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Struggling with Boundaries and Space in My Home with My Partner’s Ex and Daughter Involved

309 replies

Curlywurly92 · 10/02/2026 14:26

Hi all,
I’m feeling really overwhelmed right now, and I could use some advice. I’m in a relationship, but I’m facing some real challenges when it comes to boundaries and my space at home.
I bought my house before I got together with my partner, and I pay the mortgage myself. Since I moved in, my partner wasn’t really in the picture at the time, but now that we’ve been together for a while, things have shifted, especially with his daughter and the ongoing drama with his ex.
Here’s where things get tricky: I’m happy for my partner’s daughter to have her own space when she’s here, so I said she can use the guest bedroom, change the duvet whatever, However, I feel like everything is being shaped around her needs now, even though she’s due to be there every other wknd pending a court applciation. The bigger issue is this extra bedroom, which I had used for my things—wardrobes, personal items, you name it. My partner when he first moved in started using it for his daughter’s stuff, and I feel like my space is just being taken over, and told her it was her bedroom. I never decorated it because I let him decide how it should be arranged for her, and now I’m left feeling like I don’t have any room for myself.
When my partner’s daughter first started staying with us, it was forced by her mum. We live far away, and when she was about 3, she was forced into a car for a 40-minute drive around 7 pm. It just doesn’t feel like a good situation all around.She hated coming.
On top of that, my partner doesn’t have his own place. So, now it feels like all the pressure is on me to make the living situation work, including the constant worry about the court order related to his ex and his daughter. I feel like I’m the one making all the sacrifices, and my home has become a battleground when I just wanted it to be a place for me to feel comfortable.
Has anyone else dealt with a situation where your space has been completely shaped by your partner’s kids or ex? How did you set boundaries? How do you handle it when your partner doesn’t have their own home, and you’re the one paying the mortgage but feeling like it’s not really YOUR space anymore?

OP posts:
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InMyOodie · 12/02/2026 15:08

You seem to think all would be fine if it wasn't for his ex forcing him to have his child in your house. He has a child. He's always going to have her part of the time wherever he lives.

Did you think he'd stay with you but have his child visit him at his parents' house? Then you should have explained that.

HappyFace2025 · 11/02/2026 18:32

Excellent post and name! @Whyarepeoplesuchwankers

Whyarepeoplesuchwankers · 11/02/2026 18:27

Curlywurly92 · 10/02/2026 15:23

He moved in with his parents following a breakup to get back on his feet while searching for a new home. Since then, we have faced immense stress due to a high-intensity custody battle. His ex-partner is frequently aggressive towards me and previously relied on his parents for childcare when he had her monday-friday . However, this stopped after a New Year's Eve incident where the child had to call for help because the mother was found incapacitated on the floor. Following that rescue, she has blocked all contact between the child and her father’s family.

OP, none of this is your issue. He shouldn't be dumping this stress on you. It's nothing to do with you. He sounds like he's bulldozed his way into your life and home (of his own free will by the way, it's nothing to do with his ex) leaving you no time to really think about anything. That's a red flag for abuse, OP.

"He lived with his parents while he got back on his feet" = he was homeless.

Also, he didn't get back on his feet, he moved in with you. That was his solution to his mess, dating "the boss's daughter" (or whatever relative you are) who's financially solvent and a homeowner, then wheedling his way into your home.

He's NEVER going to move out now unless you kick him out. Why would he? He has what he sees as a happy relationship with you and you now live together. Relationships don't go backwards, they generally only move forwards, he's not going to return to dating whilst living elsewhere. So if you kick him out you break up, basically.

Of course his DD needs a bedroom at her father's home, which happens to be the house you own. If you stay with him you're going to have to either give up your guest bedroom and guests can only use it when his DD isn't there or you give up the third bedroom that you're currently using as a walk-in-closet.

You need to decide what you want. If it's a "proper" relationship with a live-in partner or husband, but you don't like stepchildren (which is totally fine and doesn't make you evil or unfit to be a mother), then this man isn't it. If that's what your goal is, why date someone who isn't free for however many years it ends up being before his DD gets a place of her own? Some youngsters are in the family home until their 30s these days! You'd be limiting yourself unnecessarily by staying with him, if what you ultimately want is a child-free partner/husband.

