I Refuse to Give Up the Passenger Seat for My MIL—She Should Learn Her Place

Family dynamics can be difficult, especially when in-laws enter the picture. Emotions run high, especially when one party doesn’t respect the other. One of our readers reached out to share what happened between her and her MIL during the festive season.

This is June’s story.

Dear Bright Side,

My MIL and I never got along, but she lived a few states over and wasn’t overly involved, so it wasn’t as much of an issue. That was until the festive season rolled around and she insisted on visiting. I wasn’t a fan of the idea, but I couldn’t keep my husband from seeing his mother either.

So my MIL flew in for a Christmas celebration, and we went to pick her up at the airport. When she got to the car, she opened the passenger door where I sat, gave me a disgusted look, and demanded that I move so she could sit there.

I was 8 months pregnant, sitting in the passenger side of my car, and she had the nerve to say, “Move?” I couldn’t help but wonder if she was insane. So I refused and told her that she didn’t have any right to treat me like I was some second-class citizen.

Then she had the audacity to turn to my husband and snap, “Teach your wife some respect.” I was shocked and was preparing to defend myself. But then my husband got out and said, “My wife can’t respect anyone who doesn’t respect her first.”

“How dare you?” my MIL asked, but my husband just motioned to the back door and asked if she’d be getting in or not. My MIL’s face turned bright red with rage, but she didn’t say another word. She just turned around and marched back to the terminal.

Twenty minutes later my husband got a text that said, “Staying at a hotel. Don’t bother coming by.” My husband tried calling, but she refused to have any contact with us at all. He recently reached out to my FIL because our baby was born, and he wants to set things right.

My FIL told my husband that my MIL is very upset and is demanding an apology because she feels we have disrespected her. So Bright Side, what do you think? Should we apologize to keep the peace? Or should I keep standing my ground?

Regards,
June M.

Some advice from our Editorial team.

Dear June,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your story with us.

Don’t apologize for how you handled this. Apologize only if you’re willing to rewrite the reality of what happened. Your MIL didn’t ask for a seat. She demanded displacement from an 8-month-pregnant woman and then tried to enlist your husband to publicly put you “in your place.”

The key moment here isn’t her storming off. It’s your husband clearly, calmly backing you up without escalating. That sets a precedent you shouldn’t undo.

If you apologize now “to keep the peace,” you’ll be teaching her that she can disrespect you, walk away, and still be rewarded with contrition before the baby even arrives.

The only path forward that protects your family is a conditional reset: your husband can tell his father that you’re open to moving forward after his mother acknowledges that demanding respect while showing none was unacceptable.

No apology for refusing to move. No apology for boundaries. Peace built on submission won’t survive postpartum, sleep deprivation, or future visits anyway.

June’s husband proved whose side he’s really on, and that should provide her some comfort in this situation. What her MIL does next is out of her control. But she isn’t the only one with in-law struggles.

Another one of our readers reached out to share their experience. Read the full story here: My MIL Mocked Me at My Husband’s Birthday Party—I Gave Her a Brutal Reality Check.