AITA for giving my dad his money back in front of his other kids and telling him he was no longer welcome at my graduation?

A Redditor shares the story of their rocky relationship with their father, who has often prioritized his stepchildren over them. After receiving money from their dad for a graduation party, the Redditor learned that he planned to use it to help one of his stepkids instead.

Feeling hurt and betrayed, they returned the money in front of their father’s other children and told him he was no longer welcome at their graduation. Now, their father is upset, saying the Redditor has hurt the feelings of his younger kids. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for giving my dad his money back in front of his other kids and telling him he was no longer welcome at my graduation?’

My graduation ceremony is being held next week. My dad had given me some money in advance to pay for the party. I live mostly with my mom but they were supposed to be hosting the event together. Dad and I have a rocky relationship.

After my parents divorced when I was 4 they split custody of me and he was able to stay a good dad. When I was 10 he met Jane. Jane had three kids, twins and a single kid. They got married when I was 12 but I would say even before that I felt like he prioritized her kids over me a lot.

He would cancel plans with me if they wanted to do something and would either do the thing with them or force me to go and say it was even better than our plans, when for me it wasn’t. Think going for a hike with me vs taking them to an indoor play area. Or seeing a movie with me vs the kiddie park.

One more example is when I was given a ticket for a concert my dad and I both love. He was supposed to buy a ticket to come with me for some father/son time, but actually spent it on his youngest stepkid who wanted their room painted. He told me at the last minute and it hurt.

There are other times stuff like this happened. He didn’t show up at the hospital when I broke my arm because one stepkid was getting their tonsils out and wanted both him and his wife there. He told my mom over the phone to tell me he was proud of me for being brave and understanding, even though I never said that s**t.

When I would bring this stuff up to him he’d tell me it was natural to feel jealous of sharing his attention. That was all he would say. In 2019 he told my mom he would split the cost of a trip I wanted to go on with one of my clubs, because she didn’t have the money all by herself.

Mom had her half saved. We told my dad he needed to pay. He said bills were tight and it was the twins birthdays and the money needed to go on something for them. He told me we could do something as a family when the trip happened instead. I told him to forget it.

That he was making it clear who was more important and I was going to stay with my mom where I actually mattered. Mom borrowed money to cover the other half of the trip.

Dad told me he regretted making me feel less important and we were working on things and then the graduation money was given about a month ago. Then a week ago he called and told me how one of the stepkids was being bullied, how bad of a time they’re having it, and with that money they could help cheer them up for their birthday.

I was pissed. I hung up. Then two days later I showed up at his doorstep, gave him the money and told him I didn’t want to see him or his new family at my graduation, and that he had chosen who was more important so he better stay out of my life.

His stepkids and two younger bio kids were there. I didn’t stick around. He called and told me we needed to talk it out like adults, and that I had hurt the kids feelings. His wife freaked out on me so I blocked her.. AITA?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

CadenceQuandry −  As a mom with kids from two marriages, I will say absolutely NTA. Your dad consistently and constantly chose everyone else above you. This is not ok. Making and breaking promises is disgusting. Saying one thing and then backing out is gross.

And asking for the money back???? No. Just freaking no. He is not a father. He is a spineless sperm donor who deserves nothing from you. You needed a father and he was absolutely not it. And I’m sorry.

Neglectfulgardener −  NTA- he has made it very clear who he has chosen. It’s up to him to reach out and make it up to you.

The__Riker__Maneuver −  *<dad’s first name There is nothing left to discuss. At every moment you have made it abundantly clear that your step kids will ALWAYS take priority over me. Every single decision you have made since they came into your life has proven this as a fact.*

*Because of that, I no longer want to have a relationship with you. Moving forward, I will simply tell people that my father is no longer a part of my life. I was tempted to tell people why we no longer have a relationship, because I think people should see you for who you really are.

But I have come to the conclusion that I need to let go of the pain and resentment entirely and move forward in my life without the burden of your pain on my conscious. So I am letting you go.*

*Thank you for helping to bring me into this world. That was the first and only thing you ever did for me that truly mattered. But this is the end of our journey together. I can’t count on you. You are never going to make me a priority in your life. And I can’t continue to be let down by you.*

*You have a family now that I am not a part of. It’s time we both accepted that is just the way things are and how they will always be. I do apologize for confronting you in front of your children. That was not my intention. You’ve been good to them and I know if the roles were reversed, I would be upset having heard what I said.

But they know that you love them and in the end, this too shall pass. I wish we could have had what you have with them, but we don’t always get what we want out of life. So be good to them and be the kind of father they deserve…not the kind of father you were with me.*

*After sending this message, I will be blocking you on everything and asking mom to cease all contact with you. You will not be getting an updates nor will you be hearing from me anymore. Please do not attempt to contact me ever again.*. NTA

King1239 −  NTA, but I hope you go NC with him now. He’s either gonna apologize with half nothings and say how sorry he is , and then do what he’s always done, or he’s gonna try and guilt you into apologizing for something that was never your fault in the first place.

You dont need such a s**t father in your life tbh. He’s made his bed. Let him lie in it. You are a strong person, and with this weight off your back you’ll soar even higher.

Best of luck OP, and have a fun graduation. It sure will be better without your shame of a father in it. He’s only going to talk about his step kids there anyways.

SheldonMonk −  NTA Your father should really feel ashamed though.

honestwizard −  NTA. Your feelings are valid. I get having to be “mature” because your step siblings are younger doesn’t mean you have to deal with your dad being wishy washy and always catering to his wife’s children.

He doesn’t understand your feelings or perspective. Asking for money back to me is ridiculous, I’m not sure how his finances are but it doesn’t seem like he’s doing great to always sideline things with you for his kids.

Now obviously this is your perspective. Are you just naming off the bad times, and bad times only? Or are there any good in between where you dad does stuff for you, and y’all go out?

I think regardless this is how you feel, jealously or not it’s frustrating having anyone go back on their word. You’ve set a boundary, wether he likes it or not.. he’s disrespected both you and your mom. Your mom shouldn’t have to borrow money to pay for his half of something that he pledged to do. All for his “new family”

[Reddit User] −  NTA. You did right kid. Your dad is the biggest AH ever. He constantly prioritized his step kids over you and that’s not right. Best thing for you to do is go on with your life, whether it’s college or military. Just go be successful and be a better father down the line if you ever have kids.

regus0307 −  I just want to put a cheer out there for OP’s mom. She sounds awesome. Borrowing money to make sure OP could still go on his trip? Best mom ever.

[Reddit User] −  Nta what a s**tty dad

[Reddit User] −  NTA and im proud of you for standing up to him, he chose a family and he can stick with it now.

Do you think the user was justified in giving their father back the money and setting boundaries after feeling consistently overlooked, or did they take things too far by excluding him and his family from the graduation? How would you navigate a situation with a parent who seems to prioritize their new family over you? Share your thoughts below!