My 19-Year-Old Daughter Blurted Out That I'm 'Nothing More Than an ATM' to Her & Revealed Her Mom's Secret

A girl wanted $200 to hang out with her friends, but when her dad turned down her request, she was furious. Their altercation took a different turn after she confessed a long-hidden truth.

A 19-year-old girl was quite the attention seeker who always yearned to be the center of attention. She often played the victim and stirred drama by lying about others to stay in the spotlight. But one day, she confessed a shocking truth during an intense argument over money.

Her father, a Reddit user, revealed that he struggled with a dilemma on the "AITA" forum before asking random strangers for their input. He wanted to know if he'd done something wrong in reacting to the disturbing discovery he made based on his daughter's confession.

How Did OP Find Out the Truth about His Daughter’s Paternity?

The 39-year-old original poster (OP) welcomed his daughter when he was 20. She always sought attention and went to any level to be on center stage. Despite OP's multiple warnings, his daughter never heeded them.

At some point, the dad gave up trying to mend her, and while she threw her usual tantrums, the real problem sparked when she approached OP for $200 to go to the mall with her friends.

OP sternly refused and turned down her pleas since he'd already given her enough money for the month. Having realized that constant pleading wouldn't work, the daughter took a different approach and slowly expressed her frustration.

Their altercation peaked when she started screaming at OP, saying there was no point in her mom marrying a rich guy who wouldn't give her daughter any money. OP couldn't take more of this and retaliated that he was "her father" and not "some ATM" she could use whenever she wanted.

In the heat of the moment, she lashed out at him, saying that he was "nothing more than an ATM to her" because he wasn't her biological father. The dad was stunned and anxiously asked where she got that idea.

The girl immediately realized she'd blurted out something she wasn't supposed to and angrily tried to cover it up. But OP sensed something fishy about her statement and threatened to kick her out if she didn't come clean about why she uttered something like that. In the next few seconds, OP's daughter revealed the truth.

How Did OP React to the Truth?

She told her dad that when she turned 18, her mom decided she "needed to know the truth" and confessed to cheating on OP with three other men before she fell pregnant. The mom strongly believed OP wasn't her father since he always used protection during intimacy.

OP's wife and her daughter decided to keep the secret from him since he funded their lavish lifestyle. OP was crushed, and after a heated confrontation with his wife, he ousted them, although he still gave the girl $200 since she was jobless.

Later, the girl came to visit him, begging for more money as she'd blown up everything. OP was livid, and he promised to help her only if she cooperated with him for a DNA test. After she agreed to the test, OP pursued it. The results eventually revealed that he wasn't her father.

The dad was heartbroken with everything that happened in such a short time. He turned down his family's and in-law's request to forgive his wife and decided not to reconcile with his daughter since she was complicit in keeping him in the dark. Reddit users shared their thoughts

What Did Reddit Users Say?

"They are all blowing me up right now trying to get me to change my mind, so AITA?" he asked a fellow Redditor for moral judgment. After rummaging through OP's plight, Redditors anonymously weighed in by declaring OP wasn't at fault in the situation.

The post's top-voted commenter suggested OP needed to stop talking to his wife and her daughter, adding, "It seems the daughter made the decision to not see you as a father figure. That could be because she's angry you didn't give her money, and she said it out of spite."

Several others, including one user, claimed OP's wife and daughter financially exploited him. "Get a good lawyer and move your funds into a separate account your wife can't access. Go ahead and write your stepdaughter off," the person advised.

In the end, OP concluded that although the girl he raised for 19 years, assuming she was his daughter, turned out to be someone else's, he wouldn't abandon her altogether. He resolved, "I won't leave a young girl helpless in a city, even if the circumstances are bad. I won't take her back or give her anywhere near as much money as I used to, but I will still help."

Questions to Ponder:

Would you reconcile with the child you ousted after learning they are not yours biologically?

When the paternity test revealed OP wasn't the girl's father, he kicked her out along with her mother. Although OP admitted to helping the girl with little finances since she was unemployed, he was determined not to reconcile with her. Would you do the same if you were the father?

Do you think OP's daughter was forced to carry the burden and blame for her mother's infidelity?

After OP realized his wife had cheated on him with three other men, he outright expelled her from his life and house. In the bargain, he also ousted the girl he thought was his daughter. Would you advise OP to give the girl a fair chance to prove that she could still be his daughter, though she's not genetically related to him since she was not to blame for her mother's infidelity? Do years of love fade away after discovering that the child you raised is someone else's?

If you liked reading this story, here's a similar one about how a man who visited his wife on her deathbed discovers that one of their kids is not his.