The women in these stories navigated turbulent waters with their mothers-in-law or future fathers-in-law. From dealing with husbands who are mama’s boys to noticing neglect at their baby showers , these tales shed light on the complexities between mothers-in-law and the wives of their sons.
These four stories highlight the challenges of cultivating healthy relationships with in-laws, particularly mothers-in-law. Each story features people who were forced to assert their boundaries in the face of in-laws who seemed intent on undermining them.
A pregnant woman in a yellow T-shirt holding her belly | Photo: Shutterstock
The husband continues to choose his mother over his wife until she gives him an ultimatum
A Reddit user asked other Reddit users if she was being unreasonable by giving an ultimatum to her husband, who had been absent for much of her pregnancy. The woman explained that she and her husband had been together for five years and married for six months.
A woman holds an ultrasound of her baby in one hand and her pregnant belly in the other next to a basket of baby items | Photo: Shutterstock
She was six months pregnant when she asked other Reddit users for advice. The original author said that her husband and mother had an unusually close relationship, saying :
“My husband has an unusually close relationship with his mother. He calls his mother for hours, talks to her, and spends more time with her than with me.”
A man hugs and kisses his mother on the cheek | Photo: Shutterstock
However, the final straw was the event that led her to post on Reddit. When the author reached the sixth month of pregnancy, she asked her husband if he could be with her more and help her prepare for the child they were expecting.
He told her that being closer would take away from his time with his mother. Although the author understood this, she explained that she needed him more than his mother at that moment, to which he replied :
“You know my mother comes before you.”
A woman gets emotional while her husband and his mother scold her | Photo: Shutterstock
The Redditor was shocked by what her husband said, but took it in stride when he left for his mother’s house. She then did everything she had to do on her own. While she was preparing for her son alone, her mother-in-law called her on the phone and told her that she had won!
To top it off, while her mother-in-law was boasting about her victory, the author heard her husband laughing. Although upset, she continued to live her life as usual. A few weeks later, it was the couple’s anniversary, and although the author bought her husband a gift and prepared his favorite meal for the day, he had other plans for what to do with his time.
A pregnant woman and her husband fighting | Photo: Shutterstock
While she was in the bathroom, her husband came home from work and left again. She thought he might be planning a surprise for her, but when he still hadn’t returned half an hour later, she called to find out where he was. He confirmed that he was at his mother’s house, so she told him that it could very well be his mother who had his child, as he was acting like he was in a relationship with her.
After hanging up, the author received text messages from both her husband and mother-in-law, telling her that she should not disrespect her mother and that she should find something else to do instead of being bitter and jealous. She turned to Reddit users to find out if she was wrong.
A woman curled up and sitting looking miserable | Photo: Shutterstock
Shortly after posting her story, she updated it, thanking everyone who had sent her messages of support and told her she was right. She also admitted : “I think my mother-in-law is competing with me,” adding that she might have to give her an ultimatum because, after reading the comments, things could only get worse from there.
Someone suggested that she ask her husband why he liked spending so much time with his mother, and he told her that it was because his mother was a special person in his life. The author realized that her mother-in-law had no intention of changing and seriously considered divorcing her husband.
A woman looks at paperwork as she contemplates her next move | Photo: Pexels
She told her husband that she would divorce him if he didn’t stop acting like he was married to her mother. When she heard this, she burst into tears and vowed to change. The author was hopeful, but knew she had to talk to her mother-in-law, who only told her that she would never win.
A man is crying while sitting and looking at something on a tablet | Photo: Pexels
The Redditor clarified that there were no winners or losers and that if her mother-in-law continued to act the way she was, she would not have access to her grandson. She confirmed that her husband had also stepped forward since her conversation with him.
Wife leaves her in-laws’ house after feeling belittled for sleeping separately
What do a barn, a nativity scene, and a Facebook fiasco have in common? These elements frame my Christmas nightmare with my in-laws. I’m Evelyn, here to share a story full of creepy barns, adorable twins, and in-laws who overstepped their boundaries.
Two babies wearing red Mickey Mouse t-shirts | Photo: Pexels
My husband, Mike, and I have been happily married for two years, and we recently welcomed twin boys into our lives. This Christmas, in celebration of our twins’ first holiday, Mike’s parents invited us to stay at their home for two weeks.
I imagined a quiet fortnight, with the grandparents looking after the twins and allowing me to get some sleep. After all, we hadn’t seen them since our wedding, and I was hoping for a warm and affectionate reunion.
Two white suitcases | Photo: Pexels
Packing for four, I included treats for the in-laws and wildflower honey for my mother-in-law’s tea, eagerly anticipating our family reunion. Her excitement at meeting the twins was palpable, immediately enveloping them in love — a mother’s dream, though not without its caveats.
The shock came with the sleeping arrangements. Mike and I were assigned separate rooms, a peculiar but manageable setup until I saw my “room”: a barn . Despite the bed and the heater, the barn environment was far from cozy. Discussing this strange setup with Mike led nowhere; he saw no problem and asked, “What are you complaining about?”
A dark red barn with its doors closed | Photo: Pexels
The situation was aggravated by the argument over where the twins would sleep. Knowing they would be in a crib in their grandparents’ room, the separation seemed unnecessary and harsh. “Our house, our rules,” they insisted, triggering a heated argument.
As tensions mounted, Mike vanished, opting to reconnect with his friends rather than support me. Feeling isolated and disrespected, I decided on an impromptu exit. After capturing the essence of the barn in photos, I shared my ordeal on Facebook, then retreated to the sanctuary of my parents’ home with the twins.
