“I never thought one conversation about clothing would lead to such tension in our home. When my fiancée dressed her daughter in a dress for a camping trip full of outdoor activities, I gently pointed out it might not be suitable. Her response hit hard: ‘She’s my daughter, not yours.’ Hours later, when an issue came up, she called, asking me to leave my son’s big match to drive her daughter to the activity center. My response? ‘Why should I? She’s not my daughter.’ Now, silence fills the house, and I’m left questioning everything…” (continue below)

I’m a 27-year-old man, and my fiancée is 30. We’ve been together for nearly four years.

I have a six-year-old son, and she has an eleven-year-old daughter from previous relationships.

Up until now, we’ve never had any issues regarding the children.

Yesterday, her daughter was set to go on a camping trip for a friend’s birthday, where they’d be doing activities like kayaking.

My fiancée dressed her in a dress, and I mentioned to her that it didn’t seem like the right choice for the occasion.

She seemed offended and said her daughter could wear whatever she liked and that it wasn’t a man’s place to judge. I tried to clarify what I meant, but she cut me off, saying, “She’s my daughter, not yours.”

I took my son to a pre-planned match when my fiancée rang me. It turned out the birthday girl’s mum had told her daughter she couldn’t go in a dress and needed to wear a tracksuit or something similar, so they didn’t let her on the bus.

My fiancée then asked if I could leave the match early to drive her daughter to the activity centre. I replied, “Why should I? She’s not my daughter, and I’m here with my son.”

Neither of us are talking now. I do pity for my step-daughter and I wasn’t being spiteful. My son was looking forward to it and it would b2 about 4 hours of travel.