Reddit Stories - My RELATIVES TORMENTED me for years and CONSTANTLY compared me to my sibling

Episode Date: June 16, 2026

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #familydrama #siblingrivalry #emotionalabuse #toxicrelationships #mentalhealth For years, my relatives tormented me by constantly comparing me to my sibling. This relentless criticism affected my self-esteem and mental health, leading to feelings of inadequacy. I struggled to find my identity amidst their comparisons, ultimately seeking ways to break free from their toxic behavior and establish my worth. redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, familyissues, siblingcomparison, emotionaltrauma, personalgrowth, selfesteem, mentalwellness, toxicfamily, overcomingabuse, identitystruggles, healingjourney, familydynamics, support, resilience, lifeadvice, selfdiscoveryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6816713/support.This episode includes AI-generated content.

I hope you enjoy this story. My relatives tormented me for years and constantly compared me to my sibling because of my appearance, but now I am engaged to a wealthy individual and my family is pleading for forgiveness. Me to invite them to my wedding. I, 23F, was born into a middle-class family, consisting of my parents and my elder sister, Kelly, 25F. My parents were academicians, so it was obvious for them to have a lot of expectations from Kelly and me. Kelly was an excellent student, an extremely high-achieving individual with the looks of a Greek goddess. I, on the other hand, wasn't as well-performing academically, not as

good-looking, and a bit overweight, but great at art from a very young age. Everyone who says looks don't matter in society has never actually been an ugly-looking person because I face discrimination because of it from my own family. I considered it fine when my parents scolded me about my studies because I understood the motive, but they always ended up commenting on my looks and how I couldn't even pull off the dumb blonde stereotype if I failed at everything else, constantly comparing me to Kelly. Kelly didn't say much, but I could feel her gaze on me whenever we walked together like she wanted to disappear rather than be seen with me. Even as a child, at every family event, whenever my relatives tried to praise me for my achievements,

my parents always interrupted and made jokes about how bad I looked by comparing my face to that of animals. They got some uncomfortable laugh since they were the hosts, but the damage it did to me was irreparable. I always thought it was my fault that I was ugly, which led to me developing an inferiority complex. I rarely talked to anyone or participated in any activities at school because of the fear of being judged. One day, my school counselor noticed me sitting in an empty class, drawing, and suggested I participate in the upcoming poster-making contest. I said no, and she decided to get to the root of it by talking to me about it. She found out about my issue and called my parents the same day, asking them to get me to a psychologist since their constant criticism wasn't helping.

To avoid being called negligent, they agreed to enroll me in therapy. The next few years were good, with me finally being able to build my self-worth with the help of my therapist. However, this didn't change the snarky remarks I used to get from my parents. They made fun of my looks, and when I showed my disapproval, they told me to get a sense of humor, maybe. I decided from that point on that I would move out of their house as soon as I turned 18. Finally, my 18th birthday arrived, but my parents didn't forget to make it all about Kelly. Kelly got a modeling gig. Kelly got into a very well-known college.

Kelly is the best was all I could hear during the party. It was only my maternal aunt who stepped up and reminded everybody that it was my birthday and maybe we should talk about me instead. Everyone agreed, except my family, who didn't like my aunts intervening and stayed quiet during the rest of the party, even when it was time to sing happy birthday. After the party was over,

I went to my room and cried. The next day, I called a friend who helped me find a tiny apartment. And I had money saved for my part-time job, so finances weren't an issue. My moving out wasn't an issue for anyone in my family. Forget about asking. the reason. They didn't even realize I was leaving for good until I started loading my

friend's car with boxes full of my stuff. They didn't say much, just a final remark, that with me gone, their house would finally look chic. Kelly was also going to leave for college this year and, very unexpectedly, gave me a book she liked as a farewell gift. I studied and worked extremely hard that year, realized my passion for software engineering, and fortunately got into a very reputable college for it. I hadn't talked to my parents since moving out, so I decided to go and invite them to my graduation. I reached home to a locked door. I called them, and after multiple calls, when they finally picked up, they told me they wouldn't be able to attend my graduation because they were out of the country on vacation. I thought they might change their minds upon hearing

