Thursday, 14 July 2011
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Dealing with a Mother-in-Law Who Just Doesn't Like You

My mother-in-law. Oh! My mother-in-law, what is there to say about her?
This woman is something else. When me and her son got engaged and she met my family at our engagement party (which she threw for us) I thought I was so lucky. This woman was really happy with her son's choice to marry me. She had my picture up and everything seemed great.Then the family went back to their homes (out of state) and I moved in with her son. She started being rude and attacking anything I would say. I would stay quiet and still polite but hung around my husband more while we were over at her house. She took my picture down and started acting really weird. She would make comments about her son choosing her over me, if he had to. This woman was clearly not as in love me as she had told the rest of my family.
I tried to put myself in her shoes and make sense out of her actions. Maybe she felt she was losing him, but we go over there every week, something I wouldn't even do with my own family. Time passed and nothing major happened.
Then, we (me and her son) decided to get married by going down to the court house and making it official. We weren't getting closer to saving for the wedding his mother wanted and it was very hard to get all our family and friends together to celebrate together. I also didnt want to keep feeling like I was living in sin, seeing as we were living together and weren't married. We told her a week before and assured her that we would still give her a wedding whenever we could.
She was very upset and started crying and asking her son, why? What we were hiding from her?
He shrugged it off, even though I know it bothered him. We tried to move on. She then called me the day before we had scheduled the ceremony. I didnt answer (I'm not a phone person. Half of the time I dont even know where it is). She then proceeded to call my entire family asking them (more like demanding) to know what me and her son were hiding from her.
My sister called me and told me all this. Then I called her back and she just attacked me. I was polite and tried answering her questions and tried to assure her that nothing was going on. We hung up and she texted her son all these lies about me being mean to her and not wanting to meet up with her. Me and my husband changed our appointment, hoping that by next week she would be okay with it.
Next week came and everything was fine until two days before the ceremony. She called her son and brought everything up again. Then I overheard her tell him that he knew he loved me but that she didn't think I loved him, and that he was only doing this because I forced him to. This really hurt me. I even thought about just leaving her son and giving her what she wanted. After all, I was going to have to deal with her forever.
The next day, I called her, asking her to tell me what I could do to make her happy. She said she wanted to come over and I agreed to it. When she was here she never said she was sorry. She just said that she felt she was being left out and that I didn't trust her. That she looked at me as her daughter and blah blah blah.
Then she decided to mention her son's ex. She said she (the ex) really loved him and that they were happy but that they used to fight about everything and that's why they broke up. I didn't say nothing and hugged her because she was crying, although that was the last thing I wanted to do. I had to go and play hostess for his father and step mom (whom I really like). I asked her if she wanted to go with me and my sister to the mall later on that day to get some things that I needed. She said yes, and then made an excuse as to why she couldn't go later on.
The next day came and we got married, she cried during the ceremony. I don't know if those tears were of joy or sadness but it doesnt change the fact that her son married me.
This woman really dislikes me and I have no idea what I did to her. I would never make my husband choose but I'm thinking of not going over to her house anymore. My husband can still go but when I go, I always come back feeling defeated and crappy. I feel it will affect my marriage more than if he were just to go alone.
Does anyone else have mother-in-law that's a pain in the butt? How do you deal? Did she ever come around?
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Comments (24)
Your married your husband, not his mother. I would only deal with her on holidays. That's what my mom did. I went to dad's house with dad & I went to mom's house with mom.
I feel like I just read my life story involving MY mother-in-law!
From my experience, people who act like that have no desire to be happy if it means it's not going to go exactly their way. There's going to be nothing you can do that will make her happy except for you to "screw up" and up in a divorce with her son, most likely. My own MIL is very used to getting her way once she starts throwing a tantrum. Pouting, passive-aggressive remarks, making up stories, self victimization, etc. etc. etc. With my MIL, she wanted to be the one and only female in her sons' lives. She wanted nothing more than to be a Maternal Idol that would always hold trump over all else, and she's the first person to say stuff like, "She may be your wife but I'm your mother," like that shit actually matters when it comes to decisions about Andrew's (my husband) life now. He will choose his family of his own making now, (myself and our baby on the way). Kids don't owe their parents the deed to their very soul just because they were born. Ownership of Andrew is something she is very concerned about.
