Teen Refuses to Go Prom Dress Shopping with Her Stepmom, Who Previously Had an Affair with Her Dad

• A 17-year-old refuses to go prom dress shopping with her stepmother, who was also her late mother's best friend

• The teen's father accuses her of cruelty and urges her to "accept" their blended family, despite the teen's feelings about her stepmom, who had an affair with her dad

• Now the teenager is wondering if she is in the wrong for refusing to include her stepmother in her plans

A teen seeks support from the Reddit community after refusing to go prom dress shopping with her stepmother — who, years ago, had an affair with the teen's dad.

The teenage girl refers to her stepmother as “Jen,” citing a long history of betrayal and a complicated family dynamic. “My mom was best friends with ‘Jen’ since they were kids,” the poster explains. “They met in 1st grade and were inseparable after that point.”

However, her mother’s deep trust in her childhood best friend was broken when she discovered that Jen had been having an affair with her husband. To make matters worse, Jen’s two children turned out to be fathered by the teen’s dad.

This revelation led to the teen's parents’ divorce. While her father wanted to stay married, her mother refused and severed all ties with Jen. “She felt like Jen should’ve been one of the people she could trust most in the world, and Jen shattered that,” the teen writes.

Both sides of the family responded with disdain toward the affair. The teen’s maternal relatives cut Jen out entirely, and even her father's side of the family refused to forgive him for his betrayal. Her father and Jen eventually moved in together, but the fallout from their actions created long-lasting tensions.

When the teen’s mother died, she was forced to live with her father and Jen. “Jen tried to keep a good relationship with me because she was Auntie Jen before Mom found out she was sleeping with Dad,” the teen writes.

Related: Daughter Discovers Her Mom's 24-Year-Old Prom Dress and Rewears It to Her Own Senior Prom (Exclusive)

However, she never fully accepted Jen as a mother figure. She tolerated her, but “always felt gross being around her," she adds.

After years of living in an uncomfortable home environment, she finally moved out at 17, using the excuse that her younger half-brothers needed more space. She went to live with her maternal grandparents, reconnecting with the family her father tried to isolate her from.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Despite this, Jen still harbored hopes of playing a motherly role in the teen’s life. Prom season became the focal point of this ongoing conflict. “Jen always said she wanted to take me shopping for prom,” the teen explains, admitting that when she lived under their roof, she never outright refused.

But after moving out, she made her stance clear in December, telling Jen she would be shopping with friends instead. The situation escalated, however, when Jen discovered an Instagram post showing the teen at the dress shop with not just her friends, but her grandmother and aunts.

“Jen was pissed, so I didn’t answer her calls or read her texts,” the teen writes. Soon after, her father called her, upset. “He told me she suffered enough and to punish her more isn’t healthy.”

Related: Vintage Shop Reunites Prom Dress with Original Owner After She Spots It Decades Later in Chance Sighting (Exclusive)

Her father then accused her of being the one holding onto bitterness, claiming that if her mother and extended family had accepted Jen, she could have had a happy family. He told her, “It’s about time I accept it," she writes.

Now the teen turns to Reddit to ask if she is wrong for refusing Jen’s offer.

Commenters are firmly on her side.

"You do not owe either of them a second chance. You get to choose how close you allow them both to be," writes one. "You get to set boundaries with the people who blew up your family and hurt your mother. He doesn't get to scold you for not loving the woman who betrayed your mother and caused her so much pain."

Adds another, "Your dad and Jen broke your family. They forced you into this position and even went and isolated you from your maternal side of the family. She doesn't deserve to take you prom dress shopping. Even if you took her when you didn't want to what would happen in future events you don't want to include her in? Is she gonna push and then have your dad call you to yell at you? Jen doesn't deserve the time of day and either does your dad after what they did."

Read the original article on People