about my admission and offer to pay my tuition as they did for Kelly, but all I got was, oh, that's great, good for you. I cut the call and went straight to my aunts to invite her to my graduation instead. We talked, and I cried a little about my family's distant behavior, and she promised to be there for me from then on. I moved to another city the next month to attend college. Six years later, I was working for a reputable company as a software engineer and freelancing as a graphic designer. My relationship with my family had been almost non-existent during these past years. I used to only get invited to big family events, only to be made fun of most of the time, so I decided to stop going after a year. My aunt noticed this and invited me to her

house for all the holidays, so it's safe to say I didn't really miss my family. The company I worked it was very chill, with no blatant hierarchy among the employees. Once, our company needed someone to redesign their logo, so I volunteered. I was asked to work with a guy from the office I had never met before, let's call him Rob. Rob and I worked on that project for almost three months and became great friends. We started to hang out after work and realized it was something more and finally began our relationship. By the end of our project, I learned that he was actually the CEO and founder of the company, which didn't make much difference because, to me, he was just Rob.

After a year of dating, he finally proposed to me extravagantly on a trip to Paris. I was elated, and my aunt was the first to hear about it. The next day, I emailed my family about this and made a Facebook post to inform everyone else in my extended family. Surprisingly, I got a call from my mother, the third time in almost seven years. She sounded very excited and congratulated me, proceeding to invite me. for a private family dinner the following weekend. I thought about it and said yes to her. The dinner wasn't at my house, but at a very fancy restaurant. I met my parents and my sister Kelly, who had

been between jobs after college. My parents were trying to act very nicely toward me, but I kept my guard up. They asked me about the wedding, and I told them I had no plans yet. This is when they broke character, and I finally realized why they wanted to meet me. They began to begging me to include them in my wedding. I was taken aback by this and clearly told them it would be my call after I decided and that they had no right to make demands after being absent for almost seven years and showing up when they needed something. They got quiet, and I asked for the bill. I thought we'd go Dutch, but I was then informed that they expected me to pay the entire bill because I was now getting married to this rich guy. I was so done with them at that point that I

paid the bill and left without even saying goodbye. I talked to Rob about this, who assured me the wedding would be as I liked, with only the people I'd like to have on my special day. From that day on, I started getting constant calls from my parents, pressuring me to invite them and make them a part of the wedding since we were family and family came first. I was extremely reluctant at first because of what happened at the last dinner, but on their repeated apologies for their behavior toward me during my childhood and so far, I decided to act like the bigger person and give them a second chance. I told them that Dad could walk me down the aisle, while my mom and Kelly could be my bridesmaids, and they were more than fine with it. Things started to go south when they began

shopping for the wedding. They got the most expensive stuff from stores and expected me to pay for it. I told them very clearly that I'd send them references to look for and that I wouldn't be paying for any of it. They tried to persuade me by pretending to be nice. but I didn't fall for it and said no. Five months before the wedding, Rob and I decided to have an engagement announcement first in my city and determine the guest list based on that. So, I invited my family and a good chunk of my relatives to this engagement party. It was well known that since Rob was a CEO, a lot of distinguished guests would be invited to every event.

My parents were just happy to be included at this point. Everything was going according to plan until I got a call from my aunt one day. who said she wanted to talk in person ASAP. I met her in the coming days, and she told me that my family was planning something against me. She said my mother knew very well about my dislike for them and Kelly and was planning to pull a stunt at my engagement announcement. So, their financial situation had deteriorated after they sent Kelly to college

because my dad retired. My mom had been the sole breadwinner of the family, and with Kelly doing nothing after her graduation, they were in extreme need of money to maintain their standing in society. Once they realized I had gotten engaged to a wealthy guy, they tried to patch things up with me in hopes that I would automatically become their ATM and give them money, realizing their situation. But once I shut down their efforts, they planned to take a rather cunning route. Their first plan was to get Kelly to be my maid of honor so that she could be set up with one of the

groomsmen. That seemed far-fetched because I did not accept their antics and had control of my wedding, so they decided on something more sinister. They had gotten a cheap knock-off necklace online, which they planned on showing me at the engagement party, claiming it was an original for Kelly. Once I was seen with the necklace, they'd put the necklace secretly in my bag and then create a scene of the necklace being stolen.

