Adult Daughter Who Moved Home After Winning The Lottery Threatens To Go No-Contact After Mom Asks Her To Be Her Niece’s Chauffeur
"What’s the best I can do for my whole family?"
fizkes | Shutterstock "Entitled" is a word that gets bandied about far too often these days, as do accusations that people are way too quick to go "no-contact" with their parents. But then there are stories like that of a mother at her wit's end with her grown daughter whose sense of privilege is truly off the charts.
One such wild story was shared with Slate's "Pay Dirt" financial advice column. A mom and 72-year-old widow wrote that she hadn't seen her 40-year-old daughter Mia since she finished college 15 years ago. But last fall, she won the lottery and decided to move back home. So, you know, we're already off to a weird start, but it gets weirder. Mia didn't just decide to move home; she decided to move in with her mom, whom she hadn't seen in 15 years, because it would mean she could live off her lottery winnings for the rest of her life without working.
The adult daughter moved home after winning the lottery and is furious at being asked by her mom to contribute to the household.
When Mia's mom asked her to help out by driving her niece to activities, she threatened to go no-contact.
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The mom has another daughter, Sophie, whose life could not contrast more starkly with Mia's. She was left high and dry by her husband to care for her two kids, including a son with special needs. Between the lack of funds and the son's medical care, her 8-year-old daughter Grace doesn't get to have much of a childhood.
The mom has been helping Sophie as much as possible so Grace can at least see her friends, but she has macular degeneration and is no longer able to drive after sunset. So, the mom did the reasonable thing: she asked her freeloading millionaire daughter if she could contribute by driving her niece to an activity a few times a week.
You'd have thought she demanded Mia light herself on fire. "Mia threw a fit and said she’d rather just move out," the mom wrote, "and if she did, she’d never speak to me again, because it would be my fault she’d have to get a job again." She also doesn't care at all about her sister's plight — she insisted Sophie's problems were her own fault "for marrying a loser and having kids."
Sometimes the people we love are so out of line that they leave no choice but to call their bluff.
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I don't want to be uncharitable here, because it is very obvious there is more to the situation than what the mom wrote into Slate. Mia's behavior is shockingly cruel and entitled, but nobody becomes that type of person by accident, nor do they disdain their sibling and her kids to this degree by happenstance. Something happened to Mia and this family that is being omitted from the story.
Regardless, Mia's response is, aside from everything else, ridiculous. She's getting to spend the rest of her life without a care in the world because of her mother's charity, but acts like being asked to perform one chore a week is an abusive demand? It's unhinged.
More importantly, much like she said her sister's issues aren't her problem, it's not her mom's problem that she doesn't want to get a job and pay for housing.
The daughter's threats of going no-contact are so out of line that there's really only one solution here.
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As Slate's Kristin Wong put it, "call her bluff." Give her an ultimatum right back — help your sister or move out.
She'll either relent or free everyone of her toxicity, and it will allow the mom and her other daughter to focus on caring for the kids instead of navigating Mia's volatility. You can't get blood from a stone, as the saying goes, and someone with this much pent-up vitriol can't be reasoned with. Boundaries are essential.
Whatever happened to Mia to make her so acidic is likely not her fault, but how she chooses to handle it is her responsibility and hers alone. When people aren't willing to deal with things reasonably, sometimes you just have to cut your losses — even with the people you love most.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
