Jill Martin is a lifestyle contributor on Today. She’s engaged to a non-celebrity named Erik Brooks, who has three children from his first marriage. As it can be with blended families, Jill and her future stepchildren had a little trouble adjusting to each other. Although it wasn’t so much adjusting as it was a well-executed strategical plan to boot Jill from their family vacation. Jill explained that the first time she went away with Erik and his kids, his then 11-year-old daughter, Bella, took the opportunity to pack Jill’s things and leave them by the door so Jill could- conveniently – get the hell out of their lives.
Jill Martin is navigating her new role as a stepmom — and it’s not always easy.
During the 3rd hour of Today on Friday, the television personality opened up about the first family trip she took with fiancé Erik Brooks (a managing partner at a private equity firm) and his three children from a previous marriage.
The Today lifestyle contributor, 43, said her soon-to-be stepdaughter, Bella, wasn’t exactly thrilled when she first joined the family. In fact, on their first vacation together, the 11-year-old was quite literally ready to send Martin packing.
“I get there and I unpack my things in the closet,” Martin explained during the segment. “I went for lunch; I get back (and) by the door is my suitcase with everything beautifully packed — and she packed my stuff and was like, ‘See ya!’”
“I was so upset, I was hysterical crying. And Erik said to her, ‘How could you do this?’ He said, ‘Don’t you want me to be happy?’ And she said, ‘Don’t you want me to be happy?’”
Martin quickly reassured her cohost that her relationship with Bella has since improved.
“We’re the best of friends now,” Martin said. “We really talk through it now…she’s awesome. She’s so cool.”
I’m sure this was incredibly hurtful to Jill. With such a dramatic show of will on Bella’s part, it probably wasn’t the first time she’d voiced her displeasure of having Jill around, so this was just more salt in the wound. However, I also think this is really funny. The minute Jill popped out for some lunch, Bella packed everything in a suitcase and put it by the door? That’s brilliant. I want to do this to people I like, just to see their reaction. I might do this to my parents over Christmas. For a little context, Jill and Erik began dating in February 2017. If Bella is now 12, this fateful vacation took place last year, which means they’d been dating a year. So after a year the kids still didn’t want Jill around? Or were they just not ready for her to come on vacation with them yet? When Jill and Erik got engaged last May, all the kids plus both sets of parents were present to help them celebrate so I take her at her word that Bella is now on board with her joining the family. I’m not sure I buy they are ‘best friends’, though. I’m sure they do talk it out and that Bella is cool. But she’s also clever and clearly a planner, so Jill might want to lock her closet when she steps out, just in case. At least until Bella’s through puberty.
Photo credit: Instagram and WENN Photos
Yikes. Children are the worst!
At 11 years old you know better than to touch someone’s stuff.
She didn’t just touch Jill’s things, she had to have gone through them pretty thoroughly to get all of her stuff packed. That’s just not okay. Eleven is still a kid but it’s too damn old for this kind of tantrum.
Ah, the good old power struggles between step kids and daddy’s new wife. Thank goodness for the books “the happy stemother” and “stepmonster”. They helped me keep my sanity. Our premarital counseling, specific for re-marriage was not enough to prepare us for the challenges ahead. Wish i had read these books sooner but i’m thankful to have found them and i credit them for saving our marriage. Their unbiased and practical information is refreshing. I hope these books help other remarried people.
“The Happy Stepmother” is awesome. I read everything I could on blending families and joined online communities for stepmoms when I was engaged, but found everything spoke to couples who had both been divorced with kids. I was childless and had never been married. I was trying to figure out my role, adjust to any kind of parenting, new to marriage and dealing with a difficult ex. I didn’t find the “The Happy Stepmother” til a couple years after marriage. I had already implemented some of it myself (ie I had left online groups bc they were too negative) but it really helped me realign my headspace and communicate better.
This is the problem with modern parenting. We are so focused on why kids do what they do and helping them get to an emotional place that we fail to implement consequences for the ways in which they express their emotions. In my family if a child does something inappropriate we tackle the emotional and psychological impetus behind the behavior. But you better believe we also deal with the behavior as it relates to choices, autonomy and consequence. Guess what people? Your little angel has to someday function in a world with other people. If little Riley throws a toy across the room he needs an adult to calm him and him unpack what he was thinking and feeling before he did it. Then little Riley’s thrown toy needs to be retrieved by him and put away in the closet for 6-24 hours depending on his age.
Most of the comments below are sympathetic to why she did it. I get it. But what about boundaries and respect?
