A listener emailed us this story about a middle-aged man falling in love with a family friend’s young daughter. As the story goes, “A college friend has long been an āuncleā to our two children. He has been there for school events, milestones, vacations, etc. Our daughter went away to college this year, to a town about 45 minutes from this friendās house. He volunteered to look out for her, take her off campus for movies, send her mail, and drive her to and from our house for various events. The other day, our almost-50-year-old friend admitted that, for the past five months, he has been āfalling in loveā with our barely 19-year-old daughter. He says this is not OK and that heās been trying to prevent the feelings, though he has not reduced his interactions with her.”
As for the parents, they explained, “He asked my husband and I not to tell her so their relationship wouldnāt become awkward. Weāre floored. We told him weād have to tell her, and heād have to cease all contact with her. I feel intensely angry, betrayed, and suspicious. We havenāt told our daughter yet because we want to do it face-to-face after her finals have ended. What do we do going forward? How can we ever trust him again? Should we? Do we tell our son? Mutual friends?”
How would you go about this situation? The conversation lives on Facebook!