Father Cancels Family Vacation After Wife Excludes Son Behind His Back

Jul 18, 2022 by apost team

Reddit's AITA thread is always ripe with family drama. Marriages teeter on the edge of divorce, teenagers cause arguments and accidents, and all manner of family dynamics are put on display for the whole internet to see. 

In July 2022, one Redditor posted about a disagreement he'd had with his wife, which ultimately led to him canceling an entire family vacation. When he revealed the reason for the argument, the comment section was shocked. While he did perhaps overact in making everyone unpack, he was, after all, "paying for the entire thing," and it turns out that his wife had been acting rather cruelly to his child. 

The conflict centered on the dynamic OP's wife had with his sons, who are from his first marriage, namely the older one. The boys, as he explained it, are also teenagers and, as such, can be stereotypically moody. To further complicate the whole situation, OP told Reddit that he had lost his wife five years previous. He explained how after her passing, he "married my wife Rose about a year ago." 

Not entirely a wicked stepmother, OP said she normally "adores both of (their) boys but complains about (one son) being overly uptight and closed up." OP is much more generous towards his son. Very tolerant of the teenager, OP expanded on his son's behavior, saying, "It's true that he likes to keep to himself, doesn't participate in most family functions but that's just how he is." Apparently, OP's wife didn't always feel as charitable or understanding. She even went as far as to exclude the young man. 

For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) - istockphoto.com/gorodenkoff

Explaining, OP said, "My wife has taken it personally and kept saying that (the son in question) clearly doesn't like her and/or doesn't like spending time with her." Given he's a teenager and also probably still grieving the loss of his mother, OP doesn't seem as bothered and seems to assume their dynamic will improve in time.

However, he then revealed how his wife started "to exclude him from events under the excuse of 'he wouldn't be interested anyway,' which (OP) thought was wrong because he's picked up on that and started asking why." Trying to curtail the issue, OP told his wife "to just do her part...giving (the son) the choice to decide whether he want[ed] to participate or not and not outright exclude him." 

The wife's behavior towards the teenager came to a head when OP planned a family vacation. He said he had been "arranging for a family trip and days ago (he) booked tickets/hotel reservation upon deciding (their) destination."

However, to his complete surprise, OP then found out that his son's "ticket had been cancelled." 

He explained that he "was dumbfounded to discover it was (his) wife who canceled it." Upon making his discovery, OP "immediately confronted (his wife), and she said she figured (the son) wouldn't want to come." He continued, saying, "She tried to argue that due to his 'moody personality and introvert nature' he'd change his mind last minute or go on the trip but turn it into a miserable experience for (them) all."

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For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) - istockphoto.com/Nikola Ilic

Explaining further, OP elaborated, saying his wife "then tried pressuring (him) to leave (the troublesome son) with his aunt." In response, OP "canceled the entire trip, all tickets, all reservations everything." When she realized this, OP's wife "blew up at (him) and started lashing out." Standing his ground, OP informed the two boys, going as far as to have them completely unpack their luggage. This "made (his wife) go crazy and yell at everyone in the house." 

After the argument, OP said his wife then "went to stay with her sister." While taking some space may have been an appropriate thing to do, OP revealed that she additionally exposed "what [he] did to the rest of the family who thought (he had) made a big deal out of it and should've canceled the trip that (he) promised the whole family."

In closing, OP explained that he was "planning another trip with the boys (without (his) wife) but right now there's a huge conflict in the family, and even (his younger son) is upset and blames (the older son) for what happened." He added that he also found out that his wife told the younger son that his father had "canceled the trip after (his brother had) changed his mind 'last minute.'"

In response to this jaw-dropping pack of neverending lies, the comment section sided overwhelmingly with the teenager. One Redditor even reminded OP, "you may have to make a choice between your wife and your son in the future. Choose wisely." Hopefully, he did. 

For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) - istockphoto.com/urbazon

Would you have canceled the reservations like OP? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family, and fellow Redditor fans!

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