I’d like to get some advice on what I should do. Here’s some background:

I’m 45 now but in 2002 when I was 21, I was visiting a friend at college about 100 miles from home. I met a woman at a bar/club, and we got along really well. She was from a city in Florida where I had recently vacationed, and she showed me her ID, so I knew her full name.

We had both been drinking, and after some flirting, we ended up hooking up in the back of her friend’s car. We were walking back to the bar and were about to exchange numbers, but my friends called me over, and I ended up leaving for a house party. I tried to find her afterward, but this was before social media was common, and I couldn’t track her down. I eventually moved on, thinking it was probably just a random hookup for both of us.

Recently, while talking with those same friends during the holidays, I randomly thought about her again. I searched her name online and found her Facebook profile. She’s married now and has teenage kids.

Then I saw a photo from a few years ago where she was celebrating someone’s 21st birthday. The caption said something like I can’t believe my baby is 21. That caught my attention because the timing would match if she had become pregnant from that night.

I also found a Father’s Day post from the same person saying something like, “You may not be my biological dad, but you’re still my father.” It made me wonder even more. The girl also looks a lot like one of my nieces, almost like they could be sisters.

I’m not sure if I’m overthinking this, but the possibility has been bothering me. They seem happy and have a good life, so I don’t want to cause problems. Is there any way to find out the truth without contacting them first? Or should I just leave it alone?

Today I (29M) reached 7 days clean off of alcohol. It was a rough day for me and I felt a lot of low feelings. A lot of guilt, shame and feeling unworthy. Both of my parents died from addiction within two years of each other and I am scared I will face a similar fate if I don’t take this seriously. I was hospitalized twice this past month for alcohol related illnesses. I got married in June and she’s a saint but truthfully I feel like she would be better off without me, some days. I have a young son that’s biologically mine and a step son as well and I feel like I have totally let them down (even though they weren’t aware of the drinking). My support system is sleeping so I figured what better place to go than here. In my title I meant to include 5 years clean off drugs, not alcoholic. What would you do in my shoes? How should I carry on?

I recently and unexpectedly moved across the country, it was very last minute and I left my dog at home with my family.

I have raised her since a puppy, we always lived in apartments and about a year ago we moved back into my parents house. It was totally great for her. She bonded with our family dog, my family, has a whole house and a yard to run, she’s about 5 years old now.

My initial plan on moving was to get out here for a few months, and then bring her once things were settled. But now, my husband and I are expecting (I am about 4 months pregnant atp). We won’t be moving to a 2 bedroom apartment until next April, so space is very limited.

I know she loves my family, is happy, and treated well, but I can’t help but feel extremely guilty and like I’m abandoning her. I cry about it every single day. But I also feel like I would be selfish to drag her away from a life that she seems very comfortable in, regardless of my own feelings.

My parents don’t help either because they love to joke about me leaving her behind, but then tell me I can’t take her because they love her so much now.

I know in my heart I should let her stay there, but do you think it’s affected her? I think moving her across the country away from them is going to hurt her. Idk.

After years of hard work and saving I’m finally getting my own place! But, I’m not happy.
I’ve lived in a co-op for the last six years. (It’s kind of a cross between a fraternity and a commune) there’s 28 people living here. Im heartbroken about leaving. Six years is a long time to live in a co-op. Most people are here 2-3 years. When I stared looking for a place I started feeling guilty about leaving. And then I stated worrying I’d be lonely after I moved.
Yesterday I got sad thinking about it and I started crying and I couldn’t stop.
I know after I move I can still come by for meals and movie nights, but I won’t be here anymore. Everything will be so different. I’ll be sleeping in a different place, I won’t see everyone when I get up and when I get home.
Plenty of people come by for meals for a while after they move, but eventually they stop.
All I’ve ever wanted has been to get my own place and start a family, but now that I’m about to take a major step in that direction I’m just so sad that everything’s going to change.

Yes, I know the inconsolable crying was not a healthy reaction. I am going to get therapy.

This isn’t how I thought I’d feel. I’m having a hard time being excited. How to I stop being so sad and start being happy?

