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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to take our daughter on holiday while DH is unwell and doesnt want me to?

491 replies

Atchooch · 18/06/2026 18:41

This is possibly my longest ever post. I dont know how to shorten it.

DH, DD (15) and me were planning to spend the summer travelling around Europe and had started booking things.

Then DH got very unwell. He has spent most of the last few months in hospital with poor mental health. It became clear he wasn't able to go on the holiday and he expected me to cancel it.

I have refused for the following reasons:
DH's illness has hit DD really hard.
She was really, really excited about the holiday. It's the first time she's been properly excited about something in a long time. She hasn't been abroad since she was 3. She has also had a really tough year.
I think if I cancel because of DH it will really damage their relationship. Maybe that's me being dranatic.
Both DD and I need a break if I'm honest. DH has obviously dominated everything since he became ill and that's fine because it's how it needs to be. However I think it's going to be the case for a long time (possibly forever) so I think we need to minimise the impact where we can.
For the above reason I also think I need to set expectations. We cancelled a few things when he became ill and I dont want that to become the norm as harsh as that sounds. I feel like his illness can't control mine and DDs lives.
I need this. I need to prove to myself that I'll be ok. When he first went into hospital I realised how reliant I was on him and thought I wouldn't cope. That isn't healthy. I meed to prove to myself, and DD (and DH tbh) that I can do things.
DD needs to see that she doesn't need to center her world around what other people want and that she shouldn't let them stop her doing what she wants. It's really important she sees that.
I don't know when DH will be well enough to go a long weekend in the UK again, let alone anything bigger.
Financially, I expect we'll have to rely on my wage going forward so things are going to be very different and I dont know if we can afford it again.
So there is the genuine risk that it's now or never.
It just seems like the right thing to do.

As a compromise the holiday has been shortened to 10 days including travel and we will be sticking to the tourist areas instead of going off to random places like we'd planned.

I do feel awful and guilty and like I'm a bad wife for not putting him first. I do feel like I'm purposely doing sonething that I know will cause him pain. I feel like I'm letting him down and I know I will find the holiday stressful and challenging and it's really scary. Of course I'll spend most of the holiday worrying about him and feeling guilty and worrying about sonething going wrong. So then that makes me wonder why I'm doing it at all.

DH is really angry and upset over it. His anxiety is spiralling. He is feeling like I'm not listening and don't care about the impact it is having on him. He is also resentful because he will need to stay with his family while DD and me are away because he isn't well enough to be by himself.

Although, they have been very little help over the last few months so I dont know what I'll do if they wont let him stay.

They will judge me more than they already do.

My family will judge me. But my parents wouldn't even go on a daytrip alone. It meant that we missed out on things because my mum wouldn't do things if my dad wasnt able to go with her. I dont want that for my DD.

So anyway, I will be taking DD on the holiday and I'll deal with the fallout. But I was just wondering what other people would do? Would you disregard your DH and go on holiday or would you put or DH first? Please be kind. It's really upsetting and whatever I do is wrong.

OP posts:
Unusualsuspects · 18/06/2026 20:26

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:16

So if your DH was suffering from cancer and was undertaking treatment for it you would happily waltz off on holiday and enjoy yourself? Or if he had MND. Or if he was in the advanced stages of Parkinson's etc etc. The list is endless.

It doesn't sound a very loving marriage if you would go off in holiday and leave them to it.

I’m not sure you are helping, you sound like the far end of a spectrum of what people can give, and very judgemental too. Comments about the state of the OP’s marriage are unwarranted and spiteful and appear to try and enforce your point as correct when many many people on here disagree with you.

I hope you pause to think about the real person you are being inappropriately hurtful too.

Blondeshavemorefun · 18/06/2026 20:26

Course you should go you have to think about DD as well as yourself

Sounds like this is gonna be a long-term life condition with CH you cannot put both your lives on hold for him

You have done a compromise and not going to 6 weeks. I’m going for 10 days. You both deserve a treat or something to look forward to.

Why does his knee come before yours and your daughters?

Mental health is really hard to those watching and being with a person with the issues

So go enjoy and make many happy memories because that’s what life is for

I have a saying after my DH died

Sometimes tomorrow doesn’t come so Live life for today

IonianNerveGrip · 18/06/2026 20:24

Finish · 18/06/2026 20:15

It’s more that living with someone with an intractable mental illness creates relentless stress and it’s entirely appropriate to leave an unwell adult in family care and to have a break away from it all. It’s especially useful for a teenager and an opportunity to take when finances will probably not allow it to happen again.

Exactly. The fact that it's a foreign holiday is a red herring here really. What's important is the respite from her father's situation, which will have had a hugely significant and likely detrimental effect on her ask me how I know.

hugasaurus · 18/06/2026 20:23

How’s your mental health through all this, OP? Has anyone in your life bothered to ask you or is it just his that is important?

yellowgecko · 18/06/2026 20:23

Go

TappyGilmore · 18/06/2026 20:23

Your daughter needs to be your focus and your priority, not your husband. And 10 days isn’t even an especially long time. Just go.

