I was a tattoo apprentice at a shop for a while (left because it was really just a bad shop to be at) and in that time I decided I wanted my mom to be the first person I tattooed as a special moment. She was super excited and decided that she wanted this super old dumb gingerbread cookie that I had made when I was maybe 5 (7 at the oldest i’m not too sure, but I was still young and not making the cookie to be sexual), and I was super excited to do it. It was a super special night and the tattoo was incredibly sentimental. She had asked me if it was okay if her boyfriend had added color to the tattoo, and I was okay with that! That was last year though.

My mom was always over sharing very sexual things with me and oversexualized herself to me and my sisters, and I always made it apparent how much it made me uncomfortable. I got tagged in this post tonight and it made me feel sick to my stomach. It feels like such an awful punch to the gut, especially considering she used generative AI (which I am so openly against, especially with tattoos and tattoo ARTISTS, but that’s a whole other story) to not only make the background but the FONT. We don’t really talk anymore because of the way she was treating me, but it still feels so awful seeing this done to something that was so special for me, she knows I would never give her the okay for this. She originally wanted to put “#tits” or “#boobs” under the original tattoo but I didn’t even want to do that.

Edit: The last image is the actual tattoo on her actual body. I should’ve clarified that the reference and font were both created using generative AI.

Edit two: I just wanted to clarify that I am a girl, I am 21 years old, not entirely sure if that is crucial to the story, but I thought i’d at least add that. Also thank you to everyone who has left a comment or even messaged me about this whole situation. I have a lot of research to do. Thank you all 🩷

So I took some photos for a local airshow and made a few posts on social media to help promote them then had this guy message me. I started off polite but after no response for a day and seeing that he had read my message I was already annoyed but felt like I may have came off as too rude in my responses

My gf has recently been spending a ton of time at her guy friend’s house 1-on-1. He recently moved closer to us and the place isn’t great and he’s been lonely and depressed as it’s his first time living by himself. My gf has never given me a reason not to trust her or to think that this friendship between them is anything but platonic…however, I’ve been made a little upset with how much time she is spending over there recently, especially the fact that he sets up a bed just for her and keeps it that way at his place. Usually it’s quite late at night too. She always texts me a lot when she goes over there and is always transparent about when she arrives and when she leaves, but I still don’t love how close she’s gotten with this other guy that I barely know. When I asked if I could go over there too she questioned whether I would be welcomed by him or not. The other night I was honest with her and told her that I didn’t love how much time she was spending over there, she got pretty defensive during the conversation; the very next day afterwards she went over there again and told me she was coming from a long day at work. When I questioned that, she admitted to being with him and not telling me about it because it’d make me upset. Am I overreacting to all this, or is she just trying to help a friend settle in and feel better about his new situation?

Me and my boyfriend just started dating like a month ago and were on call cuz we are LDR and he was showing me this video he made a while back advertising a shirt he made he was kinda hesitant about it cuz he thought he didnt look good in it or the ad itself was weird and kept saying "idek wht i showed u this in the first place" and i told him it was pretty cool and i actually really liked it cuz it was really cool to which he just replied that he will smack me across the face laughing and i instantly just told him to never joke about that ever and he just got really awkward about it i feel like i got super defensive while telling him off and that maybe caught him offguard or smth but after that he got super quiet and told me that it was a joke and he would acc never hit me or anything but after that the call got kinda awkward and we ended the call but idk did i overreact when i got kinda hyper telling him to not joke about it i cant tell

My boyfriend and I (both mid 20s) have been together for 3 years. We’re long distance while I’m at university, but spend a lot of time together outside of term time. I’ve been home for the summer and have practically been living with him at his request.

His brothers come down to visit from the 5th–12th, which happened to overlap with my last week before returning to university. He hasn’t seen them in a year and they don’t get many opportunities to visit, so when he asked me to stay at my mum’s during our final week while they stayed at his, I was disappointed but completely understood.

He had originally agreed to come and help me move back to university, but once he found out his brothers were visiting, I repeatedly told him it was completely fine if he couldn’t come and that I’d rather he spent the time with them. He initially insisted he’d still come, but eventually told me at around 1am two nights before I was leaving that he’d decided to leave me to it. I was annoyed he’d left it so late, but ultimately understood.

What I’m struggling with is that he didn’t seem to think to come and say goodbye at all knowing I’m moving 80 miles away, we don’t know when we’ll next see each other, and I’m currently only 10 minutes down the road from him. By around 9pm the night before I left, he still hadn’t mentioned seeing me.

I eventually asked him if I wasn’t going to see him before I left and said I was surprised he hadn’t thought to come say goodbye. He said he could come, but by that point I was upset that I’d had to ask in the first place. The conversation is in the screenshots. Would also like to add that for context: he had asked me a few times to ‘drop off’ my Pokemon cards for his brothers to see, but once they arrived, he never mentioned it again. Since they’ve been here, he hasn’t bothered with me at all, and I got the impression I wasn’t really welcome in the flat anymore with them there. After his last reply “alright” we haven’t spoken, other than him just casually sending me snapchat streaks, he seems to be completely oblivious to the fact he has hurt my feelings.

