I Met With My No Contact Family To Reconcile And They Decided To Prank Me Instead r/Relationships

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[00:01:03] Okay, in the past couple of years I started making good enough that I bought a house and I set up plenty after the monthly bills. My family have all been pranksters and at times entitled my whole life. For Christmas Eve, they took the cake.

[00:01:19] I was no contact with them for years but they convinced me to reconnect after I moved closer. For gifts, I got them all good stuff like tablets for the kids with built-in DVD players. What? Just went away to Google. And yes, they do actually exist.

[00:01:34] Sports memorabilia and camping stuff for my dad, brother and uncle. Specific antiques, jewelry and appliances for my mom, sister-in-law and aunt. I brought my girlfriend with me. As what little family she has are horrid. But she was delighted to spend Christmas Eve with my family.

[00:01:52] Everything was going smoothly and I warned my family no pranks on me or my girlfriend at all. They swore none would happen but they could not resist. We got attacked by silly string from multiple fronts. That stuff reeks and gets everywhere. Somehow we powered through that.

[00:02:12] But then came the gifts. I wasn't expecting much but none of them even tried. I got dollar store cooking utensils, a pair of insanely ugly holiday socks that I confirmed were also dollar store and a pink hat. And that was just for my parents.

[00:02:29] They all kept snickering and recording me as I unwrapped random junk. One being a used mirror to a car I no longer own. And the one gift there to my girlfriend was a bottle of fart spray. I told them I'd had enough and they'd agreed to no pranks.

[00:02:44] Long story short, they weren't just gag gifts. They were the only presents there for us. I had enough and just started gathering up all the presents I'd brought. They all freaked out and demanded I give them back.

[00:02:57] I told them all that they didn't change one bit and they could kiss all that stuff goodbye. We bagged everything and stormed out. The family kept calling and messaging me that I'm being greedy. I couldn't take a joke and they couldn't think of anything to get me.

[00:03:12] The kids are crying. I don't need to go on. Am I the asshole? I've refused to return any of the presents. Now, I was thinking back to the very first paragraph on this one. I remember when Opie said that there was no contact with them for years.

[00:03:26] Usually no contact says something pretty shitty has happened. Was it due to these pranks? Was it due to their behaviour? Well, it was obviously due to their behaviour at some point. If someone's been no contact with you for a certain amount of time,

[00:03:39] surely you should have sat back, reflected on what you've done and the last thing you do is be an absolute knobhead to them and pull these so-called pranks, which aren't pranks. It's just shitty behaviour trying to get a laugh at your expense when you don't find it funny.

[00:03:55] Part of me was just wishing that your girlfriend just took that fart spray and said, right, we're leaving and just held the button down and walked out spraying everything in her path. I mean, it's pretty childish, but it made me chuckle in my head.

[00:04:08] It just really winds me up that they just don't think about the consequences of their actions. They obviously didn't the first time around before Opie went no contact. But this time, you know, Opie's coming round to our house. You know, he's been no contact for a while.

[00:04:22] We should be on our best behaviour here. We should be welcoming him and just thankful that he's back into our lives or we could prank him. You bloody Berks. Time for no contact again, Opie. But successful bar says not the arsehole. It's not like you didn't warn them.

[00:04:40] Time to go no contact with them again. Anything you can't return to the shop it came from to get your money back or that you can't use yourself, give to a charity and tell them that's what you did. A rue says not the arsehole.

[00:04:53] What's wrong with your family? A prank is only funny if appreciated by everyone involved and you warn them that you didn't want to partake in anything like that. Furthermore, how is it funny to get a loved one an awful gift without a genuine present at the end?

[00:05:07] Your family aren't pulling pranks. They're just being arseholes. You did the right thing by taking away their presents and while there's not much hope for the adults involved, maybe the kids might learn a valuable lesson about fucking around and finding out.

[00:05:21] Not that they're to blame in all of this, but a point must be made. Someone asked Opie for info. They said, why did you go no contact with them before? Opie says because when growing up I was the overly serious type

[00:05:34] that was used as a scapegoat for my brother and I was just treated unkindly like I was unwanted half the time. I was the unplanned son while my brother was not. They also have the worst sense of humor.

[00:05:46] Try sharing a house with a cheesy parody of the Jackass Crew. After many years of no contact, my parents acted like they'd seen the error of their past and apologized for it. For now I think they're all just waiting for me to let down my guard.

