A man took to Reddit to share his wife’s treatment of their child.
In the post, the person said that both of them have been married for eight years. He has four children from a previous marriage, and a 10-year-old son.
Although he said he has always done everything in his power to treat his children as his own and provide for their blended family, he said his wife has made no effort to do the same, and Instead his son is “invisible”.
Finally, the situation has come and he is struggling with what to do.
‘My heart broke at that moment’
“We were celebrating his daughter’s 11th birthday, and everyone gathered to sing and take pictures. I asked my son to join the group for a photo, which seemed fine. But then, right after the group photo, my wife looked at my son and said to him, ‘Get out of the picture, step aside — I just want a picture with my kids,'” he said in the post.
“I felt like my heart was broken at that moment. I completely lost it. I told her that we are considered a blended family and my son deserves to be treated like her son. I feel like she’s drawing a line between ‘her’ children and ‘my’ son, and that doesn’t sit right with me at all.”
In the post, the man revealed that his son’s biological mother passed away two years ago, leaving his current wife as his son’s sole mother.
This led her to ask – was he asking too much of her to move on?
“I fear that this rejection on her part will hurt her deeply and cause psychological damage,” he said in the post.
“Am I asking too much for him to treat me like a family member? I don’t want to overreact, but it’s painful to see the way she ignores him.”
‘You’re not overreacting, you’re not reacting enough’
Many comments on the post blamed the man for placing his son in what was clearly a toxic and uncomfortable environment.
“You know this isn’t the first time he’s treated her like this. She has known him since he was 2 years old? She’s a horrible person,” one commenter said.
“Do what’s best for your son. You’re not overreacting, you’re not reacting enough.”
“If she hasn’t stepped up in 8 years, she never will. [You’re the asshole] For keeping his son under the thumb of his horrible wife for too long,” said another.
“Your son is already hurt (and I’m sure he/she has mental problems) from being rejected by your wife. do not fool yourself. You have to protect him! You’re failing as a dad right now, so get over it,” a third scolded.
“This is not something you can change just by asking your wife to include her. You should never marry a man who doesn’t love your son first and foremost. Your son comes first. Even before your wife.”
‘You have to take him out of the picture’
Others were more sympathetic to the poster, arguing that his expectations of his wife could hardly be too high. However, they all agreed that they had to go.
“Holy cow! I am sorry. If she asks your son to get out of the picture, you have to get him out of the picture,” said one person.
“you are [not the asshole] And you have every right to be upset.
“She looks terrible. I can’t imagine living with a motherless boy since the age of 2 and not loving and deeply bonding with him. It’s cruel that he isolated her like that,” added another.
“You should talk to him more, maybe take him to a counselor, and try to find out what else happened. I guarantee she’s heard the words ‘my baby’ versus ‘my baby’ many times.
