Reddit Stories - BANISHED by GUARDIANS, EMBRACED by Love_ The Reunion at My Wedding_

Episode Date: September 8, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #guardians #love #wedding #reunion #banishedSummary:In "BANISHED by GUARDIANS, EMBRACED by Love_ The Reunion at My Wedding_," a heartwarming tale unfolds as a banished individual finds redemption and love at a wedding reunion.Tags:redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, guardians, love, wedding, reunion, banishedBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Guardians expelled me at 19, however now my betrothed wish to welcome my distant parents to our nuptials. My father departed the household and ceased communication when I, 35M, was four. My mom remarried and had two kids with my stepdad. My stepdad never treated me poorly but always made clear that I was Dale, fake name, to him. He was not my dad. My mom never tried to fix the relationship and honestly loved her new family and always saw me as a burden. That's what I thought at least until it was confirmed after my freshman year of college when my mom asked me not to come home.

I blocked her after that phone call and have had no contact with her or my stepdad and half-brother, since then. I do still speak to my half-sister, 25F, at her insistence, but that's my only contact. It took me a long time to deal with basically being kicked out of my family. I grew to be pretty independent and thought I'd live alone until I met my fiancé, 28F, four years ago. We have had a great relationship and her family opened up and invited me in with open arms. She comes from a pretty typical suburban family and they are great. Over the years I've told her about my issues with my family, she has met my sister and she never pushed for more until we started planning the wedding.

When we started talking about who we would invite I talked about friends from college and co-workers and she kept saying I should invite my parents. At first I thought she was just trying to gauge if I wanted to. I said I would not be inviting my parents. She said okay but then brought it up again the next day. I calmly explained how much they hurt me, how growing up feeling you were unwanted and then having it confirmed at 19 really stunted my mental health.

That over the years I have realized it's their problem and if they ever want to solve it then they can initiate, but I am in contact with my sister and it is clear they are happy insisting I don't exist. It sucks, but it's their problem that they have thrust onto me. I can't be the one to solve it. I thought it had ended, but she has brought it up two more times. The last one was last night. We were about to start the save the dates and she said, Are you sure you don't want to invite your parents? I feel like I might just invite them on my side. And I snapped. I told her we should probably just throw the invitations away because if you can't

respect what I've been through then I don't want to marry you. I then went to our bedroom and fumed for a while. She came in to try to talk to me and I walked out, grabbed my keys and left. I came back around 11 p.m. after hanging with friends and slept on the couch. She left for work without a word to me and I don't know where we stand. Her behavior is unacceptable but I feel I may have gone too far. What do you all think, Ada? Edit. Now, some people might think that my parents and Dale are secretly trying to reconcile or that they might eventually come around, but I honestly doubt it. I meet up with my sister every Thursday night, and we talk about everything. If there was even the slightest chance that my mom and Dale were interested in patching

things up, my sister would have given me some kind of hint by now. But she hasn't. The truth is, they're perfectly content pretending that I don't exist, and I've come to terms with that. It's not something that started overnight, and it's not going to change any time soon. Update 1, August 7, 2024. I'm very overwhelmed by the response. So many thoughtful responses. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond. I thought I would give an update.

My fiancé normally gets home around 5.30 p.m. So after I was done working, I worked from home. I waited for her to show up. Got very worried when it was six and she still wasn't home but around 6.15 she shows up with my sister which was a big surprise. While my sister and I connect every Thursday we live 45 minutes away from each other so her popping by is not normal. Both of them looked very anxious so I was very confused.

I asked them what was going on and my sister just bursts into tears and saying she's sorry. After like five minutes of her losing her shit she starts talking about the family. So apparently when she told my mom and Dale that I got engaged it started a rift between them. Not because they cared about me but about how my half-brother, which is 27, is still living at home, single with no steady job. If you're thinking, while they kicked you out at 19 but let him stay their past when he could rent a car, don't worry I said it out loud. My mom apparently wants to do the same to my half-brother but Dale won't let her.

