Redditor throwra-adviceplsst always had a complicated relationship with her stepsister.
Over the years, the Original Poster (OP) has seen her stepsister generously pay off family members's debt, give extravagant gifts, and otherwise share the fruits of her labor.
The OP recently got engaged and asked her stepsister to help out financially.
Originally she agreed, but recent events have changed things.
An argument over how much the OP's stepsister would contribute drove the OP to subReddit "Am I the A**hole?" (AITA).
She asked:
"AITA for expecting my very rich sister to pitch in on my wedding after she said she would?"
She went on to explain.
Hi all, My [Female age 35] mother married my stepdad when I was 17. He had a daughter from a previous marriage, Ellie [Female age 29]."
"We were never close because when they moved in with us, Ellie was super, super clingy, would always follow me around, and basically stalk me in my own home."
"Your typical know-it-all barely left the house, so basically had zero friends that weren't online."
"So Ellie managed to graduate early and get into a really good college on scholarships, then got a masters there as well."
"She's in engineering, and her college is like apparently one of the best ones for engineering. So straight after graduating, she was earning a crazy amount."
"She's been rubbing this in my face ever since she got the acceptance letter."
"When she was home, she was always wearing the university hoodie, always talking about what she's doing at college, sending videos of robots and sh*t into the family group chat."
"Now that she's earning so much, it's sh*t like her paying off our parents car loans for Christmas or getting extravagant gifts for everyone. We had a few fights about it, but we always made up."
"So now, onto this year, I got engaged last year in February to my fiance [Male, age 32]. I asked my sister if she would pitch in, and she said she would help out."
"Knowing she had the money I got to plan my dream wedding, I was so excited about planning our big day. That was all until I showed her the plans, and she pulled the rug from beneath my feet."
"She asks me how I'm paying for it (my husband and I didn't do college, so are not high earners), and I reminded her that she said she would help."
"She's now saying that she won't help pay for it, and she will at the absolute most pay for my dress."
"I told her it's unfair of her to lie to me and only tell me after planning everything that she isn't actually going to help."
"She blew up at me over us not being close in the past and blaming me for it. It takes two people to bond. But she claims everything's my fault."
"We argued for a bit, and now she's not even paying for my dress. All the wedding planning I've done has been for nothing now." '
"My parents are split, with my mom saying Ellie needs to honor her word and let me have the wedding I planned, and we all pitch in what we can afford."
"My stepdad is angry I asked her in the first place and dug up some old arguments from when I was 17."
"AITA for expecting her to do what she said?"
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
-
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA - You're The A**hole
- NAH - No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided:
"YTA. Someone saying they'll help with a wedding in no way indicates they'll just pay for the whole thing. Just because she has money doesn't mean you are entitled to it."
"And when dealing with wedding budgets, you should always find out what people are actually willing to spend and not count on the money until it is in your hand."
"You and your mother are delusional thinking Ellie ever agreed to or should have to, pay for your wedding." - sharethewine
"Yes, YTA. So, Ellie is your younger stepsister you basically had no use for and then seemed to be jealous of who somehow you thought would foot your dream wedding."
"Apparently, she did say she'd help, and offering to buy your dress IS helping. That's generous help, I'd say, all things considered."
"I don't see where she signed on to pay for whatever you chose to set up."
"You're not entitled to Ellie's wealth. She earned it, and it is 100% hers. It's nice that she has chosen to share some of it with family at times."
"Ellie owes you nothing. Your thinking is absurd. Have the wedding YOU can afford and be happy with it." - Realistic_Head4279
"YTA You can't pay for a champagne wedding with a beer pocketbook. If you don't want your sister to buy your dress, it's your decision."
"She said she'd help with the wedding, not pay for a lavish ceremony and reception. Plan the wedding you can afford." - Heloise_Morris
"How was she rubbing anything in your face by simply being excited about her achievements and sharing them with her family? And why would she pay for the whole thing?"
"I mean, you said she said she'd help… You assumed she'd pay for everything and then got upset when she wouldn't and has absolutely no responsibility to do so."
"She's your stepsister, not your parent. Also, you haven't said one good thing about the poor girl in your me me me post, not even when you introduced her and fam…"
"I can't imagine what growing up with you must have been like…"
"Oh, YTA" - Routine-Variation401
"YTA"
"This is entirely on you for planning without clarifying how much "help" was available and budgeting accordingly."
"She owes you exactly nothing, and buying your dress is a very generous offer." - rapt2right
"Greedy, greedy, greedy."
"'Pitch in' does not in any way mean 'pay for whatever extravagant nonsense you choose'."
"How much did you multiply your initial budget by after your step-sister agreed to help out? You thought it was your chance to *finally shaft her, as though she owes you anything."
"All she has done, based on what you have written, is try to be sisters and then share the fruits of her hard work and skills by helping her parents and giving nice gifts."