After finding it in my bag, they'd blame me for stealing it in front of everyone, and in compensation for it. Maybe my fiancé could offer them some money, and I, out of guilt, would pay for their expenses and make Kelly my MO. I was shocked at my family's audacity and got a bit emotional. My aunt calmed me down and told me that she came to me as soon as she heard of this plan to warn me of my parents' intentions at the party and the action I wanted to take ahead.

I thought about it a little and asked my aunt not to let them know that I knew about it because I was now planning to give it back to them. I told my aunt we could get another copy of the necklace and put it in my mom's bag after she put her piece into mine. There would be no bounds to her embarrassment after she found the necklace she blamed me for stealing in her bag, and maybe that would lead them to reconsider their decision to plan it to embarrass me in the first place. My aunt approved of the plan and was immediately on board. The day of my engagement party arrived. Everything was going according to plan, with my mother being completely unaware of my knowledge of her plan. She showed me the necklace, and a few minutes later, gathered my dad and Kelly, and began screaming that her expensive necklace was lost. I looked in my bag and immediately

took out the necklace, giving it to my aunt discreetly. Then I went to my mom and asked what was up with her. She blamed the necklace being lost on me because I had at last and wanted me to check my bag. I pretended to calm her down and asked her to check her bag before blaming anyone else and snatched her bag from her. I then opened it and showed everyone the necklace. My family was dumbfounded, with everyone now talking about them in whispers. Before they could say anything, I very loudly reminded them that their tactics of making me the cause of every issue, like they did when I was young, weren't going to work anymore

and that I might not have been as beautiful to look at as them. But I had much better values than them, and that's what mattered in the real world. They stayed quiet for the rest of the party and left early, all embarrassed. The next day, I saw quite a few voicemails on my phone from my parents and a few relatives, saying that I shouldn't have brought up the past after their continuous attempts to make amends to me and that the blame for the necklace wasn't intentional, but their character assassination by me looked extremely distasteful. Now that I think about it, embarrassing them was more than enough,

and maybe I shouldn't have commented on their character because that leaves no difference between me and them. So, Ida for deliberately questioning my family's character after they tried to tarnish my reputation at my engagement party? Update 1. Thank you to everyone who weighed in and gave advice on my situation. A lot of comments talk about how I should cut my family off over this, but I digress because I haven't talked to them in years, but it never once crossed my mind to cut them off because they are my family, after all. I showed my aunt this post in the comments, and she suggested that I talked to them honestly once if I wished to give our relationship a fair shot, which seems like a good plan. So, a week after the engagement party, I went to my

parents' house for dinner. They hadn't contacted me after receiving no response from my side on their allegations of me embarrassing them. They were rather cold when I arrived and barely talked unless I brought something up. I sat them down and told them how I knew about their plan, after which the reason for the silence wasn't arrogance but because they didn't have much to say. I blurted out all the things I had resented in them since my childhood as an honest attempt to get to know their point of view and rebuild our relationship. To my surprise, they were extremely. sympathetic and apologized a lot for what they tried to do at my engagement party. Their apology felt genuine, but I couldn't trust them completely after the engagement party fiasco.

Since the wedding was now close, I went to the boutique to see my dress and get any final alterations done. I had already planned to take my aunt with me but decided to also take my mom and sister in the spirit of building a new relationship. One thing I forgot to add before, I had lost a lot of weight during college, so I wasn't considered the ugly. one anymore or at least hadn't been called it so far. At the dress fitting, my aunt got emotional seeing me in the dress, but my mom and Kelly had extremely neutral reactions. I tried to ask them if they wanted to add something to the whole look, and they said no, so I got out of the dress and got it packed. Suddenly, Kelly came to me with this extravagant looking satin gown, suggesting