On the one hand you're all "we" are doing xyz and you're living together, like you see you-and-him as a partnership. But on the other hand you're acting like it's your house and your life, he's just a boyfriend who is staying with you temporarily as a guest, until he buys his own place. That's not a realistic way to carry on because you're giving him mixed messages.

Decide which it is.

If you're a partnership, you see this as a "forever" relationship and he's moved in with you, then give his DD a bedroom because she's partly living there.

But if he's just a boyfriend who you've allowed to stay as a temporary guest and you're expecting him to get his own place soon, then communicate this. And tell him his DD can't stay overnight because this isn't his home and he doesn't live there himself, just is staying temporarily. So he can't allow his DD to partly live there either.

In the latter scenario, you could compromise by saying she can stay over only if it's convenient for you (he'll need to check with you each time), as a guest in the guest bedroom. So no leaving her personal items or clothes there, she comes with a suitcase and takes it all back home with her like any other guest would. Make it clear the third bedroom is your walk-in-closet and this is how you want it to stay.

Then stop getting involved in any of his custody stresses. If you're only dating as boyfriend/girlfriend and not a partnership, then he should be bringing his best self to your dates and you should be going out having fun, not bringing all his drama and stress about his "past" (it's actually his present) and offloading onto you on the daily, heavily using you as emotional support as if you were married. You should be having nothing whatsoever to do with his custody battle, his ex or his DD's parenting/childcare situation, if you're not a partnership.

You're taking on all his stress when you don't need to be. If he can't bring his best self to dates because of the level of stress he's under, then he needs to accept he's not actually in the right mindset for dating anyone at the moment, because he needs to focus on sorting his shit out.

You have boundaries by having them. You decide them and you have them, which means upholding them and accepting that other people may not like that. It means accepting that others feelings about it are none of your concern and not something for you to "fix" by backing down. It also means understanding that someone who repeatedly tries to trample your boundaries isn't a good person and shouldn't be part of your life.

It's ok if you want your house to feel like yours and not a shared-with-a-partner home. But you need to stop giving off mixed signals about it and stand up for what you want. If that leads to disagreements and the relationship ends, so be it, it means it wasn't the right relationship for you. If the disagreements lead to emotional abuse (sulking, silent treatment, put downs etc) or verbal abuse (shouting, name-calling etc) then accept you need to be the one to end what has become an abusive relationship. You're never going to be able to uphold your boundaries if you're not prepared to be single, because that mindset will lead to you backing down when you should stand firm, out of fear of the relationship ending.

By the way, his ex is not the monster he's portraying. She stops contact? How is that surprising when her DD doesn't want to go (at the time) and when DD's contact time with your BF is actually being spent at his parents place? She's stopped contact because she doesn't want her DD being used as his parents carer, which they sound like they need, and aren't in a position to provide care for his/her DD. That's her being a responsible parent.

I note that despite not paying rent or a mortgage, because he lives with you, he's also not paying for suitable childcare for his DD. His response to his parents being vetoed as suitable childcare has been to see his DD less. What an arsehole.

So she has family overseas? And took DD to visit for an extended period of time (probably because it's expensive and impractical to go more often for a shorter time period, or because she needed family support after the split)? Hardly surprising when he's a deadbeat dad who
a) still hasn't provided his DD with a bedroom of her own
and
b) was so shit a parent in the early years of DD existence that when they split, DD initially didn't want to spend time with him.
Why would she prioritise contact between your BF and his DD over spending time with her own family, in those circumstances?

I'm not seeing parental alienation, I'm seeing him pulling the wool over your eyes with a pack of lies and bullshit and woe-is-me type nonsense. Which the "dislikes his job" and "can't get his own place because it's his ex's fault" is part of it. He works for your family, the polite thing to do is to never mention anything negative about them and to accept that most adults of working age dislike their jobs. If he dislikes it that much the thing to do is look for another job, not complain to you about it (likely with a view to giving up work altogether and living off you).

If you want DC OP, pick another man, this one isn't a great partner or dad, so don't shackle yourself to him for life.