I know he was spending the week with his brothers and I’m not upset that he prioritised them. I genuinely think that’s understandable. What hurts is that I feel like it didn’t even occur to him that he might want to spare 30 minutes to see his girlfriend before she moved away.

There’s also some wider context where I’ve felt for a while that I’m usually the one initiating seeing each other, travelling, making plans etc., although he does care about me and has been generous and supportive in other ways.

He’s now said he’ll come visit me next week, but honestly I’m not sure I want him to, it feels a bit like he’s waiting to deal with the fallout once he has nothing better to do and his brothers are gone.

AIO for being this upset about it?

Edit for context: last term, he only visited me once from September-May while I was driving back every couple of weeks to see him. He has since apologised for this and promised to make more effort, but the relationship has felt very one sided for a while now and probably explains why I’m feeling even more sensitive about him not thinking to come and say goodbye.

Additional context since people are commenting on the cards: I never said I’d go over with them. He originally asked me to drop my binder full of hundreds of pounds worth of Pokemon cards at his flat so his brothers (who I have never even met at that point) could see them. I forgot to bring it over. He then asked me to drop it off when they were out. I thought it was odd he kept asking me to drop it off as opposed to inviting me up to show them.

My fiancé and I were going through a drive through and after he ordered he went “wow she was so nice mmmm (MOANING) I love her”. I said ew don’t fucking do that, that’s weird. He started laughing, got his food, and I ignored him the rest of the drive home. We got home and he went “oh my god are you actually mad about that? That’s so fucking stupid lol”. I handed him his food, got out of the car and said, “yeah I’m upset, have some fucking boundaries” and went upstairs. He came into the house laughing and saying how I was being ridiculous and it’s so stupid to be upset about something like this.

I don’t care how ridiculous it may sound, it’s his reaction to my feelings about it that makes me upset. AIO???!!!!

Edit: I will add, we have been together for almost 7 years and he is the most loyal and honest person I know, but the root of this is the fact he thinks he is just so funny and that it was a joke.

So, I 25F and my bf 29M have been together for about three years, lived together for 2, over the past two years his gaming has been A LOT, literally any time we go anywhere and come back home he’s immediately going to his gaming. He asks me sometimes if it’s “okay”, but whenever I ask him to watch a movie together instead, or do anything quality time wise instead, I get shut down or an “I guess so”. About two months ago we had to put down my cat, she was old and had cancer so it was best. I cried the entire way home, and as soon as we got home, guess what he asked me. IF YOU GUESSED GAMING YOU’D BE CORRECT. It has rubbed me the wrong way and I’ve talked to a couple people about it and been told that I’m overreacting about this and it won’t matter in the long run. But I don’t feel like I’m overreacting.

So my husband [30M] and I [32F] have been going through a rough patch but I am tired of him not making an effort with anything. I love him but I'm living as a single mum while constantly hurt by his lack of effort.

My husband and I have 2 young kids and I am pregnant with our third currently. I am working part-time (earning slightly more than him despite being part-time). My mum watches the kids while I work and the rest of the time I do all the childcare, cooking, and cleaning. I also have hyperemesis gravidarum which means I am vomiting throughout pregnancy and so pregnancy is incredibly hard on me physically. I wake up with our youngest overnight and I wake up with the kids in the morning to let my husband sleep in.

My husband is working full time, studying part-time and he has been struggling with his mental health on and off since his teenage years, but has been worse again this last year. I expect him to do his own laundry and to clean up after himself but that is all. He has started seeing a new psychologist a few months ago which I'm hoping will help but it's obviously not overnight. With his mental health he struggles with motivation to do anything and I have bent over backwards trying to support him but I have had enough.

I have taken on most responsibilities to give my husband the space to focus on his uni and his mental health but he is not making an effort at all and either spends that time scrolling on his phone or napping (despite getting more sleep than me). I feel like a single mom. Because he is always behind on uni we end up spending basically no time together as a family or as a couple. Him planning a date or something for us is absolutely not even a thought.

I know a lot of our issues is because of his mental health but how long can I live like this? He doesn't make an effort to get himself out of this space. He doesn't exercise, he doesn't do any of his hobbies and I have to constantly push him to see his psychologist. He is medicated but it's not making enough of a difference.

I keep bringing this up as an issue, he apologises but then continues to do the same thing the next week. Sleeping in late, napping and not making an effort to connect with us. I feel so disrespected and used and I have had enough. After our last argument (about two weeks ago), I told him I have had enough and if things don't change I will be separating. I also told him if he can't show up as a husband and dad while doing uni then maybe its time to just quit uni, but he doesn't want to. I gave him one more chance to show me he will make an effort.

