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[girltalkcollectives]

Sunday Secrets (11/2/24)

Sunday Secrets: Submission 2:

I'm so happy I stumbled across this because I have TEA that happened within my family this year (2024)

So, in February my father/best friend/favourite parent did something unforgivable - he cheated on my mother with her SISTER??? And this sister, she's nuts. I'm talking 'pretends to be suicidal when she needs attention and has slept with most of the men in my town' nuts. It completely threw me, and then within 2 months my entire family fell apart. He decided out of nowhere that he is in fact in love with the sister, and they moved to a different town without telling anyone. He went from my best friend to a complete stranger, I didn't even know his address.

Cut to 3 months after that, I get a text from him out of nowhere that he's moving to another island and that he hopes me and my mother have a nice life, and that we need to sell the house (that him and my mother own) all on our own. (My mother is very ill, she can barely use her legs to walk and struggles with emphysema etc) so that's been our project for 2024.

Our house is FINALLY sold (with no help from dad and all the help from me and my friends), and because I had him blocked on my phone after he sent me a string of really nasty texts because I didn't want to spend time with my aunty/step-mother, he refuses to talk to me at all anymore and will not send me my piece of the settlement money that he previously promised me when this all went down.

All in all, it's a SHIT SHOW in my neck of the woods, and I haven't been able to talk about it considering what a small town we live in, and news travels very fast. I hope everyone with a really good dad appreciates him because I never thought my relationship would end up like this :D

First off, we want to thank you for being brave enough to share this with us and our growing community. Both of us had to take a moment after reading your submission because wow — this is a lot to process, and we can only imagine how overwhelming it must be for you.

Your story really struck us because it shows how quickly life can change, especially when the people we trust the most make choices that hurt us. Going from having your dad as your best friend to feeling like he’s a stranger… that’s a special kind of pain that’s hard to put into words.

What really stands out to us is your incredible strength through all this. Managing a house sale (especially with zero help from your dad), taking care of your mom, and dealing with this huge family betrayal — you’re handling this with so much maturity. We want you to know that blocking those negative messages wasn’t just okay — it was a healthy choice to make.

Know that your worth is not defined by your dad’s choices. He’s showing who HE is, not who YOU are. You’re handling an impossible situation with grace, and we are so proud of you for that. You deserve so much better than what you’ve been given. This isn’t your fault, and you have every right to feel hurt and angry about it.

Our Advice to You:

With everything happening in such a small town, we totally understand wanting to keep things private. Having a simple response ready like “I’m dealing with some personal family issues” can help set boundaries when people get too curious.

Consider finding a support group or counselor (or someone you trust enough to talk to about what’s been going on). Sometimes talking to people who understand but aren’t involved can make a huge difference. 

Keep those amazing friends close — the ones who helped with the house sale are showing you what real support looks like. Sometimes the family we choose is more reliable than the one we’re born into.

About the settlement money — This can be a very tricky situation. You can always go the legal route, but unless things were set in stone in writing, it can be very difficult to prove he promised you the settlement money.

To our Girl Talk Collectives community: If you’ve dealt with family betrayal or similar situations, what helped you get through it? Share your experiences and advice below — sometimes knowing we’re not alone can make all the difference.

You can always reach out to us through our DMs. We check them regularly and are here to support you.

Much Love,

Sarah+Maya