Some families are inevitably living in a high-stress environment right now after electing to self-isolate with extended family.
But when information comes out of the woodwork that wasn't common knowledge to all in the home?
That's surely a promise of more stress to come.
A brother caused a great deal of stress at his mother's house, where he and his extended family are self-isolating together.
When he let the news slip that his sister had a previous pregnancy—without telling her husband, it threw the whole household out of order.
The brother, Reddit user "Throw-RA-19-" shared the situation in the "Am I the A**hole?" subReddit, where he asked for some anonymous internet judgement.
He explained first a little background on his sister and how she and her spouse met.
"I'm 38M and my sister is 35F"
"When my sister was 21 she got pregnant from a one night stand, baby didnt make it unfortunately which devastated my sister but with therapy she moved on. (She had a stillbirth for everyone wondering.)"
"She met her partner a year later, four years ago she had their first child."
He added they are all self-isolating together with their mother.
"We're currently living with my mother to stay close together."
They started talking about deeper subjects, like having kids.
"We got onto the topic of children and while I don't want children (neither does my partner) apparently my sisters partner wants another one so that way their child has a sibling."
"She changed subject quickly and we moved on to another subject."
But later, he let a secret slip.
"We got speaking about it later and I asked her if she wanted another child, basically she said she didnt believe her son needed a sibling."
"I said,, 'well, he technically already has a sibling doesn't he?'"
"Apparently her partner overheard and they got into a huge argument because she hadnt told him."
Since then, there's been a rift in the household.
"She's upset with me for talking about it at all and for basically telling her husband"
"And her partner is upset with her, it's all a huge thing."
He believes he didn't do anything wrong, but his family doesn't agree.
"My mother thinks I should've never mentioned it and believes I'm out of order here."
"I think her partner should've known anyway"
"AITA?"
He thought he wasn't in the wrong for how he handled the situation.
But Reddit disagreed.
"I'm thinking a**hole but also a major id**t. This dude is 38 sounding like a 15 year old know it all."
"Who the f**k thinks it's a good idea to bring up some 'well actually technically' bulls**t about such an emotionally traumatic and difficult topic?! that they have literally nothing to do with in the first place?!"
"If this dude loses his wife just show up to funeral and be like 'Well technically your wife didn't die too soon, she could have lived a few more years if you and her cared about her diet... but you didn't, so I just wanted to let you know that's why she died right on time in case you didn't understand'" - protus
"YTA (You're The A**hole)"
"And even if you think 'her partner should have known anyway', it's not your place to tell him, it's not your news to tell."
"You've shown a real lack of empathy here - what happened to her may be one of the most traumatic things she's ever gone through and you just casually bring it up like that when her partner's around? At best, you were inconsiderate and rude."
"At worst, you did it on purpose because you wanted her partner to find out, which is spiteful and scheming. I hope it's the former." - lolihull
"YTA (You're The A**hole). Why would you bring up her dead child so callously?" - s**tforlibraries
"YTA (You're The A**hole) - wether or not to talk about was her decision to make. You're an even bigger a**hole for throwing the baby she lost in her face." - Mahliki
Whether or not he intended for her husband to overhear, it happened. The brother should be mature enough to understand why his disclosure was not well received.
There might be a time and a place for this conversation with his sister. But maybe during self-isolation when everyone's living in close quarters wasn't the best choice.