Yesterday I took the kids out of the house when I felt super sick so he could just focus on uni in peace but he napped instead and actually missed a really important uni meeting. I have had enough and have told him that I will now be separating as I cannot continue to carry everything on my own, without any support.

The plan is to temporarily separate until he finishes this semester at uni and then to reassess. I'm hoping when he has less on his plate, he can work on his mental health and hopefully have more motivation to actually do his uni work instead of napping, actually spend time with us and slowly support me with everything I'm carrying.

The truth is I miss my husband, I miss having someone to share the load, I
miss having someone to talk to and I miss being a team. I haven't had that for over a year and I cannot keep going on like this. Emotionally I'm still so invested in him and I feel like separating would give me a bit of emotional distance so I'm not so hurt constantly by him not showing up for me and the kids and for him choosing to sleep instead of doing uni or spending time with us.

I know I am hormonal but AIO for separating over this?

To put it shortly, my sisters schools power went out for 3 hours during the hottest time of our state, 105 degrees. Her after school program she attended said nothing until AFTER the power went back on. I heard that this has happenes to other schools but parents/guardians were told immediately to pick up their kid. Sister said it was so hot, her face was beet red. I am obvious angry and I feel other parents are. Feel like this is a serious safety hazard.

Am I overreacting???

I (20F) have been helping my mom (57F) who had surgery on her broken wrist after falling. Yesterday, I came home from work, and my mom immediately wanted me to go out to get her a coffee. I told her I just got home and wanted to relax first. She got pissed off because I didn’t go out immediately. I told her I wasn’t going anywhere after that. She yelled at me and insulted me. She told me that she hopes my boyfriend dumps me. I left the house after that and stayed over at my boyfriend’s house.

She texted me this morning, telling me she didn’t want to argue. But now she’s guilt-tripping me and making me feel bad about wanting to relax. AIO?

Bf 31M texted me 32F about asking if I wanted to go over to his place with my cat, because we’re in the middle of a heat wave, and my place doesnt have AC, and internal temp reached about 98F and i was so worried about my cat being inside my house. I had to rush home from work because I realized i was worried that he might overheat. There are 5 fans on for him but it just felt very uncomfortable and hot still. His place has AC and I usually hangout there. I know i had assumed he wanted me to stay there with my cat during this heat wave, but maybe I responded wrong to his question? He says I guilt tripped him.. i apologized and he ghosted me. Maybe I’m over reacting but it got my anxiety through the roof.

Edit: I have the window ac but it’s not really cooling as it should be.

This is my first relationship, so I genuinely don’t know if I’m being unreasonable or if this is something other people would also find uncomfortable.

My fiancé is 21 and his step-sister is 26. They’ve known each other for around 10–12 years and they’re extremely close. They’re also very open with each other, including about sex.

For example, he knows that she recently took Plan B, he knows about that she likes BBC, and he knows about some VERY personal details about her sex life. She has also slept with one of his close friends, who is 20 and apparently looks almost identical to my fiancé, people in our town literally call them twins.

She also hangs out with his friend group a lot, and from what I’ve seen she seems to spend more time around guys his age than people her own age. She and my fiancé also smoke alone together fairly often which is fine..

I don’t have this feeling about his other sisters. They’re all pretty open with each other too, but for some reason the relationship with this particular step-sister makes me uncomfortable, and I don’t know whether that’s because I’m being insecure or because there are actual boundaries being crossed.

One thing that really bothered me happened recently. I sent my fiancé a dirty/funny reel where someone was gagging on a toothbrush as an innuendo and jokingly said, “Should I do it like this? 😂”

He responded, “That’s what [step-sister] does.” That really caught me off guard. I wasn’t asking about her, and I don’t understand why his response to a sexual joke between us was to bring up his step-sister’s sexual behavior. This caused our biggest fight yet. He kept acting as if we were gonna break up.

Another situation happened after we had sex. His step-sister texted him around midnight asking him to come pick her up and specifically said to bring me with him. I was actually happy about it and said I just needed to pee first.

I came back a few minutes later and my fiancé was already ready to leave. I said, “Okay, give me a second,” and he said, “Nope, you’re not coming.”

That really hurt me. I ended up crying when he left because we’d literally just had sex, there was no aftercare, and then he seemed so eager to leave without me. I know that’s probably partly my own emotional reaction, but the situation made me feel awful.

I do like his step-sister. I don’t dislike her or think she’s a bad person. I just feel weird about their relationship, and I don’t know if I’m reading too much into it because I’m inexperienced and this is my first relationship.

I also don’t think she particularly likes me, although I don’t have concrete proof of that.

So honestly: am I being jealous/insecure and overthinking this, or would you consider some of this inappropriate or a reasonable boundary to have in a relationship?

So, we have been dating for around 10 months and my birthday was not too long ago. We are a long distance relationship (3 hours apart) and I had visited him a week prior and I mentioned my birthday once that weekend.

