By [deleted] • Score: 2 • April 4, 2025 9:39 PM
I (27M) have been with my girlfriend (24F) for about a year and a half. We recently had a petty argument that got taken out of proportion, and she decided to leave and stay with her parents for support. The problem is… these are the same parents she’s repeatedly described as emotionally and physically abusive throughout her life.
To give some context: Her parents are divorced. She’s told me about seeing her dad physically abuse her mum, and how her mum coped with alcohol and neglected her as a result. When she was around 17 or 18, she asked her mum for help with her trauma and PTSD, and instead of helping, her mum gave her weed and told her it would “fix it.” She spent the next five years numbing herself with daily use and later said she felt like those years were completely wasted.
She also told me she dropped out of university due to mental health struggles and feels like all of this ruined her chance at a career and a stable life. Her dad apparently still does meth occasionally. Her mum just got remarried recently—we both went to the wedding—and I honestly felt very out of place. Her family hasn’t ever really made me feel welcomed.
Her brother (who she’s now close with) had such intense anger issues when they were younger that she had to move out and live with her grandparents to feel safe. I get that things may have improved, but it doesn’t erase what she’s told me.
Now, after spending time with them during this rough patch, she’s started saying she wants to reconnect and be more involved with her family—spend holidays with them, travel, hang out more. But this is coming from the same person who’s talked about wanting to cut them off and move on.
I feel like she went back to them out of desperation, because she didn’t have anyone else in that moment. And now it feels like I’m losing her to the same people who caused her so much pain. I’m really struggling with this. I don’t want to come off as unsupportive, but it’s incredibly hard for me to be okay with her getting closer to people who (by her own words) deeply hurt her.
When I tried to express that I felt hurt and confused, she told me I was being judgmental and unsupportive. I don't want to control her choices or make her feel isolated, but I also don’t know how to just ignore everything she’s told me about them.
TL;DR: My girlfriend (24F) and I (27M) had an argument, and she went to stay with her family—people she’s previously described as deeply harmful to her mental health and well-being. Now she wants to reconnect and involve them more in her life. I told her I was uncomfortable with that, and she called me judgmental. I’m trying to be supportive, but I feel conflicted and concerned for both of us.
AITA for expressing that I’m not okay with this?
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