Economicsday · 11/02/2026 17:10

outerspacepotato · 11/02/2026 10:45

I think it's more the dad has found a really easy nest to move into with even a job included.

They always do.
Grifters like this would no more end up with a woman without a well paid job and a house, not a chance🙄.

They are so selective.
Sorting out free housing with a solvent soft mug is a priority, with a good job a close second.

The step parenting forum is littered with such stories.
Often the women get pregnant themselves, and it takes to the toddler stage before the penny drops as to just what a total mug they have been.

The luckier ones haven't married them, but still it isn't easy to get such men out of your home.

Grifters hang on tight.
They invariably have zero interest in the second child and don't pay towards them as they are paying their ex to work part-time.

Anyway, women with low self esteem get sucked into this scenario on MN, on a regular basis.
God help them for not knowing any better, valuing their homes more, and not thinking they deserve more.

Ballycastle · 11/02/2026 10:50

outerspacepotato · 11/02/2026 10:45

I think it's more the dad has found a really easy nest to move into with even a job included.

That too

outerspacepotato · 11/02/2026 10:45

Ballycastle · 11/02/2026 10:32

I can never understand why women like you date men with children. The poor little one will have picked up on feeling like a burden. Of course she needs a room wherever her dad is cock lodging at

I think it's more the dad has found a really easy nest to move into with even a job included.

Ballycastle · 11/02/2026 10:32

I can never understand why women like you date men with children. The poor little one will have picked up on feeling like a burden. Of course she needs a room wherever her dad is cock lodging at

Hoppinggreen · 11/02/2026 09:59

Economicsday · 10/02/2026 23:51

Exactly.
Thats hos big a desperate mug he sadly thinks she is.
Hd has no intention or interest in buying a house, when he can appropriate hers.
He will pay her the minimum and save as much as possible, until he decides what is best for him.
The OP is just of use to him now.
God help her, she doesn't seem to realise what a convenience she is.
What decent man moves in like that?
One who hasn't an ounce of respect for you and knows you will accept anything.
Poor OP, reads like she will learn this the hard way.

He pays her with money from a job SHE got for him with a member of her family as well!

Glindaa · 11/02/2026 07:34

OP I think it’s fine that the room is multi-functional - the child’s room when she is there. It’s only every other weekend. Sometimes step kids are there 50:50 or more or full time. I understand and agree with the need for boundaries - but I don’t understand the issue here. Sorry if I’m missing something

Busybeemumm · 11/02/2026 07:16

Naunet · 10/02/2026 19:42

Err no, no it doesn't, its just entitled parents who think dating some means they now need to provide for their child.

OP isn't just dating, she has agreed for the childs father to move into her home. He is also financially contributing by giving rent.

Living, or even dating, someone with a child means that you do need to factor in providing for the child. This might be in the form of child maintenance (meaning less money to spend with new partner) or providing a room for when the child stays with her father.

The child ages 6 doesn't know whose house it is or who pays the mortgage or rent. All she will want is a room to call her own when she stays with her father, just like when she stays with her mother. Children with separated parents have 2 bedrooms in both parents homes.

If OP didn't want to provide for this child then she shouldn't be dating and living with someone with a child!

Bearbookagainandagain · 11/02/2026 06:12

Am I the only one being massively confused by the story?!

Anyhow, ultimately your partner either lives with you in your house, or he doesn't.
If he does, then you need a room for his daughter. Not a guest room, or a spare room with your clothes in it. There are 2 guest bedrooms in that house, it sounds crazy to me that you couldn't find a way to make 1 available for your step daughter.

If you don't want his daughter at yours, then he needs to move out and get his own place.

Given that he pays rent and you admit yourself that he lives there full time, then this is he primary residence and his home. It's also his daughter home.
If you don't want this, then tell him he needs to move out. But you can't have it both ways.

Stompythedinosaur · 11/02/2026 01:05

Do you want to live with him or not?

If you do, then you accept that accommodating his dc has to be a reasonable priority as they are a package deal, and she should have a room.

If you don't, he needs to move out!

