I Refuse to Be My MIL’s Free Maid, Especially After She Called Me “Barren”

Mothers-in-law aren’t exactly something you get to pick while getting married. Some people luck out and end up with a second mom. Others get dragged into endless drama, weird competitions, and mind games straight out of a soap opera.

One woman turned to Reddit to share her absolutely outrageous experience with her mother-in-law — and trust us, it’s one for the books. The woman is infertile, and her MIL twisted that painful truth into a weapon, claiming her daughter-in-law was “born to serve” her.

The way this story blows up in the end? You won’t see it coming. Read on and let us know in the comments: how would you have handled it?

An angry woman turned to Reddit to vent about her unhinged family incident.

A raging woman, 34, who came under a username IsoldeVx, has recently turned to one of the Reddit communities to tell people about her complicated family situation. In a conflict with her MIL, the woman feels absolutely cornered, and she came to the online community to ask users for their advice and honest opinions.

The OP mentioned that she and her husband are married for 5 years, but don’t have kids yet, which is an extremely sensitive topic for her. But her entitled MIL turned the woman’s weakness into a string for manipulation and went too far in her desire to exploit her DIL’s hospitality.

The OP’s MIL behaved like her son’s wife owed her something.

The woman shared, “My mother-in-law came to visit recently, and from the second she arrived, she acted like she was checking into a 5-star hotel, and I was the unpaid staff. I 34F have been married to my husband 36M for five years. We don’t have kids, yet it’s a sensitive topic, and not something I talk about lightly.

Anyway, MIL expected me to serve her every meal, clean up after her constant kitchen messes, and get this even do her laundry. I tried to stay civil for the sake of peace, but it was getting harder by the hour.”

The woman had had enough, and here’s when the tension turned into an explosive scandal.

The woman wrote, “The final straw? I was doing my laundry when she came in, dropped her dirty clothes next to mine like I was her maid, and left without saying a word. I ignored it and finished my stuff. Later, I politely told her the machine was free now if she wanted to use it.

Her response? ‘Aren’t you supposed to help me? After all, a barren lady should at least be humble.’

I froze. That comment hit me in the gut. I didn’t yell. I didn’t argue. I calmly went to her room, packed up her stuff, dropped it in the living room, and told her to leave.”

People of Reddit rushed to the comments section to support the OP and share their thoughts.

One user wrote, “I’d shout loudly for your husband., ’Your mother needs to be taught basic respect. I’m apparently too barren. Maybe you could try.’”

Another person said, “Yeah, my mother-in-law said some off the wall stuff to me when my husband wasn’t around, and she found herself kicked out with her ears ringing. My husband knows how his mom is, so her crying to him didn’t convince him it wasn’t warranted. You don’t get to come into my home and talk down to me or treat me disrespectfully without being told off and made to leave.”

A third commenter mentioned, “Is OP from a different culture? Why didn’t her husband say anything while OP was waiting on his mother, hand and foot? He probably looked the other way, because it’s her wifely duty.
OP is a good one. How she remained calm after the barren comment is beyond me. Yes, no more disrespecting OP. The maid has quit.”

One more user wrote, “Who even uses the word barren in conversation like that?! You don’t need to be humble!”

One woman commented, “Wow. What an evil person. Sorry, your MIL is disgusting.
I’m ’barren,’ and mine sends me a Mother’s Day card every year because I’m a dog mom and I ’take care of her son’ so I’m still a ’mother.’ She’s very lovely about the whole thing.”

Another Redditor added, “Good for you. I hope you threw her dirty clothes in with the clean. If your husband doesn’t back you up, leave him.”

And here’s yet another story from our reader that will make you wonder how some people don’t have a clue about personal space, borders and respect. A man wrote us a letter and shared how he had to put a lock on his daughter’s room, all because his wife and stepdaughters behaved like vultures. Read on to find out the dramatic details of this story and share your opinions in the comments.