17 People Whose Family Life Feels Like a TV Show Without a Script

Family life is not always romantic and cozy. In the beginning, it seems that love can withstand everything, but in reality it often turns out to be more complicated: relatives interfere, or financial issues come into question.

• Wedding, banquet, congratulations. My husband takes the microphone and starts with how much he loves me, how happy he is.
  And then suddenly he says, “You know, this morning I was thinking of cancelling the wedding.” There’s silence in the room. He saw my face, realized what he’d said and continued, “Not because I don’t love you! I was just scared.”
  The guests are laughing, mom doesn’t know how to react. That’s it, happy married life begins. © Caramel / VK

• My In-laws are nosey and dig through my drawers, mail and anything they can find. It would make me upset that they would snoop when caring for my child.
  I wanted to test the waters to see if my suspicions were true. I made changes to a job offer letter, increasing my pay substantially. I never said a word to my wife or anyone.
  Soon enough, we were being asked why we didn’t want flashier cars or home. I shared we wanted to be humble and leave our savings to our loved ones. They started kissing our butts so much, it was ridiculous.
  My wife kept questioning why they were being so nice and giving, I gave in and told her, she thought it was mean of me but laughs about it too. It keeps me giggling in my head. © Keo Painya / Quora
• My husband and I bought an apartment in a new building, for which we had worked together for several years. We made good renovations and finally moved in. A month later, my mother-in-law suddenly became our frequent guest: either she “drove by” or “bought a delicious cake.”
  Once she arrived late in the evening and said defiantly, “Oh, it’s so late. I’m scared to go home!” Of course, we let her stay with us for the night.
  In the morning, we wake up from the noise in the living room. We look and see the mother-in-law moving the furniture. We asked her what’s going on.
  And she replied, “I slept badly. I read that this is because of the wrong arrangement of furniture. Today, I’ll try to sleep like this.” My husband and I were stunned.
  At breakfast, we subtly hinted to her that it’s not the right thing to do in someone else’s home. She was offended. After all, she “meant well.”

• The first wife, I had inklings that I might not have married the right person when I was working full-time (making very good pay) and she decided to quit her job and just sat at home. We had a maid come every week to clean the house top to bottom, do the laundry and all the dishes — and the house was still a hellhole 6 days a week.
  If dinner was made at all when I got home from work, it was hamburger helper or a microwaved hot dog wiener and blue box macaroni and cheese. It really became clear when I caught her cheating. Her exact words to a friend, “My husband’s an angel, but I’m bored.” © Grizzled***t / Reddit
• My mother-in-law started nagging me about how dirty our place was — apparently we weren’t cleaning properly. Then I accidentally saw her wiping the toilet brush with a rag, rinsing that rag, and using it to clean the bathtub.
  At our place, she also started washing mugs with the same cloth I use to wipe the tables. When I timidly asked her not to do that, she just said, “Oh, come on, I washed it in hot water.” © Inessa Fedorovna / ADME

• While I was in the hospital, my in-laws were matchmaking their boy with other gals and even helped move his stuff. © PsychologicalBit5422 / Reddit
• I come home and walk straight into a screaming match. My wife’s yelling, my daughter’s yelling. I somehow calm them down and listen.
  Backstory: my wife has a sister and a niece — both freeloaders who love riding on someone else’s dime. After a couple of incidents, I told my wife not to give them money anymore. I earn well, but I’m not feeding leeches, especially when our daughter, who’s younger than that niece, studies and works part-time.
  My wife felt bad saying no, so she got creative — started helping her niece with clothes and other stuff. Would’ve been fine, but she was taking everything from our daughter, saying things like, “Don’t be selfish, you have to share, they need help.”
  My daughter’s not the type to whine — instead, she packed up 2 big bags with her mom’s nicest clothes and delivered them to her aunt. Told her, “Mom says you need these more.” The aunt was thrilled and flat-out refused to give them back, even after the fight. Now my wife’s yelling at our daughter, but the girl’s standing firm, “You said we should share.”
  I laughed like crazy. Calmed my wife down, backed up my daughter. Now I’m thinking maybe it’s time for a divorce — who knows what else my wife might decide to share with her dear family. © Overheard / Ideer

• About 10 years ago, I ended up in the hospital. A friend of mine used to drive my girlfriend over to visit me. By the time I was discharged, I had neither a girlfriend nor a friend. They got married, and now have 2 kids.
  But the real kicker? That former friend actually blames me for them getting together. Says if I hadn’t landed in the hospital, everything would’ve turned out fine — I’d still have a beautiful wife and a loyal friend. © Enot****let / Pikabu
• My grandparents had a huge fight — get this — over a torn sock. Grandma told Grandpa to throw it out, but he stitched it up instead. That led to a full-blown argument, and now they’re not speaking to each other.
  Grandma’s coming to stay with us from another city. Mom says it’s just old age, but Dad snapped and said they should finally get divorced, since they’ve been bickering over nonsense their whole lives. Grandma’s 65, Grandpa’s 70. © Overheard / Ideer

