Reddit AITA: The Worst Mother-in-Law Stories
Struggling with your mother-in-law and want to feel a lot less alone? We tracked down some of the worst MIL stories on Reddit’s AITA forum, which are guaranteed to make you cringe and bury your head in your hands immediately. Sons- and daughters-in-law have taken to the community board over the years to share their gripes and find out who was in the wrong. Reddit always comes through with a verdict, and it’s safe to say that the results were unanimous when it comes to the stories you’ll read below.
Situations run an awkward, thorny gamut. Like the MIL who insisted that she be the first to hold her grandchild even though she was literally out of town for the birth (um, what?!). Or the MIL who took it upon herself to share her son and daughter-in-law’s pregnancy announcement on Facebook … under their names (yikes). Sit back and prepare to feel a mix of rage, bafflement and heightened blood pressure — and, hopefully, a new outlook on your own mother-in-law situation!
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‘Diabolical’ In-Laws
This one may top all. the. rest. And in this one, the father-in-law is just as much at fault. A grieving dad joined Reddit to vent about one of the most horrifying acts we’ve ever heard of. This man’s wife, Amy — with whom he shared three children — tragically passed away from cancer. According to Amy’s diary, his parents pressured her to write letters to the kids telling them to “promise to have their hearts and minds open to [another mom some day soon].”
“She was supposed to tell them it was her dying wish and all sorts of crap,” OP said. “…They made her so distressed in the end. According to the diary, my parents told Amy she was a terrible mother and a selfish person for not urging us to move on and find another wife and mom once she was no longer here.”
Is it safe to say they’re the cruelest in-laws ever?
A Week From Hell
One mom on Reddit found herself in a childcare mess. Her nanny unexpectedly quir=t “for personal reasons” and this mom, who works from home, said the first week without a babysitter was a “mess.” Her mother-in-law offered to help, and what should have been a blessing, turned into a curse.
“It was hell,” OP said. “She doesn’t understand the concept that me being at home working is not the same as being off work,” OP continued, saying the MIL would often come to ask for help or just to chat. MIL wanted to continue and be paid, OP wanted her gone immediately, and her husband just wanted to keep the peace. Read the full frustrating story HERE.
Breach In Trust
One MIL majorly broke her family’s trust when she pierced her 6-month-old granddaughter’s ears without her son and daughter-in-law’s permission.
“[My MIL] started pestering me about getting my daughter’s ears pierced from a few days after she was born,” the DIL said. “I made it clear that I would not be doing that, and that I’d be waiting until she’s old enough to ask for it herself.”
And yet! Grandma went ahead because apparently mother[-in-law] knows best. “My worry is that [my MIL will] do the same thing again, and to be frank, she’s lost my trust entirely,” OP said. “I also told her that if she had a problem with that, I’d report what she did to the police.”
Redditors are astounded and mad on multiple fronts. Read the whole story HERE.
The Problem With “Limited Notice”
A newly postpartum mom joined Reddit to talk about how she and her husband were very selective with who met their newborn in the days following the birth. When her MIL found out that the other grandparents met the baby, she was “very upset,” so the new parents allowed her to come for a “brief visit.”
This MIL brought lasagna, pasta salad, muffins, and cookies, which is normally a great thing to do for new parents, but her DIL has Celiac disease and can’t eat these gluten-filled foods.
“She explained to me that she was sorry but she had limited notice and only had time to make my husband’s favorites…and it was just so time-consuming and burdensome to make things gluten-free,” OP said. To which Reddit said, “Bullsh*t!”
“MIL went out of her way to exclude OP,” Redditors angrily insisted.
The Cost Of Kindness
When a mom-to-be on Reddit went into labor, her MIL “kindly offered” to go over and feed the dogs. She and her husband were incredibly grateful for this, especially since she had to stay in the hospital longer than is typical because of complications. What they did not appreciate, was the bill they found waiting for them at home.
A bill.
This MIL had gotten the bedroom carpet — on which OP’s water broke — cleaned and she wanted to be reimbursed. She also decided to clean the house and wanted to be paid $25/hour and reimbursed for the $200 worth of cleaning supplies she bought.