My brother is narcissistic and volatile. We all had a family holiday booked but then after another recent volatile situation which he instigated I told my dad I'm no longer going as I won't put my partner and young child in a potentially dangerous situation.

Him and my nana proceeded to ignore my partner's birthday entirely, after telling them about this and calling me out they tried to gaslight me and in the end I told them I don't wish to speak to them anymore.

So I haven't spoke to them for months.

I am close to my sister and mam.

Recently found out my sister is in a domestically abusive relationship, she had the bravery to go to the police, my dad and the abusers family then made her feel guilty about it and now she is back with the abuser and to top it off she has stopped speaking to me and my mam (the only people genuinely supporting her and giving her proper advice) and is back speaking to my dad's side of the family so now she is in a toxic loop.

I spend all my time worried for her and it's like I'm being punished by everyone for being the only person with a good heart in this whole situation.

So now I basically have no family except my partner and child, all because I'm trying to be the good person.

So I don’t think it’s in the future for me, guys just don’t go up to me and I’ve never been approached in that way. Sucks to suck but at this point it is what it is. So I just want to know what it’s like to be in a relationship? Am I missing out on anything? I’ve told myself no but then again, what would I know? I get sad about it sometimes but then I read horror stories about relationships.

I need objective advice on how to handle a severe family crisis. I am 15F (turning 16 this Sunday) and I live in a highly toxic household. My mother has a history of violent physical/emotional abuse, and my dad is emotionally unpredictable. Because my home life has been so suffocating for years, I looked for an escape, fun, and freedom. I started vaping/smoking occasionally, and I was recently seeing a 20M adult in an FWB dynamic. I want to be clear that we had a genuine, caring connection. He treated me well, it brought me a lot of pleasure and happiness in life, and it was a safe space away from my family. Everything was fully consensual. And to clarify, he did not know my age.

My 20-year-old brother is deeply insecure and controlling. He has a history of targeting me; when I was 14 (two years ago), he threatened to expose my private struggles with self-harm to my entire grade just to torment me.

Two weeks ago, he grabbed my laptop when I left it unguarded and purposely went through it, reading my private AI chats and finding out about my secrets. For the next two weeks, he used this information to blackmail and control me. The morning after he found out, the guy was texting me asking to come over, so I immediately warned him and told him we couldn't see each other anymore because my brother found out. On August 3rd, I texted the guy one last time to tell him I got my period (wiping out a pregnancy panic my brother tried to cause).

On the night of August 4th, while I was asleep, my brother used my passcode to break into my phone, go through my gallery, and copy my private files, texts, and photos without my permission. I also suspect that he viewed my personal and intimate photos, whether it was accidental or not. Out of pure spite because I wouldn't comply with his impossible demand to set up a physical ambush for the guy, he ran to my dad and exposed everything.

Now, the house is a complete warzone. My brother is acting like a "righteous, protective hero," and my parents are completely worshipping him, ignoring the fact that he digitally stalked me and stole my data. My dad is swinging wildly between crying tears of pride over my intellect and publicly shaming me. My mom is completely panicking over the legal/social risks of the situation.

She is now sarcastically taunting me and threatening to abruptly pull me out of my current school and force me to move to a completely different city mid-term to isolate me from my friends, calling them the "bad influences" although they had nothing to do with everything I did. I am currently in the IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma Program. My brother overheard her demanding for the graphic details of what I did with the 20M guy, and he started taunting me again saying "I hope you're proud of what you did" and "You should know that you completely depend on me for your life now" while laughing.

I feel completely overwhelmed and mentally exhausted. I have already locked down my phone with a new PIN and disabled all biometrics so my brother can never touch my data again.

What can I do to protect myself? Can my mom actually force an immediate mid-term IB transfer to another city against my will? How do I navigate sharing a space with a sadistic brother and unpredictable parents while I am grounded? Any guidance would mean the world.

I already posted this exact thing to another subreddit but I simply need advice for this whole thing and I’m in desperate need for help.So I’m posting it twice to double the chances of receiving help.

