'Man praised for divorcing wife for 'heartless' treatment of gay son'

The Redditor posted on the "Am I The A******" subreddit, and asked whether his decision to dump his wife over her troubling comments were warranted

A father has been praised after threatening to divorce his wife after she recommended "conversion therapy" for their gay son.

The dad-of-two, 45, said his 16-year-old son, who he called Noah, came out as homosexual around a year ago. He confessed that he found it difficult to accept at first but said his love for his children was most important, and that all he wants for them is to be happy.

The dad took to Reddit's "Am I The A******" forum to ask whether he was in the wrong for pursuing divorce in light of his partner's behaviour.

He wrote: "So, this is a pretty heavy situation, and I’m really confused and disgusted ngl cause I never thought my wife was like thsi. My wife (44F) and I (45M) have been married for 14 years. We have two kids a 16-year-old son (let’s call him Noah) and a 12-year-old daughter. We’ve had our fair share of disagreements over the years ofc, but things have generally been smooth between us."

The dad went on to explain how his son came out around a year ago, which was a surprise to both parents. "It was a surprise, and as hard as it was to accept, I love my kids more than anything and just want their happiness," he explained.

Meanwhile, his wife "visibly didn't take it well".. He said: "She was upset and seemed to go through a grieving period where she didn’t really talk about it.

"I tried to support Noah in every way I could, telling him that I loved him no matter what etc. My wife, though… I could tell she wasn’t on the same page."

While the dad offered as much as he could to reassure his boy of their bond, the wife would say “this is just a phase” or “he needs help”. Originally, the dad thought she just needed time and brushed it off.

But the issue came to a head a few weeks ago while the parents were discussing plans for their son's future. He explained: "Out of nowhere, my wife casually mentions that she’s been looking into conversion therapy camps and thinks it might be the right solution.

"She said that Noah isn’t truly gay, that he just 'hasn’t been shown the right path' and that this could 'fix him.' My blood ran cold obv I was in shock. I immediately told her I didn’t agree and that this was not something I could support."

The wife then became upset, accusing her partner of enabling the boy's "confusion", claiming that "if I really cared about him, I would help him".

He said: "She was persistent, and no matter how much I tried to explain that conversion therapy is harmful (like I know those kids get abused, r*ped, and often end up either traumatized or killing themselves) and that I would never send our son to something like that, she wouldn’t back down.

"If I'm being 100% honest I don't even think I love her anymore. The fact she could be so heartless disusts me. I know being gay is not easy and people like her just make it even harder. I'm considering staying, only for our daughter's sake but would it be ok if it means hurting my son? it feels like a betrayal to Noah. I just don’t think I can keep living with someone who thinks this is okay."

In the comment section, Redditors rallied around the dad to show the overwhelming support for him not being the "a******"

One wrote: "Noah is not broken, there is nothing to fix Those conversion camps are hell on earth and any parent who wants to send their child to one doesn’t deserve to be a parent.

"Buckle up, OP - your fight for your children’s rights and wellbeing is just beginning."

Another chimed in, saying: "I would actually talk to a divorce lawyer and tell them you fear your wife doing this and ask how you can protect your kids. Play nice for now and then drop the hammer. NTA not one bit, you keep protecting your kids."