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this. I'm afraid after this stuff happens, it never gets easier and rather it gets harder. :( Stick by your husband, don't feed her ravenous appetite for attention, but don't ever think that your dignity will come at a price. You're still your own person!
Since I dont have a girlfriend, I have not had to face her mum, I think her mum will probably like me.
I think my future girlfriend will like my mum.
Just try to not cause arguments
It could be jealousy, like you said, she could feel like you're going to take him away from her. And by the way, she hated his ex, too. Try to reassure her that her son will always be near.
First, it's YOUR wedding with YOUR husband. If you guys were okay with not having a big wedding that YOU had to save up for, then she shouldn't have a childish fit about it. It's NOT like you two went to Vegas and got it done, you went to the court house for pete sakes. You don't have to promise ANYTHING to her about giving her the wedding SHE always wanted.
Second, is your husband an only child? She might be feeling that she had control over everything; her son, you, the wedding of HER dreams, and when you guys went to get it done at a court house, she felt like you weren't sitting on her palm, but running away from it....with her baby boy.
Your husband really should have more active role in being the traffic control between you and your mother in law. He can't just get upset, suppress that feeling and be upset without talking to you or his mother about what her "antics" are doing to the relationship. Not your and your husband's but the relationship between daughter in law with the mother in law and potentially, the relationship between mother and son.
My future-mother-in-law wants to have her hands in EVERYTHING but in an overwhelming enthusiastic kind of way. She wanted to show me all these invites, we don't share too many likes in must of anything, that she thought we should have for our wedding. And due to their Italian-ness, they're inviting over 80% of the guests to our wedding since they're too nice to say no to far-away cousins. O_o But that being said, I think it helps a great deal that my future father-in-law always tries to rein in his wife with her forceful enthusiasm. Anyway, don't always feel like you have to give in to make her happy, sometimes making her happy might be a fast and easy solution out of a battle, but in a long run, it might jeopardize clarity in what you mean to say.
Your husband has to step up, and cling to his wife (you) as his new family. That doesn't mean he loves his mom any less, just that his pirority is his new family (i.e., himself and you).
I can see that my wife'll probably think that most girls will not be good enough for our son. But that doesn't mean she'll act without class, or antagonize our future daughter-in-law. As for our daughter, well, she's aggressive, cantankerous, and rambunctious. I feel sorry for the guys she'll run over.
My mother in law is like yours. Oh the grief.
My question to you, does your husband stand up for you or support you? It makes a bigger difference if he does. You don't necessarily feel like your back is to the wall all the time.
But the thing we both have to remember, we're dating/married to the guys, not the family or the mother in law. As hard as it may be.Not everyone is going to like, and some may hate us and we gotta live with that. And I quite agree with @Katie_Gillen@xanga - kids don't owe their souls to their parents just because they gave birth to them. I hate when parents say, :but I'm your mother." So what? We deserve respect too.
My dad's mom hated my mom when they were married... and she was a huge cunt until my dad told her that she needed to stop.
After that she cried to the whole family about how horrible my mom and dad treated her and "fell into a depression" and couldn't get out of bed for 6 months... eventually... she realized that my parents weren't going to kiss her ass or play into her drama and she gave up.
She's still a bitch... but no more of one than she is to everyone else.
She sounds like my mother. We don't talk.
I'm trying to stay away from my guy's house as much as possible now a days.
She sounds like a VERY dissatisfied, unhappy woman. However, her actions aren't acceptable. I'd try laying down some ground rules - well, if I were your husband, I'll tell her straight up that she needs to start respecting you more and treating your relationship as it is: a committed one, in which you make her son very happy, which should make HER happy in turn.