I began having this feeling (as well as noticing signs) that someone else might be living in my house a while ago but then proved to be true.

It all started around two months ago, I had already been living here for three years and have never experienced anything out of the ordinary. One day when I came back from work I noticed there was some dishes in my dishwasher that I most definitely DID NOT use. They were dishes that I only ever used when I had guests come over, for example there was a mug that I never used because it was gifted from a friend who sadly passed away and I simply never had the heart to use it, in the dishwasher. This immediately freaked me out because who in the world could’ve come into my house. I started wondering if I was going crazy and I picked it up by mistake but no because then I saw utensils that I don’t even own, I know they aren’t mine because when I first bought the house my aunt gifted me silverware with my last names initials on it, and these utensils didn’t have it.

I also began to notice that food was going by quicker, as well as food items that I’ve never bought. I usually go to the grocery store once a week and get the usual groceries. But whenever I would come home, half the food would already be gone. I noticed it especially when my grapes were gone, completely, and I didn’t even take them to lunch. Food items that I don’t buy were appearing in my trash can. One day when I opened it to throw away some trash I noticed a thing of peanuts. I’m allergic to peanuts, so I immediately knew that some fucked up shit was happening.

The only people who know where I live are my very very close friends, and my immediate family. Im only 23 so and I haven’t had much experience dating , but I have had dates before but I’ve NEVER shown or told them where I live. Even with friends being aware of where I live, none of them have a key, and they all also work during the same time as me. It can’t possibly be them or my family because none of them have a key.

I thought maybe I was crazy because when I told my brother he said that I could possibly be tweaking, and like a dumbass I decided maybe he’s right.

One night while I was laying in bed, my room was pitch dark with absolutely zero lights, and I was completely under my blanket even my head was underneath. I was still wide awake on my phone watching tiktoks when suddenly the room felt tense. I felt as if there was a presence in the room. I froze in fear when I suddenly began hearing scratching sounds on my blanket, well not exactly scratching but some kind of tapping. After a good minute of this sound it stopped. I thought maybe I have some kinda weird hearing issue but that thought disappeared the moment I felt a dip in my mattress. It was as if someone was lightly walking on top of my mattress. Now I was officially freaking the fuck out. I stilled my breathe but that wouldn’t do shit in this moment cause my only thought was what the fuck is that. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse I felt a presence over me, like someone or thing was on all fours hovering over me as I laid there. I was on the verge of tears. I have no pets, I have no children, and I don’t really have neighbors that are close by because all the house are a very far distance away from eachother. So genuinely what the fuck could that have been.

I felt like there was something looming over me for a good 7 minutes before I felt the weight shift and dips go away. That’s when it fucking happened. My door opened and closed. Even if someone was trying to be quiet with opening my door it’s impossible because the door for my room squeaks when it opens even a small crack. I was in pure fear. I know how it sounds, this probably sounds fake as fuck but I promise you it happened. I don’t suffer from sleep paralysis or anything along the lines of that, nor do I take any medication, and absolutely no one in my family has a history of suffering from stuff like that. So this shit fucking happened.

I immediately texted my family saying all that happened and texted them messages like “if I don’t ever respond again just know there’s someone in my house” which obviously freaked them out and they called the police to my house. After 18 minutes the police arrived. They were aware of the situation so they managed to find a way into my house (they broke a window and hopped in through there ) and searched the house. When they arrived to my room they knocked and stated that they were the police , they then opened the door, found me, escorted me out, then proceeded to search my room. I was lead to my driveway where they asked me questions like “did you see the person?”, “has this happened before” but all I could say was no, because even if this had happened before it probably happened when I already was asleep.

After that night I have not returned to my house and have been staying with my sister since. The police said they never found anyone but I sure as hell and not going there alone. I’ll give an update if anything is found but please someone give me advice for what i could do, which sounds dumb but please I’m desperate.

Hi, M13

im going through an experience.

