This 33-year-old man and his brother, who’s 44, have a pretty large age difference. So, when his brother had a daughter at 25, he became an uncle at just 14 years old.
And given how close he and his niece, Ella, were in age, they developed a special bond. She’s now 18.
However, two years ago, his brother’s family moved away, so he saw his brother and Ella less. They just stayed in touch and caught up at family events.
That’s why he learned about Ella’s new boyfriend, Mark, last year when they all got together for Christmas. He didn’t know much about the guy, but Ella filled him in on a few details.
Her boyfriend was also invited for Easter this year, as well as a few other family events. Nonetheless, Mark wasn’t able to make it, so he still hadn’t met Ella’s boyfriend.
“And when we were planning our mother’s birthday, my brother decided to invite Ella’s boyfriend so that we could all meet him,” he detailed.
Well, his mom’s birthday was just yesterday, and he was looking forward to getting to know Mark. He was in for a big shock, though, when Ella walked in with a man who was twice her age.
She introduced him and Mark, and he smiled politely. However, he was seriously concerned about how old Ella’s boyfriend was and found out from his brother that Mark was 36!
Ella had supposedly told him that her boyfriend was “a bit older.” He’d always just assumed she meant early or mid-twenties, not nearly 40.
Louis-Photo – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person – pictured above a young woman sits on the steps of a building
Still, things got even worse when Ella and Mark called everyone into the living room to share some “exciting news.” The pair proceeded to announce that they were engaged.
He audibly said, “What the [heck],” and everyone turned around, staring at him as if he were crazy.
“I told them that they were out of their minds if they thought this was normal. That there was no world in which a 30-something should date an 18-year-old and that she shouldn’t be getting married,” he recalled.
To his surprise, no one agreed with him. Instead, he got accused of ruining his niece’s happiness, and some people even suggested that he was “jealous” of Mark. He finds that completely disgusting as well.
“I mean, I’m younger than Mark, but never in a million years would I ever consider dating someone younger than 25,” he said.
Regardless, his relatives claimed Ella and Mark’s relationship was “perfectly legal,” as they were both adults.
He begs to differ since Ella only turned 18 about seven months ago, and she’d been dating Mark for a year.
So, he wound up saying everyone was “sick” for allowing their relationship to happen. He also called Mark a predator, yet no one would listen to him.
He acknowledges that their relationship isn’t really his business, but he is genuinely worried for Ella.
“She is young and doesn’t really know what she’s getting into. I’m really scared of her getting married and being unable to leave him when she realizes how sick it was,” he explained.
In the end, he ultimately stormed out of the birthday party, slammed the door behind him, and left. He’s been receiving some “wild” calls and messages from his relatives, too.
Now, he can’t help but wonder if he really did overreact, and if not, how he can make his family understand how wrong Ella and Mark’s relationship is.
Is it a red flag for someone in their thirties to go after a teenager? What else should he do in this situation?
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