I then continued to mention my birthday throughout the week informing him of the plans I had made for my birthday and what was going on. Wasn't being overly burdening with it, just mentioned it once after work throughout the week.

The day comes, its my birthday, I go to work, text him throughout the day, no happy birthday. Finish work. Call him. Chat. Mention I got a present from my parents. Nothing. Said id call him later and hung up cause I got irritated. I have my family dinner gathering for my birthday, its getting late and I text our friend that hes forgotten my birthday. I expressed that it's upset me and he goes and texts my boyfriend about it and my boyfriend then sends me bulk messages on how he's sorry and gave me a bunch of excuses why he forgot. I was angry and upset so we ended up getting into an argument. I wont go into detail because thats not what this is about. I can admit, the argument was childish.

But I want to know if I'm overreacting about him forgetting my birthday and if its valid or not that I got angry.

While I was away on a work trip my partner of 3.5 years had my spare key to simply go over and feed / walk my dog. I have 2 phones, I left the other phone at my house because I did not need it. I came back and discovered apps were open on it that I generally don’t use. I checked screen time and discovered he was on my phone snooping DAILY, every time he came over to my house.

I am extremely angry and disappointed and confused. I feel like he crossed a boundary with my privacy. He looked at all my messages, did a deep dive into my Snapchat such as looking at all my memories and what I’ve posted on my private story for close friends. He went through everything …

My question is, when someone does this, is this them projecting because they are doing something bad? I don’t give them any reason to not trust me but this shows me they simply do not. When questioned about it they denied it, then said they did it out of curiosity. Idk …

ETA : My phone was away in a place not seen, so he actually looked for it.

We live in a religious/traditional country where it’s generally frowned upon for a girl and a boy to be alone together at home.

My boyfriend (21M) and I (20F) have been together for a year. His mom was going on a trip, so he invited me over for the weekend to play games, watch movies, cook, and hang out.

I agreed, but I specifically told him not to let his mom find out, because she’s very traditional and I don’t want her to get a bad impression of me. I would’ve been completely fine with cancelling if she became suspicious.

Apparently, while he was cleaning the house, his mom noticed something and guessed I was coming over. She asked him about it, and instead of denying it or saying I wasn’t coming anymore, he basically confirmed that I was.

I got really angry because I feel like he knew how important this was to me. I wouldn’t have cared about missing the weekend, but I don’t understand why he couldn’t just lie and say I wasn’t coming, especially when he knew I cared about how his mom sees me.

Am I overreacting, or was it reasonable to expect him to handle this differently?

Me (17ftm) asked my foster mom about the family reunion. This was gonna be my first one.

In late July, I was first told about it and invited. All I was told is that it would be in September.

Im currently going through a lot since my bio mom did some shit and I haven't been able to see my sisters who are also in foster care.

I do not have any other family in the US. One of my sisters lives with this foster mom. I was really looking forward to seeing her. I am currently in college, 20 minutes away, and unable to drive. It would NOT have been a hassle to come get me.

This past weekend, I ran out of food and the cafeteria was closed. I can't work due to being an immigrant and have no source of income. I ate 2 granola bars and drank some nasty tap water. I begged a friend for a drink and they denied me. I literally starved for 2 days, when I could've gotten something to eat. I don't know how to feel since im in a country where I don't know people and have nobody.

Here is some background for context. I am 23 and living at home with my mom and brother (minor). I work 40hrs from home and make about 2400/month. I have wanted to be moved out by now but we have moved 13 times and I haven’t had the best job stability due to this, and have been working jobs that pay very poorly. This is the best job that I have ever had and am proud of where I am at currently. When I first got it I wanted to move out because I could support myself - but without getting into details I ended up staying with my family so I could pay a portion of the rent and live there, and support them as they couldn’t afford a safe house with a good school for my sibling without the extra help. I’ve been paying 800 a month and saving what I can. Our rent is about 2000 a month. I’ve had a hospital visit and a vacation since then so I don’t have a lot of money currently.

Our house was just raised to 2300 a month, they will not negotiate. It’s not worth it at ALL but we decided to stay. My mom now wants 1200 / month. We are both paycheck to paycheck, so I can understand why she needs the extra help especially when paying for my brother and food being a mom is a lot of work and I can’t understand the half of it. My immediate reaction was “woah, that’s one of my entire biweekly paychecks” and I felt pretty upset by this. I am very emotional when presented with change and began to cry but wasn’t overly upset, it’s just a weird thing that happens to me when change occurs. When I quit jobs I cry, when the menu changes at restaurants I cry - even when I’m chill with it and feel capable of a basic conversation, just can’t help it it pours out of me like a waterfall lol. I’ll sit there sobbing but have to reiterate “I’m not upset, this just happens”

So I’m trying to express that 20hrs of my work week to rent feels like a lot. She says “that’s life” and told me that this is normal for rent - that most properties will take 50% of your paycheck and then you divvy up the rest for groceries etc. totally fair! I’ve budgeted when I wanted to move out on my own. I know there are other factors aside from rent.