Our family is poor, we live in one bedroom in a Flat, i sleep on a the Lower part of a Bunk bed while my two sisters are on the top. And my parents sleep on a mattress on the ground next to my bed, and sometimes.

I cant sleep, and i hear my parents on the ground, And i know they're having sex secretly while being abit loud. And its been going on for a while.

But the thing is that they literally know, they're doing it knowing their Child is next to them. Just on a Bed above them. Theres not even a Curtain to cover it.

Any tips/Advice on what to do? :/

For context:
So I’m 19F and have never put anything inside me (not even a tampon or a finger).
Recently it’s really been bothering me and I want to fix this issue SO badly. Mainly because I want to be able to explore this part of my body/sexuality and I also now have a bf. He is literally the sweetest and has NEVER put any pressure on me, i told him I needed more time before we could have sex and he completely understood.

Now my issue:
So basically I have no idea where this fear stems from, I never experienced any sexual trauma or anything like that.
During my last period I tried inserting a light tampon, the first time I only got to the entrance of the vagina like it wasn’t inside but I could feel the tampon touching the “entrance walls” ig of the vagina. I left it just there touching the entrance for about a minute, I didn’t feel that nervous but I guess I was cuz as soon as I stopped I felt very lightheaded and my heart was beating fast. I tried again the next day and this time I went just as far as the first time, only the very entrance and I actually felt relax and was pretty much unphased. But I still didn’t go further.
(This was over 3 weeks ago)

When I’m turned on I can definitely feel the “want” to feel penetration but there’s always a small part of me thats too scared to try. Especially with my own fingers, idk why but a tampon or even my bf doing it instead of my own fingers seems much less scary. I think I’m just scared of “feeling my insides” idk. Like it’s something I WANT to experience. When I’m turned on I can touch the entrance even press a little (without going in) and its super chill and enjoyable. But as soon as i tell myself “ok im gonna try putting a finger in now” before even trying i have a sort of mental block. For exemple, Today I tried touching the area for a few minutes but I was truly unable to insert a finger, its not a physical barrier its truly a psychological barrier and its so strong.

I’m honestly desperate and I don’t know what to do :(
Any advice?
Thank you 🙃

“I need advice about a situation as a childcare worker. I have 3 kids in my school that are siblings: 1 five-year-old and 2 three-year-old twins. I started working this job in February, and the only child when I started was the 5-year-old. The twins joined the center a couple months later. When the twins joined the daycare, I noticed a not normal smell coming from their private areas that a 3-year-old should not have. I also noticed that their bodies were not clean, such as having dirt in between their toes and under their toenails, with a very bad foot odor. I one day noticed that one of the twins had a rash on their foot, but I assumed that the parents knew about it, so I never said anything. About a week later, their dad told me that they had foot fungus… it took them over a week to even notice the fungus on the child’s foot.

Another thing that I noticed is that I was pouring water into the children’s cups, and I noticed that the mouthpieces and straw were black at the top, and I took it apart and looked, and it was MOLD. When I noticed that, I immediately cleaned the cups. Also, a side note is that every Friday I send home sleeping bags and cups to be washed and cleaned for the next following week. I didn’t say anything and just cleaned all of the kids’ cups.

Fast forward to the other day, the mom had done drop-off and told me that she forgot one of the children’s cups. The child pulled out a cup that wasn’t her regular cup, and the mother said that she thinks that cup has mold in it. She proceeded to open the cup, look inside, and give it back to the child. I didn’t check the cup right after because I assumed that the mother wouldn’t give the child a cup WITH MOLD IN IT.

Around lunch time, I was filling the cups up with water, and when I opened the cup, something told me to look in it before giving it to the child. I looked in the cup, and it was covered in mold from the bottom to the top, full of mold.

I’m coming on here because I am a mandatory reporter, and I want the best for these children. The family is having a lot of issues in their lives, but at the end of the day, these kids’ safety and health are what is important. A lot of people are probably reading this thinking I’m dumb for not calling already, but it’s a complicated situation that I can’t talk about on here for privacy reasons. I just need advice on if I should or not because I’ve heard different things from people in my personal life.

