A Reddit user from New York has been widely supported online after saying he doesn’t want to be financially responsible for his girlfriend’s baby that she had with another man.
The post explains that “when the baby was born it was very obviously not mine,” so the original poster didn’t want to be financially responsible for the new baby.
The Reddit user, who wishes to be identified as George, insisted that his girlfriend should seek financial help from the baby’s father who should be responsible for it. The post continues: “He said that I could easily afford to take care of them and that I’m an a**hole for dragging his life through the mud. She feels terrible about it and blames me for not just stepping up.”
Despite the guilt he has been left feeling for potentially “ruining his [the biological father’s] life,” there has been a lot of support for George online since sharing the situation. Newsweek reached out to George, and he told us: “I have no problem supporting our family but I’m not going to put us in a bad financial position because she doesn’t want to cause her friend problems.”
Stock images of a woman requesting money and of a baby’s feet. A Reddit user has been supported after refusing to pay for a child that isn’t his own.
JackF / GUARDDON/Getty Images
The Reddit post also mentions that the biological father is engaged to another woman, and after finding out he fathered a baby, the fiancée is “thinking about breaking things off”.
George told Newsweek: “The biological father is very angry that he is paying child support. To my knowledge he is still getting married, but this was something that definitely put a stress on his relationship. He has said that he has no interest in custody or visitation, but if he changes his mind it’s something that we would be open to.”
Data collected in 2022 by Pew Research Center revealed that one in four parents in the US admitted that they struggled with their finances in the 12 months prior. They found that 20 percent of those who needed child care couldn’t afford to pay for it, and 19 percent were worried about losing pay if they needed to look after their child.
A similar survey by Bankrate asked over 1,000 US adults about their savings and financial stability, which found that 44 percent of Americans have enough savings to be able to cover an unexpected cost of $1,000, and nearly 35 percent of people said they would have to borrow the money in some way, be that from a friend or relative, or by getting a loan.
Since George shared his concerns on Reddit on January 14, the post has received 11,600 votes and 2,700 comments. The viral post ended by saying: “I love my girlfriend and the baby, and I have no problem raising the baby. But I don’t think I should be held financially responsible when the father has resources and tried to evade responsibility.”
Of the thousands of comments, many people have been highly supportive of George: “This seems to happen often. Were I the OP [original poster]I’d question why she wanted to protect her ex from the consequences of his paternity.”
This was a common theme among the commenters, with another person writing: “It’s good that you are willing to be a family with your girlfriend and her baby, and according to you, you could afford to support them. But that does not complete the biological father of responsibility for the maintenance of his child.”
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