64-year-old dad accidentally sends a voice message to his biodaughter confirming he'd financially prioritized their stepsister for 30 years

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jun 19, 2026 2:00 PM EDT

A man mistakenly sent his daughter a voice message that would change the way she saw him as a father. Is there any way to unsend a voice chat?

Or did this dad fundamentally dismantle his relationship with his biological daughters every step of their lives? The answer to this riddle lies somewhere in between. Of course, the dad should never have abandoned his two daughters when he set out to make a new family with his future wife and future stepdaughter, but for nearly 3 decades, he treated them unfairly, only to have this betrayal ultimately revealed by a mis-click on his voice message recipient. 

Looks like this dad should have learned to use his phone, because his biodaughter went straight to Reddit's r/relationship_advice subreddit forum to vent about her frustrations. If I were in her situation, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a relationship worth trying to save, or if you're better off letting the wedge push deeper between this split family. Her sister says to go no contact, but what do you think?

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  • Everyone has Googled “can you unsend a message” at least once in their lives. Whether you sent a text before it was curated, launched a fuming email to your boss before reading it with a cool head, or mistakenly sent your crush a DM at 3 in the morning, you probably STILL didn't fumble as hard as this guy. 

    Kids make fun of their parents all the time for their lack of know-how with their phones and devices, but liking an AI-generated meme or accidentally getting your email address looped into the scam of some Nigerian prince is one thing, but accidentally sending an extremely revealing, telling, and cruel voice message to your daughter is something else entirely. 

    You can't unsend that kind of hurt. 

    Although at this point, this young woman had her head wrapped around her abandonment issues, this particular message was enough to break the wound wide open again. At the end of the day, at least she knows the truth and can move forward from that. With all of the information laid bare in front of her, she can make a wise decision for herself and her future, knowing exactly the kind of man her father is. 

  • My dad (64/m) accidentally sent me (34/m) a voice text meant for someone else, and it kind of confirmed everything I've suspected my whole life.
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  • My parents divorced when I was 5, and I'm now 34/M. My dad cheated on my mom with the woman he's now married to. She already had a daughter, whom he later adopted.
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  • My sister and I are his biological children. I'm 34, my biological sister is 36/F, and our stepsister is 38/F.
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  • Growing up, the favoritism was obvious. My stepmom and stepsister openly mocked my mom, and we were treated differently in ways that were hard to articulate as kids but
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  • impossible to ignore. My dad barely paid child support, and my mom had to take him to court multiple times just to get what she was owed.
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  • My sister, who took the brunt of the Cinderella treatment, stopped talking to him nearly 15 years ago. I've kept the relationship alive, though I don't fully know why.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10639628288
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My stepsister went to a fairly expensive private college, dropped out, had a Vegas wedding (both my sister and I were invited and attended), got divorced, remarried (both my sister and I were NOT
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  • invited), and now lives in a beautiful home with her husband and two kids right down the road from my dad and stepmom. We've always assumed
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  • my dad helped financially through all of it, but we've never had confirmation. Meanwhile, my sister and I paid for our own colleges, cars, and homes, with the help from our mom when she could.
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  • Two years ago, my dad, probably dr k, texted me asking how he could be a better father (a little late pal). The message caught me completely off guard because he's never
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  • acknowledged being anything less than amazing. I told him I was jealous of the relationship he has with our stepsister, and the conversation basically
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  • fizzled out with zero follow-up. Recently, my fiancée and I closed on our first home and are in the middle of planning our wedding. He
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  • hasn't offered to help with either, which is fine, I stopped expecting anything a long time ago. What he did offer was to buy us groceries when he came out to visit. We live
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  • about 5.5 hours away now. I hate to sound ungrateful because, at its core, it's a nice gesture. But knowing how much he has likely
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  • supported my stepsister. financially over the years, it felt a little hollow. Still, I appreciated it. Free food is free food.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10639627776
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • That was until this week. He accidentally sent me a voice text that was clearly meant for someone else. In it, he talked about looking into an 11-day Viking cruise around
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  • Alaska with his wife, but then realizing it would be cheaper to take my stepsister, her husband, and their two kids to Thailand instead. The
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  • message was mostly him bragging about how much money he'd save and how fun the trip with his grandkids would be.
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  • I don't care about the money itself. I care about what it confirms. He's had resources this entire time and has quietly directed them toward the family he chose, while my sister
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  • and I handled every major life milestone on our own. If he helped pay for her education, weddings, home, and family vacations while offering
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  • us a grocery run during our engagement and first home purchase, I honestly don't think I have anything left to say to him.
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  • My sister checked out 15 years ago and has always told me she's amazed I kept trying. I think I finally understand where she was coming from.
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  • At this point, I don't even want an apology for myself, and I definitely don't want money, although it would be a great start. What I want is
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  • for him to apologize to my sister and my mom for how they were treated. But I know that's never going to happen.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10639627520
    via Canva+ (Prostock-studio)

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

  • The icing on the cake is that I still need to move the rest of my belongings out of my mom's house in another state. My dad offered to drive everything out in his truck
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  • this weekend, which I genuinely appreciated. But he also mentioned he needs to get home early Sunday for a Father's Day brunch with his other family. A retired man I see.
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  • maybe twice a year can only spare a day and a half because he has to get back for brunch. But hey, at least he offered to stock our fridge. /s
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  • I'm honestly at a loss for what to say to him. I'm hurt, but buying a house has been exhausting, and I'm completely burned out mentally. Part of me wants to ask directly whether he has financially
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  • supported my stepsister all these years. Another part of me feels like I already know the answer and should stop hoping he'll suddenly become a different person.
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  • So what would you do? Confront it directly, or just let the relationship quietly fade? I'm in my 30s now, and I don't think I have another chance left in me to give him.
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  • Unfortunately, I also have plans with him this weekend, so I feel like it needs to be addressed or ignored.
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  • TL;DR: My dad cheated on my mom, divorced her, and has spent the last 30 years quietly prioritizing his stepdaughter over his two biological children.
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  • An accidental voice text this week confirmed that he has the resources to fund international family vacations while offering us a grocery run during our engagement and first
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  • home purchase. I'm not sure whether to confront him about it or finally let the relationship go.
    via pineapple599

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