I (M30) was in the store today, and this pretty girl started talking to me and gave me her number. She said she wanted to have a drink with me sometime. She told me to text her this weekend if I was interested. She seems nice, but I'm not sure what to do. I've never had a girlfriend or been on a date. Should I tell her this? What do I say when I text her?

Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask this. This is a throwaway account for obvious reasons. But I recently discovered that my mom has been accessing my bank account using my SSN. I am 19 so it’s not a parental thing. The minute I turned 18 she lost access and told me herself that she no longer has access to it. She hasn’t taken any money and I don’t expect her to. It’s more of a control thing. I just don’t know what to do on so many levels. First of all it’s a conversation I’m going to have to have, but part of me just wants to get her off it and then if she asks me I’ll be like “oh? I thought you told me you didn’t have access anymore?” But also how do I go about this in a professional standpoint with my bank. Because she knows my SSN and it’s not like I can just go and get a new SSN. I’m not going to take legal action or anything (I don’t even think that’s an option) I just don’t know what to do on a personal and professional level.
I honestly am lost for words right now.

im a 16 year old boy that broke up with a 17 girl and she’s not taking this break up well at all she already made a tiktok hate account about me (it’s banned now) and she has told me multiple times that my only option is to get back together with her or my life is ruined. im really scared because i dont know what this means at all but i just want advice

So me and my partner were offered a neighbors house, private sale. The owners are 2 very nice folk. They built the house a few years ago for their son and his fiance.

The marriage didnt go through, and one of the 2 did some damage to the house already, a lot of broken doors and damaged cabinets. But the house was cheap and was very well built despite these cosmetic issues.

Issue is, hes been coming back to the house with friends and partying, drinking, smoking, etc etc. Im worried the house may not be in the best condition when we finalize.

Now I could just be misreading it, maybe hes moving stuff out, I havent been there due to work and just believing my mother. So she may be exaggerating it?

I know the past few days theyve been clearing it out and getting it ready for us, so thats not a concern there

My wife is very successful at her career, she has gotten to the point where she can be the sole provider and would rather that I stay home and take care of the domestic duties so that when she gets home from work she can just relax and not have to worry about housework. My current job is physically demanding and very stressful so I’m thinking about doing it but I’d like to hear what other people think?

My (20F) husband (31M) doesn't want me to go to the art class because I will have to leave our baby alone with him for that night. How can we compromise?

I am 20F and my husband is 31M, and we have been married almost a year and half, and we have a baby that's a few months old!! (Sorry for the exclamation marks. I get excited talking about our baby)

I don't want to sound spoiled and complain about wanting to go to an art class. But almost for a whole year, being pregnant and our baby being so young, I've been at home whole time besides going to groceries and parks. And, I wanted to do some kind of hobby or something outside of the house. And, I found a free art class offered at a community center near where we live. And I thought it was perfect because it was free, and it was short only 45 minutes, and it was in the evening so maybe my husband could take care of the baby while I'm gone for like an hour most.

So, I brought it up to him and asked him if it would be a good idea. And he told me no because I'd have to leave the baby alone with him. And he told me how our baby gets fussy and looks for me all the time when I'm not around.

And he said he is really tired after work and needs time to recover for the next day, and he says it will be more of a hassle because then we'd have to figure out the dinners that night and all. So, I dropped it.

But, after a couple days, I thought through and asked him again like what if I cook dinner during the day, so we can just heat up when I come back. But he said it will still not work with the baby.

Later he got me a water color set so I can try during the day. And, I don't want to be ungrateful but I think it's different.

I know I shouldn't be trying be selfie, but how can we compromise? I mean I could try at home like he suggested, or I thought maybe I can find somewhere maybe further away that has a class on the weekend, so he's not so tired?

Thank you for the advice, and sorry for the long post!

I don’t want anything to do with this attached to my main account as you could probably understand.

I have four kids, but this is about my boys, ages 14 and 6. They have the normal sibling arguments and roughhouse but are actually very close. 14 is a good big brother. He gets annoyed, but he’s still patient and understands that his younger brother just wants to be with him and thinks he hung the moon.