• As soon as my husband and I start saving up for a vacation, his mother suddenly comes up with some urgent need for money. One time it’s home repairs, then it’s redoing the roof at the summer house, then a medical check-up, or paying the car insurance. Every time, my husband gives in and hands over all the money he had set aside for the trip.
  But after he dipped into my savings because he didn’t have enough, I started keeping my money separate and began going on vacation alone. When I come back, he walks around gloomy, sighs dramatically, and asks, enviously, “Did you have a good time?” He hasn’t been on vacation in 5 years, but talking doesn’t help — his mom’s whims always come first.
  I asked him not to tell her when we’re planning a trip, but he says he doesn’t want to lie to his mother. I’ve been thinking about divorce more and more often. I’m scared of a future with someone so spineless. © Overheard / Ideer
• My wife and I share a joint budget. She earns way less than me, but I’ve never blamed her or forbidden her from buying anything — everything is equal. We were saving together to fix the balcony. I was going to pay for it, but found no money.
  I asked my wife, “Have you seen the money anywhere?” And she calmly told me she’s been giving it to her parents and does so every month. She doesn’t spend a penny on herself and helps them out. That’s when I was stunned.
  I’m not against spending — it’s our joint budget after all — but why should we be supporting someone else’s family? Yes, someone else’s, because they never gave my wife a cent. She studied, worked, supported them, while her parents liked to relax, take a car loan, and live off their daughter’s salary.
  I told her we’re not giving them money anymore — especially such a big amount and without my approval. She said, “But the budget is joint, I spend money however I want.” Either I’m missing something, or she is. © Overheard / Ideer

• My fiancé and I were living in my apartment, but his mother started hinting that in their family, it wasn’t acceptable for the wife to have property while the husband didn’t. At first, I laughed it off.
  But one day his mom and sister came over, and the sister started going on about how we needed to change the wallpaper, buy new furniture, and that all the appliances were already outdated.
  I cut off her train of thought and asked why she was telling me what I needed to change in my apartment. And she said, “As soon as you get married, this won’t be your apartment anymore. You’ll move in with mom, and I’ll live here.” I asked my fiancé what that was supposed to mean, and he just sat there staring at the table.
  And then his mother told me, “Sweetheart, I already said that in our family, it’s not acceptable for women to own property. After the wedding, we’re going to the notary, and you’ll transfer the apartment to my son. This isn’t up for discussion.”
  I kicked them all out. Let his little family go find some other fool. © Overheard / Ideer
• I’m divorcing my wife because I’m tired of her relatives. They’ve started a construction project and expect me to work there every weekend and during vacations. Her grandparents have a vegetable garden they keep inviting me to under the pretext “at least you’ll get a break from the city,” but in reality I spend the entire weekend digging in the dirt.
  I have no problem helping with money — buying materials, hiring workers, and so on — I earn enough for that. But that money costs me tremendous effort, and I want to spend my well-earned days off on myself. But no, “we’re family,” so they demand my physical presence. And they get offended if I say no.
  The worst part is, my wife, who was originally on my side, started taking theirs. “Just go visit my parents, is it that hard?” “Grandma’s getting old, she can’t handle the garden anymore.” Meanwhile, when I got in a car accident, not a single “family member” even came to see me in the hospital. I’ve had enough of this drama. © Overheard / Ideer

• At 34, I decided to try high heels dance classes. I mean, why not? I wanted to surprise my husband, spice things up a little.
  In my head, it looked amazing: I’m all graceful and flexible, effortlessly wrapping myself around the pole, pulling off a dramatic split, while my husband watches in awe and claps. I went to my first class. Stood in front of the mirror, looked at myself — total dance goddess.
  Then they turned on the music, and the goddess slowly sank to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Okay, I thought, first time’s never perfect. But it only got worse.
  A basic spin on the pole? Fine, barely managed. Stretching? A complete disaster. When it came to tricks — that turned out to be just plain impossible.
  After 2 weeks, my body was aching from the strain and my self-esteem was scraping the floor. And the worst part — when I tried to show off even a little at home, instead of love in my husband’s eyes, I saw fear. © Not everyone will understand / VK
• When my husband comes home from work so late that I’m already in bed, he always starts looking for something to eat, but never finds anything. He gets upset, snacks on some fruit and cookies, and goes to bed hungry.
  And every time, he’s genuinely surprised in the morning when I show him the dinner sitting right there on the fridge shelf. He’s a wonderful and usually very attentive person, but when it comes to late-night dinners, something just doesn’t click. © Mum Darling / ADME

• One time my wife and I had a fight, she packed her things and went to her mother’s place. It’s a couple of hours away. I was upset, but I knew I was right, so I continued doing what I was doing with a clear conscience.
  About 6 hours later, my mother-in-law shows up and says, “I’m returning my daughter — looks like you lost her.” © al3easy / Pikabu
• My beloved wife can’t cook. At all. We’ve been married for 8 years, we have a son, and she’s a stay-at-home mom. I’m tired of always being the one who buys and cooks the food — including for our child — and I can’t afford constant takeout.
  Even when she tries, she somehow manages to turn good ingredients into a disaster. I honestly thought she’d learn eventually, but she doesn’t want to. Any suggestion — whether it’s a course or a simple tip — she takes as an insult.
  Yesterday, she offered to fry some salmon, but got distracted by her phone and burned everything. I have no idea how to deal with this. © Overheard / Ideer

And here are more interesting family stories if you love them.