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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to hate being a step mum?

237 replies

PurpleSalem · 04/05/2026 11:24

There is so much context to this story but here is a very brief overview!!

I have been with my partner for over three years… he has a 6 & 8 year old I have a 5 soon to be 6 year old.

It’s never been plain sailing let me tell you that!! The ex on his side has done her very best to poison his kids against me to the point where the 8 year old didn’t see her dad for months.

Obviously she takes everything her mum says as gospel (totally understand that) but it’s just soooo hard to bite my tongue and live with it.

Feel like I’m walking on eggshells all the time.. like I’m not welcome and I’m just basically a frigging slave to the kids who don’t even like me!!!

Anyway, yesterday I bit back.. and i feel so guilty as I usually just keep it inside. After listening to her argue and be nasty to everyone all weekend I just lost it. She was telling me how I couldn’t tell her off as I’m not her mum blah blah to which I snapped ‘if I’m not your mum and you don’t want me to look after you.. cook your own food and was your damn clothes then!!!!’

The 8 year old is so clingy with her dad, talks to me like absolute shite and then goes back to her mum to say ‘oh SM has done this said this etc…’ and it all turns out to be lies!!

Her mum obviously then jumps on any form of problem pasting it all over social media/ tik tok etc slagging me off.

Sigh, sorry to rant.. just at my wits end :(

OP posts:
Charlenedickens · 04/05/2026 17:04

You need to end thr relationship or he does, no one needs a step,parent who dislikes them and resents them. Thr children come first. Find a man with no kids.

Charlenedickens · 04/05/2026 17:05

UnhappyHobbit · 04/05/2026 17:01

My point is, if he’s expected to domestically help and parent this step daughter, then she’s perfectly entitled to point out her bad behaviour.

In a responsible adult way. Not a mean girl bully way

GoldMoon · 04/05/2026 17:08

I never really had much to do with my 15 year old sd ( well she wasnt an actual one because I stayed as a dp for quite a few years before we married )
Now she is an adult with her own dc we are in quite a bit more contact and probably more So than her dad .

UnhappyHobbit · 04/05/2026 17:14

Charlenedickens · 04/05/2026 17:05

In a responsible adult way. Not a mean girl bully way

I don’t think you can class someone losing their temper for the first time as a bully”.

supersop60 · 04/05/2026 17:18

sunflowersandsunsets · 04/05/2026 15:55

It's a valid question though. This is what happens when you force a bunch of strangers to live in the same home to satisfy the sexual urges of the grown ups.

There’s no point asking it now.

OneShyQuail · 04/05/2026 17:21

PurpleSalem · 04/05/2026 12:02

Thanks for all the responses it’s genuinely interesting so see all points of view!!

I think I thought I would take to being a step parent naturally but maybe I just haven’t. Also had visions of us bonding a lot more than we have.

For reference.. me and DP both work full time and do 50/50 around house. Bio mum hasn’t worked a day in her life, is a benefit cheat & smokes weed around them.

How often do your DPs children stay with you?

If shes such an unfit mother smoking weed around them id hope he has them a lot and is fighting for all the time!!!

Salyexley · 04/05/2026 17:22

If you kick off at the child you are playing into your stepdaughter's and ex wife's hands, if you child kicks off just keep your cool

HobGobblynne · 04/05/2026 17:24

OneShyQuail · 04/05/2026 17:21

How often do your DPs children stay with you?

If shes such an unfit mother smoking weed around them id hope he has them a lot and is fighting for all the time!!!

There's always a theme with new partners discussing old ones isn't there.
Ex is invariably a drug user, spends no money on the children, multiple partners, neglectful and/or abusive parenting, all while receiving disgusting amounts of child maintenance...and yet NRP and new partner seemingly perfectly happy to leave them in the care of that person for the majority of the week...

jacks11 · 04/05/2026 17:27

YABU overall.

YANBU to find being a stepmother hard, and it is upsetting when you are trying but not getting anything positive back. YABU about the rest.

Ultimately, you and your DP chose to be together. Neither set of DC chose the step-parent, or the situation as a whole. They have had the step-parent thrust upon them, regardless of their feelings or wishes. They are either living with an adult they may or may not feel happy, settled or emotionally safe around (irrespective of how you feel that you should be viewed by them), or are mere guests in their parents home when they “visit”. That goes for your children, as well as your stepchildren. It is unsurprising to me that many children don’t react well, for a whole variety of reasons- doesn’t mean that truly bad behaviour does not need tackled, because of course it does, but that has to be done with understanding and empathy.

Add in parents who are at loggerheads (regardless of who you believe to be at fault for that situation), and at least one parent who stirs things up by being critical of the other child parent and is manipulating a small child into thinking badly of them and their step-parent. And, then you say mum smokes weed in front of her children and does not work- suggesting at least a strong possibility of a somewhat chaotic life at home with her mum. I am absolutely unsurprised, given all of that, that you have a confused, unsettled and probably very insecure and unhappy little girl. Imagine how it feels being her, right now! Perhaps, use that to temper you irritation.

