Blended families often encounter unique hurdles, where minor tensions can quickly spiral into major conflicts. When Trish requested that her household honor her commitment to a vegan lifestyle, it unexpectedly sparked a heated exchange. Her husband’s reaction took her by surprise, leaving her emotionally shaken and uncertain about what to do next. Seeking clarity and support, Trish turned to us for help navigating this delicate situation.
Hi Bright Side,
No meat is allowed in my home. My stepdaughter, 14, started to defy me and refuses to be vegan. I said, “My house, my rules! Don’t come here if you’re not happy!” My husband was quiet. At 3 a.m., my son, 7, came to me trembling.
Imagine my horror when I found out that my husband went to my son’s room, kissed him goodbye, and then left.
I checked the closet, and he had taken his clothes, packed his things. I called, and he said that he needs to be away from me for some time. He called me a “monster” and said that this house is also my stepdaughter’s house, and I have no right to impose anything on her.
I still think that I didn’t do anything wrong here. My stepdaughter is spoiled, and I have the right to impose any rule I want in my own home.
Do you think I was wrong to act this way?
Trish
Hi Trish,
Thank you for sharing your story — it’s clear that this situation has deeply affected your family. Whether or not you feel you were wrong, the emotional distance and conflict are now very real, and the challenge now is how to move forward thoughtfully and constructively. Here are four pieces of advice that could help you.
I’m sorry, but you don’t get to impose your own personal belief on anyone. If you want your entire life to revolve around your diet, you got another thing coming. This is why vegans get a bad rep, it’s because of tyrants like you. I hope your husband divorces you and finds love with a reasonable person who will provide a safe and healthy atmosphere for the child
As someone with food allergies that are mostly plant based and as someone in a healthy relationship where we discuss all decisions in the house... yeah, Id up and leave this person as well. Not only is she forcing her own personal beliefs and life choices on her children, she did so without fully discussing with her partner. She's as bad as religious extremists.
As someone who has been treated the same way as your stepdaughter and husband, you are wrong!! What is wrong with you?!? You care more about being right than being happily married! You're making everything about you well guess what? You're husband and stepdaughter have feelings and rights too! I had a stepmother like you, it ruined the relationship with my father but unlike your husband he caved and allowed it. Bravo for your husband for standing up for his daughter and himself.
Grow up!! Life is not all about you!!
Looks like you don't accept your stepdaughter as part of your family. Your stepdaughter is not being respected. Her right to eat meat is being snatched away.
Her right to eat meat? Ridiculous. What about her right to be racist? Sexist? Homophobic? It's all about the poor oppressors' feelings, never about the ACTUAL ANIMAL VICTIMS BEING MUTILATED GASSED TO DEATH AND CHOPPED UP FOR A SANDWICH!!!!
Plants are alive. They communicate, reproduce and respond with protective behaviors when threatened. But you still eat them because you simply don't understand their form if life. Now that you know are you going to continue to be a member of the food chain? If so, don't disparage other members of the same food chain
im not even going to bother engage with your severe stupidity
You realize that millions of small critters and organisms are torn to shreds and killed by plows and heavy machinery each year to harvest your vegan products, right? Don’t delude yourself.
There is room for all the veggies on my plate. Right next to the steak, pork chops and chicken thighs.
Sons heart
My mother was a vegetarian for a good number of years while I was growing up. She never imposed her lifestyle choices on us. We ate meat, she even prepared it for us. No one has the right to force anything on anyone... also, marriage is a constant work in progress. Making ultimatums and throwing needless gauntlets down are only going to result in divorce. You're in a partnership... you literally signed a contract with your spouse.
Marriage is a partnership.
Your refusal to compromise would be a deal breaker for me too. Your ways are just that. Your ways.
Let's say her daughter was a raging racist. Describe compromise. Different story right?
Apples and oranges. You shouldn't try to compare the two
Entirely different issues.
Say her daughter was severely allergic to soya, would the stepmother still use soya milk?
How exactly is racism equivalent to forcing someone to be vegan? Your comparison says a lot about your level of intelligence.
Racism and food choices:
Not the same thing!
YOUR house and YOUR rules??? YOU have serious control issues!!! Your husband is the head of the home. You are his partner. A 14 year old stepdaughter has already had her dietary preferences set. No one in the home should be made to conform to YOUR dietary preferences. PERIOD!!! You could have introduced more vegan choices in hopes they would embrace. YOUR control has now broken up YOUR home.
You're as bad as the OP, what century do you think you are living that the husband is the head of the household. Both of them should be
If the couple are indeed married...why is the only the wife claiming the house is hers?? Shouldn't the "rules" be decided by husband AND wife?
The son is visually upset because...well...because his Dad is leaving!!!
There sounds like there's more underlying issues with the "Queen" and the stepdaughter, perhaps the Queen doesn't like her!?? The Queen is trying to "control" ALL variables with everyone in the house without any compromise. Living in that type of dictatorship is not healthy for ANYONE!!
What will be next? You KNOW there will be a next.
You are absolutely right to demand and set standards that you seem good just as your husband should have a right to live the way he seems fit and dignified. No one is wrong in this case
Sound like a bitter divorced woman just as she will inevitably be soon
I wish this comment was in English.