YUP.
OP and her husband refused to pay and her MIL said she couldn’t believe they were “so ungrateful” for these things she did “out of the kindness of her heart.”
Reddit was flabbergasted and the top comment said, “If she’d done it out of the kindness of her heart, the most she could possibly ask for is the cleaning supplies, because that’s the only thing she is out financially (and I’d be giving even that the side-eye). The kindness of one’s heart doesn’t come with a price tag.”
Read the whole messy story HERE.
Major Money Problem
If you thought that invoice was bad? Just wait until you hear this. One MIL — who quite regularly asked her son and DIL for several thousand dollars — asked her son for $15 thousand for a vacation. Well, the DIL who posted on Reddit put her foot down on this one and ended up askin her FIL if they were having money troubles.
And then it all came to light. Her husband told his dad about the mom frequently asking for money, and the FIL said the MIL withdrew cash from the bank last year to help pay for her son and DIL’s wedding.
“But she lied,” OP wrote. “She never gave us a dime.”
Not only was this “lying and leeching” MIL forced to write a reimbursement check, but the FIL decided to separate from his wife “until he feels he can trust her again.” Read about the fallout of this financial feud — and where the funds were allegedly going — HERE.
Stealing The Show
This one is just petty and ridiculous. One mother-in-law is pissed that her DIL’s 72-hour-long labor coincided with her birthday, meaning she didn’t get a birthday text from her son or DIL.
“I called her up apologizing but explaining that I genuinely forgot and it wasn’t intentional,” the new dad wrote. “She went on to blame my wife by saying she purposely went into labor right around her birthday in order to ‘steal her spotlight from her son.’”
Yes. This MIL is apparently a full-blown child.
“It’s cute that your mom thinks your wife is talented enough to go into labor on command,” one Redditor said. And many more had thoughts that you can read HERE.
Caught In A Lie
One pest-of-a-mother-in-law insisted she learn the sex of her grandchild. Unfortunately for her, her DIL didn’t know the sex of her baby, but this woman wasn’t backing down. She begged and promised she wouldn’t tell a soul, so this DIL went ahead and said she was having a girl. “I figured it was a 50/50 chance and it would get her off my back,” she wrote.
You won’t be surprised to hear the MIL lied about keeping the secret. At the sex reveal party, there was “a really awkward silence” when they cut into the cake and found it was blue inside. The MIL told “literally all” the guests on her side that her son and DIL were having a girl so they could “bring appropriate gifts.”
Appropriate. Gifts. Read: Gifts that align with bogus gender norms.
WTAF?!
Reddit found the whole thing as hilarious as it is infuriating. “I am cackling,” another wrote. “This is amazing. Maybe just cause I hate gender reveals but omg this made me laugh so hard. A true lesson for your MIL to keep her mouth shut.”
Read the whole messed-up story HERE.
Birthday Party Drama
When this mother-in-law showed up to a birthday party for her 4- and 5-year-old grandkids, she threw a fit over the food served.
First, she asked what the nacho cheese was made out of, and the birthday kids’ mom replied that it was a “big can of cheese.”
“She then asks me to dig the can out of the the full trash so I can tell her what is actually in it,” the mom wrote. “I refuse. I told her if she wanted to dig through the trash she could. She just pouted and didn’t eat anything.”
Can you believe how rude that is? The daughter-in-law stood up for herself, though, telling her MIL: “if she wants to have a party for the kids and serve certain foods, and drinks. That she was welcome too and pay for it herself, until then I would be getting what the kids asked for.”
Read the full wild story (and her husband’s lie that made it all so much worse) here.
Petty Request for Payment
The latest drama on the AITA subreddit revolves around an a**hole mother-in-law, and the unfortunate (but reasonable!) placement of her daughter-in-law’s a**.
The DIL said she and her husband recently went to his parents’ house, and she accidentally cracked an outdoor chair when she sat down. She apologized profusely and asked what she can do, but everyone in attendance said it was fine and that accidents happen (duh!).