Exactly. This kid was a brat and deserved to be punished. The parents have catered to her and she’s leaned into it because she knew she could get away with it.
Actually, couples who divorce and force their new love lives on children too quickly are the worst.
And any parent who uses the fairly manipulative phrase “don’t you want me to be happy” needs a good family and individual therapist to work with…because it’s not all about the adult. Bella’s response was right on the money.
^^^Bingo.
You’re conflating the issue. His shitty response to what his daughter did doesn’t negate my opinion that kids these days have little sense of consequence. It’s unhealthy and dangerous.
There is not a generation in history that hasn’t thought the “kids today” were worse than in their own time: lazier, spoiled, more entitled and less respectful. It’s the oldest cliche in the book; pretty much literally, since it’s among some of the first complaints committed to writing.
Yup. Being stuck on vacation with someone you dislike is the WORST. The “don’t you want me to be happy?” thing is sooo manipulative. And, no, pre-teens are not noted for caring about their parents’ happiness.
s
Is that what I said? I said what I think is a problem with today’s parenting concept. That’s different than saying today’s kids are the worst generation ever or this is the worst generation of parents ever. I cannot wrap my mind around all of these straw man observations.
He also needs to talk it out with her… if she’s this upset, he needs to sit her down, and get her to talk about it.
It does feel like his focus is more on himself with that comment. “Don’t you want ME to be happy?” Not, “Why aren’t YOU happy, and how can we make this work?” Like, he’s not going to stop dating, but his kids feelings about it still need to be heard and respected… how can he hope for his daughter to respect his wishes if he doesn’t respect hers? He’s not modeling the behavior he wants to see, and it reads like the stepmom isn’t, either… sounds like she may have thrown a tantrum in response to the stepdaughter’s.
They need to help her process this change in their lives… not beg her to let him “be happy”, or put the burden of his happiness on her shoulders. She’s a kid!
@Monicak “kids these days have little sense of consequence,” implying that kids of other generations wouldn’t have done this. Of course, you could also argue that, in the past, parents were more likely to stay married, so dad’s latest girlfriend crashing the family vacation wasn’t much of an issue.
What should the consequence for carefully folding someone’s possessions and packing them into a suitcase be? Corporeal punishment? Ignoring a child’s thoughts and feelings, because they’re not allowed to have those? A parent telling their child that they’re ruining their life by not allowing them (the adult) to do exactly what they want, exactly when they want to do it, giving the distinct impression that parenting is a burden and the child is the problem?
An 11-year-old is in 5th grade. This woman is 40-something. Please tell me more about which of these individuals should be expected to have full control of their emotions in this scenario. Or which has the autonomy and means to remove themselves from a situation they’re uncomfortable with.
Assuming this man has some sort of standard custody arrangement with his ex (I don’t know this family, but weekends/split holidays and summers are the most common scenario), a vacation with dad would be one of the few times kids get extended one-on-one time with their non-custodial parent. But, instead of spending time with the kids, and, heck, maybe even having some really good conversations about this new woman in his life, to see how they feel about it, he not only brings along the new girlfriend, but ditches the kids to go have a quiet lunch with her first thing. Yep, definitely sounds like the 11-year-old is the one acting immaturely. 🙄
Respectfully disagree. When my dad married my mom, my (at the time) 13-yr old half-brother took to hiding his clothes in the backyard lol. He owned up to 20 years later, and everyone had a laugh.
Kids are kids, and they can’t always process things emotionally. At least this one was careful with the clothes…
If you believe that an 11-year-old is “old enough to know better” why don’t you believe that an 11-year-old is old enough to have an opinion on the people their parents bring into their life? Do you believe the daughter is too old to misbehave, requiring punishment, but too young to have an opinion worth considering, thus requiring more punishment for its expression?
I’m, thankfully, not divorced, but I still listen to what my kids say about adults in their lives. I don’t dismiss their concerns out of hand, nor do I try to force them to spend time with those they don’t feel comfortable around. If it’s someone they can’t reasonably avoid—a teacher or co-worker of ours—and their concerns are solely personal dislike, and not anything more serious, we talk about coping strategies and ways to manage the interactions that might make them more comfortable. But when my kids unequivocally dislike someone, I pay attention and take seriously their feelings no matter if the reasons are external (the adult’s actions) or internal (the child’s own fears or jealousies).
I don’t think teaching your kids to trust their gut about who they associate with is in any way indulgent and is, in fact, an essential life skill that will help them grow up safely, securely and better able to successfully pick their own friends and romantic partners.
