Daughter's new friend is always at our house. Help.
(throwaway account) I (F50) has a daughter (F22) who still lives at home. We have always had a pretty good relationship, even during the early teen years. I know she's struggled with having friends because she seemed to have drawn in ones who didn't have the best home life. Whether it was neglect or emotional abuse. My daughter is a caring, loving, and fun individual and people are very drawn to her at first, but then have always let her down in the end.
She dated a boy for 2 years and it just ended flatly because she felt she was a prisoner in the relationship. She cried maybe one day but then felt confident being single.
Enter Josh (M22). He DM'd her randomly and they went out on a few dates. He then told her he didn't want a girlfriend, it made her sad but she said she was fine with it. She's still enjoying being single.
Since then, Josh has been at our house nearly every single day. It's been 2 months. He lives at home with his parents and he's about to start a full time job soon. Most nights he leaves at 1am. But many nights, he spends the night and is here all day. She can go over to his house to hang out, but she's not allowed to spend the night.
Josh seems nice, but now I'm just annoyed. If I ask my daughter a question, he answers. If I come inside with the mail, he asks what I got. If my phone rings, he asks who is it. If I get an Amazon package and open it in front of him, he asks what I plan to do with these items. Its never ending. I haven't been short, sarcastic, or rude, but I feel like I'm about to be.
I don't know how to establish boundaries with my adult daughter. I know I can't stop her from seeing him even though I feel this is entirely unhealthy relationship. There's conversations that I know between them that I haven't spoken about here. She's an adult and can make decisions for herself with friends and who she dates, but him being here all the time is making it difficult for both my husband and I. My husband doesn't like Josh at all. He used to. But then Josh got too nosy and too comfortable in our house just walking around and helping himself to things. My husband nearly lost his mind but held his tongue because he knew it wouldn't end well.
I don't know how to help my daughter, but most of all I need to claim my house back. I don't want a guest in here 24/7. I just don't like him and feel like he's unhealthy not only for her but for us as well. It's just getting weird at this point and I'm uncomfortable. Help.
Posted Jul 29, 2026, 12:58 PM UTC