It all started two months ago at my mother's 60th party. My sister, her girlfriend (both 17F), and I (18F) were in the lounge chatting when my aunt's partner's friend, Dave (50M), walked in drunk, sat next to my younger sister, put his arm behind her on the couch, and started to drunkenly hit on her. We managed to shake him off and moved on.

Later that evening, my Aunt (48F) introduced Dave to my mum, and they hit it off. Then my Aunt and her partner Rick started joking about him staying the night with my mum. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but we were all going to be home too, and as a household of young women, the idea of a stranger sleeping over made us uncomfortable. We support our mum dating, but this felt different. So, we pulled our mum aside to share our concerns—turns out, she felt the same way but was being pressured by my Aunt. We also told her about the earlier encounter with Dave.

Meanwhile, my sister’s girlfriend went to my Aunt and told her about the uncomfortable interaction with Dave.

Next thing we know, my Aunt and Rick dragged me, my sister, our partners, and my mum into the lounge. My Aunt exploded, treating us like misbehaving children. Rick got offended, saying if Dave was bad, he must be too since Dave was his friend and he wouldn’t let a bad person in his home. My Aunt accused us of being jealous of our mum dating and said we’d completely overreacted, even though we’d never acted like this with previous partners. We tried to explain, but they kept shutting us down.

Then came the personal digs. She told my younger sister her discomfort was due to her autism and that it was her fault she had “triggers.” She told me, in front of my boyfriend, that he had a lot of flaws. Then she turned to my sister’s girlfriend, insulted her personality, and said she had no right to Interfere on family matters.

The next day, my Aunt came over. She tried to have a one on one girl chat to convince us to split up with both of our partners saying they were both toxic and controlling (very untrue).

We decided to take the high road and let it go. But after another family gathering, I couldn’t hold it in. I sent her a long message explaining our side, since speaking in person would get me shut down. I had a trusted adult proofread it—they said it was well-written and respectful. In the message, I said my sister’s girlfriend deserved an apology for being bullied and made to feel unwelcome. I also said it wasn’t her place to comment on our relationships.

In response, I got the most pick-me message about how I’d ruined the family and now she could never see my mum again because it’d be too awkward. She claimed I’d split the family up. Since then, she began trying to turn the family against me (luckily most of my family have sided with me). She spreads lies about me, and talks shit about me to my own mother, and avoids me at all costs—even cries when I’m around. Easily the most immature and dramatic reaction I’ve ever seen from an adult.