When TikToker Gabby (@gabbyivfworkingmom) was 16, and her brother was 13, their dad told their mom that he wanted a divorce in the most unhinged way.
The day after her brother’s bar mitzvah, her dad called for a family meeting. It was weird because their family was usually not the type of family to have meetings.
She and her brother came downstairs, and their mom walked over from wherever she was. Gabby’s dad looked at them and dropped the news.
He announced that they were getting a divorce. It was immediately obvious that her mom was hearing this information for the first time alongside her children.
“My mom is standing there, and the look on her face says that she did not know about this,” said Gabby. “Like, this was not something that she was privy to.”
“And he proceeds to say that he’s dating his hairstylist. He’s been seeing her for several months, he’s very much in love, and he’s going to divorce my mom and move in with [the hairstylist].”
However, he wasn’t moving out right away. He would be staying downstairs while the house was put up for sale because he hadn’t found his own place yet. He also declared that he would be inviting his girlfriend over whenever he wanted.
For some reason, he thought a family meeting was the best way to unveil an affair, announce a divorce, and reveal his future living arrangements all in one sitting.
Gabby’s mom began screaming at the top of her lungs. Gabby had her driver’s license at that point, and she took her little brother out for ice cream. They stayed away from the house for as long as possible.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
What happened next was exactly what he said. He continued living there for about four or five months. Her parents communicated by passing notes back and forth to each other.
One day, he wrote a note and gave it to Gabby’s brother to deliver to their mother. Once their mom read the note, she started freaking out. In the note, their dad wrote that he was inviting Carmen, the hairdresser, over.
The police got involved, and Carmen ended up not coming over. Gabby’s dad threw a fit about it. He was annoyed because, since he was still paying to live in the house, he thought he should be able to invite whoever he wanted.
Finally, he moved out and married Carmen. Gabby and her brother didn’t see much of him after that. She went off to college and became a sailor as a way of running away from her problems.
He was married to Carmen for years until he had some kind of mental breakdown and separated from her. Now, Gabby is 40 years old. Her dad passed away last summer.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
