Man leaves his daughter at the airport to go on holiday

After saving and planning, a family of five finally embarked on a much-anticipated holiday. The father, who shares a 14-year-old daughter with his ex, decided to take her and her 9 and 11-year old siblings away with his new wife. After conferring with his ex-wife, they determined that their daughter had a year left on her passport and was fine to travel.

However, once they arrived at the check-in desk, they soon realised that she only had two months (passengers are not permitted to travel unless they have a minimum of six months.) After debating with his new wife, the father told her to go on holiday with their younger children and that he would stay with his eldest. But, the wife refused, saying she could not handle a holiday with the children without him.

So, they decided to leave the 14-year-old behind.

In a Reddit post, the father explains:

“I originally wanted to stay behind as well but at that point my wife wanted to cancel the trip because she wouldn’t be able to handle travelling overseas alone with two kids for the first time.

It was a lot of money that was not refundable so I made the decision to go. Naturally, my daughter was very upset and I promised to take her on another trip once her passport was renewed but obviously that wasn’t going to make her feel better. We went on the trip and I was miserable knowing that I had left my daughter behind. My wife and I were also bombarded with WhatsApp messages from everyone back home questioning our decision.

We returned from the trip and my daughter has refused to come for her time with me, and is not talking to me. She also wants to change schools because kids are making fun of her for “lying” about going on trip. I’ve been trying to deal with the school to address this. I’m absolutely gutted. Only my younger kids actually enjoyed the trip and my wife and I are extremely upset that my daughter isn’t talking to us.”

Commenters on the post have conflicting opinions about the father’s actions, some condemning him for leaving and some understanding his decision.