Affair Partner-Turned-Stepmom Steals Baby Name From The Late Mother Of Her Stepdaughter

Reddit user BunchAffectionate812 begins by giving us a very necessary backstory to how things unfolded. "My mother was a very artistic person. She dedicated her life to her art, she was a painter and rather eccentric," she started. "She had the idea of having 4 children, and naming us in order to spell out 'L-O-V-E' with our first initials. She passed unexpectedly last year, leaving me, and my two siblings. She never got to complete the word 'love.'"

Automatically, you can probably tell where this story is headed, right? Well, the original poster (OP) went on to share how she was around 7 months pregnant when her dad and stepmother announced their pregnancy. Mind you, the stepmom was the dad's former mistress.

OP then went on to reveal that the stepmom was going to use the name that her deceased mother planned to use for the last child. "She chimed in saying she would finally bring little Emilio into our family. My sister and I were horrified, and spoke to my dad privately that, while mom did want someone to continue on the acronym idea, we found it disrespectful to do it with the woman he was cheating on her with."

"I then told him about how she said she wanted one of us to carry on the name when I was a child," the expectant mom said in regard to her dad. "He shut me down saying that she 'probably expected her and I to still be together' and that 'It’ll be better with all of you guys in the same generation of the family.' – and left it at that. My brother agreed."

OP explained that that two weeks before she gave birth, her dad and stepmom found out they were having a girl instead of a boy like they'd hoped for. "I realized I could take the name Elise before they would have a chance to name their baby my mothers chosen name. They could name her 'Emily' or something else, but it wouldn’t be the name my mother chose and that's what mattered to me. So I did."

Apparently, her father and stepmother believe she ruined her mother's lasting wishes. Now family members on her dad's side call her names, and though her sister agrees with her, she won't tell their dad. "I did not expect so much backlash and it's really stressing me out with just giving birth – and they’re taunting me by posting pictures of their ultrasounds with captions like 'The E baby is coming 2024' and 'Three's a crowd but Four is Love.' It’s driving me crazy and it feels like this rift in the family is all for nothing since they’re going to claim their baby is the 'real e baby' anyways."

OP added that her stepmother tried to change her mind. "My step mom actually approached me and asked me for permission, and politely asked me to change my mind on the baby name once she caught wind that I was already planning on naming the baby Elise. This is part of why I think I can be TA. I never actually officially announced the name first, I felt like it would be more special naming the baby when they arrive, not before."

While OP felt lke she could be in the wrong, many commenters disagreed. "NTA You carried on what your mother wanted you to do. And the fact that your dad thinks its okay to 'honor' her with the woman he cheated on her with is so sad," one person said.

Someone else shared, "Nta, so weird your dad thinks it’s even remotely appropriate to name a child of his mistress to 'honor' his late wife."

"NTA that’s so gross that your step mom is trying to replace your mom so explicitly," another user chimed in.

So what do you think? Is she in the wrong, or no?