A white crib with an elephant blanket and a stuffed animal | Photo: Pexels
Now, amid a storm of angry texts and apologetic calls, I find solace at my parents’ home, where love and care abound. As we prepare for a cozy Christmas, I reflect on my next steps and seek advice: What would you do in my situation?
Mother-in-law disobeys her daughter-in-law’s domestic rules and pays the price
A Reddit user asked for advice on whether her method of dealing with her snoopy mother-in-law was too extreme, a sentiment echoed by her husband. The woman recounted her efforts to call out her mother-in-law’s invasive behaviour, which her husband initially dismissed.
An older woman looking through binoculars | Photo: Getty Images
Despite her husband’s objections, she felt compelled to act against her mother-in-law’s habit of entering her bedroom uninvited. The situation was aggravated when she caught her mother-in-law rummaging through personal documents, an allegation which she denied by feigning confusion about the location of the house’s bathroom.
In response, exterior locking latches were installed on the bedroom and office doors. However, the mother-in-law persisted, citing forgetfulness as an excuse for trying to enter the restricted areas, leading the wife to come up with a more direct solution.
A woman looking at bills | Photo: Getty Images
Anticipating the mother-in-law’s visit, the wife suggested locking the doors, but her husband believed that was unnecessary. They opted for a less conventional strategy: applying fine glitter to the doorknob to detect unauthorized entry, a tactic previously used to confirm the mother-in-law’s snooping.
An open bedroom door with a key | Photo: Getty Images
This time, the plan included a trap: a folder filled with glitter placed so that it would shower the intruder upon opening the door. Despite clear instructions to avoid the upstairs, the mother-in-law ventured into the bedroom, setting off the glitter bomb and covering herself in a glittery mess, with the participation of the author of the post:
“She went completely crazy and started yelling at me, so I yelled back, and now my husband says I went too far.”
Gold glitter on black background | Photo: Getty Images
The aftermath was chaotic. The heated exchange left the husband criticising the extent of his wife’s retaliation. Meanwhile, the mother-in-law lamented the persistence of the glitter, particularly its unwelcome presence in her car.
A woman’s hand covered in glitter | Photo: Getty Images
Seeking validation, the wife took to Reddit, where the consensus supported her actions. Users agreed that the mother-in-law’s disregard for boundaries justified the brilliant consequence, claiming that respecting the house rules could have spared her the ordeal.
Mother-in-law decides that her daughter-in-law’s baby will be hers and even organizes a baby shower
A woman took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for not letting her mother-in-law see her grandson . The author explained that she and her husband were expecting their first child together, but that her mother-in-law’s excitement about becoming a grandmother was a little off-putting to the Redditor.
A couple holding an ultrasound scan | Photo: Shutterstock
First, the author said that her mother-in-law often referred to her unborn child as if it were her own. She would say , “I’m looking forward to my baby. My baby is going to be so loved.” Her possessiveness over her child was uncomfortable for the woman, but her husband told her to ignore the comments.
The mother-in-law came up with the idea of throwing her daughter-in-law a baby shower. The excited grandmother-to-be said that she and her friends had made a pact to host their children’s weddings and baby showers . Since the author and her husband had eloped, she thought the Reddit user owed her the chance to host a baby shower.
A young woman and an older woman are happy about a pregnancy | Photo: Shutterstock
The author asked if she could invite her friends, but her mother-in-law said no. The baby shower was only for the older woman’s friends, and the older woman told the expectant mother that she could have another one with her friends. Although the Redditor was hesitant, she agreed.
The couple spent a lot of time putting together a registry and sharing it with the mother-in-law and her friends, as she had instructed. The parents-to-be planned a garden-themed nursery, so all the items were based on that.
Someone hugs a pregnant woman at a baby shower | Photo: Shutterstock
The author was also asked what she wanted on the cake, and she said flowers, to go with the garden theme. However, she was surprised to find a circus animal theme at the baby shower. The author was not concerned about this and thought that carrying out her garden idea might have been a challenge.
But she was even more surprised when all of her gifts were different circus animals. The author was confused and even went back to the registry to see if she had made a mistake, as none of her gifts were on the list she shared with her mother-in-law’s friends.
Upset pregnant woman sitting holding her head and belly | Photo: Shutterstock
When her husband arrived, he was also confused and asked , “What’s with all those circus animals?” He then took one look at the gifts and added , “This isn’t what we asked for.” He immediately asked his mother what she had done.
The mother said she didn’t like the theme her wife had chosen. “I’m going to decorate the baby’s room at home with circus animals, so I’ve created a registry for myself,” she continued . The husband was speechless, but his mother didn’t back down, reiterating :
“My baby is going to need a room in my house, so I organized a party for myself.”
A happy older woman smiling | Photo: Pexels
Her statements infuriated both the husband and his wife. The author made it clear that her mother-in-law would never see her baby and the older woman began to cry, telling the couple that they were taking her away from her baby.
The Reddit user and her husband started receiving messages from the rest of the family calling them selfish and blaming them for ruining the grandmother’s experience. However, people in the comments didn’t think the author was wrong and believed that she should take the necessary precautions against her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law’s behavior alarmed many readers, and some were glad that the author’s husband was on her side .
Also read: Am I wrong for kicking out my mother-in-law after seeing what she did in my house while I was gone?
Two women looking at each other while having a disagreement | Photo: Shutterstock
For those who enjoyed reading those stories, here ‘s another one about a woman who embarrassed her mother-in-law in front of the family, giving her a taste of her own medicine.
This work is inspired by real people and events, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher do not guarantee the accuracy of events or the depiction of characters, and are not responsible for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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