Some in-laws bring soup when you’re struggling. Others bring... let’s just say “bad company” for your husband while you’re away. One woman found out the hard way that family dynamics can get way too unhealthy, especially when MIL is involved.
“Hi Bright Side,
My husband and I have been married 5 years. From day one, MIL and I clashed. She hated everything about me, always said things like, ‘You’re a burden to our family’ or ‘One day he’ll wake up and leave you!’
He’s out of work right now, I run a small flower business that pays the bills. MIL hates that I don’t involve him in it, she thinks I’m ‘demotivating’ him, while I just know flowers aren’t his thing.
We hit a rough patch, and I decided to take a break and stay with my sister in another city for a bit. A week later I get a text from MIL: ‘Don’t worry, I made sure my son isn’t bored without you, and trust me, he’s not bored at all.’
I rushed home and saw MIL, my husband, and some girl she found sitting at my table, eating like one big happy family. My husband didn’t look uncomfortable at all. He just sat there like a king, clearly enjoying that women were competing around him. I didn’t say a word, just left.”
Block your MIL, #1. Child support is expensive. The KING will have to buckle down. $$$ . A strange female sitting at your dining table!?. I’d have cleared the table in one swift motion. As for what to do, never shrink from a fight, especially when you have the high ground. Congrats on the baby to be!
“Two days later, I sent MIL a picture of a positive pregnancy test with a message: ‘Don’t worry about my free time anymore. I’ll be busy growing and raising a baby. But you’ll never meet your grandchild, you’re way too busy organizing entertainment for your son.’
Now MIL is blowing up my phone, calling me ‘cruel’ and accusing me of ‘using the baby as a weapon.’ My husband swings back and forth: one day he sends flowers and gifts, the next he texts stuff like, ‘You can’t divorce me now. Do you really want to be a single mom and a loser in life?’
I’m set on divorcing him, but my sister and mom keep saying I should give him (and MIL) another chance, that maybe once the baby arrives things will magically get better. I don’t buy it.
So, dear Bright Side, am I the villain here for cutting ties, or am I just finally doing the right thing?”
you're going to need all your energy and attention on growing your baby and then bringing him/her into the world....your husband has shown no appreciation for your work efforts and keeping your little family afloat especially as he glommed on to your possible MIL-supplied replacement so quickly....your MIL will take over your child and your parenting skills will never be up to her standards....get a divorce and remove these two parasites from your life ASAP...stay with your family and frieends who will support and encourage you, and DON'T give either of them access to the baby without you being there---talk to a lawyer about how to protedt your child from them and keep them at a distance....don't put it past them to do something like enforce a child protection offer, seek custody arrangements, or even take baby out of state while on a "visit",,,and WRITE everything that has to pass between you and them -- keep notes as they may come in handy should this have to go to court...you don't need such a useless husband and his blood-and-spirit-sucking MIL....
The right thing by far.. Once a cheater, always a cheater.. Especially with MIL lining them up for him. Get a divorce. Move Far away before the baby is born and never look back.
Hell no don't give them another chance. Next time your loser husband contacts you tell him to go back to mommy. Get a divorce and make it clear to the judge that mil is to have no contact with your baby.
Get divorced and single custody if possible. Things will just get worse with both of them if you stay. Don't let Mil around your child.
When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Go through with divorce, request sole custody with only supervised visitation for husband only. He'll need to man up and get employed so he can pay his fair share of child support. MIL is toxic IMO and I wouldn't let her around my child.
Slam to your husband childcare law before you diforce him. Also said to your MIL, "you said I'm cruel ?" (Show her reply about entertaining your husband) and said "So be it". When the baby born, prepare a lawyer so she and your ex husband and MIL can't get close to your baby. Make them jealous with your live without able to get close to you. What happen for a month can become material of hot potato for decades to come. An eye 👁️ for an eye, a teeth 🦷 for a teeth 🦷.
If she did an eye for an eye, she couldn't even guarantee it's his baby. She should just divorce him using a good lawyer and get a solid parenting plan in place
You have great advice!! I agree 💯%!
Our community reacted to Lena’s story in the most emotional way possible. Here are some of the top comments our readers left after reading the woman’s confession:
Hubby better get a job & prepare to pay child support for a long time.
Dear Lena,
Sometimes the smartest move isn’t to choose between staying or leaving immediately, but to build a quiet plan for independence while everyone else is distracted by drama. Keep your business thriving and document every interaction, it transforms chaos into clarity. Instead of letting your MIL’s provocations define you, turn them into proof of why distance is necessary.
See your strength not only in walking away, but in preparing a future that feels secure for both you and your child. Let your husband and his mother play their ‘happy family’ charade, your power lies in refusing to audition for their play. Freedom doesn’t always arrive with fireworks; sometimes it’s built flower by flower, day by day.
Navigating in-law relationships can be challenging, but for some, it crosses a line into outright hostility. One woman reached out to share her painful experience of being judged and insulted by her mother-in-law. When she refused to walk away from the man she loves, things took a shocking turn, one she never saw coming.
The man doesn't have a job and his mommy takes care of him, what benefit would he actually bring to the child's life by staying with him? He's not mature enough to be a stay-at-home parent so that you can work to support the family, and he doesn't have a job so he can't support the family. So all he is is an extra mouth to feed. Better off without him.
Honestly run go somewhere he won't find you that way nowhere to send the court papers!! If he can't find you to serve you he loses.
