The tale of two sisters entangled in a lifelong rivalry has shocked netizens as the older sister recounted the story of their lives on social media. She received much support for a difficult decision she made.
Two sisters, head to head, fighting | Source: Shutterstock
A 30-year-old woman found herself in a difficult position when she went no contact with her sister. She did not know if she had been too harsh in her decision and turned to Reddit users to find out what others thought of how she handled the situation.
The woman shared that ever since they were children, her 28-year-old sister, Kelly, would try to beat her at everything they did. She shared the examples of Kelly entering every sport or extra-curricular she did and trying to be better at it. Kelly also always told her sister she had better friends than her because she was part of the popular crowd.
Two angry sisters back to back | Source: Shutterstock
The sisters' mother also went to an Ivy League school and the woman applied there and was accepted when she left high school. This led Kelly to apply to an even more prestigious school. However, when she was not accepted, she threw a tantrum, saying she was a better student than her sister.
Kelly and her sister got pregnant at the same time and as soon as the sister and her partner had found out the gender of their baby, they knew they would name her Josephine, a name that the woman had long held dear. Kelly knew this was her sister's dream name and the woman assumed her sister would respect that the name was off-limits. However, this was not the case.
Two pregnant sisters comparing baby clothes | Source: Shutterstock
Two weeks after the woman announced that she would be naming her daughter Josephine, Kelly and her partner announced that they were welcoming a little girl who would be named Josie. When the woman asked Kelly if she really planned to name her baby that, Kelly told her sister she was free to change her baby's name if she was unhappy with the children having similar names.
Although Kelly had done something her sister never imagined possible, the woman and her partner did not change Josephine's name. Soon, they welcomed her into the world and announced her name. Two weeks later, Kelly posted photos online of personalized blankets she had bought for her "JoJo," a nickname that her sister was already using for her daughter.
A pregnant woman writing down potential baby names | Source: Shutterstock
The woman was shocked and told Kelly that since her daughter had not yet been born, she should change the name. Kelly confirmed that she would not be changing her daughter's name and that there would simply be two JoJos in the family. This led the woman to tell her sister that she was not welcome in their lives if she named her baby Josie.
Some time later, Kelly gave birth to her daughter and indeed named her Josie. The woman did not contact her sister to offer congratulations or tell her to change the baby's name. She did not want to stress Kelly out straight after she had given birth. However, a while later Kelly contacted her sister.
A mother cuddling her newborn child | Source: Shutterstock
Kelly asked if she could come and meet her six-month-old niece for the first time. The woman asked Kelly if she had changed her daughter's name. When Kelly said no, the woman reminded her that she had told her she would not be welcome in their lives if she did not change her daughter's name. Kelly called her sister "unreasonable," and the entire family became angry at the woman. She turned to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for her decision.
Community reactions to this saga were overwhelmingly supportive of the elder sister's stance, recognizing the necessity of establishing boundaries to Kelly's manipulative behavior. Many empathized with her situation, sharing their own experiences of familial competition and the toll it takes on relationships. The sentiment was clear: the time had come to put an end to the sibling rivalry, with some urging the elder sister to stand firm in her decision for the sake of her daughter's well-being.
Two sisters sitting on a sofa, not talking | Source: Shutterstock
Critics of Kelly's actions lamented the lack of intervention from their family throughout the years, questioning why the pattern of competition was allowed to persist unaddressed. They argued that this oversight had caused the sisters' relationship to fall apart when it could have been tended to and become a favorable one.
Amidst the chorus of support for the elder sister, one commenter offered a humorous yet insightful suggestion: to manipulate Kelly's competitive nature by feigning interest in undesirable items, thereby redirecting her energy away from direct competition. One commenter said that if Kelly didn't have access to her sister, she couldn't copy her.
Another woman who was involved with conflict with her sister went so far as to throw her out of her house. You can find their full story here.