If you wanna be vegan then So be it, but you are not the only one in that house. Does your husband not own part of the house or is it just yours? It's like religion you have your values that's just it YOUR beliefs. Give the kis a steak .
Yeah give them a juicy Labrador steak, and some cat nuggets, that'll definitely ease the tension!!
What an idiotic comment.
If you want to be a vegan be a vegan. But you can't force others to do the same. For example, if you decided to be in a diet to lose weight or if you were on a heart healthy or low cholesterol diet would you expect a teenager to diet with you, eat a low cholesterol of heart healthy diet too?
Being a vegan is a personal choice, and you have the right to make that choice for yourself but not for your stepdaughter. And to a teenager what you said is basically like saying my house means you do what I want or your not welcome. Which puts more tension and distance between you and her. And you made her feel unwelcome in your family where her father is. Imagine how you would feel if your son was in that situation, imagine if your husband said to your son that if he didn't eat certain things he wasn't welcome. You would be upset.
Exactly
Veganism, the new religion, it's my way or the highway! Smhlmao!!!
Of course you have the right to have rules in YOUR own home, however you seem to forget you are MARRIED and it's your spouses home too. You seem to be extremely selfish and a dictator. Perhaps this is a much needed lesson for YOU how NOT to act in a family household. Get off your high horse, get some grace in your heart and apologize and re connect with a fresh attitude. SMH
I agree with your comment
Agree with what, exactly? That she should apologize for not wanting corpses in her kitchen?
Imagine thinking that’s the line that needs walking back — not the mass slaughter, not the entitlement, not the tantrum over vegan food… but the person who said “not in my house.”
If standing up for ethics makes someone a dictator, maybe the real problem isn’t her attitude — it’s your comfort with cruelty.
Based on their comments This Sved person is either a troll or one of those militant vegans that tries to shove veganism down everyone's throat
Unfortunately they are so obsessed with what people eat, and are here to respond to every comment everyday, i fear they're a real Vegan extremist to be honest. Vegans really are their biggest enemy, and will never get to anyone with their sour and biased attitude.
So animals have feelings and rights but a child and husband don't?!? Gotcha 👌
If someone said “no racism in this house,” would you whine that it’s unfair to the racists? Didn't think so👌
Unless they're planning on eating said racists then your point like yourself is null and void. You don't get to dictate what other people put in their bodies. And I say this as someone who's been a vegan for likely longer than you've been alive
I don't understand how this "Sved" person thinks its okay to equate racists to animals. Its like they pulled it out of nowhere so they can appeal to people by using buzzwords. They seem to really like equating racism to eating meat aswell. Also saying we "gas pigs" when they are acting like a dictator... Yikes. I dont understand why some people are so obsessed with what people eat, as long as theyre not eating a lot of junk.
But they are eating junk, Sam. Not just artery-clogging, cancer-linked, inflammation-boosting junk — but moral junk too. We’re talking habits that wreck the planet, hurt animals, and still get defended with, “but bacon.”
And no, I didn’t equate racists to animals. Racism and speciesism come from the same root: justifying harm based on arbitrary traits. That’s not some buzzword trick. That’s moral consistency. If it’s wrong to harm someone for their race, why is it fine for their species?
We are living in a time where apathy and moral collapse are peaking. Here we are, infighting, getting offended at the truth, still philosophising over the literal lives of sentient beings… while greedy corporations twiddle their thumbs, laughing. Why? Because their propaganda worked. Regular people now fight for the industries destroying the planet, parroting their lines and justifying mass slaughter with “mmm bacon.”
If you truly care, and I believe you do, then I’m asking you, genuinely: go learn why this crazy "Sved" person is shouting into the void. Because once you really see what’s happening, you won’t be so chill about it anymore.
Okay Sved. There is no getting through to you, and the same to me. You cannot convince anyone with your poor attitude and "YOURE GASSING PIGS!" ideology.
Yes, you kind of throw around racism a lot when arguing about animals. They are NOT the same. I agree that industries are destroying the planet, but not just like this.
I do care, but you're acting insane. Like I kept saying... Just be calm, and stop yelling at people that they keep corpses in their kitchen. You will get laughed at BECAUSE you are acting crazy. Stop acting so aggressive to people and maybe they will hear you out?? I don't know what to tell you now. And maybe stop throwing around "oh you gas pigs and you gorge on meat and carcasses!", you will likely get a lot more people to hear you out. I do agree eating less meat is better for everyone and animals. But that doesn't mean you can act the way you do.
Entirely different issues.
Say the stepdaughter was severely allergic to soya, would the stepmother still have soya milk in the house?
Your fervor is misguided.
Amen!
Worse than that… she is starving his children and causing them deficiencies in critical vitamins and life saving minerals like iodine.
When you cut out foods like meat, eggs, fish and dairy, you’re eliminating the foods highest in iodine for brain development and IQ.
Research has already shown vegan children being smaller with weaker bones and lower IQ’s. We are Omnivores, not bunny rabbits fyi
Felicia, if you’re going to fearmonger about nutrition, at least try Googling once before you hit “post.”
Iodine doesn’t come from animals — it comes from the plants and soil they eat. You know what has iodine? Seaweed, iodized salt, potatoes, cranberries, navy beans — all vegan. Try again.