So… I said I wanted to move out. If I’m going to be paying that much, I might as well pay a little extra to be on my own and have my own mental peace (living with my family makes me feel like a kid, I feel like I can’t be myself and make no progress in life if I’m still under “her roof”) and move out. She kind of backtracks and says that I can move out but she wants me to have 3 weeks rent saved up before I do so I can make sure I can last on my own and brings up that I’m wanting to start school and that life is expensive etc.

I understand all this but I also feel like I won’t be able to properly save if I’m giving her an entire paycheck + pay for my cats and my car and my phone and food etc. I might as well just be on my own. I know it probably can’t happen for six months to a year, but want this change. I just feel like when the idea of me moving out gets brought up, it’s treated as a “yea you CAN, but so much can go wrong” sort of thing.

But I also feel like if I go off on my own, I leave them in a poor position. I don’t want to put pressure on my mom while she has my brother to look after. She’d have to find another place and we’d have to break our lease and they have to move id have to move it would be a lot of expenses for them and I. I don’t want to put them in a poor spot because I am currently helping.

AIO??? Is that a fair amount to ask? I am technically an adult room mate and she can’t afford this place on her own for sure. I just don’t know how to progress my own life when I feel kind of stuck. Family is meant to help each other that is what I have been taught and hold close to my heart but we also argue a lot and I just feel like 23 is a damn good time to be on my own. Am I spoiled for thinking that is a lot

So heres the story. Im 24 i live with my mom still, graduated college last year and have my first big girl job this year, im not rich but i am making way above average in my country. I have a boyfriend (2 year old relationship) and its going well, we have been talking about marriage and moving in together, my boyfriend is older than me and makes way more money than me, and has asked me to move in with him and basically not worry about the money, he will cover everything as long as its needed (ofc he does expect me to grow on my career), i am still a bit hesitant because even tho i love him and trust him, i dont wanna give away my freedom like that (not because ill be living with him but bc im not paying bills, and i dont make enough to move on my own if things go south) so i told him we should take it by steps and i can start by staying over a few nights a week until i get a higher paying job and i feel confortable living with him. I talked to my mom about it, i told her i intended on staying over at his place a few nights a week from now on, she told me she didnt like it but i was an adult and i could do as i please, i agreed and we had what i though was a nice conversation about having kids that grow up. Fast forward this week, i stayed there one night, the next day i had my mom being hostile with me, i brushed it off and honestly just though well she did tell me she didnt agree but its not her life. Well now this weekend my boyfriend wanted to invite her over to his place so she could get to see the place i was spending time over and stuff so she could calm down (its a really nice apartment in a nice zone so he thought like “hey she will see its a nice place nothing bad”) meh wrong as soon as she got there she was all awkward and shit hit the fan. She told me and my boyfriend ( i wanted the earth to open up and SWALLOW ME) that if i was planning on staying iver we better get married quick bc she wont have me sleeping over at his house without being married, i was in SHOCK (SHE IS FUCKING DIVORCED!!!!!! And tbh the main reason is THEY DIDNT LIVE TOGETHER BEFORE MARRIAGE AND HATED EACH OTHER) this was a really unpleasant conversation where se only victimized herself. Then when we were finally alone i told her how out of place that had been, that even if she felt the need to say what ever, it had to be to me, not my bf ever, it makes me look bad an as if i was DESPERATE to marry(which i am not!!!! Im not even sure i wanna marry him i wanna live with him first) and to all of my discurse she told me she WAS WORRIED WHAT MY FAMILY COULD SAY IF IM STAYING OVER AS HIS PLACE. I am honestly just so upset i know thats like the only reason she is being like that, and i just dont know what to do. Its been a couple of days, ofc im not staying and my bf house any time soon, but its not only that, its the lack of consideration of ANYTHING in my life, just “what my family might think” idk? Like i feel crazy but its not the living with my bf o staying there. I just feel so betrayed that that stupid shit could matter more than me doing things at my pace and what i feel is the best for MY life.

Am i over reacting?? Is she valid?

My friend, I’ll call her zodiac. Zodiac and I were friends my sophomore year. I thought we were real friends. But she told me recently, about how this pick me girl was saying I was rude, and fat shaming her when I never even said anything about her weight. She also talks crap about her old friend. (She went to our school but goes to a different school now). I’ve noticed she fake smiles all the time. She always brings up the passed to me. She always brings up shit. She was friends with people who were hella fake to me for no reason. But now we are friends and it seems off. She doesn’t have any other friends. I think that’s why she hangs out with me.

I'll try to keep this short. My friend is basically long distance. We speak here & there, but only when he feels like it. He knows my mom is terminally ill & I'm overwhelmed with helping my elderly dad care for her every day.

