Internet rallies around mom who chose most deserving daughter to pass on her wedding dress

For many mothers, passing down a cherished wedding dress to their daughter is a special privilege. However, one mother without a biological daughter found herself torn between two potential heirs: her to-be daughter-in-law, Lucy, and her stepdaughter, Molly. The 42-year-old mom, known as u/TemperatureOverall94 on Reddit, asked if she was wrong for giving her 24-year-old wedding dress to Lucy instead of Molly. The internet overwhelmingly supported her choice, with many explaining why Molly didn’t deserve the dress.

After her son Mark was born, the mom tragically lost her husband. She decided that one day, Mark’s future wife would inherit her wedding dress and accessories. But she reconsidered that decision when she got remarried to her now-husband Rob, Molly's father. Molly, in turn, wasn't ready to accept her stepmother from the beginning and she made it clear that she wasn't her "real mom." The 42-year-old explained, "My door was always open for her (Molly), but she never changed the way she thought about me. She called me a trophy wife to my face. If I ever threw a charity event, she would remark, 'Wow, you're so generous with dad's money.'"

Despite being dismissed as a trophy wife and criticized for not having a college degree, the mom still considered offering her wedding dress to Molly. She showed her dress and accessories to the stepdaughter and wanted her to wear them to her wedding. "Molly scoffed and said I had archaic values and that the dress was trashy and walked out. That really hurt because she knew what that dress meant to me and she didn't care," the mom said. Eventually, the mom stopped trying. So, when her son Mark was engaged to his college sweetheart Lucy, the mom was glad she found another daughter to pass on her wedding dress to. "Lucy tried it on and it fit like a glove. She fell in love with it and I told her the dress, shoes and accessories were hers. She was so happy she literally cried," she added.

The mom got a random request from Molly asking if the wedding dress was still available. "She asked if I could get it back from Lucy since I offered it to her first, and I told her 1) she said she didn't want it, 2) it fits Lucy perfectly, and 3) Lucy is the only one getting married within the foreseeable future," the mom pointed out. It did not sit well with the stepdaughter, who was suddenly intrigued by the dress. "Now Molly is saying I’m favoring Lucy over her because she's conforming to traditional standards of femininity (getting married and being thin)," the mom added. Though Molly's father favors her decision to give the wedding dress to Lucy, the mom is concerned if she would've done the same thing if the roles were reversed and Lucy was the one asking for it. 

The internet reassured the mom that her decision was right, considering Molly's disrespectful nature toward her stepmom. "Stepdaughter didn't just reject the dress. She did so with deliberate discourtesy and unkindness. The offer of the dress was obviously void after such behavior," said u/kaorizma. "Molly only wants it because Lucy has it. Lucy recognized how precious this dress was to you and treated it accordingly. Cherish the memory and ease your mind. You've done nothing wrong," commented u/ohnosandpeople. "You are favoring the one who you have a better relationship with. That's kinda how things work," added u/Chilling_Storm.