So they are currently separated. with my mom living family and refusing to come back until my half-brother is out of the house. For some reason that defies all logic and reason my sister thinks getting an invite to my wedding will bring the family together. Since it was my engagement that caused the rift. At this I blew up a bit. I told her that my engagement had nothing to do with it, that their shitty parenting and poor relationship skills caused it and don't put that shit on me. She cried even harder, and this time I was not going to console her. My fiancé is just sitting there the whole time, so while my sister is trying to get herself together, I question my fiancé about this. She also tears up a bit, but tells

me my sister was telling her about how I always bring up the family on our Thursday and that deep down I wanted to repair the relationship. I asked how she could believe that when I was very clear that I was no contact with my family and had never mentioned wanting to be in contact. I told her that I tell her everything and would never hold back something like this without talking to her. She's always been my sounding board. When I switched jobs last year, we talked about it every night and her advice mattered more than anyone else. She apologized and then wanted to show me her phone, specifically the messages between her and my sister. At this point my sister perks up and asks her not to show the phone conversation. But my fiancé tells her she's trying to save her relationship.

My sister has just been straight up lying about our Thursday conversations saying how I was always talking about reconciling, how I would never admit it but I'm partially at fault too, how I really want to see them all again. Every time I would tell my fiancé no, she would text my sister and my sister would talk about how I just couldn't be open because I was embarrassed. Just completely false.

I would be perfectly happy never seeing any of them again. I can't believe my sister still sees them. At this I tell my half-sister to leave and that Thursdays are cancelled. My sister puts up a little bit of a fight, but I ignore her until she leaves. She keeps saying sorry over and over again, but honestly I'm done with her. I've blocked her and will be no contact with her for the time being. A complete betrayal of my feelings and relationships. As for my fiancé and I, I am still very upset.

She went behind my back with my sister. Never asked me about it. Let my sister manipulate her and honestly hurt me. I told her I love her, but my trust is broken. We've agreed to go to couples' therapy and see if we can repair the relationship. I hope we can, but I'd say it's a toss-up for me. She's got a lot of work to do. Edit, I know some people might think I'm being too hard on my fiancé, given everything that's

happened. But the truth is, we're both navigating this mess together. She was lied to and manipulated just as much as I was. And I've never claimed to be completely blameless in this situation. That's why we decided to go to couples' counseling instead of handling this individually. It's important for us to work through this together as a team and rebuild that trust. We're both committed to figuring this out, and I'm not about to throw away a relationship with someone I truly love because of what other people did to us. Update 2, August 15th, 2024.

A lot has happened I'm just going to try and spill it in order for you all. So after my sister left, I told my fiancé I loved her, but I didn't trust her currently. That I felt she took my sister's side instead of mine. So I continued to sleep on the couch for a couple of nights. She was walking on eggshells around me and I hated it, but I also just wasn't ready to forgive her. Then Friday night after I hung out with friends, I came home and crashed on the couch. We had had an innocuous conversation but she did ask me to come to bed and I told her I just wasn't ready. I woke up to pee at like 3 a.m. and she was sleeping on the floor next to me.

I don't know why exactly, but it touched me deeply and I cried a little bit. It meant so much to know that she wanted to be near me even when I was being unloving. It really turned the tide. I woke up a few hours later and she was making me breakfast. A surprise a Saturday is usually my big breakfast-making day. We sat down to eat and she was keeping the conversation light still on eggshells. But I decided to tell her a story from my childhood. I told her how Dale used to make breakfast for the family, but never included me. I was older so I slept in and when I got up, there was rarely any breakfast left, and if there was it was in the fridge and no one would eat with me.

I told her how much Saturday brunch with us meant to me and how I hadn't really ever talked about it and that wasn't fair to her. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. She apologized again, but I told her I didn't need it. That I'd forgave her and while I still want to do couples therapy because I think it'll help me express my family issues with her in a healthy way, I'm ready to send out the save the dates. I then asked her to massage my back because the couch was a nightmare to sleep on and she knew

