I have heard it from my parents, my husband, and my friends. Strangers on the internet have told me. It seems to be an understood fact of life at this point. Any time a stepmom asks for advice, expresses her concerns, or just wants to vent to someone who’s not in her shoes, she’s met with the same remark. Heaven forbid she should complain about some part of stepmom life that sucks. The judgment and ridicule accompanying the statement is so poignant you can practically taste it. Please stop telling stepmoms this…
One Thing You Should REALLY Stop Telling Stepmoms
“You knew what you were signing up for.”
Did bio moms “know what they were signing up for” when they chose to get pregnant? They read the books, did the research, and still chose to get pregnant.
I don’t think any of us really have any idea what parenting is actually like until we’re in the thick of it all. To assume a stepparent should have a better idea of what she’s getting into than a birth parent is unfair and unfounded.
To the contrary, I had no idea what I was signing up for.
I really thought it would be just like being a mom. It would consist of organization, coordinating schedules, cooking dinners, preparing school lunches, helping with homework, playing games, and reading bedtime stories.
I’m great with kids, so I didn’t think I’d have any problem at all transitioning into this role.
I had no idea the pain that would come from custody battles and conflict with his ex-wife.
Even if you told me how painful it would be to go through a custody battle, I wouldn’t have believed you. I wouldn’t have comprehended the tension, dread, depression… I wouldn’t have understood the feelings of betrayal and territorialism, the blinding fury that inhibits you from seeing another’s perspective.
The word co-parenting wasn’t part of my vocabulary, and I definitely didn’t know we’d be spending time with his ex-wife. I didn’t realize I’d be landlocked within a 50 mile radius with little say over where we’d be able to live, held locally by my stepdaughter’s mom.
It never crossed my mind that tension with his ex-wife over custody, support, and other shared parenting topics would cause tension in our relationship.
I had no idea the jealousy I would feel over his first family.
I didn’t realize the slightest mention of his first family would affect me so powerfully. It never registered that I’d be the “second wife,” always compared to the first wife.
Call me naive, but I didn’t understand my husband would have expectations about dinner time, household chores, and parenting roles. That stab of jealousy when he revealed the knowledge he had of pregnancy and the general process (while I had very little knowledge, none of which was personal), caught me completely off-guard; I never would have expected that pain when I went on my first date with a single dad.
I had no idea his family would be skeptical of me.
With past relationships, I’ve always easily won over my boyfriend’s mom. With my soft voice and kind demeanor, it has typically been an easy sell.
It was different this time though. His family didn’t want me around his daughter; they were skeptical of me and protective of his daughter.
While I understood their reasoning, I was shocked. I had no idea I’d have to immediately prove myself as a mother; I was a single lady immediately thrown into mature mom life.
I had no idea society would be so unsupportive.
If I had a buck for every time I’ve been told I’m not a real mom, I’d be a rich lady. Some people really think the prefix “step” means they can step all over you.
I don’t get openly mocked as “evil” the way the fairy tales suggest, but I do witness society’s negative perception of a stepmom regularly.
When I married a single father, I had no idea that teachers, coaches, and my daughter’s friends’ parents wouldn’t treat me as an equally valuable parent.
I had no idea.
So next time your “words of encouragement” to your stepmom friend come out as, “You knew what you were signing up for,” you should really stop and think about what you’re saying.
I guarantee you that in fact, your friend had no idea what she was signing up for. Be a little more compassionate, will ya?
Clueless but Loved,
P.S. I know this isn’t the only annoying thing you’ve heard… so here’s another thing you should REALLY stop telling stepmoms.
Oh, my,yes. So true. My stepson. Is 19 now, and only occasionally on speaking terms with my husband. You’re totally right. I thought I knew what I was signing up for, but I didn’t. I had no idea what I was signing up for when we started having kids together, either…though again, I thought I did. Truth is, you never really know how things will be until you get there!
That’s a great point, Elizabeth!
Initial custody battle, later amendment to the custody agreement, and jealously of the “first family” are all things I lived through and the feelings/pain associated with them were COMPLETELY unanticipated! Every family- blended or not- faces trials and tribulations, but society only stigmatized the blended families, not the biological ones. I’ve come a long way in my journey & this is a great read. I hope new stepmoms/girls dating men with children, etc. find this article!
Thank you so much, Ashley! We all thought we knew what we were signing up for, but it’s not as straightforward as it might seem…
This article is COMPLETELY true about step mom life! I identified with every point you made, because it’s all true. During our custody dispute, I was considered a non entity. I was often told that I was only there as a courtesy to my husband. I had to carry a note of permission in my purse so that teachers, doctors, etc would know that they had permission to speak to me about the kids when my husband couldn’t make appointments. I also completely identified with the feelings about your husband’s first hand knowledge about pregnancy. I am infertile, and will never be able to get pregnant. During a random conversation, my husband made a statement about pregnancy, and it dawned on me that he had an experience that I can never/will never have. It was heartbreaking. There is NOTHING in the world that prepares you for step parenthood. It would be nice if society would acknowledge our part in the raising of these children, instead of marginalizing our existence.
I love this.
I have been a step mom, not once, but twice. When my second husband and I were married, I was included in almost every decision that was made for his children. Their mother made sure that the schools and doctors knew who I was and that I had just as much of a right to anything going on as she did. We worked together. She and I are still friends although I am divorced from the kids’ dad. The kids are still a huge part of my life and always will be.
My third husband has two beautiful boys. We do not get to see them due to the fact that we moved from the state where they reside. We did not know that in the custody papers moving would cost us this dearly. A better job could have waited if we had known.
My husband’s ex did not want me nor him to have anything to do with the boys. She kept them from us under the pretense that they had extracurricular activities or dr appointments. This is a complete different experience from my first “wife-in-law”. I had no clue that we would be so limited on absolutely everything.
If only everyone could have had an experience like my first as a step mom.
ALL. THE. YES!!!
So glad you agree!!
Yes. Yes. Yes! I agree so much with this post…it is literally my least favorite thing that’s been said to me as a stepmom. And A LOT of not nice things have been said. There is absolutely nothing in the world that prepares a person for these aspects of being a step-parent. Thank you so much for this!
EXACTLY!! People who haven’t been in this role just don’t get it. 🙁
Thank you for this article! I am new to the step mom role (we all started living together about 3 months ago), and it is very difficult. My partner is going through a really nasty custody battle with his ex, a woman who has threatened to kidnap the boys and is continually combative. I have had a hard time expressing my feelings of fear and uncertainty about the ex and the custody battle because I do not want to cause my partner more stress. In the meantime, I am also adjusting to living with an established family unit within which I do not quite have a secure place. At one point recently, during a fight, my partner suggested to me that I had known what I was getting into when we first started dating. There is NO WAY that I could have known what it would be like to live with my partner and two wonderful little boys, both under the age of 7. It can be incredibly lonely to be a step parent, and I am glad that I stumbled upon your site. I will definitely continue to lean on your experiences and insight as I journey through this experience!