Am I an asshole for wanting to cut ties with my father?

The story is not out of the ordinary, and I will try to keep it short. Please refrain from writing comments that judge anyone, as I only want to hear an outsider's perspective.

So, I am 17 years old, and my parents have been divorced for about 5 years. There are three children in my family, and my mother is essentially supporting the entire family. During the divorce, she refused to get child support.
My father has serious alcohol problems. Before I was 7 or 8 years old, it wasn't as serious: he only drank on holidays or special occasions, but he might have a can of beer every couple of days. At least, that's how it seemed to me. However, after I was 8, the situation took a turn for the worse. He started drinking more frequently. He started smoking even more. Around this time, he got a new job that required him to travel on business trips for several months. Additionally, my parents started having serious problems with their relationships. I can't say that they had a perfect marriage before that. When I was born and my older brother was 4, my father left for a couple of months. There were frequent arguments in our home. He would leave for 3-6 months, and when he returned, my mother would move him to the couch. As a child, I tried to reconcile them, but it never worked.
Eventually, they divorced when my younger brother was around 2 years old. At first, my father lived with my grandmother for about 1-1.5 years, came a couple of times a month, went for a walk with us. Then he started coming less often. And about a year later, he called me and said he wouldn't be in touch for a while because he was being admitted to a rehabilitation center. I wasn't too old yet, so I don't know the exact details, but it seems that his grandmother sent him to the first rehab "voluntarily." We didn't know how to feel about it. We talked on the phone from time to time, and I tried to distract him with conversation. The whole family wrote letters of support to him. Eventually, he was released from the hospital. However, it didn't last long. He went to a second and then a third rehab, but it didn't help much.
During this time, he was fired from his job (or quit on his own, I don't know). He also lost his license for driving under the influence of alcohol. It's possible that these events have influenced his employment status, as he has yet to find a stable job. The only place he could get was a warehouse job at a marketplace.
Now, a little bit about what was happening in our family at that time. My mom was struggling, we had a lot of financial problems, loans. With all of this, also raising three children. So despite all the quarrels and her domestic alcoholism, I will always be grateful to her for this strength. But in any case, by 13 I became a second mom for my younger brother and I had to go to work. From 13 I worked without stopping. I had to help my mother and pay for my own personal needs. The only time I didn't work was the two months before and after my graduation exams.
My father knew about all the difficulties, but he couldn't help me. First, there were rehab centers, then a shitty job, and a lot of his own debts, which led to debt collectors visiting us when he was in hospitals and for a long time after. This was the beginning of my nightmare.
He occasionally lent me small amounts of money. Then he asked me to give him access to one of my cards that I didn't use. I constantly saw charges from alcohol stores. At the age of 15, I started a new job as a SMM specialist, where I earned significantly more. After that, my father asked me for loans almost every day. Yes, he always returned the money. Yes, he sometimes even sent me some money. However, I lived in constant financial instability. I never knew how much money I would have at the end of the day or when he would repay his debts. And I had to pay for school, tutors, and, again, some of my own desires.
In general and all, this is how we have been existing for two years. He still constantly asks for a loan, but he asks to use my card much less often (thanks for that). In the summer, I lived with him for one month. He admitted that he cheated on my mother a couple of times.
Despite this, I still love him dearly. I even admire some of his traits. I have a much more trusting relationship with him than with my mother. He knows things that my mother doesn't know. The month I spent with him last summer was one of the best months I've had in years. However, I don't want to repeat the story of my grandfather and aunt (my father's father and sister). My grandfather is taking advantage of my aunt, and I'm starting to think that my father is doing the same to me. I've never been greedy, and I've always tried to help my family in any way I could. However, it's one thing when it's a matter of force majeure, and it's another when it becomes a system. My father knows that I had to start working at a young age, and he's aware of the hardships and stress I faced every time I received my salary, which was sometimes delayed. Despite this, he seems to have disregarded the issue.
I've spoken to him about it a couple of times. I've told him that it's wrong for a father to be in constant debt to his daughter. And he promised not to do it again. Of course, he didn't stop asking me for money.
And the most frustrating thing about this situation is that I already know and can confidently say that when my phone displays a call from him, it's not going to be anything like "How are you?" or "Let's meet up" or anything like that, but rather "Can you give me some more money?" And even when he asks how I'm doing, it always ends with the same question. He doesn't call just for the sake of calling, but only when he needs money.

And here's the question: am I an asshole if I want to stop talking to him?

Sorry for the long text, I really tried. And sorry for the mistakes, I wrote in my native language and then translated it using AI. Thanks in advance for advices

Posted Jul 6, 2026, 8:56 PM UTC

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