It isn't reasonable to expect a child not to live with their parent, so you can't reasonably have him and not her.

Personally, I'd prefer to have my house back and him move out.

Economicsday · 10/02/2026 23:51

FancyBiscuitsLevel · 10/02/2026 21:38

But it’s not that the child would be a guest in her fathers house, it would be the child and the father are both guests in the OPs house, or at least it reads like she thought that’s what she was agreeing to, and has realised belatedly she’s become a step mum and her home has become someone else’s family home, without ever really discussing it.

Exactly.
Thats hos big a desperate mug he sadly thinks she is.
Hd has no intention or interest in buying a house, when he can appropriate hers.
He will pay her the minimum and save as much as possible, until he decides what is best for him.
The OP is just of use to him now.
God help her, she doesn't seem to realise what a convenience she is.
What decent man moves in like that?
One who hasn't an ounce of respect for you and knows you will accept anything.
Poor OP, reads like she will learn this the hard way.

Shitshowpolitics · 10/02/2026 22:33

Curlywurly92 · 10/02/2026 14:41

I get where you're coming from, and I think it's a valid point. But here's the thing: it’s not just about not wanting to accommodate his child—it's more about the boundaries and the way things have been handled. He doesn't have his own place yet because of a complicated situation with his ex, and it feels like he’s been forced into decisions without fully considering my perspective. I’m not blaming his ex, but it’s a complicated dynamic with the lack of communication and consistency, and I’m just trying to find a balance that works for everyone.

Wouldn't it be better if your partner took his daughter to his parents when he has her for the weekend. I think she would prefer that to staying with you. It could be a win win situation for both of you.

FancyBiscuitsLevel · 10/02/2026 21:38

2021x · 10/02/2026 21:35

Your partner has to prioritise his child, but it sounds like he is giving away something that you feel that isn't his to give away.

The child will always feel like a guest in her fathers house which is not good for a child to feel.

Your partner needs to find his own accomodation.

But it’s not that the child would be a guest in her fathers house, it would be the child and the father are both guests in the OPs house, or at least it reads like she thought that’s what she was agreeing to, and has realised belatedly she’s become a step mum and her home has become someone else’s family home, without ever really discussing it.

AcrossthePond55 · 10/02/2026 21:38

@Curlywurly92

I think you aren't considering the totality of the situation and the possibilities of the future.

You say his ex is violent and has your address. She also appears to have an alcohol problem. Why would you want to have to deal with this?

You say she used to 'dump' the child on DP's parents. Are you prepared for her to 'dump' the child on you and DP if she wants a night out? Or have your schedule interrupted because the ex has decided she wants more time, less time, different time? Talk about your life not being your own!!!

You say your home is not your own because of his child's needs. Why would you want to have to deal with this?

You say there is a nasty court battle over the child. Why would you want to have to deal with this?

Have you considered the very real possibility that at some point this child may end up in your home 50/50, or possibly even full time? Is that something you're ready to deal with? Because then you'll either lose your guest room or your office-cum-storage room completely? Not to mention school runs, homework, time off during school holidays for childcare. And she's not going to stay little forever. Are you ready for the stroppy teen years? To put yourself second? Because he will put her first, as he should.

And in exchange for all that, he's 'nice', is helpful around the house, and pays some of the bills. With money from a job you had to get for him. He's a cocklodger. Everything he 'has' is because you have provided it for him. Home, job, everything. And of course he doesn't want to buy a home! Why should he? He has yours just the way he wants it.

You want to spend the next 10, 20, 30 years dealing with his baggage, go ahead. Or cut your losses now (sunk costs fallacy) and live your life the way you want to live it without all that baggage. I know what I'd choose.

FancyBiscuitsLevel · 10/02/2026 21:36

Tangit · 10/02/2026 20:41

You sound completely selfish and really shouldn't be with someone who has a child. You talk about 'sacrificing' your space and comfort - jeez, this is a child who has been through a lot, the least she's could have is a space to call her own once a fortnight. You have TWO spare rooms for goodness sake!
And you also say you're 'welcoming' - you don't sound welcoming at all, you sound resentful.

