The internet supported a woman who told her sister, “I told you so,” after her sister’s husband left her because of her controlling behavior.
In a popular Reddit post on the “Am I the Asshole?” forum, user West-Dragonfly-7526 shared her story about her 27-year-old sister Lisa, who obsessively tends to maintain a strict gray, white, and brown aesthetic in her home. Lisa even went so far as to throw away anything that didn’t fit her color scheme, including gifts and toys from her two-year-old daughter, Maya.
“I’ve told my sister multiple times that she needs to stop this before she does something that drives Mark crazy. She told me to shut up because she knows her husband so well,” the 21-year-old Reddit user explained.
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The last straw was when Mark’s elderly mother, an avid knitter, gave the couple colorful sweaters that she had carefully knitted. Lisa was unhappy with the bright colors and secretly threw the sweaters away. When Mark found out, he was furious and decided to end the marriage and ask for a divorce.
The Reddit post, which received 14,000 upvotes, described Lisa calling her parents to tell them the news of the divorce. The original poster (OP) couldn’t resist saying, “I told you so,” a comment that sparked backlash from her parents, who criticized her for not being more compassionate.
Since then, Lisa has moved in with her parents and refuses to address her problems or seek therapy, according to the OP.
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“For those who want to know, no, Lisa can’t get the sweaters back. She threw them in a dumpster and when she came back, they were already gone.
“Mark’s mum can’t make new ones either – it took her over a year to knit the originals. She’s in her late 60s, has arthritis and used expensive yarn. I’ll report back if anything changes,” the OP added.
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The sister sought advice in the online community and a marriage counselor commented on the family saga.
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Expert opinions
Texas marriage and family therapist Becky Whetstone spoke with Newsweek and expressed her opinion on the situation, highlighting the dysfunction within the family.
Whetstone acknowledged that while Lisa had the right to make her own choices, her extravagance and disregard for the feelings of others were troubling.
“I’m curious why she throws away perfectly good things – it could reveal a narcissistic tendency to believe that everyone else thinks like her. How wrong she is,” she said News week.
She explained that Lisa’s decision to throw away her husband’s belongings represented a significant violation of boundaries.
Whetstone also criticized the OP for her unsolicited advice and lack of empathy, pointing out that judging and shaming Lisa was unnecessary and that it only exacerbated the family’s dysfunction.
“The family knows no boundaries and simply does not stay in its own space,” she said.
Reactions from the Reddit community
Reddit users largely supported the OP’s response to her sister’s behavior.
“Lisa doesn’t seem to understand that other people are real people with their own preferences and not just props for her ideal aesthetic,” one user commented.
Another person, who identified herself as a knitter, expressed her outrage: “As a crocheter and knitter, I would be devastated if someone threw away my work after I gave it away. This lady put so much time and effort into these sweaters.”
Another user added: “Your sister needs serious therapy. You were right to point that out to her. She has two options now: apologize to her husband and get therapy to address her issues, or continue down this path and risk further relationships.”
Newsweek reached out to u/West-Dragonfly-7526 on Reddit for comment. We were unable to verify the details of the case.
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