"And you resent that. D*mn right, she has taken back her offer. You're an awful sister."
"YTA." - Ma-Hu
The OP went on to update her original post on her page.
"Obviously, none of you value family. One of you felt the need to track down Ellie and send her the post, which was unnecessary and cruel. She texted me yesterday morning with this:"
"'Hey, someone sent me your Reddit post. I am still processing all the things you said about me.'"
"'I knew you didn't care for me, and I knew you resented me when we were kids - I didn't know you were capable of denigrating my character to that extent.'"
"'I have never done anything but treat you like a sister. Using my real name? All my personal information? To the extent that someone could google me and track me down that easily?'"
"'You know I'm a private person. What if someone from work sees it? What if f*cking anyone sees it?'"
"'I left a comment in anger, but I deleted it. I cannot believe you would make this so public, and I should not be stooping to your level.'"
"'As for the wedding, you're on your own. I am not paying for anything, attending, or participating in any way. I do not deserve any of this.'"
"'I'm blocking your number, and I would appreciate it if you didn't try to contact me through other means.'"
"'I've told Dad that if he wants to see me again, he can come to visit me. Ideally, we will not see each other again.'"
The OP filled us in on what happened after she heard from her stepsister.
"I talked to my fiance and told him through tears what Ellie had done. Even HE turned on me."
"He started screaming at me about how I shouldn't have asked Ellie and how I didn't tell him during the planning that she was paying for it."
"I tried to explain to him, but he wouldn't stop screaming at me. He called me names, screamed at me while I was already crying, and then left."
"She has everyone wrapped around her finger, she's so manipulative I don't know who I can even turn to right now because she has them all convinced she's so perfect."
"My mom is the only one I can trust right now. I've gone to stay with her for a while. Ellie has been ruining my life since I was 17, and now she's managed to ruin my relationship."
"I cannot believe you people have sided with her when all she's ever done is destroy my life. She's off in a whole other state and once again is facing no consequences for her actions."
"I found her work email online from a thing she published and messaged her. She still hasn't responded, but I will let you all know when she does."
There are at least two of the seven deadly sins at play here.
Woman Asks If It's Wrong To Hold Grudge After Mom Told Her When She 8 Years Old That She Wished She'd Aborted Her
While some people view having and raising children as the greatest blessing, some parents hold their children's existence against them for their entire lives.
And when they feel that way about their children, they're unfortunately typically pretty honest about it, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor heavelymango knew from the time she was young that her mother did not really like her and significantly favored her sister.
But when her mother told her at the age of eight that she wished she had aborted her, the Original Poster (OP) held on to that grudge for years after the fact.
She asked the sub:
The OP had a grudge against her mother.
"I (22 Female) have been holding onto a grudge due to something my mom told me when I was roughly eight or nine years old."
"Growing up, I was a rebellious kid and always felt as if my mom favored my older sister. My sister would always get whatever she wanted."
"I know she was born with Down syndrome and always needed more attention and care, but if my sister wanted my tablet, for example, she would have it for the whole day while mine was limited to 30 minutes so she could have it."
"As a kid, I lashed out more because of this. She could take all of my things, but I could never use hers."
During a heated moment, the OP's mother said something unforgivable.
"Eventually, this led to an argument with my mom. I don't recall the whole thing, but it was related to my sister and how I felt my mom didn't care about me or give me the same amount of attention."
"The fight got heated, and I probably told my mom that I hated my sister and her."
"I remember she said back, 'I never wanted you from the start. I knew I should've aborted you when I had the chance.'"
" I didn't know what aborted meant at the time, and I remember I looked it up, and it made me cry. I never forgot it, and it lingers in my mind whenever I am home."
The OP's mother pressured her to "let it go" and move on.
"Even growing up, I still brought it up, and she would get mad, saying I need to let it go and how I'm stubborn for not just forgetting what she said."
"There was even a time in high school when she took me to a therapist, and she complained about how I never dropped what she said."
"She says I need to move on from it because it has affected my relationship with her, and she wants to fix it."
"I know I'm older now and it was so long ago, but it still hurts, and I feel like it's made me not want to have her in my life in the future, and I have told this to her."
"How I don't want her in my life once I move out, get married, or have my own kids."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that this sounded like a core memory more than a grudge.
"The axe forgets. The tree remembers."
"It sounds less like you're holding a grudge and more that this is a formative, core memory for you."
"It won't stop being a core memory (unless maybe with the help of a lot of therapy). Has your mom ever apologized for saying that? Because you don't have to forget to forgive, but if she's not remorseful for saying that terrible thing to her young child (not just remorseful that you remember it), then she probably needs therapy (or is a narcissist/sociopath/similar)."