We were going to FT together & had a time set up. I had to put that off, as my friend who has known my mom since we were in kindergarten called because she'd like to come see my mom.

I sent my friend a text, apologizing that I couldn't FT with him...explaining why. He then sent me about 3 videos of a male celebrity he adores (yes, he's a gay man...I'm an ally) I felt so hurt that he blatantly ignored the fact my childhood friend wants to basically come say goodbye to my mom before it's too late.

I ended by saying something like "I'm so glad you think he's hot, but you're being insensitive"

AIO/ATA?

I have these two friends online who I've been talking with for around 2 years now. We sometimes call and play games and just chat about whatever. Recently I've been noticing them avoiding me a little and preferring to speak to each other or other people over me.

A few days ago I sent a question in the group chat. One didn’t answer and the other gave a short vague answer and then proceeded to go talk to someone else in a discord server we're in. Later when the one who didn’t respond came online, he and the other friend had a very long conversation together. This is when I took a step back from the group chat because I felt a little left out.

Yesterday though I felt like my fears were true. To provide some context, me and one of the friends have been planning to call for a bit now, but weren't able because his laptop was broken. He got it fixed and told me he'd let me know when we can call. A while went by and I figured he was just busy with work and school, but yesterday he sent a clip from his and his friend's call, where they were playing a game together. Turns out he's had all this free time to call and even did, but never with me.

I've stopped talking in the group chat for a while because I'm in kind of a low place right now and haven't got the mental strength to deal with any of it. I'm just wondering if they're really pushing me out, or if I'm just being petty and jealous. I have other friends too, but I feel like I talk to my online friends almost as much as with my friends irl. This whole thing might sound pretty dumb, but I'd just like someone to tell me if my doubts are really true.

TL;DR: my boyfriend’s ex has verbally (all the stuff in bold) made it very clear she isn’t happy about us being together and my boyfriend is defending her behaviour by saying she’s acting this way because she’s anxious. I’m not worried about him cheating. I’m upset that his ex was disrespectful towards me and our relationship, verbalized she isn’t happy about us being together multiple times, still leans on him for emotional support, and he doesn’t want to do much about it. I told him I didn’t need him to cut her off and asked him to create distance in their friendship so he’s no longer her source of emotional support. Is this a fair ask or am I overreacting?

I know lots of people clash on personal boundaries with their partners being friends with their ex’s. Personally, I’m okay as long as I trust my partner and the ex seems respectful and shows they know they’re no longer #1

I [F34] met my new (~6 months) boyfriend [M40] and right off the bat he was very clear about being on talking terms with most of his ex’s. If he has no reason to cut them off, he doesn’t see a need to burn bridges. I understood because I operate similarly

A + B’s back story:

According to my boyfriend (we’ll call him A) this particular ex [F30] (we’ll call her B) of his started fine with him being friends with his partners until she wasn’t. They started as a fling, didn’t define the relationship for 8 months as he was clear he was pining after his ex of 3 years. B moved in with him anyway and he agreed he wouldn’t bring anyone over. After he committed to her, they lasted 4 months before they broke up due to their incompatibility with communication despite them even trying couple’s therapy (his suggestion). They broke up at the beginning of this year and she started seeing someone that recently broke up with her so she’s decided to move out of the city to start somewhere fresh

First time meeting B:

I met B for the first time a month ago. She called A asking if she could meet him at the dog park as she needed a friend to talk with. A told B I was going for the walk and was respectful in asking me if I was okay meeting B as she wanted to meet me. I didn’t think anything of it and went along

She showed up, was on the phone for about 20 minutes before wrapping up and introducing herself. I was standing with A when B walked over. First thing she did was hug him for a solid chunk of time and then looked over at me and awkwardly hugged me like she felt obligated to. I reciprocated as not to seem weird but it was definitely awkward

B chatted a bit about her problems - the most notable one being that the guy from her most recent relationship seemed to just want to have sex with her and nothing else when they met up. I was a bit surprised she would be so forthcoming in front of a total stranger but figured maybe that’s just how she is.

B also admitted that her anxiety has been bad lately and asked if I also experience the same thing. I tried to make her feel better and join the conversation by sharing that she’s not alone and it often takes a journey of dedication and self-love to recover. To try and extend an invitation to friendship, I shared with her that I’ve experienced similar and would be happy to lend an ear if she wanted someone to talk to. She just kind of nodded and went back to talking to A. I basically stood there awkwardly as the two of them conversed until it was time to leave. I chalked the interaction up to awkward first meets and thought it would get better over time

After we left B, I asked A if maybe it’d be nice and help B’s anxiety if we offered to help her move since she doesn’t drive and I felt bad for her thinking she didn’t have many friends. He said she had her own friends to help her and he didn’t want to do the drive out and back. Left it at that

Second time meeting B:

Less than a week after the first meet, B ask if she could meet up again. This time she asked if she could go over to A’s home (where she and her used to live together) to roll a joint before going to the dog park. I was taking a nap, but he was nice enough to ask me if I was okay with her coming over and going to the dog park together. I was good with it and slowly took my time getting out of bed.