A child should not be grateful for having their basic needs met- things like having meals made or clothes washed. The adults they live with absolutely are responsible for meeting those needs, and that is not dependent on their behaviour being satisfactory. You were highly unreasonable to react as you did, and say what you did. I’m not saying I don’t understand why you might be frustrated/fed up/ annoyed/upset that your partners children have not warmed to you and don’t treat you particularly nicely- I do, and none of us are perfect. But, all you’ve done is confirm all the things her mum has been saying about you are true.

It might not be your responsibility directly, but if your partner is leaving you to pick up extra work for his DC, and you are resentful of this (which is justifiable), then you need to address that with your partner, not take out your frustration on a little girl. Even one who is not behaving perfectly. How would you feel if your DP reacted to one of your children they way you blew up at your step-daughter?

If you, as an adult, cannot control your temper when provoked, perhaps you need to give your DD a bit of Grace too? She is, according to you, being manipulated by her mother. You need to tackle behaviour with your DP, and work together to improve things.

incidentally, if their mother is as bad as you are making out- openly using illegal substances in front of young children, parental alienation (and lord knows what else)- why has your partner not tried to get full custody or things out in place to protect his children?

Leopardspota · 04/05/2026 17:39

sunflowersandsunsets · 04/05/2026 13:12

It's on OP too. She's a grown adult who needs to control her temper.

Oh yes, very true!

CruCru · 04/05/2026 17:55

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 04/05/2026 11:42

I have no sympathy for you at all. These poor children shouldn't have to live with some woman they aren't related to and who shouts at them for having natural feelings. Their pathetic father shouldn't have put them in this situation either.

Do everyone a favour and move out.

I feel quite sorry for the OP. There is a pretty good chance that the partner moved in with her and her child rather than the other way around. And goodness knows I have snapped at my own children.

Honestly? I wonder if the man saw the OP coming. No one falls in love as quickly as a man who could really do with somewhere decent to live and some help with feeding and parenting his children.

It may be that the OP isn’t ready to split up with this man. I would suggest that she makes herself and her child absent over the next four or five weekends that the partner’s children are coming to stay. Let him take the load for a while.

Northermcharn · 04/05/2026 17:55

HobGobblynne · 04/05/2026 17:24

There's always a theme with new partners discussing old ones isn't there.
Ex is invariably a drug user, spends no money on the children, multiple partners, neglectful and/or abusive parenting, all while receiving disgusting amounts of child maintenance...and yet NRP and new partner seemingly perfectly happy to leave them in the care of that person for the majority of the week...

YES. It always reminds me of when someone has a new boyfriend, and new bf tells us his ex is crazy / money grabbing etc. Or when a male colleague splits up with his wife, she's always crazy and money grabbing. Always. Men are so predictable.

cauliflowercheeseplease · 04/05/2026 18:07

PurpleSalem · 04/05/2026 12:16

Jesus lol.. sorry ‘mum’ I’m new to this posting so didn’t realise the police were out!

Unfortunately you’ll get nitpicked by all the perfect mums on here who think they are higher than mighty 🤣

have you sat down with DSD and tried to talk to her? Maybe if you show her that you aren’t trying to replace her mum, if she wants time on her own with her Dad you completely understand that and all you want to do is be her friend? I was the same with my stepmum because my Mum hated my Dad so naturally berated him at every given opportunity and made me and brother dislike my stepmum for years. She also smoked weed ( amongst other things). Then just before my Dad and SP got married she sat us down and had a chat with us. She didn’t talk negatively about my mum or try to put her down, she just explained that sometimes things between mummies and daddies don’t work out but it doesn’t mean they stop loving their children. And when someone else comes on the scene they want them to see the most important people in their lives and somehow be a part of that too.

it really did help, I was 10 when they got married. Now I’m nearing 40 and have children of my own and have a great relationship with my SP, as does my DS ( soon to be another addition also). My mother unfortunately passed away without meeting my DS due to personal reasons but up until the day she died she still bad mouthed my father and even put a note in her will asking he didn’t attend her funeral 🫣

I hope things work out for you OP.

The comments disagreeing with you doing their washing etc I don’t agree with. You want these children to feel part of the family and included as mothers it’s just natural to take on these responsibilities in my opinion.

VividPinkTraybake · 04/05/2026 20:15

PurpleSalem · 04/05/2026 12:02

Thanks for all the responses it’s genuinely interesting so see all points of view!!

I think I thought I would take to being a step parent naturally but maybe I just haven’t. Also had visions of us bonding a lot more than we have.

For reference.. me and DP both work full time and do 50/50 around house. Bio mum hasn’t worked a day in her life, is a benefit cheat & smokes weed around them.