that this should be my bridesmaid's dress. It was a very beautiful dress, indeed. But once she looked the price tag, she claimed they couldn't afford it and put it back on the rack. I didn't offer to pay for it then, but I decided to buy it for my mom and sister because they were a part of my wedding party, and we all left. The next day, I bought the dresses and gave them as gifts. A few days after our visit, my family was still politely imposing small wedding function details on me, like the color of the flowers, the guest list, or the events that would take place. It was a bit awkward at first, but I took a stand for myself and told them I'd ask them directly if I needed their input. This might not have sat right with them because what followed

was an absolute train wreck. An hour or so after they left my house, I got a call from my mother. I picked it up, and after no response from her side, I realized she might have accidentally but dialed me. She and Kelly were at the bar, and just as I was about to hang up, I heard them talking about me. They made fun of my wedding dress, saying that I couldn't pull off something like that in a hundred years, and were amazed at how I could pull such a handsome and wealthy man when I wouldn't even be hired as a maid in his house. They continued to ridicule me, calling me an uptight B-word, and how they wished they had some way to access my wealth without ever seeing my face again. I had heard enough at that point, so I cut the call and had a breakdown immediately after.

I couldn't believe how me my mom and Kelly were acting, like textbook bully. The next day, I called my aunt and told her everything. She came to my house, consoled me, and reminded me that I had the power in the situation and that she was always there, backing my decision no matter what. Fortunately, my phone recorder was on during that call, so I had proof of their conversation, just in case they tried to deny it. I will have to make some tough decisions now, and not without appropriate revenge. Update two so, I guess you all were right about how I should have come.

my family off when they attacked me at my engagement party, and now, I am following through on that advice with some twist of my own. I had made up my mind to not include my mom and Kelly in the wedding party, but I still wanted to know my dad's stance on it all. I called and met him in person that day when Mom and Kelly were out shopping. I told him everything that happened at the boutique and on the call, but instead of taking my side, he began to remind me to not forget my place. I angrily asked him what he was talking about, and he said he was done walking on eggshells around me, begging for monetary help, when I should have offered it myself as soon as I learned about it. I told him he should have asked for it straight up, and if he expected me to

understand everything happening with them without words, maybe he should have tried building a relationship instead of using me as a joke in family conversations and constantly comparing me to Kelly. He said I should remember they paid for me until I was 18 and I shouldn't forget that they were the reason I am here today, talking so harshly about them. I was appalled by his statement and had the final realization that this family wasn't mine in the first place. They traumatized and sidelined me all through my childhood, and came back running like dogs when they smelled money. I didn't say a word after that and left. I didn't get a call from anyone in my family in the next two days, which meant dad hadn't told Mom and Kelly about our conversation, and that I finally

had time to devise a plan to expose them. In consultation with Rob and my aunt, I made a plan to throw a bachelorette party, inviting just my aunt, my mom, and Kelly. I'd throw the party at a private location, setting up cameras secretly and asking them to play truth and dare with me. In the game, I'd ask them questions about the things they were talking about on the call to expose their hypocrisy if they lied or the truth if they didn't lie. The next weekend, the bachelorette party took place. My mom and Kelly were extremely excited about it being a fully paid experience, and got extremely drunk. They were acting very nicely toward me,

which meant they were unaware that I knew everything. So I started asking them questions, with my aunts sitting beside me as proof. The first few questions weren't alarming, but as soon as they realized what I was asking them about was a private conversation between them, they sobered up pretty quickly and kept lying and trying to deflect from the conversation.

After some time, when they did not answer my questions directly, I took out the phone and played the audio of their conversation for them. They both shut up nicely after that and, a few moments later, showed their real side. They started bad-mouthing me, saying that I was never the one who should have gotten such a good life, considering how Kelly was the prodigy of their family and how they knew I wasn't one of them since I was born, proving it further by playing games instead of helping them financially. I did feel bad hearing that, but I stayed strong and informed them that they were being recorded and that if they didn't want the video to go on Facebook, they should make peace with the fact that they wouldn't be part of

of my wedding anymore. I told them I honestly wished I could disinvite them from the wedding, but that could raise suspicions about our relationship, and I did not want any attention on them, so I was sparing them the humiliation. I also told them that once I was done with the wedding, would not see their faces again. I reminded them that they should also not associate with me to get privileges in the future and return the dresses I gifted them as soon as possible or pay for them to me. The mother-daughter duo was infuriated and immediately called a cab to leave. My aunt and I had the place to ourselves until the next day, so we enjoyed it to our fullest, considering it a celebration of the win against my family.