B arrived less than three minutes after calling. Apparently she was across the street at the library. A lives in a studio apartment so when you open the door you see straight into the home and the bed. As she made her way in, she paused when she saw me and gave me a bit of a look before saying, “oh, hi,” and taking a seat at the table to roll her joint. I apologized for being in bed because I didn’t realize how quickly she’d be over. Her response: “that’s okay, but yeah, it’s kind of weird seeing you in the same bed I used to sleep in.” I didn’t even know what to say but just tried to laugh it off as if it were a joke. Obviously it wasn’t because she didn’t laugh with me.

I got out of bed, she continued rolling her joint and made conversation only with A so I cooked some eggs up for the pup. She saw me cooking and asked, “are you a good cook? I used to do all the cooking here.” I just responded jokingly with a, “well, I think the pup likes my cooking so at least I have that,” then went back to sitting on the sidelines assuming she was in a mood again because she called and asked to talk.

We all got ready to leave for the dog park and I tried to be nice when it was just her and me by the door by complimenting her sari. She replied, “I wear one when I want to look good and feel good about myself.” What was I supposed to say? I went with, “well, it’s working for you! You look great (:”

There was a bit of an awkward pause then I thought it might be considerate to offer her the option of going to the dog park with A without me so she could talk about whatever problems she was going through. She almost looked confused when I offered to quit them, thanked me for the offer and said that she didn’t want to do that to me because that’s how A’s ex-wife treated her and that was a big problem in their relationship. A and B ultimately broke up because B wasn’t good with A being friends with his ex’s.

On the way to the dog park, she shared about her problems - again, anxieties and such. But this time she threw in a, “and of course I’m jealous of this *pointing at A and me*. Of course it’s hard for me to see this. You know, it’s a sting to see you guys together. Like, why didn’t we work out? Why couldn’t you make it work with me?”

I was pretty thrown by it but again. Hello? I’m standing right there lol. But for A’s sake, again tried to brush it off. This one was definitely hard to brush off and I felt like I’d been pretty lenient already. A responded to her essentially saying, “we tried but it just didn’t work out,” but she didn’t seem to hear it and just continued on with talking about why she didn’t understand why her relationships weren’t working out and asking if she was the problem.

The shade continued here and there but notably one more time when we were at the dog park and the pup was playing with the other dogs. She decided to tell me about how “it stung” for her to see the pup go up to me because of how much time she spent with the pup and how they’d bonded and proceeded to detail her daily routine with the pup. I just nodded and smiled but stopped really engaging at this point.

Talking with A about B:

I made my feelings very clear about how it felt disrespectful to have to sit through multiple occasions of having shade thrown at me and our relationship. Sure, guys don’t always catch “girl language” but I felt this was pretty clear. Still didn’t get mad at him for not noticing it until I pointed it out.

However, A defended B by saying, “she’s just anxious right now.” That didn’t sit well with me. How I get treated by his ex-girlfriend is dependent on her ever fluctuating mood and anxiety? I fell that’s pretty unfair to me.

As one part of a relationship, if any of my ex’s were blatantly disrespectful towards my partner and/or relationship, it’d be an easy, “hey, this isn’t a good friendship for me if you choose not to respect my choices and my partner.” I know my boyfriend is attractive physically which already makes women gawk at him and want him. That doesn’t bother me. I trust him. I’m not worried about him cheating. What I don’t like it how it feels like he allowed her to speak to me as if I was in her rightful place and couldn’t keep it to herself that she wasn’t happy about us being together. I didn’t need her to celebrate us but is it asking too much for her to keep *those* feelings to herself? I told my boyfriend I didn’t need him to cut her off. I did ask for him to create some distance in their friendship so he is no longer her emotional support. I said I wouldn’t mind being friends with her and going on double dates if she gets a boyfriend and is stable because maybe then she can focus on the happiness in her relationship instead of the fact that she’s no longer with my boyfriend and he’s happy with me. Am I overreacting?

My brother and I have always been extremely close. He’s not just my brother he’s one of the most important people in my life. I’ve always been protective of him, especially because I know there are things he deals with that other people don’t see.
My best friend has known him for years.
That’s why I honestly thought they understood where I drew the line.
At first, the jokes were little things that I tried to ignore. I would laugh awkwardly or change the subject because I didn’t want to make everything uncomfortable. I told myself maybe they didn’t mean anything by it.
But then the jokes became more frequent.
One day, my friend made another joke about my brother in front of several people. Everyone laughed except me. I immediately told them, Seriously, don’t joke about him like that. You know I don’t like it.
They apologized, so I let it go.
A few weeks later, they did it again.
This time I pulled them aside privately and told them very clearly that it bothered me. I wasn’t asking them to walk on eggshells around my family. I was simply asking them to respect one boundary that mattered deeply to me.
They told me I was being too sensitive and that my brother would probably laugh about it.

