpstart_55 Your stepdaughters both suck and your wife is worse. NTA and you should be reconsidering this marriage
    via u/Jumpstart_55
  • 24
    Large family sits in bright living room together --- man, woman, 2 kids, and grandparents all wearing white and denim while smiling
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

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passport vacations babysitter kids stepfather stepdaughter children vacation
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