My mother in law is awesome. She's communicative but gives us our privacy, lets us deal with conflict when it arises and doesn't butt in, wants the best for her son (he's an only child) but allows him to make his own choices. Hearing stories like this makes me feel really lucky, not to mention my fiance is pretty great too
I am so sorry, my MIL is a dream. But, the best advice I've heard is don't give up...
Don't stop going over there, because then she will hold it against you. When you are there, bring something constructive to do, or help out if you can... when all else fails, I try drying and putting away dishes.
Don't MAKE your husband stand up for you, but ask him to please speak in your honor and be mindful of his commitments to you.
Don't ever make him choose, because in the end, you may really lose.
And always smile, because if you frown, she's winning.
I don't understand mothers. My brother was dating a beautiful girl my mom absolutely loved..until they got engaged. I don't understand why hell even ensued because things had been so pleasant, my mom never behaves badly around my sister and my boyfriends but her actions toward my brother's ex fiance were ridiculous and terrifying considering she did nothing that ever bothered my mom. They just got engaged and my mom turned into a super bitch.
I feel like I could have written this...
Honestly, I see my mom struggling with this even after 25 years of being married to my father with my grandmother (my mother's mother in law). I told my mom this when she complains to me about my grandmother and her condescending comments "you have suppressed all these emotions all these years. You never stood up to her when you first got married (like you it started early on as well) and now she is accustomed to it. If you want it lessen stand up for yourself and don't let her walk all over you."
I'm not trying to stir up problems here hun but really you just gotta stand up to her. Your husband loves you, as you love him, you both are married and she has nothing to do with the marriage. First talk to your husban explain to him in a nice manner that you don't like it. Be honest and frank about your feelings, don't complain to him. Afterwards, when you do go over stand up to her in a stern and civil way. It's not about having the last word but more like enabling her. Because I feel like from what you wrote you may be, especially with her actions. Like it wasn't necessary to invite her to the mall, keep her at a distance. Inviting her gave her the torch, that she's in control. I don't want to make this a game but she's got to realize that you can't be taken advantaged of. I hope I helped and make sense. once again, I'm not trying to stir up shit. My mother has cried to me (when I got older) a few times of the horrible stuff she had to endure from her mother in law. And well, don't let it go on for 25 years like my mother did, you got to find a solution early on.
best of luck :)
It seems like a lot of women have trouble accepting that they will no longer be the number one woman in their son's life. I think a lot of these women would rather see their sons in troubled, argumentative relationships like the one your husband had with his ex than to see them in a healthy relationship. As long as the son is in an unhealthy relationship, he will still need mommy dearest to help him deal with his troubled relationship. She will still be the needed caregiver, which is what she wants. It's sick, but that's what happens when you get insecure women who have nothing in their life besides their children.
Good luck. I wish I had advice to give you, but I'm not married and my boyfriend's mother isn't like this ... at least not yet.
Sounds like she thinks you're pregnant. At least, that's what "What are you hiding from me?" would mean in my family.
If you want her to change, your husband is going to have to be the one who speaks to her, not you. So what I would do is disengage. Just don't be around her when he's not there. We actually do this quite a bit, even though I really like my mother in law. It's just that, when he's not there, they tend to ask me to do things or plan things because they know I am much, much more accomodating than him.
If your husband isn't willing to talk to her about her behavior, and lets her continue to act that way to you, I would definitely just stop accompanying him. And probably, that will bring the issue home to him pretty quickly.
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I have this problem with my father-in-law. Aren't in-laws a burden?
I haven't met my boyfriend's mother. He says she likes me because she hasn't met me.The minute she meets a girlfriend, she goes crazy. So he says I'll never meet her, haha.
the amount of datingish posts about mother-in-laws with this exact picture is hilarious. my own post included.
