My dad has recently been caught having an affair with his young personal assistant. Huge scandal; mom was very angry. Now they’re in the middle of divorce proceedings. Mom moved out, the other woman moved in and I chose to stay with him because we’re super close; he’s like my best friend. Now mom’s telling me to go and live with her and go no contact with him cause he’s a bad person and by continuing having a relationship with him I’m condoning his actions and “ignoring her suffering”. My relationship with my dad hasn’t changed, I don’t see why I should end it.

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[–] 140 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)
  1. Your dad cheated on your mum, not on you.

  2. Everything involving humans is more complex and complicated than it might seem at first glance.

  3. Everybody makes mistakes, even your loved ones.

  4. You only have one dad, so it's better to forgive them. (I didn't forgive mine for other mistakes, and that was my mistake. Now I'm old and he is dead and that's that.)

  5. Your mum is being selfish and manipulative because she is afraid and hurting. It's not right what she is doing, but see the points above for her as well.

  6. Life is hard and unfair and difficult for everybody. For your dad, for your mum and also for you. It sucks when you're stuck in the middle of other people's problems, but remember all of this will pass. And remember to take care of yourself.

Hugs my dude. You'll get through this and so will they.

Edit: 7. Time. Let things take time. Don't rush what you feel or what you should feel. Don't go overthinking everything. Things that are complicated need time to settle.

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  • [–] 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    There's a bit of difference between making a mistake and stabbing your partner in the back. He could have done it the right way, but he chose to do one of the most emotional hurtful things you can do.

    He betrayed family to get laid

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Point number 2. Read it again.

    As of why, we can only speculate. Sometimes a disaster is what is required to get things happening that should have been over a long time ago.

    They are living together already, so it was not only to get laid.

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  • [+] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Exactly. She moved in after. You are absolutely correct. 10/10 reading comprehension.

    It would be unusual if she moved in before the ex wife moved out.

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  • [+] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    My dad has recently been caught having an affair with his young personal assistant.... Mom moved out, the other woman moved in

    Staying makes it pretty clear OP is choosing a side. Theyd rather have a cool friend dad than an actual parent

    Edit: not only was dad willing to blow up his family to get his dick wet, but he's also cool with abusing his power for said reason

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • Maybe not in a perfect world. But here there are clearly very opposing sides.

    Even if the dad is cool about it and makes it seem like choosing to stay with him isn't picking a side, it still is

    My recommendation is not to side with the guy who not only had an affair but invited Ms side peice to live in their old family home

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago

    Between an immoral piece of sh and a person who was dedicated and believed they weren't yes there are sides.

    Father isn't just committing an act of betrayal, which he does to the person he loves, so op will definitely also be fair game for betrayal, father is also abusing his seat of power over his very young employee which is called coertion or quid pro quo and is UNACCEPTABLE. The fact OP could look into the eyes of a man who would betray him without a second thought is just cope.

    Eventually it will sink in how horrific this was and op I am sure being moral themselves hopefully will take moms side.

    Normal to go through a period of shock or denial before it sinks in.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I agree with almost everything you said except 4. is only true for past mistakes. I don't think you should excuse ongoing, genuinely harmful behaviours just because that person will be gone one day. Not that I necessarily think that's what you meant but I wanted to emphasise it.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    I mostly agree with this comment. I want to emphasize two things:

    • Your mom is now alone, and probably feels like you are choosing him instead of her. She must feel very rejected as a person, betrayal is not something you easily recover from, the more time they spent together, the harder it is to separate yourself from the situation. She will eventually get better, but take into consideration that she is desperate now.
    • Depending on how old are you, I would suggest leaving your house, either to go with your mom (see above) or living alone/with roomates if you are an adult. Your dad bringing the woman to your house raises some big red flags to me. Something is not right there, I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

    That said, don't cut your dad out of your life, but your mom is alone and betrayed, and your dad isn't. If I were to support someone here, would be her, without cutting anyone from your life.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Honestly, I'm very happy that your post has the highest score.

    All other people are spewing vitriol over either parent and not even trying to be understanding. Life is about making and learning from mistakes, and mistakes can be oh-so-horrible at times. Character value is measured by how well you navigate the stormy waves, and there's almost never a single correct choice.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Thanks. Yeah, anything relationship oriented tends to become completely and binary moral high ground burn all bridges and salt the earth from people that have no stake in it except to have a short moment of hormones pumping before they scroll to the next bit of entertainment.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    One choice is helping a faithful parent grieve, the other is to say fuck you to that person and stand by a cheater.

    Such a difficult choice.

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