"You are certainly not obligated to 'get over it.'" - Hot-Can3615
"This is not a 'grudge'; it is pain that is still felt to such a degree. If she said it, then she was thinking it. She'll probably never apologize, but that doesn't mean your pain is or was invalid." - Fast_Register_9480
"NOR. This kind of thing needs a real apology. Like she needs to acknowledge the damage and genuinely care about it. Brushing it off won’t make it go away." - TentacleWolverine
"NOR. Did she really want to fix things? She basically just told you to get over it from the start instead of giving you a sincere apology."
"That isn't working on anything. She wants you to get over it so she can pretend that she never said it, so she doesn't have to feel bad about what she did. It doesn't sound like she cares much about how you feel."
"She just doesn't want to deal with it. For that reason, I would still have issues with what she said." - Chemical-Ad6809
"If your relationship with your mother is being affected by the actions of your mother, your mother is responsible for fixing it."
"You should know you probably aren't ever going to get closure, but you don't have to swallow it down. It helps to be the person you needed when you were younger out loud to yourself, but especially to others."
"For example: My name is Liz, and my mom told me to go ahead and do it already and save us all the heartache when I finally had the courage to tell her about how much I've been struggling with self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm never going to forgive her for that, and we have never been close as a result of her actions."
"You aren't holding onto a grudge; you have a core memory of your mother distilling her feelings into a world-shattering sentence."
"You did not have a secure attachment before and can't have one now because of the deep trauma. You do not apologize for being stabbed."
"Find another therapist. I mean it. Someone who cares about your well-being wouldn't force you to apologize for being verbally abused as a child. I'm 29 now, and I lived through it. I still struggle with suicidal ideation daily, but once I stopped relying on my mom and unstable sources for support, my life got better immediately."
"You want things for comfort and familiarity. Don't let your mom or your therapist gaslight you into crossing a boundary."
"It might help to ask for a written five-part apology from your mom. 1. Acknowledge what you did 2. Say why it was wrong 3. Promise not to do it again 4. Ask how to make amends. 5. Share your feelings at this time if there's anything you'd like to say."
"My mom can be a good person and a bad mom and role model. Being in your own company is so much better than poor company." - PotLuckyPodcast
Others hoped the OP would go no contact with her mother sooner rather than later.
"NOR. It’s emotional abuse. And you do not owe her closeness after that, especially as she refuses to be accountable for that and try to make it up to you."
"She knows you have her number, and she can’t forgive you for knowing what a colloidal b***h she is."
"It’s unlikely that will change; it will at least be turned back on you with her the victim."
"Stop expecting her to apologize. If she doesn’t pay your bills, ghost her." - SnooCheesecakes2723
"My mom said something similar. My brother and I were adopted, and when I was a teen, in front of a church lady, she said, 'We didn't even really want you, but the people didn't want to split y'all up, so we just took you, too.'"
"Me and the church lady were shook. When I say my falbbers were ghasted. Like huh? She didn't remember saying that when I brought it up years after the fact."
"I also got grounded two times for two separate nine weeks (for C's on my report card) and a three and a half to four months (for smoking at 16 and getting caught because she liked to just pop up out of nowhere), and we just had a talk about that, and she didn't even remember."
"She said, 'No, I didn't. I never grounded you for that long,' and when I gave my rebuttal, she said, 'Well, if I did, it definitely wasn't for no nine weeks or months,' and this started because she was praising me for reading so much and liking books. I said, 'Well, when you were grounded like me, that's all I could do (no TV, no friends outside of school, no music, nothing but my room and books)."
"There's a reason I only call or answer her calls once or twice every few weeks. And I only call to get food, really..." - ManicalMoe
"‘Fine, I'm sorry’ is not an apology."
"Whilst I’m sure it was said in anger, most things said in anger have a grain of truth. There are also some things that no half-decent parent ever says to their children, no matter how angry they are, and this is one of them! It also sounds like she has made repeated similar comments of not wanting you as her child."
"I understand her eldest had a disability, but this is no excuse for neglecting and emotionally abusing her younger child. Lots of families deal with a child with additional needs whilst still managing to prioritise their other kids. Children with Down syndrome are capable of understanding ‘that’s your sister's, not yours; give it back’ !! It sounds like your mum has mental health issues?"
"Do you have a present father or other family you can turn to?"
"Protect your peace. Your mum has hurt you time and time again, honestly, for no real gain other than momentarily satisfying her anger. You owe this woman nothing." - Background_Term9810
"I went through something similar. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make comments that implied she didn't want me, though it was never that explicit. 'I only had you because your brother wanted a sister,' and 'My figure never recovered after you; after your brother, it did.'"
"Each comment stayed with me, but I never addressed it with her. I tried to move on and leave it in the past. She did a lot of horrible things throughout my life, but her behavior was always ignored because that's the precedent my dad set, where she can do essentially whatever she wants."
