Man Backed For Telling Dad 'Real Reason' He Doesn't Want to Go On Vacation

Commenters supported a man who purportedly told his dad the "real reason" he refuses to go on vacation with his step-mom and half-siblings.

The anonymous man, known as u/ToldHim_TheTruth, posted about his situation on Reddit's popular "Am I The A**hole" forum where it received nearly 12,000 upvotes and 1,000 comments. The post can be found here.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were a total of 630,505 divorces in the United States in 2020, with a rate of 2.3 divorces per 1,000 total population.

Many children of divorce often face challenges and are twice as likely to have a mental disorder than children living with both parents still together.

In addition, children between seven and 14-years-old when their parents get divorced are at higher risk of behavior problems and a lower probability of graduating high school or attending college.

In the post titled "AITA for telling my dad the real reason why I don't want to go on vacation with him/his family and potentially "ruining his marriage?" the man, 17, said that his dad cheated on his mom with her friend when he was nine-years-old.

He added that they got married and now have three children together. He said that his father was granted custody of him on the weekends but tried for full custody several times.

The man said his dad tried to make him call his new wife "mom" and that he stopped going over to their house because he felt his dad would rather have him accept his new family than spend time alone with him.

"The other reason why I stopped going (I never told my dad this one) is because his wife was so hostile towards me," the post read. "My dad used to pay attention to me when I was there so I think she didn't like it that way and one day told me behind my dad's back that I was an obstacle to my dad's happiness that I should just stay with my mom full time."

Recently, his dad and step-mom celebrated their anniversary and although he didn't want to attend, his mom said his dad called to say that if he didn't attend he would go to court.

During the celebration dinner, which included the man's dad, step-mom, her parents, and his three younger siblings, his dad pulled out six tickets for a vacation.

The man thanked his dad but said he wouldn't go, which caused his dad to get angry and ask why he refused to go. The man gave a vague answer but said his dad kept asking so he decided to finally tell him the truth.

"I said: 'Because I hate your wife,'" the post read. "Then he started asking 'why' over and over again so I ended up telling him the mean things she said to me. He was seemingly uncomfortable but told us to finish our meal, no one talked for the rest of the night and after we finished I asked my stepdad to pick me up."

The man said he hasn't spoken to his dad since the dinner, except for a message asking if he changed his mind about the trip. The man's cousin told him his dad is now staying at his grandparent's house and his wife recently texted and called him a "brat."

The wife also asked the man if he was "happy" for "potentially destroying" his half-siblings' "home life."

"My cousin says that the kids are hurt and crying because my dad isn't at home and she says that I should just have said other things or agree and then tell him later that I wasn't going," the post concluded.

More than 900 users commented on the post, many praising the young man for standing up for himself and finally telling his dad the truth.

"NTA. To your credit, you attempted to not ruin the meal by not answering the following 'why' questions you were bombarded with, you tried," one user commented. "He wouldn't let it go. So you finally just answered. Nothing AH-ish about that."

"You didn't ruin the marriage, SHE did by not accepting you and your dad are a packaged deal," another user commented. "SHE pushed you away, his own son because she couldn't stand having to share attention. Your Dad's marriage was doomed the moment she uttered those words behind his back."

"Not to mention SHE ruined OPs home life. Pretty rich of her to blame OP for ruining his half-siblings' home life when she did it to him first. She is the problem here," another user added.

"He asked a question and you were honest. Send him the screenshot of step moms text, and then block her number," another suggested.

Newsweek reached out to u/ToldHim_TheTruth for comment.

In another viral Reddit post, a man was slammed after his wife found "divorce" written in his life goals notebook.

Another frustrated spouse took to Reddit to discuss why he decided to file for divorce from his wife.

"I'm divorcing my wife because she has been late for 90% of everything we have ever done together," the user wrote.

Another woman was praised for leaving her vacation with her husband after discovering he invited his mother behind her back.