You will not be surprised to hear that in the MIL’s eyes, everything was not fine.
“My husband told me that my MIL sent him an invoice for $200 for the chair,” the woman said. “She did not send the invoice to me because she didn’t think I could afford to replace her ‘not cheap’ chair.”
The DIL ultimately decided to let the MIL know she would not be returning to her house (Wouldn’t want to break something else!), but that her husband could do as he pleases.
“Brava,” said the Reddit community.
As for the next time this awful MIL visits her son and DIL’s house (it doesn’t happen often because she hates that they have rescue dogs and not thoroughbreds), one commenter suggested the woman charge her.
“Hand her a bill for her use of the utilities and facilities for the duration of her visit: sort of like a resort fee.”
Drama on Speed-Dial
Nobody works harder than a mother-in-law with a grudge. But this MIL on Reddit took her pettiness a little too far on Christmas by involving her 6-year-old granddaughter — and we are “fuming” right alongside her son-in-law who wrote about the whole thing.
“So my mother in law gave our 6yr daughter a smart phone with a sim and internet access. She did not discuss this with any one and gave it to her when we weren’t around on X mas day.”
And why?
“Because your wife doesn’t answer hers…” he continued. Ohh, the audacity of this woman! You just know she’s been plotting this gift for a while, all so she could deliver that zinger of a statement.
The only good thing about this situation is that this manipulative MIL had to cough up a lot of money to be this passive aggressive.
Not only does this dad have an out-of-line adult to deal with, he now also has to explain to his daughter why she can’t have a phone.
One commenter wisely suggested that this be a teaching moment about secrets.
“[Explain that] anything that someone gives to you in secret, and tries to keep from mom and dad, is not a good gift to keep. ‘Next time, if you think someone is making a mistake by giving you a secret gift, you should bring it to one of your parents before you open it to play.’”
Sexist Shopper
In “Parenting” subreddit, one mom shared her mother-in-law’s horrible reaction to finding out they were getting her grandson a play kitchen for Christmas.
“Her tone immediately changed. She goes ‘a WHAT?’ in a really disgusted tone. ‘A play kitchen? And some toy food?’ ‘Why did you get him that? He’s a boy.’’”
As if it couldn’t get any worse, the MIL solidly confirmed her horrible stance. “My mother in law, almost in screeching hysterics at this point, ‘get him a workbench or something! Why would you get him a KITCHEN?’”
And there it is. She seems to live in this 1950s outdated mindset that only women belong in the kitchen, so only girls should play with kitchens … can you imagine a (*gasp!*) man being in the kitchen?! So obviously, you can’t let little boys play in the kitchen either.
Thankfully, OP has a game plan for how to handle her sexist MIL.
“Passive aggression is my specialty 🙂,” the mom responded. “I plan on posting a ton of pics of my son playing in his brand new kitchen first thing Christmas morning 😌😌🤭.”
God-awful Grandma
Having a complicated relationship with your mother-in-law is (sometimes) par for the course, but this MIL’s awful behavior toward her daughter-in-law — especially after she made a truly vile comment about her granddaughter that will make you want to punch something.
“To be honest, my MIL is horrible,” she says right off the bat. “She gives backhanded compliments, insults me and my looks and always tries to set my husband up with other people.”
*jaw drop*
Now, the OP is pregnant with the couple’s second baby. They already have a 6-year-old daughter who has epilepsy, and apparently that is a problem for this evil MIL. Things came to a head at the baby shower recently.
“I was telling everyone how our baby was once again a girl,” the mom said. “My MIL then decided to say, ‘Wow another girl! Let’s hope she’s not like her sister.’”
“I asked what she meant by that and she said, ‘We don’t need any other diseases in the family. Imagine seeing a newborn baby drop to the floor and shake everywhere. It’s embarrassing.’”
Are you absolutely fuming?! Well Reddit was, and they told that mom (whose husband agreed with his mother!!!) to get the hell out of Dodge.
