Can Not Change That
In 2006, my former mother-in-law yelled at me in my own driveway, saying, “My son is your children’s father, and you can’t change that,” while her son, an addict who barely showed up, hid behind her. The real trigger was hearing my girls call him “dad.” We never encouraged them to use that term; they simply began doing so because he was rarely around.
Now, I’m with a wonderful man who adores my daughters as much as he loves me. When he proposed, he said, “Those girls deserve a dad, and I want to be one.” That moment marked the end of any contact with my former mother-in-law. We got married that fall, and soon after Christmas, we filed adoption papers. My ex didn’t even contest it—he didn’t bother showing up. Sometimes, it’s better if people mind their own business.
Habit Of Gossiping
She has a habit of gossiping behind people's backs, and it never fails to annoy me. One day, she showed up at our house unannounced and let herself in. I wasn’t in the mood, so I retreated to my shed to avoid her, but she started snooping around the house. She found a piece of equipment under my aquarium and, to my horror, thought it was some kind of "intimate" device.
She then went straight to my wife, claiming I was hiding something weird. Without hesitation, she pulled out the equipment and showed it to my wife. My wife nearly burst out laughing when she realized it was just aquarium gear. Trying to hold back her amusement, she called for me to come inside. When my mother-in-law questioned me about the "sick device," I calmly explained it and suggested she mind her own business. Not amused, she stormed out. Maybe she should focus less on others and more on herself.
Wandered Off
I was shopping with my partner when he wandered off, giving me some time to explore the makeup section. Excited to browse after not visiting in a while, I got lost in the array of beauty products. As I admired the makeup, I suddenly felt a presence and looked up to see my mother-in-law glaring at me from across the store. We don’t get along, and I couldn’t shake the feeling she was judging me.
She’s always had a low opinion of my teaching career and considers my love for makeup vain. In fact, she’s called me a “makeup-wearing hussy” behind my back. As I continued browsing, she approached with a forced smile, asking, “Buying more makeup?” I shot back, “Yes, apparently I have a reputation to uphold.” The look of shock on her face was priceless—she knew someone had spilled the truth about her gossip. I walked away feeling victorious.
Stopped Pushing The Issue
We’ve made it clear that we don’t want children, much to my mother-in-law's disappointment. After my husband’s vasectomy, she finally stopped pushing the issue, and her comments became less bothersome.
However, things took a turn recently when she informed us she had pre-purchased burial plots and was working on end-of-life planning, including medical directives and power of attorney. While these are practical matters, she couldn’t help but bring up the subject of their estate. Despite my father-in-law's attempts to steer the conversation elsewhere, she insisted on discussing it. With a smug expression, she revealed how the estate would be divided—implying that my husband would receive little because we don’t have children to “carry on the family line.” My husband and I responded calmly, and the look on her face when we nodded in agreement was priceless. She clearly expected an emotional outburst, but we weren’t giving her the satisfaction.
Burst Out Laughing
I’m currently at work until 2:30, and my boyfriend is at home. His mom sent him a message saying that she and my father-in-law would drop by around 2:00 with lunch. As soon as he got the text, he immediately messaged me: “BABE THE STRIPPER POLE!!!” I burst out laughing, picturing the look of shock on their faces when they saw my shiny, beautiful stripper pole.
The thing is, his parents are extremely religious, the kind that use their beliefs to judge others. I’m not against religion, but I can't stand when people use it to harm others. I jokingly responded, “Screw it, it’s our house. They’ll have to deal with it.” The story of his mother in the next part shows just how selfish she can be, never thinking twice before imposing on others.
Driving For Hours
I’ve had a strained relationship with my mother-in-law for a while, but this year, I reached my breaking point. We drove four hours to spend Christmas with her and my father-in-law, planning to stay just one night. Due to my demanding job as an OB/GYN, we don’t see them often, and this visit was supposed to be special for the kids.
When we arrived, my kids hugged my mother-in-law, but my husband quickly asked where his father was. She casually mentioned they had both been sick with vomiting and diarrhea for two days. I was shocked and furious when she admitted that they didn’t tell us because she knew we wouldn’t visit. I was especially concerned since I work with newborns and pregnant women. Unfortunately, my fears came true—we all got sick on Christmas Eve, and spent the night throwing up. It was a nightmare. To top it off, she acted like a child at my grandchild’s birthday party soon after.
Concerned
At a birthday party for our young kids, my mother-in-law caused a scene over the food being served. She questioned what the nacho cheese was made of, and I explained that it came from a “big can of cheese.”
She insisted I dig the can out of the trash to check its contents, but I refused. I told her that if she was so concerned, she could do it herself. She sulked, and ultimately, she refused to eat any of the food. Another incident with a different mother-in-law involved a hefty bill for an accident with a chair.
