Man Threatens to Divorce Wife if She Tells Children About His Abusive Childhood

A man on Reddit put his foot down with his wife after she insisted she tell their children about his traumatic childhood as their son had to write a report about his family tree for school.

Content warning: child abuse

Their son's teacher agreed he could simply cover his mom's side of the family, but the man's wife was "unhappy about this and told me to use this as an opportunity to talk about my family to our sons."

"She said that she didn't want them written about but that our sons should know the full truth," the dad wrote, adding that his "dad was abusive growing up" and he was "not comfortable" talking to his kids about his family, who "weren't good people."

"I let them know that my brothers and parents are people that shouldn't be around and that was it. They all seemed to be understanding but I guess as they grew up my wife wanted them to know the full truth," he continued.

Recently, his wife told him she planned to tell their sons "about the things my father and brother used to do to me, which I didn't see necessary at all."

His wife was insistent, so he told her that if she told their sons, it would "violate the trust" he has in her and he "wouldn't hesitate to file for divorce."

"Since then, she has hardly been speaking to me. She told me that she was hurt I would jump to divorce so quickly and not try to reason with her, but I tried several times to reason with her and I think saying that made her realize how serious I was," he concluded.

READ MORE: Man Threatens Divorce After Influencer Wife Posts Content of Their Kids Without His Consent

Users offered the man some advice in the comments, with many suggesting he consider therapy.

"Your wife needs to take a step back and realize that your story isn't for her to share. That doing so would be traumatizing for you and a massive violation of your trust. Perhaps she can read up about supporting adult survivors of child abuse," one person wrote.

"He didn't jump to divorce. She threatened to do something he had repeatedly told her was unacceptable. He told her the consequences of that action," another commented.

"It is not her story to tell. Anything she tells them will be secondhand and likely not 100 percent accurate. What if they ask questions she cannot answer? Will it force you into an uncomfortable situation of having to relive the trauma, or leave them to imagine the worst? You don‘t say what age your son/other children are, but writing about family is generally an elementary-type exercise, which may be too young anyway, for now, and could cause them trauma," someone else advised.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of child abuse, help is available through the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-422-4453.