Giving examples of her stepmother’s behavior, a user named sith_lady mentions “pushing children off floating devices at the lake because she wanted to use it, promising young children to take them out to a special event or trip (without consulting the parents) and then last-minute deciding [she] didn’t want to, breaking those kids’ hearts, manipulating my dad with her mental health and alcohol recovery.”

Over 50 percent of families in the U.S. are remarried or recoupled, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics reported by the Stepfamily Foundation. Every day, 1,300 new stepfamilies are formed.

The Reddit poster also wrote that she found out that her stepsister was invited to her father’s wedding but not her. “This is where I made him cry…. I lost it. I’d like to blame pregnancy hormones, but I can’t because I’m sure I would have lost it even if I wasn’t pregnant.”

She concluded, “I feel like a real a******. My husband says I’m an a****** and have no reason to be upset. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am, and I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do about it.”

Debra Cooke, a professional counselor at mental health organization Thriveworks, told Newsweek, “This woman’s intentions were not to make her dad hurt but to explain her own emotional response to his decisions. Who knows exactly what her dad’s intentions were? To him, that may have seemed the easiest route to take. We’re all capable of acting on our emotions and hurting others with our words and/or actions.

She continued: “Often, the hurts we inflict on others are unintentional, but the feelings that stem from reflection on our actions are ours to handle. Apologies are one step we can take to reduce negative emotions. Forgiveness of ourselves and others is the more difficult part of the equation.

“Whether we understand or accept others’ reasoning for their choices or not, we must actively work to move forward without holding on to negative emotions. There are no steps that can be taken to undo a poor choice, but we can decide how we let that choice impact us,” Cooke said.

Reddit users were critical of the father in the post. Avocadoclock said, “Your dad lacks a backbone. He’s a pushover and people pleaser…. I’m sorry.”

HelleFelix said, “Your dad is comfortable being uncomfortable. Unfortunately people like him are too far gone to save. Stop internalizing his actions and start wishing him well.”

Newsweek has reached out to sith_lady for comment.

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