A woman recently shared her family dilemma on Reddit. She opened up about the challenges she faced in getting along with her adult stepdaughter and her family. The situation eventually escalated to a point where she decided to pack her bags.
The woman explained that she and her husband got married when his daughter, Trudi, was 22 years old. Trudi is now 36. The Original Poster (OP) has two college-age kids, aged 18 and 20. From the beginning, the relationship between the OP and Trudi has been turbulent, which the OP understood and expected. After all, Trudi had her own mother and was a responsible adult living independently.
However, unforeseen circumstances led to Trudi and her family moving in with the OP and her husband. Trudi and her husband were facing financial problems, so the OP offered them the option of moving into her vacant apartment temporarily. They agreed to sign a lease and the OP would “rent” it to them without collecting rent, allowing Trudi and her family to build up rental history and funds.
Living with Trudi turned out to be a less than pleasant experience for the OP. She didn’t appreciate how Trudi and her children didn’t clean up after themselves. Even when Trudi’s husband was exhausted from working long hours, he made more of an effort to keep the house clean than Trudi did. The OP tried discussing the issues with her husband and talking to Trudi and her children, but nothing changed. The OP’s frustration grew when Trudi stated that she didn’t have to listen to the OP because she lived in her father’s house. Unfortunately, the OP’s husband did not support her in this matter.
Fed up with the situation, the OP decided to move out of the home and back into her apartment. After seeing how Trudi treated her property, the OP no longer wanted her stepdaughter living in her apartment either. This decision angered everyone, including her husband. Trudi even threatened to sue the OP because they had signed a lease agreement. However, the OP pointed out that Trudi hadn’t paid a deposit as stated in the agreement, so she wouldn’t stand a chance in court.
After spending a week in the apartment, the OP found herself falling in love with the peace and quiet, as well as having a clean space. Her husband visited a few times a week, pleading for them to return to their initial agreement. The OP made it clear that she would only move back if she walked into a clean house. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The house was disgustingly dirty, similar to what it would be like if five teenage boys were living there with no supervision.
Trudi immediately started making excuses and tried to shift the blame, claiming that the mess was not entirely her fault because she didn’t have her own living space. But the OP didn’t buy it. She walked out of the house once again and returned to her apartment. The OP informed her husband that she was not willing to live with Trudi and requested that he move into the apartment with her. However, he is retired and loves living in his home. So the OP stated that the only way she would move back in is if Trudi and her family moved out.
In the comments section, many people expressed their understanding and support for the OP’s frustrations. They believed that her husband was in the wrong for enabling his daughter’s behavior and should have stood by his wife’s side. Many also empathized with the son-in-law, who seemed to have become accustomed to dealing with Trudi’s behavior. However, they advised the OP to stay in her apartment and leave her husband to deal with his daughter until he could no longer tolerate it.
It’s clear that the OP’s reaction is justified considering the disrespectful and unsanitary living conditions she had to endure. Hopefully, a resolution can be reached that benefits everyone involved.