Reading comprehension. Who needs that?
Those are her friend’s kids in the instagram you posted. She says so in the comments. Not her future stepchildren.
Just because they had been dating for a year doesn’t mean that’s how long the children knew her/knew she was with their dad. You don’t exactly rush to introduce new partners to your young kids.
I would have been hysterically crying, too, but I love the detail of everything being “beautifully” packed lol
I don’t blame the kid. I’m almost 50 and I still cannot stand my stepparent and would love to pack their bags and kick them out…
My husband is the same way…it’s not his “step-mom”, it’s his “dad’s wife”.
I can’t believe the father laid that ridiculous guilt trip on his 11yob daughter! That’s textbook bad parenting through a divorce. You do not make your children responsible for your happiness, period. You do not minimize their confusion or sadness when something changes, like a new partner you introduce to them.
That’s what stood out for me. No idea who this woman even is, but I feel for the kids.
kids also don’t get to control everything though. I have a friend who has been divorced from her husband 3 years ago and her kids absolutely refuse to let her even go on a date with anyone. That’s not fair to her. and kids do need to understand that sometimes parents have feelings and emotions as well, and it’s not always about the kids all the time. I also have no idea how long ago his divorce was.
I personally think that after a year of dating is way too soon to be going on a family vacation with everyone, but that’s me. to me it seems that they were probably rushing things right along just expecting the kids to go along with it with no problems.
When your kid is 11 then it kinda is all about them. If you don’t want to put your kids needs above your own then you shouldn’t have them. I knew that’s not something I’d always want to do so I chose not to have kids. If the father really said it that way he’s a shit dad.
My kids are my absolute number one priority, but it can’t be all about them all the time. That’s not healthy and that’s how you raise entitled jerks. I feel like if I want my kids to grow into thoughtful, compassionate people there needs to be a balance. They need to feel safe, prioritized and loved, but they also need to understand that other people exist, and they matter, too.
No, it’s not all about the kid at 11. I’ve seen it time and again, people who constantly put the kids’ needs before their own happiness burn themselves out. Or their relationship becomes all about the kids, and it just crumbles once the kids leave the nest because the parents don’t know each other beyond mommy and daddy roles anymore. You have to prioritize your child’s needs and feelings, while also still taking care of your own.
It didn’t seem like a guilt trip to me.
11 is old enough to understand that adults have feelings too and that sabotaging the relationships of the ones you love is mean spirited and cruel and not the way to love the people in your life.
If the 11 year old was truly miserable or had reasonable issues with her father dating again I’m confident her father would have reacted differently.
Feelings are usually valid but it doesn’t mean what you do with those feelings is reasonable.
Dad has the right to move on with his kids within reason and shouldn’t have to live in a holding pattern to suit the whims of a child. Not mention the power he’d be giving her here.
The caveat here though is all things being equal. Of course if anything is odd or out of sorts or he brought home his mistress or a hateful heifer or it’s been five minutes since mom died or something…
@A random commenter My husband often tells me I have to put the oxygen mask on myself, first. Mom and Dad getting burnt out isn’t good for anyone. Kids need to know their parents have needs, and their own deep feelings about things… that they are part of a family, and that everyone is equally important.
Yeah, but the kid turned it right back on her dad with her own “don’t you want me to be happy?” comment. As in, you being in a relationship with this woman is the problem and the only solution is to get rid of her. That is not okay. Kids do not call the shots 100% of the time.
Why are you “confident her father would have acted differently” if the daughter’s concerns were “reasonable”? My experience both AS a step-child myself (many times over) and seeing many, many others, is the exact opposite. Men are, generally speaking, more likely than women to rush into new relationships, and the children are expected to just immediately get on board.
When an adult woman has issues with a CHILD, it’s not the child who should bear the brunt of the blame. A kid not being ready to share a family vacation with a new flame—often the only time kids spend lots of time with their fathers in particular— isn’t being a brat, she’s being a hurt child. Maybe the dad should have, instead of putting his own happiness on a child’s shoulders, taken that as a sign to slow things down, spend some one-on-one time with his kids, instead of ditching them for lunch with his girlfriend, and think of the kids emotional needs, before his own. Doesn’t mean he “can’t ever have his own life,” just that your old responsibilities (i.e. the kids you created), should come before your new relationships, and, if your kids are telling you they’re not ready for something, listen to them.