And citing vague nonsense about “smaller bones” and “lower IQ” without a single source is just nutritional folklore wrapped in steak grease. The British Dietetic Association, NHS, and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics all agree that vegan diets are safe and healthy for all stages of life, including childhood.
What’s actually dangerous is feeding kids a diet linked to cancer, heart disease, and climate collapse — and then calling that love.
We’re not bunny rabbits. But we are capable of choosing compassion over cruelty. You just haven’t caught up yet.
Stepdaughter? MY son?
I sure can feel the love in that house.
Your husband left because of the way you treat his daughter (and him, I bet).
Sounds like he can't tolerate her strict, dictator like behavior. And this was his last stand. Well deserved vegan mom!
You mean her starvation plan for the children??? Google vegan mom goes to prison fyi
Wow, you must have a fun household, you are vegan so everyone has to be vegan? Something tells me your husband may not be in your camp quite as much as you think and like most normal people, realizes that not everybody is cut out to be or in any way shape or form wants to be vegan. Most people would allow the animal protein eaters just to cook their own. Abide by your teeth and thousands of years of dental evolution, we've got every type of tooth, made to eat every type of food. Just because you've decided to eat only one type doesn't mean you should be deciding for all around you
Normal people? Oh you mean the ones fueling climate collapse, antibiotic resistance, and animal torture on autopilot? If that’s your standard for normal, then maybe normal isn’t something to aspire to.
Also wild how asking someone not to bring death into your kitchen gets painted as some tyrannical act. If a household chooses compassion, and you throw a fit because your meat didn’t get special treatment, maybe the issue isn’t the vegans — maybe it’s your entitlement.
Evolution gave us a brain, too. Try using it for something other than justifying outdated habits with tooth shapes.
Your types are advocating for eating bugs. This makes no sense. You also advocate for the removal of cows, even though they provide great fertilizer for your veggies.
You also talk about entitlement... which is what you are spewing.
It's a personal choice. Great... you don't want to eat meat. Bully for you.
I want to eat meat. Don't try to force your way of thinking on me or anyone else that doesn't prescribe to your way of thinking.
Oh yeah? Your types are advocating for eating dogs. "Me me me, let me pay for someone to stab a cow in the neck, stop telling me not to pay for that, you're so entitled ugh"
Try again Nevada
If you want to be vegan great be vegan but you also can't force other people to be vegan or try to shame them into being vegan either that doesn't work and just makes it the reason people hate vegans
You can't possibly be idiotic enough to think humans have 'evolved' to be vegan. Though then going by your comments you really are
Jason, you can’t possibly be idiotic enough to think “we evolved to eat meat” means we’re obligated to keep doing it forever.
We also evolved to throw spears and die at 30 — doesn’t mean we skip medicine and Wi-Fi because it’s not Paleolithic enough for you.
The whole “we evolved this way” argument is what people fall back on when they run out of moral justification. Spoiler: just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. We evolved to think, too — maybe give that a shot.
Well, bacon tastes yummy, so whatever. I am not forcing you to eat it. You can have your own beliefs, but as soon as you start forcing yours on others, it makes you an AH. Period. Doesn't matter what it is. Doesn't matter who it's to. No one should force their beliefs on others, no matter how justified they feel. Period.
Becca, saying “bacon tastes yummy” while someone’s talking about ethics is like saying “gold is shiny” during a discussion on child labour. Cute — but entirely missing the point. What if her daughter was a raging homophobe, or enjoyed kicking dogs for fun? Different story right?
No one is force-feeding you tofu. What you’re calling “forcing beliefs” is literally just asking not to bring a dead animal into a specific home. That’s not oppression — that’s a boundary. You respect rules in homes all the time: no smoking inside, take your shoes off, don’t scream at 2am. But say “please don’t bring violence onto my plate” and suddenly it's tyranny?
You’re not upset about being forced — you’re upset someone dared to challenge the norm. If asking for compassion makes someone the AH, what does that make the people defending slaughter because it “tastes good”?
Spoiler: taste doesn’t justify killing. Not when we have other options. Period.
Amen I had a friend who was vegan we went out to lunch she had a salad and roast veg I had a burger she didn't avt like I was committing a cardinal sin and I didn't act disgusted because we respected each other
So, if you had a pet cat, would you force a vegan diet on it, despite it being an obligate carnivore (their digestive systems cannot cope with vegetable matter)?
Before you say, "But cats sometimes eat grass" they do that because it will cause them to retch and thus regurgitate hair they've ingested from grooming.
Google it if you don't believe me.
This take is just bonkers
Again as featured in all the comments, articles, people thinking they are entitled. Clearly if she is vegan it is her right as an adult to live this way. Would you have a tantrum if it was religion based? No, just intolerance and lack of respect. She did not handle it well however. Teenagers are always pushing the boundaries. Vegans are very passionate about their beliefs.
Well said
Each of us is entitled to our own beliefs and practices. Those who think they're sanctimonious by not eating meat have their rights. But those of us who choose to be omnivores have that right as well. Some weekends tend to be a bit sanctimonious about their choice and expect everyone to follow suit. Enjoy your veganism it's okay but it's not okay to impose it on everybody else.
Sanctimonious, huh? Aren’t you the intellectual. Tell me, if the daughter wanted to smoke cigarettes in the house, would it still be “her right” or would suddenly someone else’s values matter?