Unusualsuspects · 18/06/2026 20:22

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:16

So if your DH was suffering from cancer and was undertaking treatment for it you would happily waltz off on holiday and enjoy yourself? Or if he had MND. Or if he was in the advanced stages of Parkinson's etc etc. The list is endless.

It doesn't sound a very loving marriage if you would go off in holiday and leave them to it.

In certain circumstances I would arrange suitable care and cover and assist other family members, yes.

My best friends husband has a condition that requires supervision now. She has taken her children on holiday without him. He is unwilling/unable to go, and she quite rightly tries to give her children some normality.

Nearly50omg · 18/06/2026 20:21

concertinacornflake · 18/06/2026 18:51

If he genuinely can't care for himself, I don't think it's ok to go. It's awful, but he's very unwell.

Not her problem!! He’s not her child!!

hugasaurus · 18/06/2026 20:21

And in sickness and in health is all very well up to the point that their sickness begins to threaten your health, which is what can and will happen when someone has this kind of severity of condition and the person caring for them isn’t allowed any respite or any semblance of their own life. That’s not in sickness and health, that’s control, emotional blackmail, whatever you want to call it. Just because the person is ill or not in control doesn’t lessen the impact of that.

5thchildso · 18/06/2026 20:21

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:16

So if your DH was suffering from cancer and was undertaking treatment for it you would happily waltz off on holiday and enjoy yourself? Or if he had MND. Or if he was in the advanced stages of Parkinson's etc etc. The list is endless.

It doesn't sound a very loving marriage if you would go off in holiday and leave them to it.

My dh (who does actually have cancer) would be encouraging me to go to take the children for a break. Respite care is perfectly normal for anyone living with a partner with a debilitating illness, never mind for those still with a child at home. When you care for someone it's a marathon not a sprint

Duvetdayneeded · 18/06/2026 20:19

Another vote for go. Dont ruin yours dds life more than he has/will.

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:19

JLou08 · 18/06/2026 20:16

What makes you think anyone would say she should stay if it was a physical health condition? I certainly wouldn't. He is an adult, he has other family. It's already been 6 months, why should OP and her DD have everything on hold indefinitely?

Do you know iI can never tell whether this hard, uncaring, inhuman attitude towards spouses is just an MN phenomenon. Or whether this is actually representative of real life.

ToddlerFun7482i292 · 18/06/2026 20:19

Go. Absolutely go.

5thchildso · 18/06/2026 20:19

The dad will still be ill whether or not they go on the holiday. He is being selfish, which may be caused by his illness or may just be how he is. Either way, this short period is about the needs of the dd, not either parent. And both her parents should want what's best for her.

ERthree · 18/06/2026 20:17

Please please go🌺

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:16

5thchildso · 18/06/2026 20:04

I'm trying to think of what physically debilitating condition either me or dh could have that would mean the other one could not take our dc away for 10 days. I'd have to literally be in my final days for this to be a problem.

So if your DH was suffering from cancer and was undertaking treatment for it you would happily waltz off on holiday and enjoy yourself? Or if he had MND. Or if he was in the advanced stages of Parkinson's etc etc. The list is endless.

It doesn't sound a very loving marriage if you would go off in holiday and leave them to it.

JLou08 · 18/06/2026 20:16

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 19:20

Sorry OP but if your DH was hospitalised with his mental health for months he must indeed have been very ill.

To me if you go on this holiday it is probably going to set his recovery back significantly. I accept you and your DD need a holiday but I don't think now is the right time. I think postponing it until your DH is in a better place would give a much better long term outcome for all of you.

And tbh if you care about him I don't see how you could enjoy your holiday knowing the possible consequences to his health.

I don't think it's a question of him trying to control you by stopping you going. It's obvious his mental health problems are very real. If he had a serious physical medical condition I wonder if so many pp woukd be telling upu to go off and leave him.

What makes you think anyone would say she should stay if it was a physical health condition? I certainly wouldn't. He is an adult, he has other family. It's already been 6 months, why should OP and her DD have everything on hold indefinitely?

Doesitfloat · 18/06/2026 20:15

Go

Finish · 18/06/2026 20:15

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:09

This is the typical MN view that holidays are some sort of sacred right that everyone has an entitlement to.

It may come as a shock to you that many many people can't go on holidays for lots of different reasons.
And people actually manage to survive without holidays.

I find it very strange and totally lacking in any human compassion that you think a teenage girl's perceived right to a foreign holiday trumps the welfare of her father who is suffering from a serious illness.

It’s more that living with someone with an intractable mental illness creates relentless stress and it’s entirely appropriate to leave an unwell adult in family care and to have a break away from it all. It’s especially useful for a teenager and an opportunity to take when finances will probably not allow it to happen again.

5128gap · 18/06/2026 20:15

You are absolutely doing the right thing, for all the reasons you list. Reserving the right to some autonomy over your life, some time with DD, some pleasure and respite from his illness could make the difference between you coping for the long haul or going under and having to leave. So this is in his interests too.
Its important you don't give into his coercion on this. Because this precedent you set here will be the one you'll be living with.