[00:05:59] They stalked my social media and came to my door with flowers after I moved back to the area two years ago. I wasn't mentally ready to go to their 2022 Christmas, but they convinced me for 2023. Sanguine Psychologist says,

[00:06:12] I just got gifted an open mascara for my future in-laws and I feel for you. Not the arsehole. It's beyond simple to get a nice box of chocolate or some wine, even rather cheap ones as a gift. They didn't even try. Princess Sheera quotes,

[00:06:27] I couldn't take a joke, and then says, that's the mantra of the bully. Hand in hand with you don't have a sense of humor. Shame on them and good for you for standing up to them. Even if they didn't have enough money

[00:06:38] and even if all they could afford was the dollar store, they could have done better. You can buy nice, albeit cheap stuff in dollar stores or less expensive regular stores and wrap it nicely. But a box of chocolates at CVS or something.

[00:06:51] You and girlfriend surround yourself with positive and supportive people. Hope you can plan for a better holiday next year. Not the arsehole. So around three months later, Opie updates and says, my girlfriend recently saw my original post read on YouTube and asked that I update here.

[00:07:08] I previously posted in another subreddit about what my family did to me on Christmas Eve. Back at work, word of what happens with my family spread around the office when it shouldn't have. I talked about it to just one friend at lunch

[00:07:20] and a few days after making my first Reddit post and the office gossip just happened to be hiding nearby, listening to every word I said. Within days, it was all over the office and someone in the office was apparently social media friends with my brother. In short,

[00:07:35] my family found out about my Reddit post and they went off about how they thought I was a brat who couldn't take a joke. I told them the 400 not the arsehole comments said otherwise. They said they tried to say I didn't tell the truth.

[00:07:49] I asked them to read the post over the phone and tell me what in it was a lie. Well, their recollection was suddenly quite bad because I made it clear every detail was on point. I even still have the messages from them confirming numerous details.

[00:08:03] They tried gaslighting but I wasn't having it. I was never going to let them try to rewrite history again. My mother resorted to crocodile tears and guilting but I called her and my father out as self-serving narcissists who play favorites and would rather make me the bad guy

[00:08:20] so they wouldn't have to feel bad about themselves. They didn't deserve to berate me or cry for sympathy when they were complicit in my misery since childhood. Then I hung up on them. I tried calling back again and again but I refused to pick up

[00:08:33] and I deleted all of their voicemails but I kept the text just in case I'd need to go to a lawyer. More people in the extended family were made aware after links to my Reddit account got around. Initially some sided with my parents and brother

[00:08:46] but quickly switched sides when they saw the writing on the wall. My parents then tried to turn my brother into the new scapegoat for the situation since it couldn't be me and then it turned into a chicken fight.

[00:08:58] After about two weeks my parents showed up at my door to try and get me to talk to them but I refused. I found out later that other relatives called them 50 plus year old children and that they owed me a lifetime of apologies. My brother apparently doubled down

[00:09:13] that what they did was funny and refused to admit any wrongdoing but his wife and even his own kids were furious at him. He was made to delete the videos he recorded of me at Christmas by the rest of the family

[00:09:25] and he blamed me for it because I ruined his best prank yet. My sister in law ended up slapping him and calling him a man child then saying she'd never been so humiliated to be his wife. She was apparently unaware of what family put me through growing up

[00:09:39] until the Christmas prank because I'd hardly seen her before cutting contact with my family. Then she gave him an ultimatum marriage counselling and a sincere apology to me or she would leave him. My brother stubbornly refused and his wife took the kids and left for a few days.

[00:09:56] He then came to my house while intoxicated and yelling that it was all my fault and I was a bitch baby who couldn't take a joke. Then he started demanding I talk to his wife and fix things. I had to call our parents to come get him

[00:10:08] before I had the police take him away. They showed up mortified and screaming at him to shut the hell up. After a few more days my parents begged me to come over and speak to them. It took me a while to agree and when I did

[00:10:21] my brother was there with them looking like a kicked puppy. His wife had actually gone to get a consultation from a divorce lawyer. My brother finally realized that this was for real and unless he acknowledged he was a massive asshole his life would be ruined.

[00:10:35] His wife did come back for the sake of keeping the kids in school but even after months my brother is still in the dog house. My brother and parents apologized and admitted they never expected me to show up with such nice gifts

[00:10:47] and figured I wasn't likely to bring anything since I hadn't seen them in years. They'd pranked me so much that it finally clicked with them why I'd previously got no contact. Even though I showed up with real gifts they went ahead with their plan anyway

[00:11:01] since the prank gifts were already there under the tree and they somehow thought I'd share in the humor. They thought wrong. I told them they would never be apologizing like this if they weren't being humiliated for their actions which they actually agreed and started trashing themselves.

[00:11:17] Then I asked if the apologies they'd given me before were totally insincere and just a ploy to lure me back into the family. They couldn't say they were or weren't. I'm not sure even they know anymore.