This isn’t about taste — it’s about harm. And refusing to let harm happen under your roof isn’t sanctimony, it’s integrity.
So no, I won’t “enjoy my veganism” quietly while others prop up cruelty and call it freedom. You’ve got no clue what you’re talking about — sit down and maybe stop getting your values from a McDonald's ad
This dude really equated a teenager smoking cigarettes to eating meat.. This is unreal. There's so many things wrong with that, one being that it causes holes in your lungs and the other is good against anemia, has more protein, and other things. And no, i dont think most people want their protein by eating a ludicrous amount of nuts.
This dude Sam cannot be serious.
One causes holes in your lungs. The other increases your risk of colorectal cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, obesity, infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s.
If you argue with me, you’re arguing with the NHS, the World Health Organization, and a mountain of peer-reviewed research.
And meat for anemia? You mean the iron you can get from lentils, tofu, edamame, chickpeas, kale, peas, mung beans, chia seeds, spinach, bok choy, parsley, apricots, and figs… need I go on? All without the cholesterol, hormones, and cruelty. Cute try.
And protein? You think people go vegan and just forget how to eat?
There are elite athletes, bodybuilders, and endurance pros who don’t touch meat and somehow aren’t dead or scarfing “ludicrous amounts of nuts.”
If a gorilla can be a jacked vegan, you really think humans — the species that landed a robot on Mars — can’t figure out lunch?
You’re not defending nutrition — you’re defending addiction dressed up as tradition, pretending it’s science.
Not a dude. Also maybe you're the reason people don't want to go fegan, you make yourselves look insane instead of giving good kind alternatives to people to eat. Nobody here is advocating for abuse of animals. Nobody is forcing you to eat meat. Anyway calm down lol... Why are you so obsessed with other people? You could so kindly just offer alternatives to buying meat instead of screaming at people with false accusations. Also no, humans cannot ALL survive on nuts and berries. Some people have health complications, and people AREN'T GORILLAS. Its crazy to think that a human = a gorilla. Seriously calm down..
I think you are missing something here.
No one cares that she's vegan. Awesome... she's made that choice for herself.
No one, even parents have a right to impose their eating habits on anyone.
A teenager wanting to eat meat is not "pushing a boundary". It's a growing adolescent wanting to eat meat. This is not controversial. Nor is any of this intolerant.
Good gravy, personal choice is an actual thing. 🙄
With no right to force those beliefs on others!
My mom cant have gluten or dairy. A lot of our meals are made that way. HOWEVER. gluten and dairy are NOT banned from the house. If you wosh to be vegan fine. But it isnt fine to force others too (unless even seeing/smelling meat will risk your life). Srry but YTA here
Aha, and what about the animals that were killed? Yeah who cares about them, right? Me me me. Always about how it affects us while forgetting the oppressed and abused. Typical human supremacist mindset
What about the animals, insects, worms etc killed by other animals for food?
Should we exterminate birds because many eat insects or worms?
Or hedgehogs because they eat beetles, caterpillars and slugs?
Or big cats (lions, cheetahs etc) because they eat antelope?
A lot of the comments are aggressive and sarcastic because meat eaters feel entitled. Lots of rules apply in every home and these people expect to be followed. This woman handled it badly but these same people making jokes and being nasty to the woman, would say nothing of it if it were no eating meat on Good Friday for Catholics or no eating pork in a Muslim house. For cultural and religious reasons there are expectations every day and none of these people would allow a teen to go against it. The husband to pack and leave without a conversation shows the toxic disharmony in the house. There is more happening here than don't eat meat.
There's a huge difference between no meat on Friday or any meat but pork and no meat of any kind ever.
It's quite simple. Animals get tortured to death. They don't have to. Easy concept 🤷
Maybe someone should cook you instead. Why eat animals when you can eat vegans?
Don't be an idiot
You're already idiot enough.
🤣🤣🤣
It's sanctimonious brats like sved that give vegans a terrible name. They do infinitely more harm than good. I've been vegan for decades and love to cook, I have multiple friends regularly preparing vegan meals for themselves and their families from recipes they've gotten off me from dinners/parties I've hosted. No one has the right to ram their beliefs on other people regardless of how passionate they are.
Kuz they'd be tough n chewy n you wouldn't get the nutrients you need kuz they don't... plus they'd complain the whole time n no matter how much seasoning you add they'll be bland n flavorless... seems ALL vegans are Karens or Darrens... 🙄🤦🏾♀️😒
Athaleyah, thanks for the recycled joke — nothing screams intellectual depth like, “Let’s eat the vegans, they’re bland.”
You think compassion is flavorless? Cool. I’ll take that over eating violence and pretending it’s culture.
The only thing tough and chewy here is your logic — and the only thing bland is repeating the same tired lines while defending needless cruelty. If you need seasoning to make your point land, try adding a little empathy next time. Seems like all vegan haters are brainwashed corporate puppets 🙄🤦🏾♀️😒
You are on her side. I'm a vegan yet I would never push it to be the only type of meals in my home. People like this woman are what make meat eaters then we are all entitled. The teenager, for all we know, can not stand vegan food and wants to try or her iron levels are very low and needs meat, I've seen this to many times, people end up needing blood fusion because they cut all but vegan food. Also it isn't jaut her house and she has no right to push anything on anyone, that is borderline abuse, not allowing a child to eat what is best for them. I'm glad dad left and hope he takes daughter with him.
