My Ex-Mother-in-Law Is Watching Over Our Family—How My Late Wife’s Mother Invaded Our Home, Upset My…

My former mother-in-law has been following us everywhere.

So, my ex-mother-in-law is 52 now, and shes the mum of my late wife, Emily. I got married when I was only 23. Emily got pregnant just before the wedding, and thats how our daughter, Sophie, came along.

But things took a sharp turn after just two yearsEmily fell gravely ill and, very sadly, passed away.

It was just me and Sophie from there on out. I decided to move back to my parents place, to a different town. It made sense; my job kept me out for ten hours a day, and my mum and dad could look after Sophie. That was our arrangement.

I got promoted soon after, and bought a house about half an hour away from my parents. After that, Sophie spent time either with her grandparents or with a nanny I hired (I made sure my parents had their own time tooI didnt want to overburden them). Sophies eight now.

Thats when my former mother-in-law made the decision to move to our town, just to be close to Sophie. To be honest, I was pretty taken aback. Not that I didnt understand her reasonsI do! But she packed up and moved across the country, hundreds of miles, just to be near us.

I thought, Fair enough. Emily was her only child, and Sophie is her only grandchild. I guess she just couldnt face being alone.

But, from the moment she landed here, problems started

First up, shes in my house pretty much the entire day. Literally all day, including when I get back from work. And if that wasnt enough, she started showing up on weekendswell, popping in is hardly the word, because she’s there from morning till night.

Shes even around when Sophie is at school. She tends to come out with stuff like:

No ones here keeping the house tidy, so I stick around. Dust collects every day, you can’t do without a womans touch.
The flowers are on their last legs. If I dont water them, youll be throwing them out soon.
There were reports of burglars sniffing around yesterday; they stayed away from here because I was in.
Dont worry, Im not after your money.

I have a sneaking suspicion she thinks her daughters spirit somehow lives on in my house, the way she sometimes talks to someone in an empty room.

Honestly, after a few awkward conversations, I found her behaviour incredibly embarrassinga real invasion of my personal space. She seemed to listen when I raised the issue. But

Last week, she well and truly crossed the line. Thing is, Ive been seeing someoneLucyfor about a year and a half. Last weekend, Sophie was round at my folks house, so I finally invited Lucy over.

We had dinner, watched a film, and were relaxing on the sofa, just enjoying a rare bit of peace. Suddenly, I hear this rustling and a soft thud outside the lounge. I look up, heart pounding, and there at the door is my ex-mother-in-law, who had let herself in, no doorbell, no phone call, nothing.

Seriouslywas it the dying flowers again?

But before I could say a single word, she flew into a rage and accused me of betraying Emilys memory and disrespecting her.

Shocked doesnt cover it. I calmly told her exactly how I felt, took away her spare house key, and showed her the door.

Youre not welcome here anymore!

Shes got no one else, and now friends and familyincluding my own parentsare telling me to reconsider. Decency, they say. I suppose the best I can do is let Sophie visit her gran sometimes (she is her granddaughter, after all), but as for my house, its staying private. Thats that. End of.