AITAH: I (33m) said no to house sitting for my ex (36m) while him and his now-gf go on vacation.
Short background:
He’s my first same sex relationship. Took a lot of courage to come around with him but after a month of dating I introduced him to my tight knit but thriving friend group. They accepted him warmly. He’s a divorced dad of two young kids. I’d see him every other week when he didn’t have them but we’d talk almost every night before bed. After about 5-6 months of going strong, he ended things with a prescheduled, clearly AI written text message sent at a time I knew he wouldn’t be able to respond due to work.
Fast forward, I decide to stay “friends.” He has hardly any friends and the longer I know him, the more I understand why. He’s lonely, clearly depressed, financially impulsive, and has binge drinking issues that have come to light. The girl he’s now dating has similar issues, a few kids of her own, and is an alcoholic.
He texts me recently asking if I’d be willing to house sitting for him while he’s out of town in a couple weeks. I ask why she can’t do it for him. Turns out they’re taking a vacation together. I have too much respect for myself to let myself house sit for my ex while him and the gf go on vacation. But I can’t help but feel a guilty knowing he really doesn’t have any friends. AITAH?