Being vegan and not eating meat on certain days is completely different too. They are one day, not every single day.
"I am not racist but I'll allow other people to be racist if it's for their health" makes no sense
I dont see why People who consume meat (Omnivores not those weird dudebros on a raw carnivore diet.) are entitled, when vegans love pushing themselves into any group and shoving their ideals down peoples throats.. Crazy. There is a difference between not eating meat on a certain day of the week or CERTAIN meat because of your religion. Why cant people just let people live without forcing their ideas on them? Unless theyre unethically sourcing the meat then who cares.
Sam, the irony of you yelling “stop shoving your ideals down our throats” while literally defending eating corpses is wild.
You say “who cares” unless the meat is unethically sourced — newsflash: you don’t get to stab someone ethically. That’s not how morality works. You’ve just been taught to care about the method, not the victim.
Vegans aren’t “forcing” anything — we’re just refusing to stay silent while others fund harm and call it dinner. If that feels like an attack, maybe the discomfort you’re feeling is just your conscience trying to make contact.
Sam, you’ve gone from “not a meat eater” to “defending meat eating” to “rarely eat meat” to “stop calling me a meat eater” faster than a chicken nugget disappears at a kid’s party.
You’re spinning so hard I’m surprised you haven’t launched into orbit.
You say there’s no discomfort, yet you keep commenting like you're my number 1 fan.
And no one’s “bullying” you by holding up a moral mirror. If your lifestyle feels attacked when cruelty is pointed out, maybe that’s less about us “pushing” and more about you trying to shove the truth back into the box it crawled out of.
Nobody said you love meat — you just keep bending over backwards to defend it like it's your firstborn. If you really didn’t care, you wouldn’t still be here swinging at every comment like it owes you rent.
So either take the L and move on… or admit it: compassion makes you uncomfortable.
Meat eaters feel entitled?? That's totes adorbs since it's the vegan who feels so entitled to impose their eating habits on the entire household and they don't care if the other people in the house object.
Nevada, meat eaters expect their violence-funded lifestyle to be catered to everywhere — restaurants, flights, schools, even other people’s kitchens — and vegans are the entitled ones? Cute.
Go ahead, keep recycling the same TIRED, DEBUNKED, BASELESS "ARGUMENTS" while teetering one step away from shoving your fingers in your ears and yelling LALALALA anytime reality taps you on the shoulder.
Ignorance isn’t a defense — just a comfy costume you’ve worn so long you forgot it’s not skin.
Look who's here, "swinging at every comment like it owes you rent" - your words in another comment!
So true lol. Just because Im bad at wording doesnt mean im lying to them or that im scared of their "compassion." This person will not let down, and just continues to bash people for not eating what THEY want. I will continue to eat what i want as long as its healthy, and this person only makes me further stray from Veganism. I bet he would not believe I actually live on a farm and take care of animals. 🙄
nice seeing you again too
True! Its embarassing how they try to make themselves feel superior and try to control everyone. I wonder how they would react if they found out animals arent supposed to overpopulate the earth.
Control freak
Animal abusing freak
What are your grounds for that accusation?
The stepmother behaved appallingly towards a minor child, whatever the issue. She is supposed to be the adult, but failed miserably and still doesn't see it after her husband left (hopefully taking his daughter with him).
Your a straight up tyrant,you actually think that other people have to eat only what you eat. I feel sorry for your son, he can't escape yet.
Says the tyrant to pays for pigs to be gassed to death and cows to be decapitated
What are your grounds for that accusation?
Are you serious? Do you think meat just magically spawns, shrink-wrapped in plastic on a supermarket shelf? I am not even gonna bother explain, use google and educate yourself
Wicked step mother. Sounds like this is the perfect excuse for you to send the 14 year old packing.
The 14 year old has their own mother and she could have put the father in danger of losing custody
What about the mother cows who get forcefully impregnated constantly to produce ungodly amounts of milk for her stepdaughter only to be turned into burgers after having lived a quarter of her natural lifespan? Naaaaaaaaah who cares about that right? They're just animals! Let's all go back to the 1930s shall we?
Babes2357
It's the step-child thing that's sticking me. Presumably, this child was born before momster joined the mix, and it's not any more moms house than it is dads house. If mom wants to be vegan, great. No one is telling her not to be. But that's a big ask, a big demand, to make of someone who, realistically, you're as much a guest in her home as she is in yours.
Like you have no empathy for humans?
Like the way you keep missing the point?
Caring about animals doesn’t cancel out caring about people. That’s just the excuse folks use when they want to defend violence but still feel morally superior. Maybe try holding both forms of empathy in your brain at once — it’s not that hard.
You are definitely wrong you want to be vegan fine but to tell your stepdaughter my house my rules you can leave if you don't like it is just plain assonite and good for her dad leaving you can't force your eating habits on others, it's bad enough your forcing it down your child who isn't given a choice
Telling someone not to bring dead animals into a vegan household isn’t “assonine” — it’s basic decency. If your stepdaughter throws a tantrum over not eating flesh in someone else’s home, that’s not oppression — that’s entitlement.
And if dad’s response is to storm out because someone set a moral boundary? Then good riddance. Better to lose a man than compromise your values for his convenience.
