Wife Praised for Rejecting Demands Step-Daughter Get Her Own Bedroom

A mom has been backed online after her husband's ex-wife demanded they provide a whole bedroom in their new house for her daughter, despite them not having enough money to get somewhere big enough.

The mom took to popular Subreddit "Am I the A**hole" to express her concern over the demands, describing herself as a widow with two daughters. She married a divorcee two years ago, who has a daughter and a demanding ex-wife.

She described the relationship with his ex-wife as "cordial though not particularly warm." The mom's new husband originally moved into her house and she converted the office into a bedroom for his daughter. She stays at weekends and alternate holidays.

"My daughters love their step-sister and treat her just like another sister. My youngest and her especially get on as they are already friends," she wrote in the post.

After the mom received a promotion at work, the family now need to move closer to the city from the suburbs, which is more expensive and means their budget is limited to a three-bedroom house. The plan, she explained, is for her older daughter to have her own room while the younger daughter and her step-sister will share a room.

Sharing rooms is actually thought to have benefits for a child when growing up, with evidence it can lead to better confidence, intelligence and conflict management skills. Research by Hammonds Furniture on 2000 adults found that 59 percent agreed sharing a room helped them prepare for future shared spaces like college dorms and 38 percent said it helped them develop emotional intelligence.

Despite this, the step-sister's mom was left raging at the plan for her daughter to share a room.

"When his ex-wife was dropping her off we filled her in on the plans and properties we'd been looking at to keep her up to date. After all, her kid will be staying with us sometimes and she has a right to be kept informed of this matter but she did not like the fact that her daughter would have to share a room as she'd never done that before. I tried to assure her it'd be fine, that the girls get on well and they'd have a larger room to prevent squabbling over space," reads the post.

"She was still not happy about this and told me if anything my daughters should share and leave a room free for her daughter. I told her my teenage daughter wasn't going to share a room with her little sister and leave a room free for whenever my stepdaughter came to stay, that my daughters will be the ones living in the house full time so they need their own space. My husband added here that, that really wasn't a fair request and at least the two younger [ones] are friends."

According to the mom, the ex-wife insisted they should get a mortgage to buy a new house that could accommodate a room for each child.

Users were left taken aback by the ex-wife and her demands, citing that sharing a room is far from a chore, especially when the children may actually be excited about it.

"If she wants you to have a bigger house for the sole purpose of sometimes housing her daughter then maybe she should offer to pay for it," wrote one user.

"She didn't even ask your step-daughter if she was cool with it, she just started to complain and demand," added another.

One noted that: "You and your husband have been cordial and fair. Your husband's ex-wife should drop her entitled attitude. I bet you the young girls will be happy to have these sleepovers.

"She just likely needs to find something to complain about. Children have been sharing rooms since the beginning of time."

"Siblings share bedrooms. Especially when similar age and sex," expressed another user. "As long as she has her own bed and it's understood to be their room, not your daughter's room that the step-daughter stays in when visiting, it should be all fine. Make sure your daughter leaves her stuff alone when she isn't visiting."

The mom confirmed in a follow-up that the oldest daughter's room will go to the stepdaughter when she eventually moves out, and they will consider buying a new house further down the line if that does not happen.