I was serious. I don't love people touching me, except my fiancé and I had really not allowed it since the original incident. I know most of you did not want me to forgive my fiancé, but I love her. And she loves me. She made a huge mistake, but she's never experienced anything like what I went through. And she showed remorse. As for my sister, my mom reached out via a phone number that I didn't recognize and told me I should

forgive my sister. I told her to screw off and she just confirmed my sister really had never had a relationship with me at all because if she knew me, she would know that contact with my mom would only make the situation worse. I then blocked the number. This happened Thursday evening. She tried to come by Sunday but my fiancé and I were out. She left a note apologizing and saying she did not ask mom to contact me and she's sorry she did that. My fiancé wants nothing to do with my sister anymore but left the decision up to me. I told her that she was my family so if she didn't want her there, she wouldn't be there. A little jab for sure, but she took it well and said she didn't want her

there. We have been getting back to normal. It will still take time and I think I may try individual therapy because as I was thinking about all the incidents I'm not so sure the family situation is worse than even I have acknowledged and it might be time to really deal with. It. The say the dates were sent out yesterday and everything is still on. I'm not sure I'll update again but thank you all for letting me process and vent. Edit, regarding my sister, no, we didn't send her a save the date. We made the decision to just cross her off the list entirely. I know this means my side of the aisle is going to look a little emptier compared to my fiancés,

but honestly, I'm fine with that. In the end, my fiancé is the family I want to build my future with and that's what matters most to me. As for the breakfast situation from my childhood, I know some people may not understand why I didn't just get up early and join in, but it's really not that simple. Growing up, dealing with Dale was always a challenge. Every time I tried to join in, I'd get passive-aggressive remarks like looks like he's ruined Daddy Kid Time from Dale, along with eye rolls and annoyed glances. It was clear that I wasn't really wanted there, and that kind of treatment sticks with you. I get that some of you might have had great relationships with your parents or step-parents and can't relate, and that's

great for you. But reliving these painful memories over and over just to explain myself is exhausting. I came here to share my story, seek advice, and vent, not to reopen old wounds for others' entertainment. This update was meant as a thank you to those who supported me, but honestly, now I'm second-guessing even sharing. I probably won't update again after this. Now on to the next story. Story 2. Husband planned a trip with his bros only, after our baby was born. I begged him to stay, but he refused. This situation has caused a lot of tension between my husband and me, and now I'm questioning whether I'm being unreasonable. I, 30F, gave birth to our first child, Olivia, two months ago. Being a first time mom has been both beautiful and overwhelming.

My husband, Jake 32M, was incredibly supportive during the pregnancy and promised that after Olivia was born, he would be there for me every step of the way, especially during those challenging first few months. Before Olivia was born, Jake and his friends had been planning a brother's only trip for this summer, a week-long vacation to a cabin in the mountains for hiking, fishing, and bonding. When the trip was being discussed, I reminded Jake that Olivia would only be a few months old, and we would be deep in the newborn phase. He reassured me that if things got too tough, he would cancel the trip to help me out, and I trusted him. Now that Olivia is here, things have been harder than I anticipated. Between the sleepless nights, breastfeeding struggles,

and just trying to adjust to motherhood, I've been feeling overwhelmed. Jake has been helpful, but I can tell he's excited about this trip, which is coming up next month. Last week, I asked Jake if he could consider canceling the trip, reminding him of his promise. I told him that I'm struggling and that having him gone for a whole week would be really tough on me. He seemed surprised and a bit hurt that I was asking him to cancel. He said he's been looking forward to this trip for months, and that he needs a break, too. He also pointed out that his parents lived nearby and could help if I needed support while he was away. I understand that Jake needs a break and wants to spend time with his friends, but I can't help feeling like this as a time when I really need him by my side.

I tried to explain that while I appreciate his parents' help, it's not the same as having him here. Jake said that I'm being unfair by asking him to cancel the trip after all the planning that went into it and that I need to trust him to make sure I'm supported even if he's not physically there. Now, we're at a bit of a standoff. Some of my friends think I should let him go, saying that it's important for him to have some time away, especially after all the stress of becoming a new dad. But others agree that it's too soon for him to take off for a week, and that he should prioritize being home with me and Olivia. Additional info, I know some of you are wondering why Jake even thought this trip was a good idea

in the first place, and trust me, I've asked myself that question more times than I can count. For nine months, I carried our daughter, went through the pain of labor, and now I'm breastfeeding, which is a whole new level of exhaustion. Meanwhile, Jake planned this trip without a second thought and lied about cancelling it when I expressed my concerns. He still thinks it's unreasonable for me to ask him not to leave for an entire week, especially when I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. It's not that I don't appreciate help from his parents,

but having them stay for the week while he's gone doesn't really solve the issue. What I need is Jake here, being present and supporting me as we navigate parenthood together. If he's really committed to being a good husband and father, he needs to understand that this isn't the time for solo trips. Part of being a parent means putting your own wants on hold for the sake of your family. I'm not saying Jake's a bad person, but this definitely feels like a huge misstep on his part. I hope this is the only instance of him prioritizing himself over our needs, but it's hard not to have doubts when things like this happen. Maybe down the road, when I'm no longer breastfeeding, I'll take a week for myself, and we'll see how he handles things on his own.