Catering to cruelty isn’t parenting. Teaching integrity is.
Yeah you are wrong. Wrong and crazy. You can’t tell anyone either what their diet should be. I would leave you too if I were him.
You have completely gone off on a tangent because we all don't agree with you. Maybe if you had a nice steak, you would feel better and have some clarity
Wow there's a lot of people who let their kids walk over them. Nope. Totally fine. You eat what's made period.
Also she not being forced to be vegan, she's being forced to eat vegan when in the house. Huge difference. Dad just showed his daughter all she has to do is throw a fit and people will fold. She's going to be in for a rude awakening when she enters the real world. This comment section is a beautiful example of the regression in society. Everyone thinks they are above everyone and everything.
She certainly wouldn't cook you vegan. The old established Mrs manners said if having guests it is the right thing to do cooking them food - if it doesn't work with your strong ethical beliefs-they need to eat out. Heathens.
So you're answer is that a 14yo needs to eat out?
Dude, you're an idiot. Society isn't 'regressing', people like you have serious issues.
Wanting a healthy diet is not throwing a fit. You are a beautiful example of why siblings shouldn't breed.
While I agree, she should have talked this topic over with her husband and could have handled it a bit better.
Control freak
Or the father can loose custody and the kid doesn't come over any more. That is where this is headed
Exactly was step monster is hoping for
Re read she being forced to be vegan
Yeah, prime example of regression indeed.
Says the person who is advocating for the step mother to force her beliefs on the step daughter.
No, what the takeaway from this story is this... compromise is necessary for a cohesive household. No one has the right to force their beliefs on anyone.
The step mother is definitely the one who is under this belief that she's better than her step daughter.
Oh my, you are a monster, lady. If they were cohabitating, then it was THEIR house too. Get over yourself. You have the right to keep meat out of yourSELF, not your vicinity or your SHARED home. Frankly, it's abusive to impose your dietary disorder on your son, let alone a man who clearly loved you and his daughter, who relied on your step-parental support. You blew up a relationship and two CHILDREN'S lives over your psychotic obsession. Enjoy explaining to your son how your "rule" was more important then his home and stability. Call that man up and BEG to serve his daughter a steak. If you have any decency, that is.
That's not decency that's throwing your values away for others. I'm not vegan but when I'm at a vegans house that's what I eat, regardless how long I stay there. I've literally eaten vegan for 6 months straight because that was the house rules and I never left like going out. This girl can simply go out to eat. Plenty of 14yrs do this, if they can't that's a really sad reality.
Were you forced to eat vegan 6 months straight when you were in the middle of a growth period? Are you female? Why are you assuming you as a man know what a teenage girl needs diet wise? Also the stepmother does not sound like she would let her go out to eat somewhere else.
You forgot to ask who stays as a guest for 6 months and is too lazy to eat out.
Notice all of your comments reactions. You are just as wrong as the step-momster who is literally being an absolute see you next Tuesday and threw a fit like a child.
No wrong
You are comparing apples to oranges...you staying in somebody else's house...is not a little girl with her family. This lady is completely acting like a step-monster, not even taking into consideration anyone's feeling but her own. Very uncool.
If your values include sending a 14 year old out of the house anytime they want to have a confortable meal, then they can hardly be described as values. I agree I would eat vegan if I were a guest at a vegan house, but this poor girl wasn't a guest, she LIVED THERE. "Values" like op's should be opposed and punished whenever encountered. And what universe do you come from where young teens routinely eat out alone? I think YOU grew up in a sad reality where children apparently had to fend for themselves because their parents didn't care.
No, I eat meat, but I cook vegan dishes for my vegan sister in-law. I also make vegetarian dishes for my mother in-law. I accommodate for those visiting my house. I don't force anyone to eat meat.
It's called compromise.
The step mother is wrong.
It's not a rule it's a way of life you uneducated id'ot.
Not when it's forced on others who are unwilling. That's called tyranny
Being an evil, heartless beast of a woman is a way of life? I suppose so, but not one that deserves the smallest modicum of respect. Anyone with that "way of life" should expect loneliness and rejection, nay, revulsion, from anyone with decent values, as the poor man in this story apparently had in spades. This woman deserves their retreat from her abuse, but her poor son didn't... he's the real victim of her repulsive "way of life," which deprived him of a parent capable of actual loyalty and love.
You are absolutely evil and for you not to see how wrong you are makes it even worse your an evil evil person
Veganism is a PERSONAL choice and NOT something to push on other people, regardless of whom. I agree with the spouse
Learn comprehension skills. All she said was no meat in the house. Eating vegan and being vegan aren't the same thing. 🤦♂️
''My stepdaughter, 14, started to defy me and refuses to be vegan.'' Maybe YOU should learn better reading comprehension.
The way your typing sounds like your trying force her to be vegan "refuses to be vegan" like what that sounds like your forcing
Can't read?
They're coming to my home IT IS A PERSONAL MATTER- get with dem
My sweet summer child, it is THEIR home, not hers. She has no right to impose her extreme diet on ANYONE else. Period.
The Father's as well. Too many control freaks on here!!
The kid lives in the home with her father, when he has her. She’s not just stopping in for a visit. 🙄I hope you don’t have kids. Though you sound like an absolute joy to be around. Maybe you’re just hungry.