Accidentally Broke
During a recent visit to my husband's parents' house, I accidentally broke an outdoor chair when I sat down. I apologized repeatedly, but everyone assured me it was no big deal and that accidents happen.
However, it turned out that my mother-in-law didn’t share the same sentiment. Instead of addressing me directly, she sent my husband a $200 invoice for the chair, assuming I couldn’t afford to replace it. In response, I decided not to return to her house in the future, not wanting to risk causing any more damage. As for my husband, he was free to visit her as he wished. The story took another twist when my mother-in-law learned the consequences of gossiping about her own family.
Quite The Challenge
My in-laws are staying with us for the week, and it’s been quite the challenge. I’ve never had to live with my mother-in-law before, and although I try to remain polite for my husband's sake, her behavior has been testing my patience. She rearranged my kitchen and even threw away some of my things, which I can only attribute to lifestyle differences.
Today, I overheard her complaining about me to my husband. Our two-bedroom apartment doesn't leave much room for privacy, so I walked outside and offered her some tea, making a point to say she must be thirsty after all the talking. She was caught off guard and tried to deny it, but I calmly told her that my home wasn’t the place for such private conversations. I said it with a smile, but it was as passive-aggressive as I could get. Next, she learned not to buy expensive gifts for her grandchild without asking first.
On Christmas Day
On Christmas Day, my mother-in-law gave our six-year-old daughter a smartphone with a SIM card and internet access—without consulting anyone beforehand. She handed it over when we weren't around, and when questioned, she simply replied, “Because your wife doesn’t answer hers.” The audacity of it all! It was clear she had been planning this moment, just waiting to deliver her passive-aggressive jab.
The only silver lining in this situation is that she had to spend a significant amount of money to make her point. Now, not only does this father have to deal with an overstepping mother-in-law, but he also has the difficult task of explaining to his daughter why she’s not allowed to have a phone. The next story involves another mother-in-law who couldn’t grasp the idea of equality between boys and girls.
Play Kitchen Nightmare
My mother-in-law had a horrible reaction when we told her we were getting her grandson a play kitchen for Christmas. “Her tone immediately changed. She goes ‘a WHAT?’ in a really disgusted tone. ‘A play kitchen? And some toy food?’ ‘Why did you get him that? He’s a boy.’’ As if it couldn’t get any worse, she solidly confirmed her horrible stance. “My mother-in-law, almost in screeching hysterics at this point, ‘get him a workbench or something! Why would you get him a KITCHEN?’”
And there it is. She seems to live in this 1950s outdated mindset that only women belong in the kitchen, so only girls should play with kitchens … can you imagine a (*gasp!*) man being in the kitchen?! So obviously, you can’t let little boys play in the kitchen either. Luckily, passive aggression is my specialty. I plan on posting a ton of pics of my son playing in his brand-new kitchen first thing Christmas morning. The next story is about a mother-in-law who didn’t want to be left out.
The SleepOver
I’m a mom-to-be, and it was “non-negotiable” that my mom lives with me after I give birth. My mother-in-law got wind of that and hopped right on board. While we were telling both our families the good news, it was brought up to my mother-in-law that my mother would be staying with us for over three months right after the baby was born. My mother-in-law then expressed her wish to also be allowed to stay with us right after the baby is born. I told her that after my mom leaves she is more than welcome to come and stay with us, but only AFTER my mom leaves.”
She felt like that decision was “unfair” and proposed that she sleep on the couch as a compromise. We stood by our decision and let her know again that she was welcome to say after my mom left. She eventually accepted it but was not happy. The woman in the next story believed she wanted to choose who could be in the delivery room with her. It caused lots of problems.
Delivery Room Dilemma
When I had our first baby, my mom stayed in the delivery room with us. Now that I’m having our second child, my husband believes that it’s his mom’s turn to be in the delivery room. He mentioned that since I got to choose who was in the delivery room last time he should get to choose who gets to be inside the room this time. I told him he was insane if he thought I would let his mother see me in extreme pain.
He got upset, left the house and she hasn’t heard from him since. I’m honestly kind of freaking out both from stress and guilt. I’m worried that my husband isn’t okay but I also can’t help but to feel guilty that I drove him away. The mother-in-law in the next story said something unforgivable.
Only One Grandma
I just found out I’m pregnant, and I’m excited, as is my soon-to-be husband. We plan on announcing it at our wedding after I reach the point where it’s unlikely for me to lose it. But we told our moms because if a miscarriage did happen, I would want the love and support from my mom. However, I felt guilty just telling her, so we told my mother-in-law too. My mom had the reaction I wanted. Tears and kisses and belly rubs. Then it took a dark turn. My mother-in-law stared at us and said, “Well what are you going to do?” Um, what do you mean what are we going to do? “There are no clinics around us.” Clinics for what?
