Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Real Reason They Cut Ties With A Parent

Woman sitting alone at the edge of a dock
a woman sits on the end of a dock during daytime staring across a lake
Photo by Paola Chaaya on Unsplash

A Reddit user asked: 'What did *that* parent do that ended your relationship with them?'

Make us preferred on Google

There are very few people who haven't found themselves frustrated with their parents at one point in their life.

Whether it be for something they said, did or didn't say or do, sometimes we've found ourselves needing to vent to a friend, or scream into a pillow to let out our frustrations.

For most people, this anger is short-lived, as deep down they still love their parents and will always find a way to forgive them.

Some people, however, have a harder time forgiving their parents for certain actions, and even take the drastic step of cutting them out of their lives entirely.


One Redditor was curious to hear what led these people to finally cut ties with one or both of their parents from their lives once and for all, leading them to ask:
"What did *that* parent do that ended your relationship with them?"

Lies and Theft.

"My mother often said, 'your sorry daddy never cared enough about you to pay child support', but I found out later, he had money order receipts."

"He was a career Navy man so he'd have been forced to pay."

"She stole two of my paychecks when I was a single mother, signing them over to herself in her sweeping left handwriting, I'm right-handed."

"The final thing that made her my EX-mom was when she let two drug addicted so-called caregivers steal liquid morphine which was meant for her dying fourth husband."

"He died in miserable pain at home without relief."

"She disowned my adult sister, who confronted her about it."

"Mom always said, 'I can stand anything except a liar or a thief', but she was both."- Grattytood

Ignorance And Abuse

"A few years later she got cancer, I let her back into my life, I invited her to my wedding, where she spent the entire day talking about how it was a shame I couldn’t lose more weight in time and insulting every aspect of the wedding quietly to my now-MIL who had helped with everything."

"I sat her down a few days later (she was staying at my house as the wedding was far from her home) and asked for the comments about my weight to stop."

"I used all the language I learned in therapy, explaining how it made me feel, trying to not be accusatory but instead cooperative."

"She started scream crying and ran out of the room."

"I left to stay with my in laws."

"I haven’t seen her since."

"She won’t be meeting the baby I’m pregnant with and when she dies, I won’t be attending the funeral."- jonathantavares

Health And Safety At Risk

"Well the last straw was when my father convinced my grandparents to get me kicked out of their house while I was finishing up university by telling them that the hookah I was partaking in every few weeks was an illegal drug."

"During finals which was pretty fun."

"Oh and the part where he told me he hoped I died by getting in a motorcycle crash."

"Followed by weeks of incessant voice-mails of him drunkenly threatening me wanting to meet up for a fight."

"There was also that time he beat the sh*t out of me when I stood up for my mom during one of his drunken rages at a camping trip."

"Oh and who can forget that one time he left me a voice-mail telling me 'this is your fault' and then shooting his gun into the air making it seem he had just offed himself."

"But it was just a manipulation tactic."

"That was a fun one."

"Nothing like some childhood trauma to make someone grow up quickly."

"For anyone wondering, yes, I did use this as a role model of what not to be as I got older.'

"I haven't spoken with pretty much any of my family except my mother for the last decade."

"I'm in a loving relationship now getting married this year and do not plan on having any children."

"My dad's last name dies with me."- Walkman1080i

Actions Have Consequences

"Dad left us when I was super young, like 2."

"Mom remarried (another abusive a**hole) and dad would come around sporadically."

"When I was 12 I saw him once then he left and didn’t see him again for decades."

"About 13 years ago I stumbled upon him in the state prison system database across the country, made contact, he seemed to be changed."

"He was old, previously meth addicted, lots of chronic health sh*t."

"I bought him a prepaid cell to keep in touch."

"He went back to the streets but stayed clean."

"Eventually moved in with some random long lost family member."

"We kept in touch by phone, I helped him get some of his health sh*t figured out."

"We were cordial."

"I got pregnant unexpectedly, it was in the 5 year plan but not the right now plan but whatever, here we are, no reason not to do this thing other than lack of mental preparedness."

"So. I go through this pregnancy, it was horrible in every way, physically uncomfortable, illness, bed rest, all the sh*t."

"He called me one day and told me he was going to go to the beach to celebrate his 20 year anniversary of moving to the coast."

"He’d never let himself enjoy the beach before and today was that day."

"What I heard was that he was going to the beach to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of abandoning his child, me."

