Internet Backs Woman Who Kicked Out Pregnant Sister Due to Her 'Homophobic' Beliefs

Many believe that family always comes first—but what happens when you're caught in a conflict between two close relatives? A woman, recently facing that dilemma, turned to social media for advice.

Her now-viral post in Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum has accumulated about 16,900 votes at the time of writing, along with upwards of 1,500 comments.

In the Monday post, the 40-year-old Redditor, known only by the anonymous handle u/Zealousideal-Tip5225, explained why she decided to kick out her pregnant sister and brother-in-law for the wellbeing of her son, despite the decision "[sounding] super bad" on the surface.

For context, she explained that her 26-year-old sister "Sophie" is about three months pregnant. However, Sophie and her 28-year-old husband "Ben" were recently "evicted from their apartment and ... didn't have a place to stay." Despite the fact that the Redditor and her sister have "never been close," she allowed the couple to stay in her guest room. "We agreed that she and her husband could stay a year to find a house and get their life together," she wrote.

The Redditor, meanwhile, has kids of her own: 17-year-old son "Max" and 11-year-old daughter Amelia. Max, she explains, "is currently dating another boy named Charlie"—and she supports her son and his sexuality "unconditionally."

She admitted: "If I'm being honest, I don't completely understand everything about his sexuality, but I support him unconditionally and I try my best to keep an open mind and listen to his problems."

Moreover, Max "is happy with Charlie, and they often hang out at the house together watching movies or playing games. As long as they're being safe and responsible, I frankly don't mind what they do, and really I've gotten to know Charlie pretty well with how often he's over here."

"I don't think he's out to his parents yet, so the boys will usually come here after school," she added.

She explained that conflict arose when, about two months into Sophie and Ben's stay, "Sophie saw Charlie and Max kiss in the living room while she was in the kitchen with her husband." In response, she immediately shot a "disapproving glare" at her sister.

Sophie's reaction came as somewhat as a shock to the Redditor: "She had never acted overtly homophobic to anyone, so I was surprised when she went full on freak out. She said something along the lines of, 'Why are you letting them do that?! That isn't normal!'"

Sophie reportedly continued "basically being super hateful and mean." Added u/Zealousideal-Tip5225: "My son really liked Sophie, and I could tell what she was saying really hurt him."

It was at that point that the Redditor, angry on her son's behalf, lost her temper with her sister: "I ... told her she had the rest of the day to pack her s*** and get out of my house," she wrote.

"They left to stay with a friend of Sophie's, but now I'm getting phone calls and texts telling me that I'm heartless," she added. "Should I have just let her stay? I honestly don't know what to do but Max looks absolutely heartbroken right now, I don't think he was expecting her to act like that."

Overwhelmingly, commenters came to the Redditor's defense. "Your first loyalty is to your children," wrote u/ozperp, summing up a common reply. Echoed u/Compensate1995: "You prioritized the well being of your child before you made a favor to a (seemingly) distant relative .... You may have expressed your consent about them staying for the whole year, but you can always cancel this is a significant problem arises, which seems to be the case here."

"Well done for not [tolerating] homophobia under your roof and from a family member," added u/farbervcgfdfsw.

"Pregnancy is no excuse for homophobia," noted u/Dashcamkitty.

In a follow-up note, the Redditor thanked the community for their "support and kind messages," noting that she "talked to [her] son about his aunt, and [they] had a heartfelt conversation about how he was amazing no matter what she or anyone else says."

She said she also tried to talk to Sophie about the situation—but her sister "wasn't remorseful, to say the least."

"The meeting didn't end great, so we've decided to just stop talking to her entirely," she wrote. "I'm bummed, but it was certainly for the best."

Newsweek has reached out to u/Zealousideal-Tip5225 for comment.