Some of us dream that our families would look like the ones shown in those cute and warm holiday TV ads — you know the ones with everyone laughing around the dinner table, looking picture perfect. But in reality, families are a bit more complicated than that.
Some conflicts are even big enough to make people walk away for good.
This is what happened to one Reddit user, whose whole family disowned him for 15 years over minor mistakes they said brought “shame” to the household.
But now they want to be back in his life as if nothing happened.
From hiring a private investigator to stalking him when he refused to reconcile, his family went to extreme lengths to get him to talk to them. The situation eventually led to a confrontation when he decided to finally face them.
Boundaries are tested when family members refuse to face reality
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Man shares how he finally confronted his family after they disowned him 15 years ago
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An unexpected knock reopened old wounds
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He became their judge, and their jury
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He drew the final boundaries
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Setting the record straight about his story
In another update on Reddit, the user talked more about his situation and answered some of the questions asked on the original post.
He addressed speculation that his family was after his money or success, saying that financial motive seems unlikely since his family could afford a private investigator and didn’t look like they were in financial trouble.
He also didn’t hold back in addressing those who doubted his story or questioned his experience.
“To the small few of you saying this is fake, fan fiction and what not. Go for it. Apparently all of you live in perfect worlds with perfect families and you most likely say the same thing to every post you read… I just need to get this out.”
However, many people in the comments praised the Reddit user for standing his ground and setting clear boundaries, even threatening to have his parents arrested if they kept trespassing. Some said that you don’t have to forgive family members to move on.
“You’re welcome to forget them,” one user wrote.
A lot of people also felt that cutting ties with such a toxic family is sometimes the only option.
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Maintaining strong family connections can be challenging
Family conflict isn’t as rare as we would like to think. A 2025 YouGov poll found that 38% of American adults say they are estranged from at least one close family member — including a sibling, parent, child, grandparent or grandchild.
Most adults say they cut off from their parents because of toxic behavior or feeling like they just didn’t get any support. On the other side, parents usually blame their children’s bad choices or attitude — and a lot of the time, they don’t even really know why the family broke apart.
Research says estrangements are often due to poor communication, differences in fundamental values, or repetitive conflicts.
But unlike the usual stages of grief, estranged family members might never be able to fully reach the acceptance stage. This might be because part of them still hopes or wishes the relationship can be fixed — the person is still alive, after all.
Research by Stand Alone, a UK charity that supports people who are estranged from their families, says more than 80% of people who cut off ties with their families feel some positive outcomes as well, such as freedom and independence.
For a lot of people, it is a way to put some distance between themselves and years of abuse or constant family drama.
“Some of the clinical literature would say, actually, estrangement is maybe the best way to deal with these types of relationships,” Megan Gilligan, a gerontologist at Iowa State University, told BBC in an interview.
They said if the relationships are causing this much anguish, “maybe this is the healthiest way for parents and adult children to deal with that.”
Support poured in from the community
Telling his side without holding back