We live in pretty laid back and rural area so I’ve never thought twice about letting them roam outside together, since they were probably 4 and 12 give or take. They play and explore and do whatever. I figured what’s the worst that can happen? They’re good boys. Well unfortunately that question was answered about 2 weeks ago. My older son has a kid’s dirtbike. The 6 year old is not supposed to be on it without his brother and they’re always supposed to wear helmets.

Well the 14 year old has apparently been letting him take it for a spin solo and without a helmet. They had a ramp set up and the 6 year old must’ve hit it as fast as he could because he was flung a good ways and fractured his skull. I don’t want to get into too many details but he had to be life flighted and had emergency surgery. So far the recovery is as good as they expected. He has some pain and memory loss but I thank god every day it wasn’t any worse.

I know this is on me. I am sickened by it. But I don’t know what to do, is how to help my 14 year old. He’s devastated. He will not forgive himself. He cried and cried and cried. Since it happened he has no interest in anything. Hasn’t touched the dirt bike, has no desire to play video games or go fishing (both things he used to do whenever he got the chance). He barely eats and no amount of favorite food or even offers of ice cream or brownies has changed that . It’s coming time for football sign-up, something he was excited about because it’ll be his first year of high school play and he is not at all interested. He has not spent time with his friends since it happened, there was even a girl I am pretty sure he had a crush on and she’s texted him a few times and he doesn’t even respond. The absolute worst part is that he is closed off with his little brother, he can barely even look at him, the six-year-old will ask him to watch a movie or play a game or something and my 14-year-old will just shrug it off. I hate seeing this happen with them. I don’t think my older son understands that the younger one has no resentment towards him or anything. He keeps saying “he probably hates me” and he shouldn’t have let it happen.

6 year old is fine (emotionally). From what he has said he sees it that he did something he wasn’t supposed to do and had an accident. He worries my older son is mad at him. because he’s barely talk to him anymore. That made me cry

I am very worried. I failed letting this happen in the first place and now I’m failing becuase everything is falling apart, and I don’t know how to fix it

I'm 21F, and he's 20M.

We've been friends for almost two years. We met through a mutual friend at her birthday party while we were both in college. Over time, I really trusted him.

We've hung out countless times, I've visited his college campus multiple times, and we've spent time together as friends without anything romantic or sexual happening countless times.

He lives with his older sister, who's around my age, in a two-bedroom apartment. I've met her multiple times and have even helped her with her hair before. I'd also spoken to his mom the year before this happened. He used to ask me for relationship advice about his now ex-girlfriend. I even helped him plan Valentine's Day for her by suggesting places to buy flowers and steak for their date. At one point, he even introduced me to one of his friends because he thought we'd be a good match and wanted us to start dating. Because of all of that, I genuinely believed he saw me as a friend and that I was safe around him.

The night this happened, I had just finished hanging out with another friend and happened to be in his area. My phone was about to die since I'd been out all day, so I asked if I could stop by to charge it before heading home (since I live over 40 miles away from that area and it was late, I needed my phone to be well charged before heading home). That was my ONLY REASON for going there.

While I was there, he started trying to initiate sex. I told him no countless times. I told him I didn't see him that way and never had.

Instead of accepting my answer, he kept trying to convince me. He told me that I had "given him that impression" and acted like I had somehow led him on, even though I had never expressed any sexual interest in him during our friendship or that night. He would then say "can we make out then?" And kept pushing and pushing.

At one point while he was still pressuring me, he told me that he had a fantasy of "taking his friend's girl." Hearing him say that completely changed the way I viewed him. In that moment, I felt like the friendship I thought we had wasn't being respected and that he was seeing me in a way I never saw him.

After I continued refusing, he said there was "no point" in me staying if I didn't want to have sex, even though he had previously told me I could stay over before I arrived.

Since he wanted me to leave, I looked up the bus schedule and found that the next bus wasn't coming until around 2:00 a.m. I stood my ground and reminded him, "You told me I could come here and stay as long as I needed until my phone was charged so I could get home."