It’s not like I think all step-moms are evil. I have a good relationship with one of my current step-mothers. (Yes, I have more than one, as I have both a biological and adopted fathers) and no relationship at all with the other. With the latter, I was the “bratty, undisciplined kid” but, guess what, she really was the evil stepmother behind closed doors; belittling and berating me. Telling me I was ugly and no one would ever love me, accusing me of having sexual feelings for my father (gross)…And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (the “little” stuff I feel OK revealing on this forum), on the abuse my dad let her heap on me. To this day she blames me for everything and thinks I owe her many apologies for “my behavior.” (I was 12, she was 43 when we met.)
So, yeah, when kids do things that speak of their discomfort with the adults their parents push into their lives, I listen to them.
This is #43 on the list of things that would nevvvver happen in a black household.
lmao, yep! this read like a scene out of the parent trap.
I am picturing someone trying to pull this on my Nana. I am in tears laughing.
My stepmother (though I prefer to call her my father’s wife) was an emotionally abusive monster so it’s really hard for me not to project that into stories about other stepparents. I think it’s worth wondering why this kid was so dead set against the woman though, seems a little simplistic to say she’s just being a bratty kid.
That’s what I was thinking, perhaps Dad should have asked his daughter why she did it, and really listened to her answer, instead of making it emotional blackmail.
So much this.
The father sounds like a complete dolt with that response.
What’s the problem? Jk
Different situation but I couldn’t stand the woman my dad married , a year after my mother died.I jumped for joy when he divorced the bih.He said later he should have listened to me, she was evil.
I mean – it’s kind of awful that the kid did it, but I also kind of see their point? I can’t imagine how hard it is to deal with your parent dating someone seriously that isn’t your other parent but ESPECIALLY when you’re in that pre-teen phase where you’re getting moodier and more independent.
I mean, I’d be horrified if my kid did it. It’d break my heart if I was the stepmother in the situation… but then a part of me does find it kind of amusing in an awful way.
It at least sounds like Jill can laugh about it now, so that’s good. It’s a huge adjustment for everyone – I’m glad she seemed to make extra effort to talk everything out with the kid.
I’m a step mom with a not great relationship with my teen stepdaughter and both her mom and dad have ensured that- purposefully and inadvertently. After 10 years I started reading the nacho kids site and have been able to just let it go. I’d give her a kidney but at this stage in the game I would only be surprised that she had folded laundry if she packed my suitcase.
Couldn’t we just do that to Trump? Pack up his bags and leave it by the front door of the White House. “See ya Donald”
Oh, love that!
This woman also sounds like a dolt. How nice for her to air private info about her stepkid on TV. Bet their mom’s gonna love that. I work a lot with stepfamilies -this is common in first couple years of adjustment. I am in a stepfamily too, I’ve remarried but also have a dad who has remarried. It’s complicated. One year is way too soon for a family vacation and that tween let them know that.
She was hysterically crying? Really? Maybe if she was able to act like the adult in the situation, things would go better for her.
Yeah. Looking at the photos in this post speaks to what may be part of the problem… she appears to be a grown woman who behaves like a child. His daughter may feel confused about why Dad is marrying someone who isn’t mature enough to parent? I don’t know but clearly something is wrong here and I don’t buy that all is fine and well. Sympathies with the little girl. What a horrid story to tell, so soon, and on national tv.
Exactly! So, the way the girlfriend herself describes it, she’s out lunching with the dad, leaving behind his daughter, while on a so-called family vacation, then comes back to find her stuff neatly packed up, and the ADULT is the one who is “hysterically crying” about this situation, which results in punishment and shaming of the child, with her adult parent putting his happiness on a child’s shoulders. I’m sure the hysteria also resulted in lots of reassurances and support…For the girlfriend.
And, remember, this is the girlfriend telling the story, almost certainly painting herself in the best possible light, not the daughter’s version. Yep, just super hard to parse why the daughter might have had some (wholly justifiable) issues with her.
@S Someone else pointed out that this is probably some of the only time the kids get with their Dad… and they didn’t even take her to lunch with them? Everything about this story sounds like the Dad and Stepmom are very selfish and immature personalities.
This kid is trying to get DAD’S attention, on THEIR family trip… she’s acting out for a reason. That doesn’t excuse rude behavior… you have to have boundaries… but she’s doing this as a reaction to the Dad and Stepmom’s poor choices, and that needs to be talked about, and examined, and respected. It sounds like the adults just reacted like big kids, themselves, though… with tantrums and pleading… which can be very confusing, and scary for a kid.