“To get rid of it!” Why would we get rid of it? “Well, you can’t be pregnant before marriage. Tons of people are happy and healthy with kids before marriage. “Well yeah, but it’s bad luck to get married while pregnant. You’ll be too fat for your dress.” It went on like that for a while before I got sick of it and left. My husband is furious that he wasn’t there to stop her, but guess who lost grandma's privileges? The mother-in-law in the next story could learn a thing or two about respect.
Hit And Miss
I just got married last Saturday and my husband and I decided to have dinner with our in-laws the Monday after. Big mistake. We were still on the high of being married so we thought it was a good idea.
My mother-in-law opened the door, and I’m in a sundress with my normal hair and makeup. She looks me up and down and says, “Wow…you sure looked much, much prettier 48 hours ago…” To which I replied, “Geez, thanks. So did you!” My husband and father-in-law burst out laughing, and cue that awful scowl look mothers-in-law love to give and I feel very satisfied with myself. The in-laws in the next story should learn to just mind their own business.
Playing Dress Up
Ever since our oldest was two [my husband] has been more than willing to dress up as a princess and have tea parties with her. It’s my daughter’s favorite thing to do with her dad and he owns so many of those costumes now. So, as one does, she posted a cute pic to social media — and that’s when the trouble started. My in-laws “accused me of humiliating my husband and of treating him like a woman vs the man that he is.” Seriously?!
But it didn’t stop at social media. My mother-in-law then pulled me up over it a week ago saying that Chris is a man, and boys/men do not wear dresses and wear makeup, that the girls are going to see him as their mother someday, and that he is going to be shamed publicly. She told me I should never have broadcast those photos and I am teaching my daughters some pretty ‘sketchy’ things about gender and the roles everyone plays in families. The mother-in-law in the next story wasn’t even present for something important that she wanted to do. It did not go well.
Adult Tantrums
I didn’t particularly want my mother-in-law in the delivery room for the birth of our baby. My husband tried to make a deal: he’d keep his mom out of the delivery as long as she could be the first to hold the baby. Not knowing what to say, I didn’t agree but didn’t disagree as well. When the big day came, my mother-in-law was absent from the delivery room. Problem was, she was also absent from town. She was attending a friend’s daughter’s wedding and wouldn’t be back ’til two days later.
It only stands to reason that she could not in fact be the first to hold the baby. Since my mom and sister were right there and able to help, they got dibs. Reasonable, right? Well, not in my mother-in-law’s eyes – or her husband’s. They both went off saying that I betrayed her. He blew up at me saying I screwed up. I said that mom and sister were HELPING me out. He got pissed and claimed I had no respect for his mom and her wishes and told me that I hurt her feelings and ruined her grandbaby’s birth memory. The mother-in-law in the next story took her nastiness to the grave.
Adoption Drama
She wasn’t very nice and basically told us to our faces that she would never allow an adopted child into her family. Even though we couldn’t afford to adopt, we were saving every last penny. We are going to adopt no matter what.
When she passed away from illness, we inherited some money. We used her money to adopt our precious child and her family now loves our daughter. The mother-in-law in the next story is meddling in her daughter-in-law’s life too much.
Call Me, Maybe
My MIL is Irish. Her son(s) can do no wrong, but I get told nearly every day about all the stuff that I do wrong!
She once called and said in the same sentence - you're cooking is too fancy, you need to make it more simple, but when you make that roast chicken call me because that's my favorite. This coming from someone who takes a perfectly good piece of meat and boils the taste out of it, so it wasn't that surprising. The woman in the next story was shocked to learn that her mother-in-law announced some news that was not supposed to be announced yet.
Facebook Fraud
My mother-in-law wanted to share the news of our pregnancy on Facebook. We had not expected the pregnancy and weren’t sure if they were going to go through with it, so understandably — didn’t want the news to get out. So, instead, my mother-in-law logged into my husband’s Facebook account and broke the news to everyone. I was floored. I called her and she said she figured if she made the announcement using one of our social media accounts then we won’t mind and it’d still look like we made the announcement.
But as I stated earlier, we’re still trying to make a decision. I lost my temper and started yelling, which made her cry. My husband didn’t back me up, despite the fact that I explained to him that she had violated our privacy. The person in the next story is faced with a cringey situation.
Who’s Going To Tell Her?
My boyfriend's mom and dad helped us move into our new place, and she put all of my BF's stuff (clothes, books, etc.) in one bedroom and all of mine in another. Then, genuinely confused, she asked why we had only brought one bed in the moving truck and asked if we had ordered another one for him. No one had the heart to tell her.
The woman in the next story just ignored her mother-in-law who threw a massive tantrum on her wedding day.
Cake Topper Tantrum
My ex-mother-in-law threw a screaming fit right before my wedding started because I had forgotten the crystal cake topper that she had purchased.
