Dad Slammed for Secretly Canceling Son's Job Interviews: 'Livid'

The internet has slammed a dad after it was revealed that he had been secretly canceling his son's job interviews.

In a now-viral Reddit post with more than 36,000 upvotes shared by u/ThrowRA00924463, the young man's mom explained how she had rented an apartment for her son after discovering what his father had done.

"My son Aiden, 23, moved back in with us upon graduating college as my husband wanted. My husband's original plan was to have Aiden live with us for free, but stay home and help with his disabled 16-year-old brother," she explained. "Aiden started complaining about needing money and wanted to find a job. My husband was against this and even offered to double his allowance but Aiden was growing tired of staying at home."

Aiden had been looking for jobs for over a year, but was yet to receive any responses to his applications.

"He'd just apply and they never get back to him," said the poster. The young man and his mom were confused by this until recently when they discovered why.

The mom said: "I found out that my husband was behind all the job applications being canceled. He'd wait until Aiden applies then he proceeds to cancel the application by impersonating him and using his email."

Shocked and furious, she explained how she "blew up" at her husband for his actions, but he attempted to explain. "His justification is that he's just trying to make sure that our younger son is cared for by Aiden and said that Aiden has been [a] big help and him getting a job will affect his care for his brother," said the mom.

After discovering that her husband had been preventing their son from getting a job to move out, she took matters into her own hands and rented an apartment for Aiden.

"[I] told him to stay there 'til he finds a job and starts paying for it himself. Aiden was hurt upon knowing what his dad did. My husband was livid when he found out," she said. "He called me unhinged and said that I was separating the boys and teaching Aiden to become selfish and care more about a job than family. He also said it was huge decision for me to rent an apartment without even running it by him."

Since then, the couple have been arguing: "He's been giving me hell about it and is calling me a terrible mother for encouraging Aiden to be selfish and self-centered," she wrote.

Board certified Beverly Hills psychiatrist Carole Lieberman told Newsweek: "This is not just a simple matter of whether or not to get an apartment for a 23-year-old son. Of course, it was wrong for Aiden's dad to sneak behind his back and pretend to be him, canceling all his job applications, but we need to understand the desperation his dad was feeling in light of all the medical problems that the younger son and the parents apparently have.

"The dad should have been honest about his fears and feelings of helplessness from the beginning. He's afraid of having to care for the younger son, his wife and himself. But, it should be Aiden's choice," she added.

In more than 6,000 comments on the post, Redditors were quick to respond and share their reactions.

One reply with more than 53,000 upvotes said: "NTA [not the a******]. Your husband is abusive to Aiden and honestly, creepy in his manipulations and insistence on Aiden being Dobby the house elf."

"A 23-year-old cannot exist on 'allowance' and he's not a defacto caretaker," said another reply. "Your husband seems unhinged. You did the right thing for your son."

"Aiden's mom should not have gone behind the dad's back to use money from their joint account to pay for his apartment. She should have asked the dad why he's trying to force Aiden to stay home," said Lieberman. "Then this would have opened up a more productive discussion about alternatives. It is not fair to destroy Aiden's life by compelling him to be a full-time caretaker and making him feel guilty if he refuses."

Newsweek reached out to u/ThrowRA00924463 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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