Dear Queenie,
My daughter is engaged to be married to a man she has been together with for several years. Before she ever met him she used to go out with the son of some friends of ours (me and my husband) and we stayed friends with them even after our kids broke up.
Now my daughter’s fiancé says we shouldn’t have anything to do with them anymore because our kids broke up and we are disrespecting him by staying friends with that family. We say we were friends with them long before our kids got together and even though the kids aren’t together anymore, that doesn’t mean their parents can’t be friends.
Queenie, what do you say?—Long-time faithful reader
Dear Faithful reader,
I say, “Thank you for your loyalty to this column.” I also say there is no reason you cannot stay friends with this family just because two of your respective children are no longer a couple, which is a matter that concerns mainly the (ex)-couple involved, especially if the break-up was reasonably amicable.
I also say that your son-in-law-to-be seems to have some serious insecurity issues and probably would benefit from professional counselling, if anyone can persuade him to go for it. Meanwhile, do not let him control your lives and relationships.