“Her MIL is a monster, but it’s her husband’s enabling and encouraging MIL’s behavior that is truly horrifying,” someone said. “So glad to hear OP packed her bags to go stay with her mother, but I hope she knows it needs to be a PERMANENT move. I so desperately hope OP has a strong support system in place, because she is going to need it.”
Move-In Mama Drama
For one mom-to-be, it was a “non-negotiable” that her mom live with her after she gives birth. Her MIL got wind of that and hopped right on board.
“While we were telling both our families the good news, it was brought up to my MIL that my mother would be staying with us for over 3 months right after the baby was born,” she wrote. “My MIL then expressed her wish to also be allowed to stay with us right after the baby is born. I told her that after my mom leaves she is more than welcome to come and stay with us, but only AFTER my mom leaves.”
The MIL felt like that decision was “unfair” and proposed that she sleep on the couch as a compromise.
The verdict?
“If she’s pitching a fit now, and refusing to respect your boundaries by asking the same question over and over again until she gets the answer she wants, it proves you made the right decision,” a Reddit user noted. “If she’s being difficult now, she’s be hella difficult staying with you.”
Delivery Room Demands
When this Reddit user had her first baby, her mom stayed in the delivery room with her. Now that she’s having her second child, her husband believes that it’s his mom’s turn to be in the delivery room.
“He mentioned that since I got to choose who was in the delivery room last time he should get to choose who’s gets to be inside of the room this time.,” the mom explained. “I told him he was insane if he thought I would let his mother see me in extreme pain.”
The husband got upset, left the house and she hasn’t heard from him since. “I’m honestly kind of freaking out both from stress and guilt. I’m worried that my husband isn’t okay but I also can’t help but to feel guilty that I drove him away,” she wrote.
The verdict?
“When did squeezing a whole other person out of your vagina become a spectator sport?” one person asked. “Of course you want your mom there (I think most women do if they have a nice relationship) for support…why would you want someone in the delivery room who doesn’t even like you when your cash and prizes are hanging out there for everyone to see??? NTA. Not by a long shot.”
Gender Reveal Pushiness
This MIL pushed boundaries way too far. She wanted her daughter-in-law to throw a gender reveal party for her baby, and the DIL put her foot down. She explained that it wasn’t a tradition she was familiar with or interested in.
“Last Thursday, we went to the doctor (husband was working so only MIL and me),” the Reddit user wrote. “The doctor asks me if I wanna know the gender of the baby and I say yes. My MIL shooshes me. She says no. To put it in an envelope so we can give it to the person responsible for the gender reveal. I say no again and just ask to tell us. MIL starts getting impatient and saying that’s no big deal. To just let her have this one thing.” Now, the Reddit user is torn. Should she just have the party to make her MIL happy?
The verdict from Reddit?
“This won’t be the end of MIL’s interference,” one user commented. “If OP gives her this it’ll become more and more she demands and OP’s husband has set a precedent. She’ll want to be in the room when the baby is born, have her say on how to raise it, post pictures and information regardless of OP’s wishes.”
A Dress-Up Dressing-Down
When one Redditor wanted to document her husband adorably playing dress-up with his daughter, her MIL was not having it.
“Ever since our oldest was 2 [my husband] has been more than willing to dress up as a princess and have tea parties with her. It’s my daughter’s favorite thing to do with her dad and he owns so many of those costumes now,” she explained.
So, as one does, she posted a cute pic to social media — and that’s when the trouble started. The OP’s in-laws “accused me of humiliating my husband and of treating him like a woman vs the man that he is.” Seriously?!
But it didn’t stop at social media. ““MIL then pulled me up over it a week ago saying that Chris is a man, and boys/men do not wear dresses and wear makeup, that the girls are going to see him as their mother some day, and he is going to be shamed publicly,” the OP wrote. “She told me I should never have broadcast those photos and I am teaching my daughters some pretty ‘sketchy’ things about gender and the roles everyone plays in families.”
The verdict?
This Redditor didn’t need moral support before her retaliation: “I fired back that my husband does it of his own free will and they needed to unbunch their panties because it shows how comfortable he is with himself that he will jump in eagerly to play dress up with his kids,” she said. But also, Reddit was firmly in her corner to back her up.