And yeah, the Stepmom says they talked, but that also speaks more to the Stepmom’s needs and feelings, because the person the kid needs attention from is her Father. HE’S the one she’s trying to talk to.
That first photo….🤔
Ive been the kid in that scenario – with both of my parents. With my Dad he was a malignant narcissist and pathological liar so I basically warned all of his girlfriends off for their own sake. They never listened and always learned the hard way. With my mother, I’ve always had a sixth sense about people. And she had poor taste in men. And I let her know that I didn’t like someone and why. And I was always right. Even she admits that now.
Kids KNOW. So I say listen to what your kid is telling you. I don’t think a kid should control the situation but I do think they should have a say in who you bring into THEIR lives.
Yep. There’s a middle ground between kids can’t control their parents lives and kids should be seen and not heard.
I am the same with my mom’s boyfriends. I know they are not good people / or not good for her. And when she asks why I don’t want to get to know them better and give facts and reasons (a 65 years old making a sex joke in front of my 13 years old sister at the first dinner? What the hell?) She just says I’m a selfish b**** and I don’t want to see her happy.
I’m glad I live far away from her so I don’t have to see her and her boyfriends anymore.
I have two step kids. I had a strained relationship with both kids in the beginning. They would ask their dad why I was always around. Now things are much better but I don’t have much of a relationship with my step son but am ok with my step daughter. This is partially due to the fact that the boy and I don’t have that much in common and that he still sees me as a threat to his mother after 6 years. I have heard disparaging remarks from his mother towards his dad and can’t help but wonder if she does the same about me. In any event, I’m very thankful that both step kids are amazing with their half siblings! Definitely thankful for the little things!
Definitely something I could have done to my stepdad (I call him dad these days). Because he remained friendly and always willing to take care of me I completely accepted him within a year. He ended up adopting me and I kept his name when I married as a tribute to him.
i’m sure goop has consciously figured this all out, she should have asked her
Step parenting can be wonderful for everyone and it can also be absolute hell.
I had a custodial stepdaughter who treated me like a servant and used every opportunity to go through my things, steal what she wanted, and even post pics online to discuss me with her friends and absentee mom. I did my best to read all the books and do everything to make life easier for both kids. My boy and I were always quite close but I struggled with my girl. My ex husband never understood how hard it was for me.
We eventually split up after 5 years. The kids are in their 20’s now and mom is back in the picture, which is good. My boy and I are still very close but I have no relationship with my girl. She actually was the catalyst that split us all up.
Its a tough road filled with mines and unseen triggers. I don’t recommend it but applaud those women and men who have the strength to raise someone else’s children without any of their own….
Ugh. Exactly why as a single woman without children I’m choosing to remain that way. I dated a divorced man with children for three years. His 20-something daughter and I got along great. However his teenage son treated me like crap from day one. I made an honest effort with him through all the hurtful episodes; even behaved gracefully when we arrived at his high school graduation and he hadn’t included me in the seating arrangements. Super awkward! I cried a lot during that relationship and I’d say 50% was due to the strained relationship with the child and the other 50% was because i could see the relationship with his dad wasn’t ever going to work.
Not meant even slightly as an attack but beyond uncomfortable with blaming a child, no matter how bratty, when an adult relationship doesn’t work out.
Do you have children? They’re pretty awful even in a so called traditional home with two happily married and involved parents.
In many cases though, it’s not a true fault/blame as much as a catalyst.
I have three kids. My husband and I find them imperfect, exhausting and occasionally infuriating, but far from awful.
If you think all children are “pretty awful” then it’s not hard to imagine why children wouldn’t warm up to you. Strange how that occurs.
Not having kids is an extremely valid choice, and more power to people who know they don’t want to have them. I don’t think parenting is the be-all, end-all. But even if you don’t want to have kids, you once were a kid.
Children aren’t as emotionally or physically able as adults to control their emotions. They act out because they often don’t have the language, or the power, to express their distress any other way. That’s not kid-centric soft talk, it’s science. Their brains are don’t growing yet.
Can I ask why you read my comment and then assumed I don’t have kids or that kids don’t like me?
Because I do and they do, mine and other people’s.
There are three overlapping and at the same time very conflicting truisms about parenting.
1) It’s my job to help guide my children towards responsible, compassionate, kind, educated, grounded adulthood with the capacity for growth, change, and knowledge acquisition.
2) I have to live this life separate from them for far longer than I ever had them in my home, God willing.
3) It’s impossible to make the perfect and right decisions each and every time along the way particularly when families change due to death, divorce, dating a remarriage.