I train my man to pick me over his mother, why? Because I come from a family that is horrible to daughter-in-laws and at the end of the day, mommy isn't married to her son, you are. Never, ever let anyone come into your life and mess you up like that. If you want to have a child with your husband, I'm sure you would never want your kids to witness her ridiculous behaviour towards you. So nip it in the bud, NOW.
Lol. Sorry, but my future mother-in-law is practically in love with me. XD
However, my ex's mom hates my guts. :(I have a MIL who can be difficult, too. Like, controlling, emotionally abusive, etc. I am going to tell you what we have had to learn to survive and thrive despite it, and what I am going to say comes also from the experience of other women with extremely difficult mothers-in-laws who helped me get through it until she came around. "Mother-in-law from Hell" is one term for it. For this marriage to work, as far as I understand it, your husband needs to be make a conscious choice to stick by YOU and not his mother. I'm not saying to issue an ultimatum... but do be aware that if he stays under her wing/foot/thumb the relationship is in danger. He needs to defend it. Yes, you should respectfully defend your rights too as a human being. You have already done more than one would reasonably expect to make peace, but I know it is smart to keep trying. But don't be a doormat. It can be a hard balance.
Most importantly, HE needs to stick up for YOU. And you need to stick by him, too, in case she tries to buddy up with you and make him look bad and drive a wedge. You have to be a team, and present a united front. Even if you think he is wrong about something, or he thinks you are wrong about something, save that for later- when she is with you, don't ever, ever let his mother "split" you on two sides of a disagreement.
Unfortunately, while there is a lot you can do, much about the health of your future marriage depends on how your husband handles his relationship with his mother. You can only do so much. It is her attachment to him that is unhealthy, and he may need to put some distance there. If he is defending his mother's irrational, hurtful and controlling behavior (and you haven't said he is, but just in case) that would really be a problem!
In my case, my husband had to make a choice to set boundaries with his mother. He had to tell her there were things he did not want to talk about with her. (All of her children had to do this because she would not stop going on about certain subjects.) He had to set emotional boundaries and conversational boundaries and also just not talk to her as often. She was creeping around and reading his phone history (he had been on her plan for a little while after we got married) and complained he was talking on the phone to his dad. (My in-laws are divorced.) So, my husband was like fine, thanks for offering to pay my phone bill, but I have to take this and be independent now that I am an adult, and get my own plan. She was of course upset and threw a fit when he did that and basically just freaked out. She thew a fit every time he set any boundary like that with her, but he sticks by it and eventually she accepts it and conveniently 'forgets' she ever was upset about it. There were lots of things like that that she was offering to pay for because she had money (like car insurance), but it gave her leverage and control and as poor as we were he had to back away from that. She still gives random gifts a lot, but she has been doing much better about using it as leverage. As long as we thank her properly (card must be handwritten, and it must be physically mailed- handed to her does not count) she stays happy and seems to feel appreciated. My husband has always been really good about defending me to her before she even gets too critical and that is wonderful. Really the problem is her being too hard on him. Setting the boundaries has helped. She really has come around, though. I mean, hearing her wax eloquent on conspiracy theories for hours whenever we hang out can get old, but I can deal with that! She was never so against me as it sounds like your MIL has been against you. I am terribly sorry about that. That would be very hard.
It is kind of difficult, but once a man is grown and has a wife of his own, the emotional umbilical cord to his mother has to be cut, even if it has to be gradual. While they can still have a relationship, the more controlling and dominating of him she is, the more distance he will have to set for the safety of your own relationship. I'm sure that if you guys are both intentional about having a healthy relationship and work hard at it this will happen. It's okay to get professional help if you need it, too. After we'd been married for a year my husband and I went back for two sessions to the guy who did our premarital counseling. We thought it would take forever to fix the in-law problems, but just two sessions did it and then we were good to go. Even healthy, smart relationships can benefit from a little outside perspective sometimes, and I highly recommend it.
Good luck! I hope your crazy mother-in-law comes around.