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Please don't judge me - I know how crazy this all sounds...

LadyTremaine4Life's picture

I am new to this site - so I apologize if I don't get all the abbreviations correct. I am in my thirties and married for over 3 years to my DH. I have known him for over 7 years - I met him when he was starting the divorce proceedings with his ex. He is significantly older than me so my SS is now 26 and my SD (who has never met me and has not spoken to her father since he left 8 years ago) is 31. This is about SS - as I don't know SD and don't ever plan to. SS is 26 years old but has the mind of a child. There isn't actually anything wrong with him mentally - it's just how he acts.

To make this as short as possible I will give the most basic overview I can - but I have more stories and drama then anyone should have in a lifetime. SS is nothing more than a spoiled brat, who is now also an alcoholic/drug addict, and who we have sent to rehab four times already in less than 4 years. He has NEVER been told NO in his life. When he turned 16 DH bought him a brand new Mercedes which he totaled in less than a week. DH and BM bought him a BMW the next week. From 16-26 (yes BM is still buying him cars - even after DH FINALLY stopped) he has had, no less than, 15 different vehicles. All showroom new and all luxury exotic cars. AMGs, BMWs, Suburbans, Shelby Mustangs, Audis (the list goes on). In high school, he would spend WEEKS at a time in his bedroom playing video games. He refused to go to school and BM and DH allowed it. He was failing out so BM and DH sent him to a private boarding school instead. His "reward" for passing summer school - so that he was eligible to go to this private school - was a brand new out of the showroom Mercedes Benz AMG C63. All of this was prior to me but I wanted to lay a little groundwork.

Now that I'm in the picture - SS realizes part of his gravy train has stopped in its tracks. After years of fighting, DH now realizes that his son should be doing things for himself at age 26. After this last bout in rehab (he doesn't actively work the program and thinks he's smarter than everyone else in the sober community) he has once again relapsed. I don't have confirmation of that but all the signs are there. He was fired from his job for not showing up. His punishment from BM is all of his bills paid, his rent paid, gas and food paid for, brand new $300 jeans, an Apple Watch for his girlfriend (who is also an addict and also does not have a job but lives with SS in his apartment ON THE BEACH), a new iPhone X for him, and a new 7 series BMW. (I shouldn't care about what BM buys him but it angers me when DH is still paying her $2k a month in alimony). I feel like in a way it's us contributing to all of this. Then he calls DH whining about what he's going to get from us. When he realized DH was not going along anymore he turned all his anger and hatred onto me. I had to block him from my phone, email, and all social media. He took to Facebook to publicly call me a "gold digging c*nt with a severe mental illness". When I showed DH he actually stood up for me - for the first time in 7 years - and told SS he had to apologize before he was welcome in our home again. He has yet to apologize - but did have the nerve to show up on Christmas night. DH actually stood by his word and told him he wasn't welcome in our home and unless he was there to apologize to me he needed to leave. Needless to say he got into his car and left. BM encourages the nasty behavior toward me. The worse he is to me, the more she does for him.

When does it ever end??? DH always saying "but he's my son". I can't take the stress. I knew he had children when I married him but sometimes it gets to the point where it feels like it's not worth it.

SS is violent and unpredictable. Girlfriend has reached out to say he's abusive but when given the opportunity to leave she refuses. I realize she's not my problem but if something happens to this girl, I'm not sure I could forgive myself. DH refuses to hear anything or know anything. I have tried to talk to him about what would happen if he seriously hurts this girl but all he says to me is that he doesn't care anymore, that his son is an adult and that he's emotionally bankrupt. The other week the girlfriend's mother tried to take her home and SS followed them on the expressway and actually drove the lady off the road. Police were called but he fled before they got there. He ended up having to pay restitution for the damage to the woman's car (with a blank check signed by - you guessed it - BM!) He actually tried to kill someone and she gave him a blank check to pay restitution. I can't compete with this (not that I want to). What do I do? Is any marriage worth this kind of insanity?

When the SS is not in the picture I have the perfect life. I love DH immensely, but I love myself too. I'm nervous that DH will give in soon because SS is relentless in his pursuit of stuff. He nags and whines and throws giant temper tantrums until he gets what he wants. I do not want him in my house. I do not trust him and he scares me. DO SC ever stop hating enough to grow up and just live their own lives like the rest of us do without waiting for their parents to die so they can have their inheritance?

P.S. - Did I mention that SS's apartment on the beach is conveniently located three blocks from my and DH's house on the beach? BM conveniently "found" him that apartment (of all places and towns). Now, I don't even have my safe and happy place!