But for now, what I need is for him to step up and be the partner I know he's capable of being. Update 1, August 22nd, 2024. Hey, everyone. I just wanted to give a quick update after reading through most of the replies. I was honestly overwhelmed by the amount of support and understanding I received. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond. Your kind words and thoughtful advice really help me feel less alone in this situation. A lot of you suggested that I should also take a week off, letting Jake stay with Olivia,

to get a break for myself. I really appreciate the sentiment behind that suggestion, but there are a couple of reasons why it's not realistic for me right now. First of all, I'm breastfeeding, so being away from Olivia for that long would be really difficult logistically. But beyond that, and this is something I know I need to work with. on, I just don't feel comfortable being away from my baby yet. I know it's not healthy to feel like I can't have her out of my sight, but I can't help it. I guess it's just that new mom anxiety that's

really hard to shake. I've been debating whether or not to show Jake this thread. I'm worried that reading it might hurt his feelings, but I'm definitely going to have another conversation with him about everything. I'm willing to compromise and let him go on the trip, but I think a whole week is just too much. I'm leaning toward suggesting that he limit the trip to a maximum of three nights, so he can still have some time away with his friends but not be gone for an entire week. I'll update again after we've talked. Thanks again for all the support, everyone. It really means a lot to me. Update 2, August 23rd, 2024. Hey, everyone. I just wanted to share another update after having a very long and emotional talk with Jake. won't get into every detail of our conversation, but I'll touch on the most important points. After putting Olivia to bed, I went straight to bed myself, feeling utterly exhausted.

Jake was already asleep, but for some reason, the weight of everything just hit me all at once, and I started crying uncontrollably. My sobbing woke Jake up, and he immediately asked me what was wrong. I told him that I was just tired, but then I opened up about how anxious I'd been feeling about his trip and being left alone with Olivia. I admitted something I've been reluctant to say out loud, that Jake hasn't been as involved as I thought he would be. This was one of my biggest fears when we found out we were having a baby. For context, Jake has a rocky relationship with his own dad. I won't go into detail about why his dad isn't the best but his mom, my mother-in-law, remarried when Jake was in middle school, and his dad wasn't

very present in his life. Jake has expressed to me before that becoming a father was scary for him because he's afraid of being a bad one, just like his dad. When he first told me that, I thought it would make him into a great father, because it showed how much he cared about being a good dad long before we were even pregnant. When I vented to him about all of this, at first, he tried to defend himself. He admitted that he's been freaking out about having a baby for so long and just didn't want to tell me. He said he didn't want to stress me out while I was pregnant because he knows how much I've always wanted to be a mother. Hearing him say that made me feel guilty, like I hadn't seen how much he's been struggling internally. I had tried to convince him that he was going to be a great dad when we had

this conversation long ago, and now it all felt more complicated. I thought to myself, this can't go on much longer. I realized that if he was going to keep pulling away like this, I didn't know if I could handle it. So I asked him, is this what our life is going to look like from now on? Me with Olivia and you away? Because if it is, Jake, then I don't think I can continue on like this. Jake told me to calm down and assured me that he wasn't going anywhere. Then he got really emotional, he even started to tear up.

He said he didn't want to turn into his dad, and that he hadn't realized that going on this trip could be a preliminary step toward becoming the absentee father he feared he might be. He apologized for not considering me and Olivia as much as he should have. Long story short, Jake called his friends and told them he wouldn't be able to make the trip. He's even started planning a little family getaway for the three of US next year when Olivia is a bit older. It was a tough conversation, but I feel like we're on the same page now, and I'm hopeful that things will get better from here. Thanks again to everyone for your support and advice.

It's been an emotional roller coaster, but I'm not. I'm grateful for this community helping me navigate it. You.