The marriage is what can lead to divorce.
Kids or no kids has nothing to do with it.
It's the two people who are married.

It's fairly simple. Kids love those who love them. If they sense you don't like them, let alone love them, they'll be right little axxholes. But, you're the adult, your fault not theirs.

My "step" son is my "real" son just like his siblings and I'm his father. I'm divorced now and we are and will remain close. He doesn't talk to his mother, which is not my doing, I've even tried to encourage him doing so but got nixed.

It’s an over generalization.
I know families where the step father became the more active father and the kids love and appreciate him.

I had three children before I married my late husband. He was a wonderful step-father to all three of them, and none of them had any animosity towards him. To this day (he died in 2013), my children get along great with his children.

So, for me, this statement does not prove true.

Sorry, I could not even listen to the entire video... His entire premise goes against what I know... I had a stepfather join our family almost 50 years ago (they are about to celebrate that golden anniversary), and he wasn't merely my mother's new husband, he became my other father. When I was married, I had a father on each arm walking me down that aisle towards the man I was to marry. I went to him for comfort when my biological father died. He has been an integral part of my life for, well, MOST of my life, and I cannot imagine my life without him. I call him "Dad" with love and respect, and if anything, Glenn-Dad was more involved in my life than Dick-dad. My brothers, sister, mother, and myself would've lived a life poorer without him being a part of our family. He was a strong man to take on not only a young divorce', but her teenaged children. What a brave soul, and what a good man!

People make step-parenting work, not titles. When two dysfunctional people with children marry, it isnt pretty. BOTH parties need to work together to successfully raise children.

I agree with @KKGator s statement..
. for anyone who has their own kids and is male.. that love of a child (scientifically) comes from bonding.. we DONT get that hormone , in our body , induced connection.. we build it by simply BEING THERE.
Its easier (i would think) for a male to bond with a baby.. that would make sense.. but i also believe that bond can happen at any age (seen it enough times to think of it as fact)

At 2 minutes.. this guy is fucked.. narcissistic.. and doesnt understand humanity in the slightest.

Much depends, of course, on how you (and your spouse) see your role as stepparent, but this guy lost me when he started using the term "cuck" and casting it in some fancied Darwinian terms.

I love my stepson like my own and have never had any regrets over my role in his life. Indeed, he's been a "handy spare" because when my biological son died suddenly, my stepson said, it's okay, you'll always have me. And I'm glad for that. He's a terrific young man with impeccable integrity, great intellect, good work ethic, and I have the luxury that since I came into his life at age 16, he doesn't feel obliged to be reactive against me because of some mixed-up need to differentiate from me. He's basically always been his own man ever since I've known him.

So I guess so much for the notion that I got the short end of the stick, or got it up my ass, like this guy claims.

It depends on the attitude you walk into the relationship with and how old the kids are. If you don't communicate about boundaries with the biological parent and how you are to interact with the kids, then the relationship was going to fail anyway.

This guy and anyone who thinks that way is pre-programmed to be a failure. I think stepping up and being a good parent to someone else's kid is one of the most respectable things you could ever do. No, it won't be easy, but being a parent never is.

My three stepchildren were great. I really enjoyed the time I spent with them. Their father, otoh, turned out to be a liar. In my experience, marriage is a first class ticket to divorce court.

No, not at all. My step dad was my savor, he was a great man who taught me so much.

MRA right wing bullshit. I strongly regret watching this garbage.

"Some other guy's kid" tips you off right there. If a man walks into a family situation with that attitude, it's obvious that there will be nothing that the child can do that will satisfy such a step-father. Step-dad has already slapped a problematic label on the kid. Any adult who enters into a marital commitment without establishing rights, rules, boundaries, and concessions, kids or no kids, is courting failure.

Learn how to be a parent. Take classes. Go to counseling.

AND NEVER ATTEMPT TO REPLACE THE LOST PARENT!

of course not. how can it SURELY be that when every stepparent and stepchild is different and comes from different circumstances? it is SURELY case by case.

g

Depends on you raising that child as if they were your own??

I mean, I understand there's only so much a step parent can do for the child, (mind you, I had two very different step parents growing up) and the biological Mother or Father has the final say. However, it will never work out if you do not see yourself as a parent to them. AND I'll add this: If the biological parent is too lazy and doesn't discipline the child accordingly and ends up raising a shit human being, that's totally on them! That often leads to divorce, because who wants to be with a shit person raising an even shittier person? BUT that kind of behavior can be observed before hand if you are still in the dating stage.

So, it really depends on the specific situation. And the warning signs and red flags are always visible if you really observe. So, are they a child to you? Or is being a step parent too much? This poll will only tell you other people's experiences and why it is successful for them, or why they didn't want anything to do with it.

And if you're only looking for answers that match yours, you might as well be on a mountain top. Because you'll only be hearing your echoes

Obviously some guys do it. The success depends, like any relationship, depends on your priorities. When I was young and wanting to have my own kids it was a fairly important consideration.

I remember a movie called the Stepfather. That ol boy was a stone cold killer. There were a couple of sequels too. Same M.O. , meet a single mother, marry her then end up killing her and the children.