Crosspost "Dates ruined by 10y old controlling son." from /r/datingoverthirty:

I (40m) got connected with a woman over Hindge and things seemed to be going pretty well. We texted often and the banter was fun and easy so we put together a time and place for a meet and greet. Those plans were scuttled due to her youngest having an anxiety attack about her being out, something she attributed to her mom's recently passing. She claimed that he feared that if she left, she would die too.

The next week she proposed a reschedule and we met up at a brewery near her. She came in, we greeted, and about 15 min in she gets a call from her kid. From hearing only one side, he got anxious because she forgot to text him she was had arrived. She ended up giving permission to him and his bro to spend 2700 coins(?) on Fortnite. I was amused by her pragmatism to bribe his unease with microtransactions.

About an hour in he calls again,.this time really agitated that she wasn't back home yet. I don't know much about what he said her replies were filled with variations of "I'll be home soon", "I told you...", and "You're embarrassing me in front of my friend." And none of it in any real authoritative parental tones.

I've seen these before, hearing these phonecalls at parties and get-togethers, people with controlling SOs and manipulative narcissists. This is the first time I saw these affects in a son-to-mother relationship.

It was/is concerning to me and I feel like I should say something but I don't have much of a relationship with her. This dynamic is definitely not something I want to jump into so I don't have much to lose by speaking up however I don't know if saying anything would mean more than just an opportunity to cause offense. What do y'all think?

Posted by ducogranger | 8 July 2022 | Link