Wedding Woes

Creepy stepdad

Dear Prudence,
Recently my stepfather has become close with the intellectually disabled daughter of some family friends. She’s 30, but has the mental age of a child. She’s also very pretty, and I know her family has been concerned in the past that men have tried to take advantage of her. She and my stepfather spend hours texting, even late at night. He regularly intervenes if he thinks she has been “wronged.” Not only does she call him Daddy, but he now insists the rest of the family refer to her as his daughter. He openly says he loves his “new daughter” best and that she’s “his angel, his princess, his sweetie-pie.” Several of his biological children already don’t speak to him; the others have tense relationships because he constantly criticizes their jobs, weight, or partners.

I have no reason to accuse my stepdad of actual misconduct, but the situation feels off to me. Neither my mother nor the other family seem to think anything of it, though. When I said gently to my mother that his contact with this woman seems excessive, she got upset and said it was sweet, and that my stepfather has health problems and we should let him be happy. Now I feel like the villain for even questioning it. Am I just being paranoid, or is this behavior inappropriate?

—Too Close for Comfort

Re: Creepy stepdad

  • Gross. And why is she calling him daddy when she has parents? And why aren't those parents concerned that he insists people refer to her as his daughter. 
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • Way creepy.


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  • I surely think it's better to hurt one grown mans feelings by suggesting he is behaving inappropriately than sit by and worry that someone incapable of making adult decisions is being in some way taken advantage of.

    Also, suggesting someone is behaving inappropriately isn't the same as accusing him of commiting sinister acts. LW doesn't have to go all or nothing here.
                 
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