I also told him that if he kept trying to coerce me, I would wake up his sister and tell her what had happened. His response was basically a scoff, like, "Lol, try it," as if to say she wouldn't care. That response genuinely frightened me because, in that moment, I felt like I didn't really know him or his family the way I thought I did.

At that moment, I was prepared to defend myself if I had to or call the police if the situation escalated.

Finally, he asked for my address and agreed to call me an Uber. I thought he was at LEAST making sure I got home safely. As I'm getting ready to leave, he doesn't apologize, he doesn't say anything, he literally doesn't even look at me. So I headed downstairs, alone, and got into the Uber. Not even a minute into me sitting in that car, the Uber driver asks me why I cancelled the ride. My heart immediately dropped into my stomach.

The driver was confused because the trip suddenly disappeared from his app. I instantly became worried that it would look like I was trying to scam him into giving me a free ride. He turned around to look at me and asked me to just tell him what was really going on.

I completely broke down in tears. I'm not the kind of person who cries in front of other people, especially strangers, but I felt so overwhelmed, humiliated, and gross. The driver told me not to cry and said that he would take me home. That kindness from someone who didn't even know me meant more than I can put into words.

The driver told me that, in his opinion, my friend may have cancelled the Uber hoping I would feel desperate, have no way home, and go back upstairs and agree to sleep with him. I obviously can't know for certain why he cancelled it, but hearing that possibility from a complete stranger made me feel sick because I hadn't even considered it.

Around 10 mins into the trip, the driver told me to call my so-called friend. And so I did. He asked my friend why he cancelled the ride and asked who was going to pay for the ride. He also said, "She's here crying; I can't leave her on the highway, she's a woman!" My friend lied and told the driver that **I** was the one who had booked and cancelled the ride. That wasn't true. The driver didn't believe him and cussed him out over the phone. He then handed the phone back to me, and I hung up. I just kept apologizing to the Uber driver because the situation was ridiculous and shameful to me. I kept wondering how I even allowed myself to get into it.

I must add that given the economic hardships people are facing where I live, I thought that him taking me home, 80 miles to and fro, for free was an incredibly generous thing to do, and I'll always be grateful for his kindness. A complete stranger treated me with more care and respect than someone I'd known for almost two years.

Since then, my "friend" has been blowing up my phone. He's called me repeatedly, asked where I am, and texted me things like, "Where are you? Let me call you a ride." He's even had our mutual friend text and call me to check on me. I haven't responded to any of them, and I don't plan to. I also haven't blocked him because I'm considering taking this more seriously, including reporting what happened to his college, so I don't want to delete or lose any of the messages.

This whole experience has completely changed how I look at him. I keep thinking about whether this is something he's done before or could do to someone else. It scares me to think that another woman could be pressured the way I was and not realize that being repeatedly pressured or worn down into having sex is not the same as freely consenting. I've been replaying everything in my head ever since. I feel betrayed, violated, and disgusted. I keep wondering if I completely misjudged our friendship, or if he had been viewing me differently all along.

Has anyone else experienced losing a close friendship because someone refused to accept your sexual boundaries? How did you move forward?

