Mom Uses Husband's Savings To Repurchase Their Daughters Bicycle After He Sold It For Something 'Useful'
Most parents would be quick to say that their children are their whole world. That they would do literally anything they could to provide the best life they can for them.
[ ADVERTISEMENT ]
Some of us grew up in toxic families, life was just a lot different 20+ years ago for many reasons. But those of us on the other side of those toxic relationships are now trying to navigate parenthood while trying to avoid repeating the cycle of abuse and emotional trauma.
We want to be better and do better for ourselves and our children. And part of that is having a partner with the same goals and mindset as you.
What happens if you happen to have children with someone who you didn’t realize had toxic beliefs, with no intention to grow away from those? What if you not only had children with them but married them as well, making separation much more difficult?
At what point do you take a serious evaluation of your life together, how their actions and beliefs will impact you and your children? A mom recently found herself in such a situation and turned to Reddit’s AITA community to get some fresh eyes on an interaction she was starting to doubt herself on.
Keep reading to see what happened, and what other Redditor’s had to say.
A truly outrageous story once all details are revealed
A mother shares a jaw-dropping story about how her husband returned their daughter's bike gifted by her Uncle, and spent the money on "something useful."
Redditor u/mammabearxx3 starts her story with some basic background: her brother bought her daughter a bicycle for her 11th birthday. This was a big-ticket item that she's been wanting for a while now.
Things quickly took a turn
After an unknown amount of time, OP finds out that her husband contacted her brother for the receipt for the bicycle and returned the gift while their daughter was at school. Turns out her husband kept the money for himself and had no plans on discussing this with anyone.
Obviously, their daughter was heartbroken
Her beloved gift was gone with no warning or any reasonable justification. Of course she would notice and be upset!
According to her husband, their child's joy and playtime outside was just a "distraction"
Because 11-year-old kids no longer need to play, exercise or spend time outside, right? Make them start earning their place. /sarcasm
Naturally, like a GOOD Parent, OP went off on her husband
Pointing out the obvious, the bicycle wasn't his to touch, PERIOD. Her brother bought it for his niece, not for OP's husband to pocket the money.
She calls it what it is: theft
And really, what kind of cold-hearted monster steals from their own child? When she demanded he hand over the money he claimed it was already spent.
While her husband played dumb about not having any money leftover from returning the bike, OP knew otherwise
Her husband kept money leftover from his paychecks for himself in their room. She took it upon herself to make things right and repurchased her daughter's bike using money he had squirreled away.
Missing the irony, OP's husband lashed out after discovering she took from his stash
Thankfully, she stood her ground on the matter. Pointing out that none of this would've happened if he hadn't been so selfish as to sell his daughter's bike.
He claims that he spent the money on "necessities" for their home
Household necessities would be worthwhile to dip in to your secret stash of funds, my dude.
He steals from his child to afford "necessities" for the house, but can still afford to smoke?
The explosive fallout had negative effects on their daughter
u/mammabearxx3 had to assure their daughter that she's doing nothing wrong by enjoying her bike. But being a child, it's easy to see why she would feel guilty about her bike now.
Her father is a ballistic narcissist that steals from his own children.
Her husband is doing everything he can to deflect any blame or responsibility
He can't SERIOUSLY believe she made him "the bad guy" in this situation, right? Returning the bike and spending the money in the first place made him the bad guy.
The amount of gaslighting she's faced from her husband is astounding
Redditors were quick to point out the obvious: OP's husband is an abusive AH
Domestic abuse takes many more forms than physically hurting your partner
Truly, there are so many red flags OP either ignored or missed up until this point
Seriously, smoking is NOT a cheap habit
OP and her daughter deserve so much better.
Boo this man
Husband is definitely TA in this situation
Financial abuse is still abuse
Of course, this situation is more nuanced than can be covered in a few paragraphs on Reddit. It’s easy to sit behind a keyboard and tell them to take their daughter and leave their partner.
A lot of people in these situations are kept where they are due to finances, and reading through u/mammabearxx3’s post it’s pretty clear they are just getting by with what they have. However, there ARE resources available.
If you or a loved one are in an abusive relationship, you can get help, for folks in the US The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be a great resource. You can talk to someone via chat on their website, call, or text.
And for readers outside of the U.S, you can find a list of resources for your location HERE