I am a forty something single father with full custody of a teen daughter. A friend was staying with us for a few days while her house is being worked on.

When I was folding laundry, this friend told me I shouldn’t do my daughter’s laundry. I told her that I usually just grab it if I’m already doing my own. Thinking that this was a friendly conversation, I mused that when I bring her laundry basket back to her room, she rolls her eyes and thanks me and kisses my cheek, which I think is cute.

This friend goes on to calmly tell me that I’m raising a spoiled brat. She gives several examples of my daughter’s spoiled behavior, which I didn’t agree with. She also used the anecdote I had told her about laundry against me. Though she was acting calmly, I was still upset. I immediately asked her to leave. After a bit of back and forth she relented.

I’ve received messages from friends, and also coworkers as this is a former coworker. The vast majority are similarly shaming me for telling this person to leave. A few messages are even insisting I let her stay because she’s staying at a hotel costing her $250 a night for the next two nights. I told them she over stepped and I was not going to stand for it. My closest friends are on my side however I’ve been receiving many shaming messages.

I am starting to feel almost guilty about this and I feel as if I’m doing something wrong. My defense is protecting my child, however a few people have said that’s a weak defense. I want an outside perspective. My mind is reeling. I have work in a few hours and can’t sleep.

Edit: Despite my initial thought that people were contacting me because she messaged them directly, I’ve discovered this morning that it was actually a social media post that spun the story drastically. I requested multiple times for her to drop the topic before I asked her to leave whereas this post is claiming I “flew off the handle” after she “expressed concern” regarding my daughter’s behavior. To say I’m livid is an understatement.

Edit 2: Who was the first to say she was interested in me? You deserve a treat, because I never guessed. A coworker that I am closer with informed me of this situation, which apparently everyone else knew of. When she needed a place to stay, her aunt, who I still work with, suggested she ask me. That started the week or so of hounding and eventually me feeling obligated to take her in.

It wasn’t the romantic story that they thought it would be. She was embarrassed. I ultimately was being shamed because people were disappointed and I kicked out the young, sweet niece of the “office mom”. Additionally, no one even asked me about it. I don’t date, but even if I did, she is over 15 years younger than me, which is more years than my daughter has been in existence. She’s closer to her age than mine.

Lastly, I did talk to HR, and I am told it is being taken care of. We’ll see how that transpires.