Woman invites her ex-husband and his current partner to a family trip: ‘I got into a huge argument with my family over this because they said it’s not normal and I shouldn’t be okay with it’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Oct 8, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

We should all upgrade our notion of what normal relationships look like

It seems like we're afraid of exes. In a way, we think it's impossible to get along with an ex if we don't want to get back together. I'm here to tell you it is completely possible. Do we really have feelings for all our exes? Because I don't. I'm friends with a few, and getting back together with them wouldn't even cross my mind.

I think that's the situation the woman in this story is talking about. Not all relationships are cookie-cutter. We have to evaluate our situation separately from others. No single rule can be applied to anyone.

When you're in a relationship, you can totally sense whether the vibes are off and whether your partner still has feelings for their ex. Sometimes it happens that they don't, and we should be thankful and normalize the situation. We should even be thankful for it.

We should consider that our partners getting along with an ex with whom they have children is the ideal situation. That speaks well of them and gives us a good prospect of how things could be if we ever separated from their side (I know that's a rather bleak thought, but we should consider stuff like this; you never know who will end up as your ex).

Other people shouldn't have a say in how we manage our relationships or who we bring to our vacation. If we feel we're doing the right thing, why should we listen to someone else?

We should finally make our rules about romantic relationships more flexible and understand that human relationships don't respond to rigid rules; they are all different from one another, and we should be brave enough to live our own story without having it predesigned for us. Question is, are we brave enough?

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  • Cheezburger Image 10669580544
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    Successful family trip

    Actor performance of story events

  • AIO fiancé and his ex wife

    For some context: my fiancé and I have been together almost 5 years. He has two kids from a previous relationship and we had a baby together.
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  • He co parents with the Mother really well no issues. We have taken trips together as a big blended family for the kids birthday, so us our baby, and his 2
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  • kids and their mom. I was fine with it. We get along well and have never had any issues together. It's her birthday next month and she invited us on the trip because she says she's taking the kids
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  • DANGE AREA S x FIELD NOTES ANKEN A B Sta 40x SALISBURY DISTRICT WILTON SALISBURY Nikon 45p Ordr Ordnance os Ordnance Survey The Outdoor Leisure 2 Showing Sheet New Forest 1:50 Showing Southampton, Ringwood Ferndown, Lymington, Christchurch and Bournemouth P
    via Annie Spratt

    Getting along is the best first step for a great trip

    Stock photo unrelated

  • someone to celebrate her birthday and asked if we wanted to come. I said yes and didn't think anything of it. But my family seems to think that is WIERD that we take trips together.
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  • They say I should "respect" myself more. I mean we stay in separate rooms we hang out together for the kids i don't see a problem. I got into a huge argument with my family over this because
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  • they said it's not normal and i shouldn't be okay with it. AIO? I blew up on my family because they have no room to tell me to respect myself LOL coming from people that have done worse or act worse
    via Massive-Way4686
  • Moist-Pension-1338 Not only is this OK, it's absolutely wonderful! demonstrates that all of you are secure grown adults. It also is the best for the kids. We applaud you!
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  • HellaShelle It's uncommon, but your version tends towards the ideal, not the toxic.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10669581056
    via Dương Hữu

    We have to deconstruct our thoughts about romantic relationships

    Not actual story subjects

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Tags

relationship advice family drama family feud relationships family toxic relationship relationship drama
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