"A few months ago, she came to see me because I was desperate for help and sick. Instead of helping, she made my life so much worse. I won't go into details. At one point, I could no longer keep it inside, and I told her that she is a narcissist, to which she responded with, 'It would have been better if I had never had you.'"
"In some ways, it felt really good to hear her come out and say it. It felt good to hear the truth I've always known."
"I don't know what you should do, but I've chosen to not forgive."
"Every time I forgave, I just let her know that she can get away with whatever horrible things she had done. Her apologies were never real apologies. She always found ways to blame me or others for whatever she had done."
"And I'm truly just done with it. As sad as it is to not have a mom, it's sadder to pretend that you have one when in reality you don't... quite the opposite, if anything." - Neos_Mom
"So, OP, what will hurt more: keeping her and the grudge in your life or making a break and going low or no contact with her?"
"Frankly, we've no idea of what she might have been dealing with at the time, but regardless, what she said was said only to cause pain and suffering. 'Sorry' doesn't magic that intent away."
"Me, I think spending time alone or with friends or in therapy away from her might be what you need here. You might come to some sort of acceptance, but if this is something that's just going to keep coming between you, then stop trying to have that relationship." - Tal_Tos_72
After the OP received feedback, she shared a few clarifications from her original post.
"I wanted to clear some things up, take accountability where it's due, and provide some much-needed context from many people commenting the same questions."
"I want to be completely honest. We had many arguments, and I was a rebellious kid. I acted out and argued with my mom."
"I don't want to give off the impression that I was an entirely innocent kid who never did anything wrong and my mom just snapped out of nowhere. We both said hateful and hurtful things to each other during our fights."
"Growing up, the only way she would accept an apology was if I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. If I ever asked her to apologize to me, she would say, 'I have nothing to apologize for; you should be the one begging for my forgiveness.'"
The OP had a lot of physical memories, too.
"Things also would turn into physical arguments, not just verbal ones."
"There were times when she would get so angry she would get physical. Like yanking me by my hair, twisting my arms, or throwing things at me (like remotes, a bug spray can, or a radio)."
"When she yanked my hair, I would fight back just to get her to let me go, and she would scream that I was trying to kill her and she would get me arrested. When she twisted my arm, and I begged her to stop because it felt like it was going to break, she would say she hoped it did."
"When she threw objects at me, she would say she wished they would hit my face."
"I remember in middle school, during an argument, she said she wished she could break my face and that she hated it because I look like my dad. I won’t lie, whenever she said things like that, I would say nasty comments about how she chose to have him put us in her."
While the OP wasn't financially ready to move out yet, she hoped to as soon as possible.
"Why haven't I moved out yet? The main reason I haven't been able to move out is financial."
"I wasn't making enough to support myself without worrying about whether I’d end up having to crawl back home."
"Thankfully, I have recently found a better-paying job. My plan is to move out between mid-to-late October, or early November at the latest."
"The only reason I can't leave this exact second is because I have a few legal/administrative things to get cleared up so I’m completely untied from my mom, which will take a few weeks."
The OP also had proof that her mother liked her sister better.
"Has my mom ever admitted to favoring my sister? Yes."
"In arguments, she has explicitly told me that she doesn't see me as her legitimate daughter, and that she adored my sister more and forever will. She has also called me a 'monster,' told me there is a certain type of evil inside of me, and said she was afraid I would be just like my dad and try to harm them."
"She would even tell me that she was telling family and friends these things about me, but then later claim she 'just said it in the moment' and wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell people that."
"Because I was so confused growing up and didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth, I started avoiding our family when they came over."
"Naturally, that just made things worse because she would get mad at me for avoiding them (even now as an adult), completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who lied about what she told them."
Unfortunately, the OP didn't have support from her father.
"What about my dad? My dad is not in my life."
"He was around sporadically, but never as a stable parent. My parents separated before I was born and divorced when I was two or three."
"Growing up, it was just constant back-and-forth toxicity, with him telling me how toxic my mother was, and her telling me the same about him."
"He would mostly only come over to see my sister, and often used me to care for her if he wanted to take her out to eat. Ultimately, my dad didn't care about anyone else other than my sister (and his drugs)."
"I hope this can clear some questions on the original post. I know I didn't provide many details as I originally should have. I honestly didn't want to post something too long, and I honestly did not expect it to be noticed."
"Thank you all for taking time to talk to me and share your thoughts."
The subReddit fully sided with the OP, pointing out that no matter how heated the moment was, it would never excuse the terrible things the OP's mother had said to her.
If the OP's mother really wanted a relationship with her, she'd drop the defensiveness and demands, offer a genuine apology, and work hard to be better for both of her children.
That takes a very rare kind of person to pull off, and it didn't sound like the OP's mother had that in her.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp