My (25F) Mom (60s) is Finally Planning on Leaving My Emotionally Abusive Step Dad. Advice on How to Help.

Hey all!

My mom married my step dad (also 60s) a couple decades ago, with virtually no gap between the divorce to my dad and starting to date my step dad.

My step dad has always been a jerk to her, but that isn’t what this post is about. After moving away from her support network to a new state with him, he’s escalated his behavior, and she’s finally realized she needs to leave.

The problem is that she’s very afraid of being alone, from both a financial and emotional stand point. That’s why she jumped from one marriage to the other. In the past, when we’ve tried to talk her into leaving, she always fell back on the “I’m so old, he’s my only option. I’ll starve without him,” type excuses.

So far, her expressed plan on getting out of the relationship is to move near me (I’m the closest child distance-wise.) But this will probably require a lot of support from me. I want to help, but I also don’t want to sacrifice the life I’ve carved out for my husband and I.

I’m wondering if anyone is faced similar situations like this? If so, how did you navigate it? My relationship with her is already rocky - we don’t relate on much, and I can’t imagine cohabitating with her for an extended period of time. I could really use any advice here!

Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: my mom is finally planning on leaving my step dad. How do I help support her without letting her overstep boundaries?

Submitted January 01, 2021 at 12:51PM by BeccaBeast13 https://ift.tt/354mmsq