Woman told her fiancé she had 'no emotion and needed a break.' Two days later, a stranger she met on Xbox came to pick her up

Wanting some 'me-time' during a difficult time or a challenging phase is completely normal, but abandoning kids can never be the solution. A woman (u/spunkey_munkey97) turned to Reddit to share how her sister, 22, left her two kids for a guy she'd met on Xbox. Years ago, the author said, her sister was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) but took herself off her meds at 18. Later, she also struggled with postpartum depression (PPD) after birthing her first child. However, that got worse when her second child suffered some minor health issues. In fact, she later admitted to her fiancé that she "had no emotion and needed a break." Back then, he did not realize that the "break" she referred to was basically a stranger from another state who came to pick her up. The post has received 2,000 upvotes online.

Abandoning kids for 'emotional affair

Writing on January 13, 2025, the author said her sister was not excited when she found out she was pregnant again, but she managed to bond more with her second child. At the same time, she became increasingly irritated and distant from her firstborn. However, when her second child began developing skin issues and food allergies, she just gave up on both of them. Even though her family and fiancé helped her as much as they could, she kept growing distant. Her family later found out she had emotionally cheated on her ''golden retriever'' fiancé with a man she met on Xbox over a month ago. On January 11, she broke up with her fiancé, saying she needed a "break," and ran off with him to another state.

Karma came knocking

A few days later, the author revealed that her sister's ex-fiancé had changed phone plans and received emergency custody of the children. However, her sister still wanted to stay in touch with the kids. She also planned to move back to be closer to family, which was how she and her new boyfriend ended up living with her mom and step-dad. But they were not good tenants. "They never paid rent, they didn’t clean, and their room constantly smelled like B.O and s*x. It was disgusting," the author explained. When their parents tried to resolve the issue, the Xbox man gave them an attitude. He told them he "doesn’t do dishes; instead he just throws them away... If he doesn’t cook, then he shouldn’t have to do dishes." Her mom couldn't tolerate their behavior and kicked them out.

The toxic cycle

As per the latest update, the author shared that her sister and the Xbox guy had been living in a camper. He was a narcissist and a misogynist, with a hot temper. There was a time when her sister wanted to leave him, but backed out last minute, saying, "Well, you know how it is, when you’re with a narcissist. You know you’re the victim, but you just can’t leave because they do have good qualities and it’s not bad all the time." On the other side, her ex-fiancé and the kids moved to another state where he's closer to family, and they are thriving without her.

A growing concern

In the Reddit post, the author questioned whether her sister abandoning her kids was the result of PPD or a manic episode. A study by Justine Slomian found that PPD can significantly affect both mother and child's overall well-being. As sad as it sounds, another study by Nehaa Khadka found that there has been a significant increase in PPD diagnoses. In fact, it went from only 9.4% in 2010 to 19% in 2021. However, Slomian's study concluded that early detection and treatment of postnatal depression can help prevent these challenges.

'She's unstable'

Meanwhile, reacting to the story, u/impossible-peach-985 commented, "It sounds like your sister didn't actually want to be a mother and realized too late." Similarly, u/starry-dust4444 wrote, "I’m sure there’s always been a strong selfish streak running through your sister’s personality, am I right? I’m sorry, but she’s a despicable person for dipping out on her own babies. What self-respecting woman does such a thing?"

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