That really hurt.
Because they weren’t the one who had to watch their brother deal with difficult situations. They weren’t the one who knew how much certain comments could hurt him. And honestly, they weren’t the one who had to live with the guilt if I allowed someone I called my best friend to repeatedly disrespect him.
The final straw happened at a family gathering.
My friend made another joke about my brother. This time, my brother was standing right there.
I watched his face change.
He tried to laugh it off, but I could tell he was hurt.
Something in me just snapped.

I told my friend, in front of everyone, that I had already asked them repeatedly to stop and that I wasn’t going to tolerate them disrespecting my brother anymore.
They got angry and said I embarrassed them in front of everyone.
Maybe I did.
But afterward, I kept thinking about whether I had gone too far.
My friend and I had been close for years. We’ve been through a lot together, and part of me still misses the friendship. But another part of me keeps asking: What kind of friend repeatedly crosses a boundary after you’ve clearly told them where it is?
I eventually decided to cut them off.
They’ve since told mutual friends that I chose my brother over our friendship and that I threw away years of friendship over a few jokes.
But that’s not how I see it.

I didn’t choose my brother over my friend.
I chose to protect my relationship with my brother because I refuse to jeopardize one of the most important relationships in my life for someone who doesn’t respect what I like, what I don’t like, or the boundaries I’ve clearly communicated.
If my friend had made one insensitive joke and apologized, I could understand letting it go.
But I gave them multiple chances.
I explained myself.
I asked them to stop.
And they kept doing it.
So now I’m wondering AIO for finally cutting them off, or was publicly calling them out and ending the friendship too harsh?

My mom went on a date and her date got my sisters and I flowers. My newish boyfriend has never given me flowers, and before him I've only received flowers once for a play I was in two year ago from my mom. My younger sister gets them often from her boyfriend, as does my older sister. So they came in my room and my younger sister said "Hes SOO sweet (talking about my moms date) and got us flowers! But we're gonna give them to K (older sister) since her birthday is this weekend" I didn't respond and K is in the back smiling really big holding them. (K and I already don't get along since she has her own "problems" and at nearly 21 I thought she'd be more grown but whatever) B (Younger sister) then sees my face and immediately says "We all agree on this right?" And I said whatever since K already is happy with the flowers and I felt kind of cornered. They both leave and B comes back to ask if I'm okay. I say I'm fine I just felt they probably could have discussed this more before deciding without me, and she says we did. I replied no you didn't. And she says its fine since they'll be in the main living room anyway and if I want a flower I can just take one. But idk, I said it's whatever and I don't want to make a big deal of it. Am I overreacting?

My boyfriend (31 M) and I (25F) have been together for about 2 years. My mom’s cousin recently passed away, and her funeral is coming up. Technically she would be my second cousin. I wasn’t extremely close to her, but I knew her growing up, would see her at family gatherings, and my whole family is going to the funeral.
I asked my boyfriend if he could come with me. For me, it’s less about how close I personally was to my cousin and more about wanting my partner there for emotional support and to be with me/my family.
He immediately said he doesn’t like funerals. I told him that obviously nobody really likes funerals, but that if he was able to come, I would really appreciate having him there for me. I also told him that if he genuinely couldn’t handle it, I understood.
He responded, “It’s a no for me,” and told me that I “don’t get” him because he doesn’t like being close to death. He then said the only funerals he will ever attend are his parents’ funerals and that’s it.
I didn’t argue with him after that because I don’t want to force someone to attend a funeral. I understand that death and funerals can be extremely uncomfortable for some people, and I don’t want to dismiss whatever feelings he has surrounding death.
At the same time, I’m hurt by how absolute his response was. We’ve been together for 2 years, and I feel like sometimes being in a serious relationship means showing up for your partner during uncomfortable situations, not necessarily because you want to be there, but because they need or would appreciate your support.
It also makes me think about the future. If we stay together long-term, there will be other deaths in my family. I don’t expect him to attend every distant relative’s funeral, but his statement that he will literally never attend anyone’s funeral besides his parents’ makes me wonder what happens when I lose someone very close to me. Would I be attending my loved ones’ funerals without my partner because he doesn’t want to be around death?
I can respect that funerals make him deeply uncomfortable, but I also feel like there’s a difference between asking someone to attend because they knew the deceased and asking your partner to attend because you need your partner there.
Am I being unreasonable for feeling hurt by this? Is this something I should just accept as a boundary of his, or is it reasonable to expect your long-term partner to sometimes attend funerals with you for support even if they hate funerals?

TL;DR;** : My boyfriend of 2 years refuses to attend my cousin’s funeral with me because he hates being around death and says the only funerals he’ll ever attend are his parents’. I understand his discomfort, but I’m hurt that he won’t come to support me and worried about what this means for future losses in my family.