With those things in mind, it’s a wee bit short sighted, lacking in compassion/understanding to proclaim that there’s only one way to handle this, one outlook, or that a poor reaction or less than ideal response is going to ruin a child (short of abuse or neglect).
I believe you were the one who asked me earlier why I was confident these parents would have dealt with a genuine problem differently and I guess I wonder why you wouldn’t think so? The family seems fine now. This seems to be the worst example she had to list etc. I don’t see why I shouldn’t give them the benefit of the doubt.
I don’t know why so many are reaching back to their own childhoods to presume what happened here. We know do much more about blended families than we did in the 80’s and 90’s. It’s not hard for me to imagine contemporary parents doing better with it or at least being more, dare I say, conscious about it?
If this was a high school graduation as the comment says, this “child” was 18, and an adult, when he behaved like a bratty asshole.
I can see a child reacting that way, especially if Dad broke up the marriage for someone other than mom.
Dad was a dick to say that to his daughter. It’s damaging on so many levels.
Thats a tough situation for all involved. This why I really do not want to date a man with kids from a previous marriage, again. Also, kids can be brats.
That was unacceptable behavior from the child. You just aren’t allowed to be disrespectful to adults because you don’t get your way. The child should have been given the option to not go on the trip. Parents are humans too and its a fact of life that parents may remarry after a divorce. If the child does not want to be around the new partner then they shouldnt be forced to.
Man, this story and this comment section makes me so happy that I have a great relationship with my three stepkids. My husband would never have tolerated one of his kids doing that, but if things were strained enough that one of the kids would have reacted that way, we wouldn’t have been attempting a family vacation.
Ultimately, I know that I am fourth in my husband’s life, but also that our marriage is a priority. Your kids come first – TO AN EXTENT. If they have legitimate issues or gripes with a significant other, that needs to be addressed and taken seriously. If they just try to run everyone off because they don’t want to share their parent with anyone, that’s not acceptable and it is appropriate to point out to a kid that the parent deserves to move on and be happy too.
Stepparenting is dancing on a tightrope, and it can be hard to find a balance. I just tried to let my stepkids dictate the relationship instead of trying to push or force anything on them. I let them know I will show up for them and be there if they need me, but I try not to insert myself where I shouldn’t. As a result, I have a great relationship with them and a good relationship with their moms.
“But if things were strained enough that one of the kids would have reacted that way, we wouldn’t have been attempting a family vacation.”
I think that part is the key. I have a great relationship with my step-mom, and know plenty of other people who have similar situations. The key is making sure your children know they are always the priority. Don’t rush them, listen to what they’re telling you and, like you said, don’t force anything. If a child is acting out against every person the parent brings into their life, well, maybe, the parent and child need to do some work on their relationship BEFORE bringing someone else into it.
Women (and men, but it’s mostly women) should respect that their partner cares about their children, and be willing to wait and do the work it takes to make everyone ready for a relationship, because when you marry a man with kids, you’re marrying the whole family. And how a man treats his children speaks volumes about him. If your partner doesn’t care enough about their kids to do that emotional work, welp, then why would you want to be with them anyway?
Being a good step-parent is a largely thankless job. Grateful for all people who undertake it AND are willing to do the emotional labor it takes to do it well.
Oof, I don’t know if sharing that publicly was the best move. If I were the kid in question, I don’t know that I’d be too happy with that.
Yeah, Jill needs to watch her back after broadcasting that tidbit. While the behavior definitely deserves some consequences, I’m somewhat impressed that it was all folded neatly in her luggage. My 11 year old would probably just throw it all out the window while yelling if in a similar situation. (She gets consequences for misbehavior, but she turns into a wild animal when she feels cornered. It’s like a switch goes off on those rare occasions. It’s like living with a petite Hulk.)
I too have a great relationship with Mr. Jaded’s daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. They have been perfectly accepting of me from the get-go despite constant interference from Mr. Jaded’s wacko ex-wife. They’re just happy that their dad/grandpa is happy because his marriage was pretty stressful to say the least.
This is part of why I wont date another person with kids. You’ll often feel like an outsider, most of the time really, and if the relationship breaks you have zero rights regarding the kids. Thats like taking regular breakup pain and timing it by a helluva lot.
@Ye
Your response is the most intelligent one here.
I dunno I’m a strict parent but I am empathetic to this child’s pain. She was clearly not ready and struggling with pretty powerful emotions to do what she did and the adults in the situation didn’t respond in a very mature fashion.