[00:11:28] So then I had a very frank discussion with them about my childhood and why I might never want to associate with them ever again. They didn't argue with a single point I made. All the mistreatment all the favoritism all the scapegoating. Why? Because I was the unwanted child.

[00:11:46] I didn't ask to be born. And it sure as hell shouldn't have taken that long just for them to realize what kind of steaming piles of crap they were as people. They just sat there looking at the floor while I ranted at them

[00:11:58] and my mother was crying and blaming herself and my father and my father started blaming her and saying it all started with her. My brother for once in his life knew when to shut the hell up and accept fault

[00:12:10] and when he finally did speak he owned up to everything. Since it was too late to return the gifts to the store by the time I made my am I the arsehole post the presents I took back were left in my garage just sitting in a pile.

[00:12:22] I ended up donating all of them to a local church for a charity rummage sale so all of that stuff went to people other than my relatives. I was chastised by many for taking the gifts back from the kids too

[00:12:35] but they were sharing in the delight of laughing at me that day and now they have a lesson in consequences that it was good to have while still young. That said, my mother kind of negated that by going rogue

[00:12:46] and bought the exact same tablet DVD combo players for the kids that I did. My father was apparently furious with her at first because she put it all on their credit card. Each of those tablets was around $150 but the fight about it didn't last long.

[00:13:00] My brother and sister in law have been going to marriage counselling and it's forced my brother to open his eyes. Our parents raised him to be the way he is but he also kept it up well into adulthood.

[00:13:11] I've kept moderate contact with my family for the sake of getting to know my niblings and they're actually good kids. They don't blame me for taking the gifts back anymore because they understood how angry I was at Christmas.

[00:13:23] I had my birthday in March at a local pizza parlor and my family were invited. It was literally their last chance and shockingly, they did not blow it. They couldn't figure out what to get me so they gifted me a large card with $100 cash in it

[00:13:38] and a will do better apology written in the card. They also gave my girlfriend a set of sterling silver earrings big apology as makeup for Christmas since she refused to see them in person till then. It hasn't really been long enough since then

[00:13:52] for me to have any other kind of details other than things seem to be pleasantly normal now. No more pranks to me. They've even stopped doing them to each other. The whole situation just ruined what made it funny for them to begin with.

[00:14:05] Also for all those who prior commented or DM me saying the tablet DVD player combos don't exist look them up for crying out loud. They do exist and kids who have them love them. The ones my mother got my niblings have barely left their hands since getting them.

[00:14:20] Lastly, I did report the office gossip that caused me to get ratted out to my brother to HR and that was just one thing in a line of complaints against them. Till they were finally written up that's been avoiding me as much as possible at work since then.

[00:14:34] And a couple of the top comments from that one. So Fianna says I'm glad your family finally woke up and saw what dicks they are being. I hope they are sincere in wanting to fix themselves and their relationship

[00:14:45] but no matter how hard they might seem to be trying if they fuck up again, they don't deserve another chance. Daylily says I never saw your first post custard until I came across this one. Perfectly horrible people your parents and brother must be.

[00:14:58] No wonder you had no contact with them for so long. I was hoping you and your girlfriend have all the peace and happiness together you can hold. And I was kind of backwards and forwards on this one.

[00:15:08] I wouldn't have blamed OP if they continued the no contact at all. But at the same time, I'm sort of like I didn't blame them for trying as long as they keep these boundaries and anything happens again that they just cut that contact again

[00:15:23] because who needs that sort of shit in their life, right? Life's hard enough without having to deal with this kind of bollocks. But now I'm going to turn this one to you guys. What do you guys make of this situation?

[00:15:35] Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. Let's move on to another story. We have Mint Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a try at MintMobile.com. Now our next story comes from the relationship advice subreddit from a throwaway account that says

[00:16:57] my wife shared a tent with a college fling on a recent camping trip back home. My wife and I have been married for a couple of years now. I knew that back in college she had one experience with another girl. I call this girl Katie.

[00:17:11] This came up after a breakup. The two of them had gotten high while watching Netflix and one thing led to another. She told me that she really enjoyed the experience but it never happened again with her or any other ladies.

[00:17:24] I do have reason to suspect from my personal sex life that she is still sexually attracted to women. Recently my wife visited her hometown to see friends and family. I couldn't go due to work commitments. Over the weekend she went camping with some old friends.

[00:17:39] Apparently Katie was there. My wife claimed she didn't know this would happen. Okay fine, they camp for one night and my wife comes home a few days later. As we talk about the trip it slips out that my wife wasn't able to find her old camping gear.

