Stepmom Refusing to Spend Money on Husband's Adopted Child Sparks Outrage

Members of a popular internet forum were infuriated to learn why one adopted teenager wasn't receiving the same financial support as her father's biological daughter.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/Throwra36566707 (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said his current wife, and the stepmother of his children, was supposed to buy clothes for both of his daughters but expressed his outrage upon discovering the blatant favoritism that occurred instead.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for revoking all my wife's access to my credit cards after what she said to my daughter?" the post has received nearly 10,000 upvotes since September 30.

"I'm a father of [two] daughters," OP began. "Their mother and I are [separated]."

Continuing to explain that his 12-year-old daughter named "Chloe" is biologically his, and that his 14-year-old named "Hope" is adopted, the original poster said his current wife "Jenna" was supposed to be responsible for outfitting the girls and was equipped with multiple credit cards to do so.

Recently, however, the original poster said he noticed his 14-year-old had come home with far fewer items than her sister and was determined to find out why.

"I tried having conversations with [Hope] about it and asked if the mall her stepmom takes her to is not good...she refused to give a direct answer," OP wrote. "[Then] Hope sent me a 37 minute long recording of her trip to the mall with her sister and stepmom.

"I heard Hope telling her stepmom that she liked a packbag and wanted it but Jenna's response was to tell her there wasn't enough money," OP continued. "Hope insisted which made Jenna snap and tell her 'why don't you go look for [your] bio dad and ask him to buy it for you if you want it so badly?'

"I berated [Jenna] for treating Hope like that...I then went and revoked all access Jenna had to my credit cards...every single one of them," OP added. "She found out and blew up, saying that I was being unfair after all she's done to help me out...we haven't spoken to each other since."

Last decade, data published by Pew Research Center showed that 16 percent of children in the U.S. are living in blended families, in which at least one parent was accompanied by a child from a previous relationship.

Although that figure has remained stable since the 1990s, when 15 percent of children were living in blended families, attitudes towards unconventional family structures have shifted dramatically.

In 2010, 34 percent of Americans held favorable opinions of family structures that aren't the traditional nuclear unit, while 29 percent felt the opposite. In 2019, the percentage of Americans indicating that unconventional family structure is a good thing dropped four points.

But only 16 percent indicated the opposite, and where 32 percent of Americans believed that family structure made no difference in 2010, a whopping 45 percent were indifferent in 2019, according to a separate Pew survey.

However, some people still harbor ill will towards anything that errs from tradition, especially when it comes to adopted children.

On multiple occasions in the viral Reddit post, the original poster was adamant that his adopted daughter was just as much his child as his biological daughter.

It was his current wife who felt differently, making that known by withholding funds the original poster allocated for his adopted daughter, and lashing out about the 14-year-old's biological father.

Throughout the comment section of the viral Reddit post, many Redditors took issue with her behavior and advised OP to consider removing his wife from his life, as well as his daughters'.

"Honestly, this isn't a take away the credit card offense," Redditor u/Emergency-Willow wrote in the post's top comment, which has received nearly 19,000 upvotes. "This is divorce her because she's cruel and this isn't going to get better kind of offense.

"I think your wife is a deeply unkind and cruel person," they continued. "Why would you want her around your kids?"

Redditor u/Throwawayhater3343, whose comment has received more than 5,000 upvotes, echoed that sentiment.

"[100 percent]," they wrote. "This woman has verbally and materially/financially abused your adopted daughter for who knows how long."

"You shouldn't revoke her access to the cards," Redditor u/Impossible-Pause3788 added, receiving nearly 8,000 upvotes. "You should revoke her access to the kids."

"Get rid of her," Redditor u/Ok_Shopping_3341 chimed in. "She's treating your adopted daughter like she doesn't belong in your family. You do not want to stay married to someone like that. Your kids come first, always."

Newsweek reached out to u/Throwra36566707 for comment.