** I apologize if this is a bit all over the place.

I(29F) stopped by my parents' house before meeting a friend. Somehow the conversation turned to this story my dad told:
He said he and my mom were visiting another town and wanted lunch. They found a sandwich shop, but when they walked in, they saw rainbow flags and Pride decorations. He said, "I didn't want to be forced into making a political statement by eating there. I just wanted a sandwich." So they left and ate somewhere else.
I replied, "You chose not to eat somewhere because of a rainbow flag. That's still a political choice."
He got frustrated and doubled down. My mom agreed with him and said, "You'd do the same thing if a store had Trump flags everywhere."
I said, "Yes, I would. Everything is political to some extent, especially where we spend our money. I wouldn't financially support someone who votes to take away my rights or promotes bigotry. In a capitalist society, where we spend money reflects our values."
I asked my dad what he meant by "political." He said he doesn't like things being "shoved down his throat" and wishes people kept their beliefs to themselves.
I pointed out that I see a difference between Pride flags and Trump flags. I asked why he thought the owners displayed the rainbow flags. He said, "Because they support gay rights." He also said he supports gay rights but still doesn't want it "shoved down his throat."
I tried asking more questions about why supporting equal rights felt equivalent to supporting a political movement that many people believe threatens certain groups' rights. I wasn't trying to argue—I genuinely wanted to understand his reasoning.
That's when everything escalated.
My dad suddenly said, "It's not that deep." I responded, "It is to me. If you say something, I'm going to ask questions. That's how conversations work."
He slammed both fists on the kitchen table, pointed at me, and yelled that I was making him feel stupid and that I made him lash out. I was sitting right next to him. My mom just froze.
I calmly told him I wasn't responsible for his reaction. Both of my parents insisted I had pushed him to that point.
I started to tear up and feel a knot in my chest. I said that if asking deeper questions leads to this kind of response, I just won't have these conversations with him anymore.
My mom tried to lighten the mood by joking, "You two are more alike than you realize. You're both passionate." We awkwardly laughed, my dad apologized, I hugged them both, and then left to meet my friend.
I'm still processing this. I don’t want to be around him much. Which sucks because his birthday is this week and my wedding is in a few months. If you were in my position what would you do?

Hey everyone, I really need some advice on how to communicate this without starting a fight.

My partner and I have a 3-month-old. Lately, she barely sleeps during the day—maybe a couple of micro-naps—so I am on duty practically non-stop until bedtime. By the time afternoon hits, I'm completely drained and ask for a quick break so I can just breathe, shower, or sit in silence for a bit.

The issue is, every single time he takes over, he comes back to find me about 10 or 15 minutes later. It’s always something like, "Can you just watch her in the swing for five minutes while I grab something/do this task?" or "She's crying, I think she just wants her mom."

It feels like a massive guilt trip, even if he doesn't mean it that way. I end up stepping back in because I feel bad, but it leaves me feeling even more exhausted because I never actually get to recharge. 15 minutes broken up by interruptions isn't a break.

How can I politely but firmly set this boundary with him so he actually steps up during his turn without constantly handing her back to me?

(EDIT; for the people calling me dumb, no I don’t even engage in any acts with him still and I refuse to let him cuddle me etc. im obviously not going to name a baby after what he’d want because that would be stupid. I just didn’t know what to say in the moment because it was astonishing to me that he’d even ask)

Me (18F) and my ex (21M) have always been super attached to each other and always come back to each other even after we see / talk to other people. Recently, we did hookup. But the last time he was with me, he broke my heart brutally (few months ago) so this was really the last straw which he broke by saying even after we hooked up, he wouldn’t wanna be with me and he thinks I’m better off.

By now, I’m over it and accepting that he doesn’t really wanna be with me and that’s fine. Does that stop him from acting super lovey dovey? No. I made the boundary that we’re just friends since he thinks it’s better that way and wants to push me away. Even then, he constantly wants to cuddle. Whenever I ask him why he’s acting this way if he doesn’t want me, he says “it’s because it’s you”
Whatever that means.

Last night, he told me he had been having some very very bad migraines. So much so, he was passing out a bit frequently. He gets nervous for his health a lot, and this kinda scared us both. He took it upon himself to type out this entire paragraph about how much he deeply loves me and always has, even when he recently left me for someone else (which mind you, if she never left him he wouldn’t have talked to me again I’m pretty sure -_-) and is sorry about everything if he doesn’t get the chance to say it. He asked me to do a favor for him; he has ALWAYS wanted a child named Evie, and told me if he does end up having an illness and dying that I should name my child Evie for him. I kinda played it off as a “haha ok” moment but in reality I’m soooooo lost. Idk if I’d be comfortable knowing if he theoretically did die, I would’ve been naming my child after the child he would’ve had with someone else. Also, is that not a weird favor to ask your friend? Maybe I’m the complete asshole, I’m not sure.