“NTA, your husband sounds wonderful and has created memories with your daughters that will last a lifetime,” said one comment. “Your MIL on the other hand is so worried about the opinions of others that she’s taking it all out on you.”
Trauma Times Two
A father and son’s traumatic loss has been compounded by a very difficult situation with the in-laws.
“Two years ago, my wife died from a genetic illness. There are many different layers to the horror of the tragedy, one of which is that we were getting divorced at the time,” he explained on Reddit’s AITA forum. “…We’d rushed into marriage without a plan, but we didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. We planned everything for our divorce, where we would each live, how we would handle our son’s schedule, everything.”
His wife passed away before they could sign the papers. Now, her parents want the dad to uphold the original agreement — with them as co-parents.
“My MiL, who has the same genetic condition, is very sick and might not have long left,” he explained. “She, FiL & SiL have pushed for a lot of time with my son, which I absolutely support and accommodate to the best of my ability. However, they get upset if I ever say no.”
The verdict?
“[The son] has already lost his mum, and I’m sure I can’t understand how hard that was, and now he’s being forced to watch his gran die the same way regardless of how he might be feeling,” a Reddit user responded. “Of course, spending some time with family is important, but the in laws haven’t considered his own needs. What if he needs a break? What if they’re putting a lot of pressure on him to ‘perform’?”
Tyrannical Tantrums
When one Redditor didn’t particularly want her mother-in-law in the delivery room for the birth of her baby, the dad-to-be tried to make a deal: he’d keep his mom out of the delivery as long as she could be the first to hold the baby.
Not knowing what to say, the expectant mom recounts that she “didn’t agree but didn’t disagree as well. Just stayed silent.”
When the big day came, the Redditor’s MIL was indeed absent from the delivery room. Problem was, she was also absent from town. “All my husband was worried about was having his mom be the first to meet the baby, but she was out of town attending a friend’s daughter’s wedding,” said the new mom. “He said she wouldn’t be back ’til two days later.”
Being that she was out of town, it only stands to reason that the MIL could not in fact be the first to hold the baby. Since the OP’s mom and sister were right there and able to help, they got dibs. Reasonable, right? Well, not in her MIL’s eyes – or her husband’s.
“They both went off and started throwing a fit saying that I betrayed her, and that I made a promise then broke it. My husband tried to get her to calm down after she came home lashing out, but she scolded us both then walked out. He blew up at me saying I screwed up and violated the agreement we had. I said that mom and sister were HELPING me out, and held the baby so what? He got more pissed and claimed I had no respect for his mom and her wishes and told me that I hurt her feelings and ruined her grandbaby’s birth memory.”
The verdict?
Let’s just say Reddit came for the selfish MIL and her overly-devoted son, and the comment section did not disappoint.
“Dude is so far up his mum’s vagina that she could literally give birth to him again and have her own special birthing moment to herself,” said one snarkly commenter. We couldn’t agree more!
Facebook Fraudulence
A MIL wanted to share the news of her son and DIL’s pregnancy on Facebook. The couple had not expected the pregnancy, weren’t sure if they were going to go through with it and the DIL — understandably — didn’t want to news to get out. So, instead, the MIL logged into her son’s Facebook account and broke the news.
“I was floored I called her and she said she figured if she made the announcement using one of our social media accounts then we won’t mind and it’d still look like we made the announcement,” the Reddit user recounted. “But like I stated earlier, we’re still trying to make a decision.” The wife lost her temper and started yelling, which made her mother-in-law cry.
Her husband didn’t back her up, despite the fact that she explained her MIL had violated their privacy. “He said that it was his fb so none of my privacy was ‘violated’ and that I shouldn’t have yelled and hurt her feelings and made her cry no matter what, period.”
The verdict?
“Remember this is YOUR decision. Not his. Not his mother’s. YOURS because it’s your body,” a user wrote. “I would take some time to think long and hard about the life you really want for you and your child because this is how everything will go. He will always run to mom. It seems like maybe he’s trying to force your hand in having the child by allowing his mother to make these ‘mistakes.’”
