Mom Backed for Blowing Up At Ex and New Wife Over Daughter's Private School

Members of a popular forum were outraged after one mother revealed why her ex-husband and his new wife threatened to pull her 12-year-old daughter out of the private school she pays for.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/throwaway-36928 (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she noticed a pattern of hostility from the couple and detailed her scathing response to their insistence that her daughter switch schools.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for telling my ex his lack of money is not my issue?" the post has received more than 13,000 upvotes and 1,300 comments in the last 11 hours.

Explaining that she holds primary custody of her daughter, the original poster said she visits her father twice per month, staying with him and his new wife, who has two children of her own.

The original poster also said that she works a "higher-paying" job, which has allowed her daughter to attend private school and enjoy other luxuries including expensive clothing and electronics.

Those luxuries, however, have recently become problematic.

"The last few times she came back after a weekend at [her dad's], I noticed that the clothes she was bringing back in her duffel are...not her size and...much cheaper and poorer quality," OP wrote. "She told me that while she's at her dad's, [his wife] takes away her nice clothes and gives them to her kids."

Noting that her daughter was open to sharing with her step siblings, the original poster said the situation took a turn for the worse when confiscated clothes transformed into a much larger debate about the 12-year-old's education.

"[My ex and his wife] sat me down...and said that it was unfair for [my daughter] to be going to a private school while her kids go to a public one, so they'd decided that [she] would be pulled out of private school," OP wrote.

"I told them in no certain terms to f**k off," OP continued. "I would not be pulling my child out of a school she likes, away from her friends, because they can't afford it.

"I told them their money problems are not my issue, and if [my daughter's] items get stolen again or they try to pull her out of school, I'll be taking this to court," OP added.

Of the more than 50 million students enrolled in grades K-12 across the United States, less than 5 million attend private schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Though many private schools require academic, athletic or artistic excellence from prospective students, this massive discrepancy is due in large part to one factor: money.

In 2022, Education Data reports that the average tuition cost for a year at a private, K-12 institution is $12,350. For a year at a dedicated private high school, that figure jumps to $16,040.

For divorced parents, a five-figure price tag can be especially contentious, especially when incomes are lopsided and financial capabilities are significantly different.

When disagreements over a child's education cannot be solved independently, court proceedings are often necessary to determine a final decision.

And when these types of cases reach the courtroom, it is left up to the judge to decide which parent should receive the exclusive right to make educational decisions, according to Texas-based Beal Law Firm.

To conclude her viral Reddit post, the original poster said she plans to involve the court in hopes of keeping her daughter enrolled in private school.

Throughout the post's comment section, Redditors expressed their support for this decision and slammed the original poster's ex and new wife for threatening to pull the 12-year-old out of school simply because they can't afford the tuition themselves.

"[Not the a**hole]," Redditor u/Gwvoads wrote in the post's top comment, which has received nearly 16,000 upvotes. "I would make the school aware that any decisions about your daughter need to go through you."

"Start court proceedings now," Redditor u/oy-c**t- added, receiving nearly 1,000 upvotes. "Her stepmother is abusing her emotionally and psychologically [and] your ex is allowing it to happen."

Redditor u/BedazzlevaJazzle, whose comment has received nearly 5,000 upvotes, also took aim at the original poster's ex-husband.

"Her father is weak and all around pretty terrible for trying to take away these opportunities from your daughter," they wrote. "I'd be having a good talk with your daughter about any other toxic ways she is being treated at their house."

"These people are adults and won't change," Redditor u/noregrets2022 chimed in, receiving more than 3,400 upvotes. "Stealing clothes and pulling your daughter out of school against her will and without consulting her mother is abuse."

Newsweek reached out to u/throwaway-36928 for comment.