She has a son. Sadly
Smiling at this
"Not being racist is a PERSONAL choice and NOT something to push on other people, regardless of whom. I agree with the racist"
You are a true witch, poisonous snake and a true cruel person I'm glad your husband left you with his daughter well deserved
Ah yes, the classic “witch” insult — because heaven forbid a woman stand her ground and say, “No dead bodies in my kitchen.” Truly diabolical stuff.
If cruelty means refusing to support violence, and poison means calling out entitlement, then pour me a double — I’ll toast to integrity while you keep sipping whatever made you think corpse consumption is compassion.
Glad he left? Cool. Now she’s free to find someone who sees kindness as strength, not weakness.
You sound like a terrible person!! I and my child would leave too. You're not just disrespectful but cruel as well and I'm glad he has enough sense to RUN. I wonder how this didn't come up before you married and moved in together.
Why should anyone have to become vegan if they don't want to? A 14-year-old child is certainly old enough to decide what he / she wants.
Then they can go out to eat. Houses have rules, follow or leave pretty simple.
The husband lives there as well. Another control freak!!
So, in a house with two adults who disagree, momster wins? And a 14yo should be eating out???
It’s a 14 year old kid you evil troll.
No. Every post you make is 150% wrong somehow. Statistically improbable. 1) parents set the rules for their children, not stepparents. 2) people have rules, houses have decided to remain silent on this topic. 3) a home belongs to all who live there, not just a single adult. The law is pretty clear on residents rights.
No they're not but intuitively they know- and what's opening others eyes to a new healthy way to eat that doesn't cause death, abuse, torture, neglect? You are an idiot parent-
There is something very wrong with you. You should definitely address why you’re so triggered by people who don’t agree with you, or follow your “lifestyle”. It’s a real problem, and you’re obviously a very weak person.
Are you a medical doctor, specializing in nutrition? My body does not process plant based proteins. Period. Your choice not to eat meat is YOUR choice and we have a choice to eat meat. There was a mother of a young child on social media. She had kept her child on a vegan diet. She collapsed at school and was taken to the hospital where the medical doctors found the child to be extremely malnourished in calories, nutrients, micro nutrients and macro nutrients...things that brains, muscles and organs need to grow. The childs blood count was 5 and her iron was so low she had to have IV iron infusions. The mother decided her and her social circle knew better and even though her child begged her for eggs...eggs...mother refused. Mother will lose and deserves to lose custody for physical and medical neglect. That is where the vegan CHOICE becomes a cult. When you knowingly hurt your child because a dead chicken is more important than a dead child, you're insane and a danger to your child!
the classic “one story from social media = all vegan parents are evil” argument. You do realise every diet can be done wrong, right? Kids have been hospitalised from eating nothing but chicken nuggets too — should we ban omnivorism?
The NHS, the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and every major dietetic body agree: a well-planned vegan diet is safe and healthy for all stages of life, including infancy. The problem isn’t plants — it’s poor planning and misinformation.
You say your body doesn’t process plant proteins? That’s medically dubious, but even if true, it’s not a free pass to dismiss ethics or exaggerate horror stories to vilify veganism.
If the concern is child neglect, great — let’s all care about actual neglect: like pumping kids full of processed meat, the same stuff WHO classifies as carcinogenic. Let’s care when they're fed artery-clogging diets, or raised to think cruelty is tradition.
Don’t use isolated tragedies to defend the mass-scale abuse of animals. That’s not protecting kids — it’s protecting the status quo.
Opening someone's eyes is fine, but forcing your choices, not fine at all
And you're just an idiot.
Ah, yes — cruelty is drawing the line at animal exploitation in your own home, but not... I dunno, mass breeding, mutilation, and slaughter? Got it.
Funny how “boundaries” suddenly become “abuse” the moment they challenge someone’s dinner habits. If respecting sentient life makes me the villain in your story, I’ll take that cape proudly.
And if someone runs from a conversation about ethics, maybe they weren’t equipped for a relationship built on values and integrity in the first place. Better to lose a partner than lose yourself trying to accommodate cowardice.
But hey — thanks for your concern. Hope your next comment comes with actual substance and not just dramatic fanfic energy.
8 was forced, as a child to become a vegetarian. A choice that was not mine at all, as soon as I was old enough to get my hunting license, I took a 6 pt. buck and hung it in the garage in .y stepfather parking spot. The most satisfying meals I had ever eaten. The look on my stepfather face was priceless.
Oh no you poor baby. Such a hard life.
Wow, you are a piece of work. Militant vegans like you are truly morally deficient to the point of being subhuman. I love how you attack the education and intelligence of your betters despite displaying none of your own. Go eat a flipping steak, maybe it will Jumpstart your brain.
Wow, calling someone subhuman because they don’t eat corpses? That’s some Olympic-level projection. You out here cosplaying as the morality police while drooling over steak like it’s a personality trait.
If eating dead animals made people smarter, you’d be a Nobel laureate by now — yet here you are, getting ratio’d in a comments section. Tragic.
But please, keep telling on yourself. Every unhinged insult just proves that deep down, you know compassion makes you uncomfortable... because it exposes what you’re trying so hard to ignore.
Now run along and chew your gristle sandwich — the adults are talking.
Go eat a vegan sausage
Impose your diet to your daughter in law is utterly unrespectful. This is not to mention your poor husband, who was more than right to leave.