I asked my aunt if she would walk me down the aisle instead of my father, to which she cried first and then agreed. As of the wedding is literally a month away, and I am waiting for Kelly to return the dresses because I know there is no way she and mom can afford them. Update 3. I'm sorry for the late update, and thank you to everyone who congratulated me on my wedding, which was the reason the update was this late. I thought things would go down quickly after I warned my family to stay low until my wedding, but that didn't happen. A week after the Bachelorette, I still hadn't gotten the dresses I gifted my mom and Kelly, but I didn't want

to stir any drama this close to the wedding, so I decided to deal with it later. That day itself, I got a call from my aunt asking me to check Facebook. My whole family had gone against me and written a huge five-part Facebook post just ranting about how I had been torturing them since I got money. They made up a lot of stuff and even went as far as revealing my childhood mistakes, little mischiefs, which happened with children but were evil because I committed them. They ended the post by asking for everyone's help because I was blackmailing them for money. My aunt wrote some comments about how they were lying, but as expected, the comments in my favor were deleted. There were a lot of people who called my parents out for talking about my childhood so

ruthlessly, to which their only reply was that they were the ones who had faced it all and didn't expect everyone to understand it. They docks me by putting my number in the post, leading to a lot of calls from relatives trying to convince me and get an invite to my wedding. I showed Rob the Post, who suggested we sue them for defamation and harassment, but I told him I didn't want anything to do with them anymore. I went berserk and released the videos of them calling me names and showing how they blatantly discriminated against me because I was ugly, along with my side of the explanation. I mentioned in the post itself that they were not invited to the wedding anymore and should pay me for the dresses I gave them as a gift or they'd be hearing from my lawyer soon.

A lot of people who were earlier supporting them soon switched sides after seeing the video and began bashing them instead. They thought I was bluffing about releasing the videos and tried to scare me into getting what they wanted. But I played the Uno reverse card, and they had nowhere to hide. They hadn't thought this through and were now in a major fix. I did get to the one. I did get a few texts from my maternal grandma asking me to forgive them, but as soon as I told her she was free not to come to my wedding if she wanted to support my family, her stance changed too. The next weeks were extremely stressful, but I had planned everything very carefully, hiring security guards for my wedding venue as I expected them to show up, which they did.

My dad was too high-headed to be a part of this, so it was just my mother and Kelly who wore the dresses and showed up like nothing had happened. Once they were denied entry, they began throwing a hissy fit. Before the important guests could come, Rob went out and warned them to leave or they would have to deal with cops for trespassing on private property. With nothing to spare, they decided to leave, but not before hurling curses at me as I watched from the window. The cherry on the cake was when they were leaving, Mom accidentally stepped on a sprinkler, activating it, ruining both her and Kelly's outfits. The wedding went peacefully after that, with my aunt walking me down the aisle and most people from my side actually apologizing.

to me for my family's behavior. I asked them to forget about it and enjoy the wedding, which everyone eventually did. Update 4, this will be the final update on the incident. So, I got back the dresses from Kelly and Mom via mail while I was on my honeymoon. They were ruined because of the sprinkler and all, but it wasn't about the dresses, it was about making a point. Rob still insisted on filing a case against my family for trying to defame me with lies, but I said no, since they had already done themselves a lot. lot of damage with their Facebook posts, and my true bliss was in knowing that I wouldn't have a toxic family. My aunt is still the person I believe in the most, and now that I am pregnant,

she could be the one grandma my child actually deserves. I haven't heard much about my family, just that my dad now has a drinking problem. My mom is still trying to defame me, and Kelly has left the city to start fresh and has tried to send me an apology text. I honestly don't care because they were the ones who threw away our relationship for petty reasons. And now that I am happier, I don't want to ruin my peace over fake apologies.