"And I had these kids in my belly that I sometimes didn’t want, didn’t plan for, but would’ve murdered for and I didn’t even know who they were, didn’t know if they were boys or girls, no names, no personalities, just feet in my ribs and pelvis constantly, and yet I would have died for them."

"And this motherf*cker is celebrating the day he left me.'

"I never called him again, my kids are almost 10."

"He’s called me plenty, I don’t answer."

"I reply in text at times, briefly."

"I’ve sent Christmas cards to the family member he stays with and to him with pictures and I’ve politely explained the above and he just doesn’t get it."- tobmom

Weren't There When They Were Needed The Most

"Long story short."

"My brother got shot and was in ICU for a month."

"My brother's condition went south and my parents were MIA."

"A decision needed to be made wether or not we pull the plug."

"That decision fell on me."

"At 24, I had to make that choice with no parents in sight and I decided to pull the plug."- Soul_Traitor

A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way

"Oddly, she showed me she was capable of being kind- however disingenuous."

"She just wasn’t capable of being kind to me."- Evening_Run_1595

No Interest In Staying Cordial

"After a childhood ripe with physical, emotional and psychological abuse followed by limited contact through my 20’s, I finally decided to confront my mother."

"She agreed to go to therapy with me."

"A couple days later she started asking questions about the cost to which I said I’d pay."

"A couple days after that she was asking about how often we had to go."

"A couple days after that she said she didn’t want to go because I’d 'expose her'.”

"I was then told that the abuse I endured was my fault because I had given up on being a good son."

"This all happened 4 years ago and I went no contact immediately after."

"My life has gotten better since then."- PewpyDewpdyPantz

Sent Family Down The Wrong Path

"My mom introduced my older brother to heroin."

"He passed away early last year from an overdose."

"I don’t think I can ever forgive her for taking the only family I’ve ever really cared about away from me."- bulbsaur_is_best

Cutting someone from your life is a drastic decision that should be considered very carefully.

Sometimes though, however difficult it may seem, it is not only the right decision, but the only decision.

Especially when your mental and physical well-being are at risk.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

MapQuest logo in office; Donald Trump
Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images

MapQuest Downloads Soar After They Refuse To Bend The Knee To Trump Over Lake Ontario—And We Love To See It

The 30-year-old navigation company MapQuest is topping the download charts after not following Google's lead and following President Donald Trump's order to change the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that the United States was considering "changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don't expect to [be] doing much business with Ontario any longer."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Donald Trump
MeidasTouch Network; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

AOC Trolls Trump With Brilliant Suggestion After He Tells Americans To Stop Complaining About AI Data Centers—And We're So Into It

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked President Donald Trump after he was criticized for telling Americans to stop complaining about AI data centers being constructed in their communities.

Data centers—vast, industrial buildings packed with servers, networking hardware, and storage systems—form the physical backbone of modern computing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco attend the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Benny Blanco Just Shared A Racy Video Of Selena Gomez Sunbathing—And Fans Are Living For It

Selena Gomez is giving fans a whole new reason to "Look at Her Now." Over the weekend, Benny Blanco posted a TikTok video showing Gomez lying on her stomach while sunbathing topless. It’s unclear whether the star is wearing bikini bottoms.

The literally cheeky moment quickly turns playful when Gomez realizes Blanco is filming her. The singer smiles before immediately covering her face.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelly Clarkson
The Kelly Clarkson Show/YouTube

Kelly Clarkson Just Performed 'Golden' As Her Final 'Kellyoke'—And She Absolutely Crushed It

After seven years of performances, guest, laughs, and sharing her fans' living rooms, The Kelly Clarkson Show has come to an end.

Back in February, Clarkson made the announcement that the show would come to a close at the end of the Fall 2026 season, so she could focus on her two children, 12-year-old River and 10-year-old Remy, after the death of their father and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

Keep ReadingShow less
John Galliano presents the British Emerging Talent Menswear award on stage during The Fashion Awards.
Tristan Fewings/BFC/Getty Images for BFC

2027 Met Gala Theme Canceled After Designer John Galliano Drops Out Due To Backlash Over Past Antisemitism And Racism

The 2027 Met Gala is still eight months away, and somehow, the controversy has already arrived fashionably early.

When John Galliano: Horizons was announced on July 31, Galliano was set to join a remarkably short list. Only Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo in 2017 had been honored with exhibits while still living. Well, he was supposed to be.

Keep ReadingShow less