Step daughter
BS it's her home DA
Nope. A home belongs to all legal residents. And a step-parent should never make rules for a stepchild without the parents consent
Aha, and paying for murdering animals is not disrespectful for the stepmother? You know I'm right the second you switch it with some delicious cat nuggets and juicy dog steaks.
Yes, we get it... you don't like eating meat. We are fully aware of your stance on this subject.
Still does not give you the right to barrated and harass others because they don't think the way you do.
No one is forcing you to eat meat. No one cares about your diet.
Try being more tolerant.
Nevada, tolerance doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to injustice just to keep people comfy. That’s not morality — that’s cowardice.
If someone said, “I personally believe in racism, but I’m not forcing you to be racist,” would you tolerate that? No. Because some things deserve to be called out, especially when others are harmed by them.
So yeah, you do care. Because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t keep replying.
Veganism is meant to be a personal choice, not an enforced way of eating.
Congratulations on becoming the evil stepmother every child dreads.
What a witch!
You, yes I agree
You were talking like that to child. I definitely see an issue with that. She isn't visiting, this is your husband's child from before. Instead of creating an inviting drama free environment, you chose to start with you're unwelcome. Marriage, children are all about sacrifice. You teach kids when they don't know. You had your way and made sure no one would want to be a part of that. Why did you get married if you didn't have space in your life to teach and invite anyone into your life style.
One MEAL- you people are NUTS
EVERY meal.
You're a control freak.
It wasn't one meal. Read the story!!
Please go away. You’re an embarrassment.
So now you are just going to lie to support your point? Or did you just not read the article? Clearly says otherwise.
Even if you believe you’re justified in setting household rules, your husband’s comment — “This house is also my stepdaughter’s house” — reveals that he feels unheard and possibly disrespected in family decisions. Consider that this might not just be about meat — it’s about feeling excluded from authority in a shared home.
Action: Invite your husband to a calm conversation (ideally in person) and propose creating shared household expectations that reflect both of your values. Not a surrender — a collaboration.
I'd rather have no partner than have one that expected everything to be their way because they want it. Partnership goes both ways. You can't just expect things to be your way because that's what you want. If you want life that way, get single or learn how to discuss issues with your family properly without being demanding.
Your 7-year-old came to you trembling at 3 a.m. That’s not just about your husband leaving — it’s about your son feeling emotionally unsafe. This isn’t only an adult disagreement anymore; it’s something your children are absorbing.
Action: Focus less on who’s “right” and more on restoring emotional security. Reassure your son, validate his fear, and prioritize rebuilding a calm home — because emotional fear in children is a long-term consequence of family instability.
I am THE GREAT OZ!!!!! BOW BEFORE ME HEATHEN!!!!
Saying “Don’t come here if you’re not happy” to a 14-year-old who lives with you may have felt like laying down the law — but to her, it likely felt like rejection. Being vegan in your own home is a valid choice. Imposing it as an absolute on others, especially a stepchild navigating loyalty, grief, or identity, is likely to backfire.
Action: Introduce zones or compromises — e.g., “No meat in the kitchen, but if you order something, eat it outside or in your room.” This gives her space without changing your values.
I'm vegetarian but I don't impose my lifestyle on others. This is why vegans/vegetarians are viewed negatively - this angry need to control others. I don't blame the husband for leaving but why would he leave the kids with a "monster" who probably has anger issues?
Staying firm in “I did nothing wrong” may protect your pride, but it won’t bring your husband or stepdaughter home. Whether your actions were justified or not, the emotional damage is real.
Action: Reflect not just on the rule, but on the delivery. Apologizing doesn’t mean saying you were wrong to be vegan — it means saying, “I’m sorry I made you feel unwelcome in your own home. That wasn’t my intention.” That alone could open a door that’s now shut.
Despite all the tensions we might face, there is also a lot of kindness in the world. Here are 15 Stories That Prove Kindness Runs in Some People’s Veins.
Jumpin' Jiminy Crickets! I would NEVER try to force ANYONE to conform to MY WAY of thinking & being. (I was raised by foster parents who would never dream of forcing their lifestyle choices on their own children! Let alone the foster children!)
You are most definitely in the wrong here. You have the right to choose to be vegan, but you do not have the right to dictate that everyone in your house must be as well. The fact that you are even asking if you're wrong is mind boggling. Yes. You are. Anybody who thinks otherwise needs to have their children and voting privileges permanently taken away, and be sent to prison where they can experience firsthand having other people's viewpoints shoved down their throat.
My house my rules is such an old way of thinking. Forcing someone to be vegan is as wrong as forcing someone to eat meat. If your diet dictates that you can't eat meat that does not mean that everyone in your house should fallow that diet
Wow what an amazing man to stand up to someone so narcissistic and selfish. He has won in his child's life and he chose to do it in a classy way. Too bad he could not carry his other child with him. something tells me this is not about veganism but your absolute hatred of his child and because he stands up for her you used this to exert your dominance. Hope he gets his house and child from you and you can go bully some other vegan somewhere else.
I'm completely confused by this. Maybe my veal filled brain is missing something... if you don't allow meat in your house, and the horrible flesh eaters left, why are you upset? Like Scrooge McDuck with the magical golden fish, you got everything that you asked for.
