I Boycotted My Son’s Wedding After Revealing What He Did, Opting to Bond With His Ex-Wife Instead

Real-life stories can be even more surprising than soap operas. In this article, a reader shares a tough experience dealing with mixed emotions, including feeling embarrassed about her 25-year-old son’s actions. The mom had to make a difficult decision, being also mother-in-law, and now she’s unsure about what to do next.

One of our readers reached out to us.

Thank you for trusting us with your problem! We have some tips for you that might come in handy.

Talk to your son.

Even though you’re unhappy with your son’s behavior, you might want to stay in touch with him anyway. Talk to your son and hear his version of events. Perhaps your daughter-in-law hasn’t told you everything, or maybe your son didn’t want to go into details.

Express your concerns and disappointment clearly and calmly. Explain how his behavior hurt Tina and express your expectations for him to take responsibility for his actions.

Ask him to take responsibility for the child.

Let your son know that he should also take care of the baby. It’s a shared responsibility, and it’s wrong to leave his own child even if his love for Tina faded. Encourage your son to be actively involved in the child’s life, both emotionally and financially. You might want to find some time for your son and the baby. This way you might help them to bond more and have a better relationship later on.

Keep in touch with Tina.

Maintain a connection with Tina, if she’s comfortable with it. Offer your support and friendship. Let her know that you genuinely care about her well-being and that of the child. She’ll be grateful for your help, especially since she’s a single mother.

What people say when commenting on similar situations.

Unfortunately, such situations are not isolated. We found a similar story and looked at what people were saying in the comments:

• He wanted a trophy wife, immediately got into a relationship with another woman when he got divorced, and tried to manipulate both you and her. Unlike some comments that will undoubtedly come, the relationship you have with your ex-DIL is yours, not dependent on him. Good for you for helping her out through this difficult time and for standing against the son. © OrangeSpiceNinja / Reddit
• It sounds like you’re a reasonable parent who acknowledges when your kid is being an idiot. I don’t see anything wrong with you choosing to support the mother of your grandchildren who he seems to have left in a bad spot. © nurse-ratchet- / Reddit
• Many parents don’t want to hold their children accountable. I’m glad that this father does. My father was abusive, and his parents always sided with him and told me to just deal with it. Whenever he did something, they just swept it under the rug. © MischiefTheFox / Reddit

Difficult and arguable family situations are not rare. For example, this woman shared a story about her dilemma — she wanted to buy her own house, but didn’t want her husband to have any rights to it. Or this man refused to let his wife give their future baby a weird name, and she packed her bags and left him.