Help - i feel like i'm a horrible person for having these feelings
I have no children of my own. I recently married a man with a daughter who is now 6. He has a ton of guilt about his relationship with her mother and spoils his daughter to make up for it, which bothers me.
In addition, I feel like he doesn't show me affection or do anything thoughtful. We rarely go out or do anything fun, unless it's with her. And when I see how he is with her, I get jealous. I hate that I even feel this way, being jealous of a six year old, but I can't help it.
He is constantly giving her sweet kisses or caressing her and I rarely get anything. When he sees her, he gets so happy and when I come home, sometimes I don't even get a hello.
I don't know what to do. I don't think he even realizes it. It makes me mental and depressed. I don't want to feel the way I feel, but it's just so hard. I feel like I've fallen into the role of nanny and maid.
If I try to talk to him about my feelings, he doesn't understand and feels like I resent his daughter, which isn't the case. I'm just struggling with where I fit in this relationship or if I even do. I know he loves me, but for some reason, I need validation.
Is this common for step parents? Or is it just me?