[00:17:53] Okay so whose tent did she use? It comes out that she ended up sharing a tent with Katie. A one person tent. She claims nothing happened but I'm highly skeptical now. The whole thing just reeks to me. I don't really have any evidence at this point

[00:18:10] but I'm tempted to go through her phone when I get the chance. How should I proceed? Her post didn't start off in the comments. It says I bring up the fact that she shared a one person tent with someone she has slept with in the past.

[00:18:21] That's a horrible choice and she doesn't get a pass because they are both women. Ludwig replies that says If it looks and smells like shit it's likely shit. Imagine a reverse of OP's wife was telling the story on here. End quotes. My husband went camping with a woman

[00:18:37] he had a passionate one night stand back in uni because he happened to forget all the equipment but it's okay because he swore nothing happened. Not A Twist says I'd be telling her that she's fucked up here regardless of anything happening.

[00:18:50] Sharing a bed or tent with someone you've previously slept with without asking your partner about it and the agreement that you both think this is okay is a major fuck up. I would explain that I'm hurt and that I don't trust her because of this

[00:19:01] and would let her response then guide any further action. If she owns up and asks how she can rebuild your trust you can go from there. And if you don't believe that's all that's happened I think it's reasonable to ask for the whole story

[00:19:13] plus some proof by looking through messages or check in with a person message. If she doesn't accept responsibility or blame then you need to ask how you can move forward and whether you do it together or not. Bill says sounds like the trickle truth is beginning.

[00:19:27] She couldn't find her camping gear and gosh darn so lucky Katie was there to share hers. Did they get high together? Did they cuddle? Kiss? If you grill her a little and she admits to more of it

[00:19:38] then borrow a phone and posing as her send Katie a text what was your favorite part of camping together? Then tell her to sit with you until Katie responds and also tell her this is her last chance to tell you the full truth.

[00:19:50] How exactly do you think she would feel if you spent the night in a one man tent with a woman who had a one night stand with? Just because they're the same sex doesn't make it okay unless you're okay with it.

[00:20:01] It's a lot harder to be walked on when you are standing up. Savage Comic says I'd sit her down for a conversation. Part of the thing of people trusting you to do things is not giving them a reason to mistrust you in the first place.

[00:20:14] I let people cook in my kitchen that I trust not to set fire to the deep fryer or run me through with a filleting knife because they've never shown signs around this. It's weighing on you. That's fine.

[00:20:24] A one and done conversation where she promises to tell you the whole truth if not don't bring it up again should be doable. She doesn't trickle truth. You don't stew on this for a decade and bring it up when you're pissed off about who does the dishes.

[00:20:37] You don't go out and have a revenge fuck with an ex or try and flirt with someone. And the final commenter says wow people are a bit harsh on this post. Something happened once many years ago never been repeated with Katie or any other females

[00:20:49] and you're jumping off the deep end questioning the entire marriage. Maybe it wasn't the best thing for her to do but I suspect that she'd never share a tent with a girl if it be such a big deal. Hindsight is a wonderful thing

[00:21:01] and I hope the next time you do something slightly ill judged I'll be given the benefit of the doubt. OP you know your wife best do you really think something untoward happened? Her OP gave their brief update a couple of days later

[00:21:15] and said ended up talking with one of our mutual friends who went on the trip. She confirmed my suspicions saying that my wife and Katie were acting weird and even sneaking off together at times. Used this information to confront my wife

[00:21:28] and she eventually caved and let me see her phone. Went through a text with Katie to see they had been texting and flirting for the past few weeks even sending each other provocative selfies and reminiscing about what happened on the camping trip.

[00:21:41] I was able to send most of these messages to my computer in case it's needed for the divorce proceedings. I appreciate everyone's time and advice it's a shitty situation but I'm glad to be moving forward. And the top 2 comments on that one said

[00:21:55] time to rip the bandaid off 2 years is nothing and you're still young she lied and lied again trust is gone no kids get a lawyer and file and Corv is a reply to that saying this would be my advice as well

[00:22:07] do you really want to spend the next few decades always wondering what she is up to and getting paranoid whenever she is late and you have the added stress of having to worry about male and female friends have no power to that before you become neurotic and bitter.

[00:22:22] I'm just trying to think of a one person tent you know I bought one when I went metal detecting once because we had to camp over for a couple of days and that is fucking cozy in there let me tell ya

[00:22:34] how do you get two people in one of those but now I'm gonna turn this one to you guys what do you guys make of this situation? let me know your thoughts down in the comments below and just a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart

[00:22:47] for getting involved in today's stories your love, your support, your time always means the absolute world to me so thank you so so much for being involved and hopefully I'll see you in the next one take care and much love

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