I believe the line "that f word and b word did this ON PURPOSE to embarrass me!" was the one that rang out the loudest once people were stunned into silence by her behavior. Sadly, this is one of many many many stories about that awful woman. The woman in the next story had the rudest mother-in-law to ever walk the earth.
Glass Goblin
At my engagement party, my grandmother (who grew up very poor and is just not into "fancy" stuff) got us engraved Mikasa crystal champagne flutes. They were pretty and understated and exactly what I like. Mother-in-law gets up while I am still saying thank yous and says "those will be nice for the rehearsal dinner, but you are going to insist on using these for the wedding" and hands me a box to unwrap. ‘
Inside are the gaudiest Waterford goblets ever. My grandmother was embarrassed. I just said, “Actually, since you are doing the rehearsal dinner, we will use yours for that and grandmas for the wedding.” End of story. The mother-in-law in the next story didn’t care that her son got sick and almost because of her.
Contagion
My ex-husband got shingles and had a bad case, which progressed into post-herpetic neuralgia. It cost us a fortune because he couldn't work, and fairly ruined our lives for a year.
He finally started to get better and we went to Passover at his mother’s house and his aunt showed up with SHINGLES which his mother KNEW ABOUT!!!!!!! I almost murdered her. The mother-in-law in the next story basically stole from her own son.
Deceived
My husband and I had been saving up to take a long road trip together. About a week before we were set to leave, he tells me that his mom spent hours crying to him about how much debt she had and that she may have to add a second mortgage to the house, sell precious family heirlooms, etc. So, being a good son, he decided to give her most of his road trip money. I was understanding and we agreed to put the trip on hold so he could save more.
A few days later, I visited his mom and she showed me this huge elaborate ceramic water fountain she had bought the day before for her garden. It was ridiculous. I muttered something like, "Must have been expensive." She patted me on the shoulder and said, "Road trips are dangerous. It's better this way." The woman in the next story was handed something strange at the dinner table.
Undercover Underwear
My boyfriend's(now husband) mom came up to me at dinner at her house one night and handed me something. It was a pair of cotton ladies' underwear. I dropped them immediately and said those aren't mine. They weren't mine. She handed me a pair of underwear in the middle of dinner because she found them in her laundry. My bf lives with his parents. It turns out they were his sister's who accidentally left them when she came for a visit.
Even if they were mine, why on earth would I leave them lying around??? And why on earth would she hand them to me in the middle of dinner??? The guy in the next story was so traumatized after having dinner with his future mother-in-law.
Don't Do It
Two weeks before our wedding, my future mother-in-law asked me out to dinner. So we're sitting there having finished eating and she then suddenly asks me to abandon the marriage. In fact, she said that he will buy me a car if I give it up right now.
She went on to say that since I'll be a doctor someday that I'll meet lots of cute nurses along the way. I have to admit that I lost man points after the dinner because I cried to my fiance. I was so offended. The person in the next story would want to think twice before inviting their mother-in-law to stay over again.
The Busybody
My mother-in-law is EXTREMELY nosey. She loves to do our laundry and clean our house.. Nice right? Yeah but it depends on how you would define that, I have a clean room but she goes through ALL my drawers, socks, underwear, bras, You name it she has gone through it. She folds everything nicely and neatly, whereas I usually just jam everything in. She then goes through my walk-in closet and organizes everything by color...I once said out loud in the kitchen, I'm gonna wear that little purple sweater coverall, and she tells me what coverall, you don't have any purple coveralls?..
WTH. OMG. She also goes through all my suitcases where I store personal items (in my closet).. yeah I cried when I noticed everything was back in its original packaging. Yes. I didn't lock it because who in their right mind would go through other people's suitcases in their closets? She doesn't live with us, she just visits us for long periods of time during the summer, winter, fall, and spring. The mother-in-law in the next story was just asking unnecessary questions.
Unnecessary Comments
We were driving somewhere with my in-laws and my mother-in-law asked me, “Why would you get a tattoo? It's so unprofessional” to which I replied, “Because I like it” trying not to be adversarial and just get along. She responds, “That’s not an adult answer! What kind of silly answer is that?”
Having had enough at this point, I say “You want an adult answer? Okay, I'm an adult and I don’t have to clear anything with anyone up to and including you. Satisfied now? The old man just snickers under his breath. She didn’t speak to me for days. The woman in the next story can be glad she is no longer involved with this mother-in-law.
Home Decorator
My mother-in-law decided to decorate my house while I was away taking care of my mom who was ill. Mind you, my house was already decorated. I collect antiques. I came home to find that she had put up Hallmark store decorations. The kicker was that she took all my dishes and put them in one set of cupboards and then bought her precious son his own set from Walmart and put them in their own special cupboard.
I am no longer married to her son. Also, she went over to his house when his former wife was not home and stole her diary and other personal papers. She kept them in her safe "just in case".