Edited

But she didn’t agree to this or plan for it. She bought a house to live in alone. Then he moved in after only a short while, didn’t appear to have discussed fully this would mean “instant family” with OP (and the parent bringing a step parent into their child’s life is the one with the duty to ensure this is going to work!) and that she would be expected to give up her space in her house.

OP tell him now that living together isn’t working for you. He can go back to his parents /find his own home. You can still date but not at your house.

2021x · 10/02/2026 21:35

Your partner has to prioritise his child, but it sounds like he is giving away something that you feel that isn't his to give away.

The child will always feel like a guest in her fathers house which is not good for a child to feel.

Your partner needs to find his own accomodation.

MaidOfSteel · 10/02/2026 20:52

i think you need to tell your partner that living together doesn’t seem to be working for you, and ask him to move out. He needs to find a place where he can have his daughter over to stay regularly.

Other posters are probably calling you cruel for not wanting to gain an instant family, but you shouldn’t feel bad that it simply doesn’t suit you. Not everyone is cut out for step-parenting. And it seems you’ve been steamrollered into it!

Tangit · 10/02/2026 20:42

Hankunamatata · 10/02/2026 18:41

Your partners daughter deserves her own room, decorated for her, a space that is hers to make her feel like home. As it is! Its her home with her dad.
The child should be the priority here. Not you guests or your junk.

Precisely this!

NomTook · 10/02/2026 20:42

Every adult in this child’s life sounds awful. Poor kid.

Tangit · 10/02/2026 20:41

Curlywurly92 · 10/02/2026 15:48

I have a home office that i need for work, I have storage for the house, I have her toys aswell, we dont have built in storage so its a nightmare trying to keep things in order, we also have a treadmill.

You sound completely selfish and really shouldn't be with someone who has a child. You talk about 'sacrificing' your space and comfort - jeez, this is a child who has been through a lot, the least she's could have is a space to call her own once a fortnight. You have TWO spare rooms for goodness sake!
And you also say you're 'welcoming' - you don't sound welcoming at all, you sound resentful.

dreamiesformolly · 10/02/2026 20:32

Netcurtainnelly · 10/02/2026 15:35

This. You knew he had a child. If you were really into them both you wouldn't mind.
Where is she expected to sleep on the floor.

Poor girl she could do with some kindness from you if your having a relationship with her dad.
Those saying get another house. How is he meant to afford that and how would that help anyway.

Just end the relationship. You don't want a man and who has a child.

Yes, because expecting not to be told in her own home which bedroom the child is to have is exactly the same thing as expecting her to sleep on the floor. 🙄

Knew it wouldn't take long for the 'you knew' brigade to start mouthing off without bothering to read the OP properly.

Canitgetbetter · 10/02/2026 20:28

I think the reason people are criticising you and/or your "partner" is that you were not clear about what was agreed with your "partner" when he moved in. I'm sorry I've put partner in speech marks, but from your attitude towards the situation it sounds like you view him as more of a boyfriend than a life partner?

If you see him in your space as a temporary thing, with him (and her) effectively staying with you while he sorts out his own situation, that is fine. But it's not clear if you've agreed that and he's overstepping, or if he thinks you're a full on blended family now and it's his home (if not his actual house) too.

To be fair you have asked how to put boundaries in place and said that you're overwhelmed, so maybe that is your way of acknowledging you might not have been clear with him?

I think if you agreed it was a temporary thing while he got sorted, you need to remind him of that and say you are not willing to compromise on certain things in your home. And mean it - you have to be willing to put your foot down, revert things to how you want them and also willing to ask him to leave.

If he moved in without that specified, it is not too late to make your feelings known.

If you don't know how to state a boundary check out Nedra Glover Tawaab's books.

awaynboilyurheid · 10/02/2026 20:25

Starlight1979 · 10/02/2026 15:27

So, now it feels like all the pressure is on me to make the living situation work, including the constant worry about the court order related to his ex and his daughter.

Why would you be "constantly worrying" about a court order between your partner and his ex regarding their child?

I think the op doesn’t want the daughter, happy to have the partner but not that he has a child. It sound the classic deluded he’s got the “ crazy ex” you know it’s all the ex fault….