Her baby daddy promised to take their daughter on a cruise and kept her waiting for two months — who he took instead left her heartbroken
Family vacations are often some of a child's happiest memories, which is why one mother's story about a promised cruise has struck such a nerve online. TikTok user Kayla, who goes by @doitlikekaylaa, says her ex spent months convincing their daughter she was going on the trip, until the day the ship sailed without her. In a video posted on July 19, 2026, Kayla explained that her daughter's father had been promising since May that he would take their little girl on a cruise. What happened next made her feel heartbroken for her daughter.
Kayla shared that her ex-husband repeatedly assured her that he would "take care of everything," including the ticket, clothes, and accessories. So she asked for only one thing: the travel details. Despite repeatedly requesting the name of the cruise line, confirmation emails, departure dates, and even whether her daughter would need her original birth certificate, Kayla said she never received a single detail. Then, on the day the cruise departed, she learned her daughter wasn't going after all, as her ex-husband broke the promise. Instead, her ex, his stepdaughter, his son, and the mother of his second child went on the cruise, leaving their daughter behind.
Kayla said the hardest part was that her daughter had spent the previous two months genuinely believing she was about to go on the vacation. Throughout that time, her father continued talking about the trip, building her excitement while never following through with the information Kayla needed to prepare her. Sharing about the experience on TikTok, she wrote across the video, "The same way they would lie and make broken promises to you will just trickle down to your kids."
In the comments, some believed the father would try to shift the blame. @miss_marvelle mentioned, "He's definitely telling people 'I tried to take my daughter on a cruise, but her mother wouldn't allow it.' That's their standard go-to lie." Meanwhile, @babygrrll101 commented, "I'm too evil. I'm sorry he'd never see her again or be able to contact her. That's ridiculous." Several viewers also shared painful experiences of their own. @MagicAIDaydreams wrote, "My ex used to call the kids from Disneyland and tell them they should have chosen him. Ages 7 and 3."
The commenters' prediction turned out to be correct, according to an update. The father later reached out to his daughter and tried to convince her that he had bought her a cruise ticket, but Kayla prevented him from seeing her again. Broken promises may affect how children view a parent for years to come. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology found that children ages 5 to 6 lowered their trust in both mothers and unfamiliar adults after they broke a promise. Researchers concluded that even at a young age, children adjust how trustworthy they believe someone is based on whether that person keeps their word.
For more videos, you can follow @doitlikekaylaa on TikTok.