WIBTAH if I (38f) abandon my teenage daughter (16f) to marry my boyfriend (37m)?

I've been dating my current boyfriend for 5 years. I also have a 16 year old daughter from a previous relationship. While I'm her mom, and I do love her, it's extremely tiresome to deal with a short-tempered teenager.

I've never been married before and my current boyfriend has expressed his desire to marry me provided my daughter doesn't live with us. He doesn't want to be a dad and has two dogs whom I love dearly too.

I love this man and I've never been in a relationship that has lasted this long. The hurdle is my daughter, obviously. She's always lived with me all her life although she does visit her dad once or twice a year as he lives in another state. I have been thinking of asking her to move in with her dad now that she's old enough to take care of herself.

I have sacrificed way too many years of my life for her and for once, I want to be selfish and put my own desires first. I've always wanted to have a big wedding since I was a girl, and I don't want to lose this opportunity and be a single middle-aged woman.

Please don't tell me I'm a bad mom when you haven't been in my shoes and don't know how tiresome it is to be a single parent to a bratty teen. I don't want her to ruin my marriage. I've been a mother so long, I want to be a wife now and enjoy our honeymoon phase in bliss. I don't have the heart to tell her to pack her bags but I hope she'll understand me, when she grows up a little.

Posted Aug 29, 2026, 1:26 PM UTC · locked

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