AITA For laughing at my ex’s mother and telling her how much child support I’ve been receiving?

A Reddit user recently had a tense encounter with her ex’s mother, who accused her of misusing the child support money from her ex. Frustrated and amused by the accusation, the user ended up laughing and revealing just how little child support she actually receives—a small amount that doesn’t cover even her child’s basic needs.

Her reaction left the ex’s family upset and demanding an apology. She’s now turning to Reddit to find out if she was in the wrong. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA For laughing at my ex’s mother and telling her how much child support I’ve been receiving?’

My ex and I parted ways back in 2023. Ever since it happened, the communication with him and his family has been rocky. He was not interested in providing for our child (6) and I had to apply for child maintenance. He’s in debt with them (circa £1.3k), and has only paid about £120 in total.

I’ve not been on good terms with his parents (Amongst other things, they asked me not to apply for child maintenance etc., as their boy cannot afford it, and so on, so you could say we’re not the best of friends).

Here’s where the problem started- they recently found out about quite a few concerts I’m planning to go to- yes I’d posted about it on SM, but they have no access to my accounts, I don’t know how exactly they found that info).

Recently, during child drop off, my ex’s mother got very upset about the concert mumbo-jumbo and started telling me off for making my ex pay child support I just waste on myself and so on. I couldn’t hold it in and just started laughing, which aggravated her even more.

When she stopped ranting, and I stopped giggling, I told her, that her son’s child support wouldn’t even cover the travel cost of the trip, and they can rest assured that I don’t live off of his child support given, that I wouldn’t be able to raise my child on that amount, let alone the both of us.

I should’ve stopped there, but I also added that so far we’ve received approximately £10/month \[note: I said that without doing the math, truthfully it’s £11.09 LOL), which doesn’t even cover the cost of fruit my child eats,

so neither of them has any say in how I spend MY own money (Note: I’m not sure if it matters, but yes, I work full time, so I spend my earnt money). She called me a l**r and stormed off.

Now their whole family are upset with me, saying that I was rude and they expect apologies. I was also told that I was an a**hole for telling them how much I actually receive as it’s put my ex in a bad light.

My friends are divided too- some found the situation hilarious and others say that while it was fair to stand up for myself, I shouldn’t have told her how much I get in ChM.

In my defence- I had no idea it was such a big secret, I genuinely assumed she just didn’t care about the amount, and just focused on the idea of me getting any money from them).

Also, it’s worth noting: My child didn’t witness this interaction, she was already indoors, I’m sure it would’ve gone differently (I would’ve stopped the rant sooner) with the kid present. So, AITA for laughing and telling her how much ChM I’ve been receiving?

Check out how the community responded:

Frankifile −  Nope I told everyone about the £10 per month my kids were expected to live off to anyone who told me I was living off of ex’s hard earned dosh.

If he’s a deadbeat, make sure everyone knows about it, because I am not going to work my ass off to maintain my children in a good lifestyle whilst he takes the credit. Ex was similarly upset because I set the record straight.

Apparently I cause his manliness hurty feelz or something I couldn’t give a crap about.. Edited to add OP NTAH. and changed opening word, as I didn’t realise it would count as her ex being considered reasonable he is an a**hole.

HolSmGamer −  NTA. You simply provided an explanation as to how you couldn’t live off the deadbeat’s child support. Also, he should be seen in a bad light if he doesn’t want to support his own child.

CandylandCanada −  NTA, but why give them any information about your finances or activities? If your goal was to give her the business, then it would have upset her even more had you simply shut the door in her face.

There was no need for you to defend your actions; indeed, it only led to them demanding – completely unwarranted – apologies. Less is more. Tell them nothing, and don’t post your business on SM.

bamf1701 −  NTA. Your ex is a deadbeat father, which is among the lowest of the low. And the money he owes you is the obligation he took on when he became a father.

It is his responsibility and if he and his family had any testicular fortitude, they would live up to their obligations and not try to guilt you into giving up what rightly belongs to your child. You don’t owe them an apology – they started it. It’s not your fault they can’t take what they dished out.

Total_Vegetable_2246 −  NTA. If he doesn’t want to be thought of as a deadbeat then maybe he shouldn’t be a deadbeat. Your ex-MIL opened the door for you to say that the second she criticized your spending and objected to it based on the “fact” you receive child support.

You’re absolutely allowed to walk through the door she opened. You do not owe anyone lies…even if the truth makes them uncomfortable.

squirrelsareevil2479 −  NTA at all. It’s the old adage that if you don’t want the truth known, you should behave better. Your ex is a deadbeat and shouldn’t be crying to mommy that he can’t afford to support his child.

If that puts him in a bad light, he brought it on himself. Tell them there will be no apologies as you have no control over his bad behaviour and have nothing to apologize for. The truth is not being rude and you have no way of changing it.

Having-hope3594 −  NTA – She started the conversation and was attacking you for your finances and lifestyle. It’s fine to set her straight and give the facts. 

mattinva −  NTA and others say that while it was fair to stand up for myself, I shouldn’t have told her how much I get in ChM. I don’t know if they are stupid or just bad friends but this is so far out of left field I’d keep an eye on anyone saying this.

He SHOULD be embarrassed and its not something private that needs to be kept secret. Type of people to tell an abuse victim not to report the abuse because the abuser might face consequences.

Aggravating-Item9162 −  Obvious NTA. All you did was defend yourself. If anything, ex needs to talk to his mother about apologizing to you. Especially if he wants you to feel comfortable enough to drop your kid off there. hell no

waldo_varmkorv −  absolutely NTA, your ex’s mother shouldn’t be mad at you for “exposing” how little he’s been paying, she should rather be mad at him. the audacity.

Do you think the user’s reaction was justified given the circumstances? Should she have shared the specific child support amount with her ex’s mother, or was that crossing a line? Share your opinions below!