SugarSpice's picture

i hate to tell you this but this is a seriously enmeshed and enabling family you married into.

almost being the same age as the skids (stepkids) only makes matters worse because you dont get the authority that age sometimes confers.

i dont know if you spoke to dh on this but i am sure he knows all about the situation of his children.

you ask, is any marriage worth this drama?

only you know the threshold of how much crap you can tolerate or bear witness to. your ss is indeed a lazy worthless spoiled brat but the blame can be put on his parents.

can you deal with a skid who scares you? addictions are a scary thing.

LadyTremaine4Life's picture

"i hate to tell you this but this is a seriously enmeshed and enabling family you married into." -- and you don't even know the half of it! Definitely being close to the same age does not help. Although I have NEVER tried to be a parent and made really clear boundaries with SS from the beginning about that. We used to be pretty decent with each other but once he realized I was onto his game and I made dad open his eyes to the fact he was buying drugs with all our money - I went from ally to public enemy #1. Then once he realized the depth of BM's hatred for me he realized he, in fact, did have an ally for life as long as he was nasty to me.

I'm not stupid and I realize that DH and BM are to blame for most of SS's issues. But if someone is perfect, in every other way, how do I throw it all away over ADULT children?! I know that DH is a terrible parent, which is why he and I have no children of our own. I didn't marry him because I thought he was (or would be) a good parent. I knew that much going into it. I think this is difficult for me because SS is an ADULT. He's not 10 years old anymore. The days of parenting him are long gone.

How do I ignore, or distance myself, from my husband's CHILD? It's not like a friend, or even a distant relative who we are talking about. I mean, do people really pick their spouses over their kids? Should we expect people to? I really don't know and I'm looking for honest answers.

Exjuliemccoy's picture

You do this by partnering with your DH in a plan of recovery - as a COUPLE. Think Pat Nixon-Betty Ford - supportive wives, but with their own agendas, because the healthier you get together, the stronger and more resistant you'll be to the machinations of the addict and his mommy.

Disneyfan's picture

You and the SS's GF are both making the CHOICE to stay in awful situations. :? :?

Perhaps she loves your SS just as much as you love your husband.

You put up with crap for SEVEN YEARS before your husband FINALLY did something. The GF is staying for the same reasons you stayed.

Exjuliemccoy's picture

It sounds as if your H is finally ready to practice tough love with his son. Instead of bringing up what ifs about the girlfriend of a man you aren't related to, to a husband who doesn't want to talk about it, why not try to gain some emotional distance and let the entire subject drop?

Your husband has stood up for you, and it's sounds as if he's in the process of detaching from his son's drama. Don't get in the way of this! It's all too easy to get sucked into the vortex of drama that inevitably accompanies an addict, and after a while we can forget what peace feels like.

You married into dysfunction, but you don't have to accept or allow it to dominate your life. You can't control it, nor can you fix it. What you can do is work on yourself and your marriage. Some couples sessions with a therapist specializing in addiction could do wonders for you and your DH, and really help you gel as a team.

LadyTremaine4Life's picture

I have tried for years to ignore it all. I've tried telling myself that since our bills are always paid that I shouldn't care if he chooses to give his son money or buy things for him. I just feel guilty at times for secretly cheering on the detachment between my H and his son. I think what scares me the most is that if my H chooses to let the son back in without an apology (at the very least) and without some responsibility for his actions - I have no choice but to leave. Even if it's the best thing for me it doesn't mean it's not heartbreaking at the same time. I don't like bringing up what ifs - I just keep thinking I'm going to be on the other end of a Lester Holt interview for Dateline soon with the way things seem to be panning out. Thank you for your advice and opinion. It's reassuring to hear other peoples' opinions.

Thumper's picture

How do I ignore, or distance myself, from my husband's CHILD?

And:

I mean, do people really pick their spouses over their kids?

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In a nut shell some people DO let go of high conflict, ugliness, moochers, liars, thieves etc. Some spouses refuse to put UP with their adult kids (or any other family relative) that are liars, thieves, mean, ugly.

Some spouses wont allow their adult kids to treat their spouses like dirt.

Then there are those who will have drama in their family until their last breath.

It's up to you to decide how YOU want to live the rest of your days.

I find it most unfortunate to see the abundance of families who drown in family drama. Fighting during holidays simply is unfathomable to me. Having adult kids treat bio parents like dirt, again unfathomable to me. Adult kids calling parents dirt bags, dbags, aholes, again totally unfathomable to me.

GoodLuck....

still learning's picture

Since your DH is loaded he can get you your own apartment further away from him and ss so you can have your peace. Smart rich old men usually keep their much younger wives and children far apart from each other. Look to the late Hugh Hefner and his wife Crystal for a model May/December relationship.

You are the same age as his children so I can see why they're a bit hostile, not that it makes it right at all.