ADHDspoonie · 18/06/2026 20:13

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:09

This is the typical MN view that holidays are some sort of sacred right that everyone has an entitlement to.

It may come as a shock to you that many many people can't go on holidays for lots of different reasons.
And people actually manage to survive without holidays.

I find it very strange and totally lacking in any human compassion that you think a teenage girl's perceived right to a foreign holiday trumps the welfare of her father who is suffering from a serious illness.

It could well be a lifelong mental illness. Should they put their lives on hold forever?

hugasaurus · 18/06/2026 20:13

Please go, OP. It’s so important that you do.

Living with someone who has severe mental health problems is incredibly hard. It’s not just him who is the victim of his poor mental health; you guys are too. And being held hostage to a condition that may be like this for years is unfair for a teenage girl. 10 days away is nothing in the grand scheme of OP and her husband’s life together and to come but it is so much for a 15yo girl whose life for the past while has revolved around her ill father.

Imdunfer · 18/06/2026 20:11

Please please take the holiday. You both need this and you both deserve it.

ADHDspoonie · 18/06/2026 20:11

Atchooch · 18/06/2026 18:41

This is possibly my longest ever post. I dont know how to shorten it.

DH, DD (15) and me were planning to spend the summer travelling around Europe and had started booking things.

Then DH got very unwell. He has spent most of the last few months in hospital with poor mental health. It became clear he wasn't able to go on the holiday and he expected me to cancel it.

I have refused for the following reasons:
DH's illness has hit DD really hard.
She was really, really excited about the holiday. It's the first time she's been properly excited about something in a long time. She hasn't been abroad since she was 3. She has also had a really tough year.
I think if I cancel because of DH it will really damage their relationship. Maybe that's me being dranatic.
Both DD and I need a break if I'm honest. DH has obviously dominated everything since he became ill and that's fine because it's how it needs to be. However I think it's going to be the case for a long time (possibly forever) so I think we need to minimise the impact where we can.
For the above reason I also think I need to set expectations. We cancelled a few things when he became ill and I dont want that to become the norm as harsh as that sounds. I feel like his illness can't control mine and DDs lives.
I need this. I need to prove to myself that I'll be ok. When he first went into hospital I realised how reliant I was on him and thought I wouldn't cope. That isn't healthy. I meed to prove to myself, and DD (and DH tbh) that I can do things.
DD needs to see that she doesn't need to center her world around what other people want and that she shouldn't let them stop her doing what she wants. It's really important she sees that.
I don't know when DH will be well enough to go a long weekend in the UK again, let alone anything bigger.
Financially, I expect we'll have to rely on my wage going forward so things are going to be very different and I dont know if we can afford it again.
So there is the genuine risk that it's now or never.
It just seems like the right thing to do.

As a compromise the holiday has been shortened to 10 days including travel and we will be sticking to the tourist areas instead of going off to random places like we'd planned.

I do feel awful and guilty and like I'm a bad wife for not putting him first. I do feel like I'm purposely doing sonething that I know will cause him pain. I feel like I'm letting him down and I know I will find the holiday stressful and challenging and it's really scary. Of course I'll spend most of the holiday worrying about him and feeling guilty and worrying about sonething going wrong. So then that makes me wonder why I'm doing it at all.

DH is really angry and upset over it. His anxiety is spiralling. He is feeling like I'm not listening and don't care about the impact it is having on him. He is also resentful because he will need to stay with his family while DD and me are away because he isn't well enough to be by himself.

Although, they have been very little help over the last few months so I dont know what I'll do if they wont let him stay.

They will judge me more than they already do.

My family will judge me. But my parents wouldn't even go on a daytrip alone. It meant that we missed out on things because my mum wouldn't do things if my dad wasnt able to go with her. I dont want that for my DD.

So anyway, I will be taking DD on the holiday and I'll deal with the fallout. But I was just wondering what other people would do? Would you disregard your DH and go on holiday or would you put or DH first? Please be kind. It's really upsetting and whatever I do is wrong.

As the child of a parent with a severe mental health illness (Schizophrenia) and grew up with everything revolving around said parent the majority of the time and resenting it. (As an adult I still struggle with it but less than I did)

Go on the holiday. You can't get those memories or time back with your DD. Just make sure back up care is in place. Can social services help with that?

Sunandsunshine · 18/06/2026 20:09

ThePieceHall · 18/06/2026 20:00

The teenage daughter deserves a chance of happiness and she can’t go abroad solo at 16. Everything in families is checks and balances. Why prioritise the needs of an adult over a child?

This is the typical MN view that holidays are some sort of sacred right that everyone has an entitlement to.

It may come as a shock to you that many many people can't go on holidays for lots of different reasons.
And people actually manage to survive without holidays.

I find it very strange and totally lacking in any human compassion that you think a teenage girl's perceived right to a foreign holiday trumps the welfare of her father who is suffering from a serious illness.