You know I can't remember the last time I read a story in here about a step mother when the mum isn't a benefit cheat, drug user, drunk etc......

cranberryhaddock · 04/05/2026 21:51

VividPinkTraybake · 04/05/2026 20:15

You know I can't remember the last time I read a story in here about a step mother when the mum isn't a benefit cheat, drug user, drunk etc......

And sometimes it's true.

cranberryhaddock · 04/05/2026 21:52

sunflowersandsunsets · 04/05/2026 13:56

Nobody has said that.

But it's down to her parents to deal with her behaviour, not her dad's girlfriend.

Disagree. If her parents can't be bothered to address this, that's not a reason for OP to put up with being treated like dirt.

cranberryhaddock · 04/05/2026 21:54

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 04/05/2026 13:57

Yes. It's absolutely justified for a confused 8 year old in this shitshow to lash out, try to get some control, test boundaries. The adults have failed her completely and don't deserve respect.

I think that applies to this child's useless parents, but I'm not sure how you reached the conclusion that OP doesn't deserve respect either.

Merryoldgoat · 05/05/2026 00:19

Northermcharn · 04/05/2026 17:55

YES. It always reminds me of when someone has a new boyfriend, and new bf tells us his ex is crazy / money grabbing etc. Or when a male colleague splits up with his wife, she's always crazy and money grabbing. Always. Men are so predictable.

One of the things I liked about my DH is that he’s never been horrible about any of his ex girlfriends. We talked about why they didn’t work out and ups and downs but never described them in any way other than respectfully.

Beautifulsunflowers · 05/05/2026 06:27

Have a talk with your dp. Agree to then speak to the children all together.
i would start with apologising to the 8 year old for loosing your temper with her. It’s good for her to hear that adults can be wrong and admit that.
i would also lay down some ground rules. Such as in this house we have kind words, in this house these are the rules….
let his children know that there will be times they will get to have their dad to themselves and other times you will all be together.
when they then say you can’t tell us what to do as you’re not my mum remind them that you know that however in this house these are the rules, just as there are different rules at grandmas house and friends houses and school.

it could be worth a period of conquer and divide, you take your dd out to the park, offer for them to join or stay at home.

thepariscrimefiles · 05/05/2026 06:45

PurpleSalem · 04/05/2026 12:02

Thanks for all the responses it’s genuinely interesting so see all points of view!!

I think I thought I would take to being a step parent naturally but maybe I just haven’t. Also had visions of us bonding a lot more than we have.

For reference.. me and DP both work full time and do 50/50 around house. Bio mum hasn’t worked a day in her life, is a benefit cheat & smokes weed around them.

It seems to be quite a common theme on here for the second wife/step-mother to characterise the 'birth' or 'bio' mum as a lazy, feckless, weed-smoking benefit cheat. It's odd that their husband/partners would be attracted to two such very different women.

I always take these characterisations with a pinch of salt.

RoastLambs · 05/05/2026 07:02

Your boyfriend sounds quite the catch.

One disastrous relationship behind him with a woman he has no regard for whatever and who he now spends time criticising. Two children he can’t look after because he has a full time job, the first person in history to do so.

Your relationship has no chance whatsoever. You are just drafted in to look after someone else’s kids, kids who nobody else seems to want to be with either.

roseswithoutthorns · 05/05/2026 07:50

On reflection this whole situation needs to be reported to the police & social services. There are drugs involved & 2 innocent children who are having to deal with an intolerable way of life. They should be removed from both parents & step parent & placed in foster care.

ThisMauveTurtle · 05/05/2026 07:57

You are too involved with this child.
Cooking and cleaning for her is the job of her parents, she sees you as trying to replace her mum by doing these things for her.
If your Dp thinks the kids mum isn't looking after the kids properly he needs to look for full custody.
Best of luck.
You are only young, I don't understand why you would want somebody else's kids sharing your home EOW and possibly moving in full time if the mother is as bad as you say

ThisMauveTurtle · 05/05/2026 08:11

Also, to add to my comment above, looking at it from the child's Pov it would be very irritating when visiting Dad and SM is here.
You need to leave the house when SD visits. She is there to see her dad and doesn't want to share him.
At 8 I wouldn't have liked somebody washing my clothes if it wasn't my parents.
If it's your house you still need to leave when SD visits, you are surplus to requirements for this girl.
Don't have a baby with this partner , then it's easy to walk

Flamingojune · 05/05/2026 08:30

thepariscrimefiles · 05/05/2026 06:45

It seems to be quite a common theme on here for the second wife/step-mother to characterise the 'birth' or 'bio' mum as a lazy, feckless, weed-smoking benefit cheat. It's odd that their husband/partners would be attracted to two such very different women.

I always take these characterisations with a pinch of salt.

Yes weird how he liked the ex enough to stick around to make 2 kids