I (24F) think my dad’s ex girlfriend (50sF) is stalking me
A Redditor shared their disturbing experience of believing their estranged father’s ex-girlfriend might be stalking them. Despite never meeting the woman, past interactions and strange recent events—including being followed by cars, suspicious encounters at work.
And receiving spam emails linked to her profession—have left the Redditor feeling deeply unsettled. Now, they’re seeking advice on how to handle the situation. Read the full story below for more details.
‘ I (24F) think my dad’s ex girlfriend (50sF) is stalking me’
Let me start by saying I’ve never met this woman. I don’t speak to my dad because he abused me as a child and continues to try and f**k up the lives of me and my other family members to this day. I didn’t know his girlfriend existed until my dad disappeared to start a new life this January.
She reached out to my family and said he had sent her an email about how he was going to get out of her life forever similar to what he sent us. Apparently she’d broken up with him a few days ago because he forgot her birthday. My mom blocked her almost immediately.
I thought I would do the good feminist thing and tell her the truth about the kind of man my father is, especially since she has three kids and he can’t be trusted around kids. She had a lot of questions, and I talked to her for a few days, but stopped when I found out she’d actually proofread a very a**sive letter he’d sent to my siblings and I.
Apparently verbally abusing all his kids wasn’t breakup worthy but forgetting her birthday was. Immediately after admitting this she told me how nice it was that we were finally a family like my dad had always wanted. I ghosted her and unfollowed her everywhere but didn’t block her anywhere because that seemed unnecessarily harsh.
She kept following me on Instagram and would sometimes like my posts but I didn’t think that was a big deal. Recently I have had the intuition that someone is following me. I drive a lot for my job, and two days ago the same car stayed behind me almost the whole time.
My job has me go around to different schools, and at the school I was at (which is four hours away from where she lives) there was a staff member who looked a lot like her pictures and had the same first name as her. I can’t be entirely sure it’s the same person since I haven’t met her before but I can’t think of another explanation.
Then yesterday I noticed a different car following me, so I faked my car breaking down and skipped work for the day. She couldn’t follow me when I was stopped on the side of the road but I think her car slowed down when it passed me. When I got home I checked my email and had 3 spam emails about horoscopes.
She is a professional astrologer. I don’t know what I can do. I don’t think my evidence is enough to convince the police but I can just tell she’s watching me. I can feel her eyes on me and they’re driving me nuts. I don’t want anything to do with her. How can I make her go away?.
Here’s the input from the Reddit crowd:
Theotherotherarm − Please check the carbon monoxide detector in your home and possibly the exhaust system in your car. I am not kidding.
pineappleparty_ − I’m not saying your fears are unfounded, but how would she know what school your job was sending you to, and how would she immediately get a job there?
And please don’t take this the wrong way, but are suffering from any new mental health issues, or have you recently started a new medication, or have you gone through a recent stressful life event?
FraxiniaPratus − \[Had to make an account for this.\]. OP, from what you’ve told us about your work schedule (4am to 8 pm, no lunch breaks) plus your commute (2 hours each way), you’re getting less than 4 hours of sleep per night.
This is very worrying. Human beings need at least 6 hours. Sleep deprivation can cause serious health effects, including: hallucinations, paranoia, a distorted perception of events, and memory loss.
[Reddit User] − Just commenting to reiterate the fact that this evidence doesn’t really make any sense and you should get checked out by a doctor/check your carbon monoxide levels asap.
Shieya − She may not be a great person, but I don’t think there’s cause to believe she’s stalking you. To be frank, this sounds like the kind of worry and confusion accompanying a medical problem. I agree with the top comment that says to check the carbon monoxide levels in your car and home.
There was a similar story where someone thought their landlord was breaking into their home and leaving them notes, but after buying a carbon monoxide detector they discovered they were slowly being poisoned by carbon monoxide. If it’s not carbon monoxide, it might be a health issue and you should talk to your doctor about your fears.
NesYo35 − Can you get a security camera for your apartment and a dash cam for your car? If she really is stalking you, you need to start keeping records so that you can eventually approach the police. EDIT: Having seen some of the replies here, I agree that the best course of action is to discuss this with a therapist.
What would you do in this situation? Should the Redditor confront the suspected stalker, gather more evidence, or involve the authorities despite limited proof? How would you handle the emotional toll of feeling watched? Share your thoughts below!
For those who want to read the sequel: https://aita.pics/SzNxZ