This Redditor, for instance, is looking to part ways with her spouse after his sister dumped her kids on him. The couple were both decidedly childfree, and the woman isn’t willing to compromise her freedom, even in such saddening circumstances. 

A childfree couple found themselves caring for the man’s sister’s children

However, despite feeling bad for the kids, the woman is unwilling to sacrifice her freedom

“AITAH for wanting to divorce my husband over kids?” – this internet user took to one of Reddit’s communities, asking its members if she’s indeed a jerk for wanting to call it quits with her husband over kids that his sister burdened him with. The post managed to garner nearly 23K upvotes as well as 14.7K comments discussing the situation. 

Now, did you know that according to a 2022 piece from Nature, an open-access journal that publishes high-quality research, “childfree adults are quite common and comprise over one-fifth (21.64%) of the population”? 

Personal freedom, career focus, money, lifestyle choices, past traumas, lack of parental instinct, simple disinterest, etc. – there are truly a million and one reasons why someone would want to lead a life without being responsible for a tiny human.

It’s just not easy! 

You’re accountable for their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Parenting, in general, is incredibly time and energy-consuming, and you have to have a strong emotional commitment. Your sleep schedule gets messed up, and we all know what happens to some folks when they don’t get their 8 hours. You constantly worry about every little thing. You have to answer a boatload of “whys?” and deal with the so-called question avalanche daily, help with their homework when you already have forgotten the solutions to all the math equations – and then on top of that, also somehow prepare and survive the ups and downs of their forthcoming teenage years. 

Don’t get me wrong, children are lovely! They’re indeed the flowers of life; it’s just that some people don’t have the energy or interest to cherish and nurture them for longer than 5 minutes, especially when the kids in question were literally dumped on your doorstep by a neglectful family member. 

She brought up the divorce, but he lashed out at her for abandoning him when he needed her

The original poster, a 29-year-old woman, met her now-husband back in college, and they’ve lived their child-free life ever since! Unfortunately, their peaceful existence was disturbed a few months ago when the man’s sister abandoned her three children – all from different “deadbeat” dads whose involvement was never mentioned – at their house, claiming that she had an errand to run. 

Reports were filed, CPS was involved, and the couple eventually managed to find out that the mother was safe – however, without any intention to come back. 

Naturally, the OP felt incredibly sad for the children, yet she didn’t want to raise them and was convinced that her spouse was of a similar opinion until she learned otherwise. The discovery then prompted the Redditor to throw in the towel and ask for a divorce as she wasn’t happy about committing to such a huge responsibility; the husband, of course, wasn’t ecstatic about the news and lashed out at the woman for abandoning him when he needed her. 

The situation is very delicate, and the majority of r/AITAH community members couldn’t pinpoint the jerk in this scenario – but what is your take, Pandas? Do you think the OP is wrong for leaving her spouse?

Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions on the situation