Fury as Teen Told He Intruded on Stepsister's 'Family Only' Birthday Party

The internet has sided with a teenager after he shared what happened when he "intruded" on a family-only party.

Shared on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole forum on Sunday, 14-year-old user u/FuzzyLow3395 the post has since received more than 6,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

The Redditor explained: "My mom remarried John. He has two daughters, Kayla and Janice. They remarried about four years ago and John's parents kind of hate us. They don't like the fact that John remarried and hate me especially. But I think of John as my own dad and Kayla and Janice like my sisters."

A few days before sharing the post, it had been Kayla's birthday. The Redditor explained: "Her grandparents—who adore her—wanted to have a surprise party for her, but keep it between family only. When I heard of it I was really excited and helped out with the cake etc."

When the day came, everyone was getting ready and the poster said that things were going fine until his stepfather's parents asked: "What are [mom] and him doing here? They're intruding on the party."

They told the teenager that he wasn't technically part of "their side of the family," and that they were clear enough to say it was a "family only" party.

"I was upset and argued back, and during all the chaos the 'surprise' aspect of the party kind of fell through, and basically Kayla came back to see everyone fighting," explained the Redditor. "John's parents told me I ruined the party and ended up bringing Kayla, Janice and John back to their place instead to celebrate."

Feeling hurt, the teenager took to Reddit to ask if they had acted unreasonably. "Family dynamics are complicated and I think I may have blown everything out of proportion," he wrote.

But commenters on the viral post rushed to side with the teenager, letting him know he was not in the wrong.

One comment with more than 11,000 upvotes said: "NTA [Not the a**hole] but John and your mom should be dealing with his parents. It shouldn't be on a kid to argue about it. John's parents sound awful."

One user wrote: "John's parents are monumental a**holes. Stepchildren/grandchildren are family." Another comment said: "Your step-grandparents are AH and I'm sorry they can't accept that families change and evolve with time. You are their family by marriage no matter if they like it or not. How does your stepdad feel about what they did?"

Recent Pew Research Center surveys have found that 42 percent of adults (102 million) in the U.S. have a steprelationship (either a stepparent, a step or half sibling, or a stepchild).

Research from the U.K. in 2015 delved into the educational success of children depending on their family structure. They found that kids from stable homes, regardless of steprelationships or blended families, were more academically successful. This revealed that despite remarriage or stepfamily dynamics, having two cooperative parents is the most important thing for children's development and overall success.

"I'm sorry no grownup stood up for you and you had to stand up for yourself," said another commenter on the viral post: "John's parents are selfish and horrible."

Newsweek has reached out to u/FuzzyLow3395 for comment.