No Stupid Questions

He lied, snuck around, and betrayed his wife. You think he won't do the same to you? Interesting..

Why is your mom the one that moved out? Also, the affaire partner moved in?

He's your best friend, so you three like hang out and watch movies together as a new family while your mom sulks in an appartment alone?

Not only does your dad suck but so do you. Maybe one day, you will get cheated on and understand the betrayal it feels like. Hopefully, you wont have children to drive the knife in even deeper. Relationships are suppose to change with a parent who has an affaire, it's abnormal not to be angry at what he did to your mother.

Ask her to imagine the following: let's say she ends up being really close to your spouse one day, like she couldn't have imagined a better pick. The two of them become super close, but as the years go on, for whatever reason, you end up having an affair. Now ask her if she would go no contact with you because maintaining a relationship would condone your actions and ignore your spouse's suffering.

If she says no, then maybe she could see a bit of where you're coming from. If she says yes, well then I would wonder if a lack of empathy was part of the reason your dad sought a relationship elsewhere (not that that justifies cheating).

I can see where your mom is coming from. She got cheated on and to her it looks like you still support him despite the awful things he did.

If he was Wifebeater and beat her instead, would you still support or "be friends" with your dad? probably not right? So why does Physical abuse cross the line but not emotional abuse?

....fuck...that is very hard. This is not your relationship, nor did you cheat, and their problems have now been made yours(ish). I'm sorry you're caught up in this.

That said, your mom raises some excellent points & personally I'd be inclined to live with her. She is correct. But we must also acknowledge that she is way too close to this situation & is blinded by hurt, rage; women are prone to making decisions based on emotion & not logic, reason. How much more when she is cheated on.

The fact remains, this man is your biological father. Personally, I think it is time to reassess the depth of your relationship due to his adultery. But to cut him out entirely, forever is kind of stupid, too. That is your father. You only get one father. Your relationship to him is different than your mother's relationship to him. You can distance yourself & react appropriately to his impropriety without...completely destroying the ties of family. It will hurt your father's feelings, and you know what? I think he should have his feelings hurt. A little. Understand, he threw your mother away, treated her very badly.

But what's done is done. This is the family you have now, and you have to decide what is right for you. If you don't leave your father & distance yourself at least a little, she's right, you do condone his actions & you're hurting your relationship with your mother. If you care about that. But I would keep those lines open, and your mother will fuss, but explain to her that is your biological father & you have made the decision to keep in contact with him. That is your right, as his child.