Abandoned My Daughter for a Romantic Vacation with My Wife. Everyone Stood on My Side.

To pursue their dream vacation, a couple faces an unprecedented moral dilemma. In the story below, you will explore the tumultuous emotional landscape of a father who made a controversial decision that challenges the very essence of his role as a parent.

He Explained What Happened

“My wife and I had always dreamed of celebrating our 40th anniversary with a luxurious vacation—just the two of us, reliving the romance of our early years. We had planned it for years and were excited beyond words.”

“Enter our adult daughter, Jane. Jane and her husband got wind of our plans and promptly invited themselves and their two children along. I originally put my foot down and told them this trip was just for us, which upset her. But my wife has a hard time saying no to Jane, as she is the youngest of our children and our only daughter, and she didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so she reluctantly agreed to let them join.”

“I wasn’t thrilled about it at the time, but I wanted to make my family happy, and I knew my wife was also okay with the idea of a ‘family’ trip even if she was heartbroken we wouldn’t get our romantic trip. We went along with it. The place we were originally going was not child-friendly, so we changed course and decided on an all-inclusive, family-friendly resort. We paid for the resort and our grandchildren’s plane tickets. Jane and her husband only had to pay for their own airfare.”

“Here’s where things get complicated. As the vacation got closer, I started having a change of heart. I realized that our 40th anniversary was a once-in-a-lifetime milestone, and I wanted to honor it in a way that was true to our original plans. My wife and I might not be able to afford a trip like this again for quite some time, and it’s something we always wanted to do.”

“So, without consulting anyone, I switched our tickets last minute to go to the romantic destination that my wife and I had originally planned for. I did not tell Jane or her husband. I didn’t even tell my wife until the day before our flight left, which was a day before Jane’s flight left for their vacation.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision, and I feel guilty about it. But I wanted our 40th anniversary to be the special, intimate celebration we had always hoped for.”

The Fallout:

“We called Jane after we landed to tell her, and she was extremely upset, to say the least. She seemed to think we were going to look after our grandkids so she and her husband could have alone time, and now that I had abandoned her, they would have to do it all themselves. I hung up on them when my son-in-law started shouting, and my wife and I enjoyed the rest of our trip.”

“They came back the same day we did but have not answered any of our texts, and Jane seems to be ignoring me. My wife told me she vastly preferred our trip to the family trip we would have taken, but she still doesn’t like how Jane is mad at us and wants me to apologize. I’m not sure I want to after learning Jane and her husband were using us for free babysitting and a free trip, but I feel like I should just to keep the peace.”

The Question:**

“Was I wrong for changing our trip destination last minute and leaving Jane and her family to fend for themselves?”