– Needless to Say, This Is All My Fault! – My Boyfriend’s Sister Sobs. – I Never Imagined Something Like This Could Happen! And Now I Have No Idea What to Do Next. I Don’t Even Know How to Handle This Without Losing Face. My Boyfriend’s Sister Got Married a Few Years Ago. After the Wedding, It Was Decided the Newlyweds Would Live with the Husband’s Mother. His Parents Have a Spacious Three-Bedroom Flat and Only One Son. – I’ll Keep One Room, and the Rest Is Yours! – Promised the Mother-in-Law. – We’re All Well-Mannered People, So I’m Sure We’ll Get Along Just Fine. – We Can Always Move Out! – The Husband Assured His Wife. – I Don’t See Anything Wrong in Trying to Live with My Mum. If It Doesn’t Work, We Can Always Get Our Own Place…. That’s Exactly What Happened. As It Turned Out, Living Together Was Quite the Challenge. Both Daughter-in-Law and Mother-in-Law Tried, but Things Got Worse Each Day. Resentments Built Up and Arguments Became More Frequent. – You Said If We Couldn’t Get Along, We’d Move Out! – Cried the Wife. – Well, Haven’t We Managed So Far? – His Mother Smiled Condescendingly. – These Are Little Things, and It’s Not Worth Packing Up and Leaving Over Them. Exactly a Year After the Wedding, His Wife Became Pregnant and Gave Birth to a Healthy Son. The Arrival of the Grandchild Coincided with the Mother-in-Law Quitting Her Old Job and Struggling to Find New Work, as Employers Hesitated to Hire Someone Approaching Retirement. The Daughter-in-Law and Mother-in-Law Had to Spend All Day Together, Neither Having Anywhere Else to Go, and Tensions at Home Only Grew. Her Husband Simply Shrugged and Listened to Their Complaints, as He Was the Sole Breadwinner. – We Can’t Just Leave Mum Right Now—She Has No Income. I Can’t Leave Her on Her Own, and I Can’t Afford to Support Her and Rent a Flat for Us. Once She Finds Something, We’ll Move Out! But the Young Woman’s Patience Wore Thin. She Packed Up Her Things, and Her Son’s, and Moved Back in with Her Own Mum. She Told Her Husband She’d Never Set Foot in His Mother’s House Again, and If He Cared About Family, He’d Have to Sort Something Out. She Was Sure Her Beloved Would Try Everything to Bring Them Back Together. But She’d Judged Wrong. It’s Been Over Three Months Since She Moved Out, and Her Husband Hasn’t Tried to Win Her Back. He Still Lives with His Mum, Talks to His Wife and Child on Video after Work, and Visits Them on Weekends at His Mother-in-Law’s House. He Gets the Care and Attention of Two Women at Once; the Parent Gets Sympathy for Her Son, Left with an Angry Wife, and Doesn’t Have to Deal with the Child at All. The Husband Has It Made! And the Mother-in-Law Hasn’t Really Lost Anything, Either! The Young Woman Is Far from Happy with This Situation. She Loves Her Husband Very Much, Though She Knows He’s Not Doing the Right Thing. – What Did You Expect When You Left? – He Asks. – You Can Always Come Back If You Want. It’s Unlikely the Wife Plans to Leave Her Own Mum or Rent a Flat. The Woman, Now on Maternity Leave, Just Can’t Afford It. Is This Really the End of the Family? Do You Think She Still Has Any Chance of Going Back to Her Mother-in-Law’s House Without Losing Her Dignity?

Needless to say, this is all my fault! my mates sister sobbed. I could never have imagined things would turn out like this! Now I dont know how to move forward. I havent the faintest idea how Ill ever get a grip on this without making a proper fool of myself.

My friends sister married a few years back.

After the wedding, it was decided that the newlyweds would live at her husbands mothers place. His parents owned a spacious three-bedroom flat in Cambridge, and he was their only son.

Ill keep a room for myself and the rest is yours! the mother-in-law said cheerily. Were all reasonable people here, so I dont see why we cant get along splendidly.

We can always move out if it doesnt work, her husband whispered to his wife. I see no harm in making the effort to live together with Mum. If we find we cant stand it, we can always look for a place to rent

And thats exactly what happened. As it turned out, sharing a roof was anything but easy. Both the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law gave it their best, but things only got worse as the days wore on. Bitterness festered, and soon their arguments became a regular occurrence.

You said if we couldnt manage, wed move! his wife wept.
Have we really reached that point? her husband replied, trying to sound above it all. These are trifles. Its hardly reason enough to throw in the towel and pack our bags.

A year after their wedding, his wife found out she was pregnant and later gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

The arrival of the grandson happened to coincide with the mother-in-law giving up her old job, only to discover no one wanted to hire a woman nearing retirement age. Thus, the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law found themselves cooped up together day and night with neither having anywhere else to be. The atmosphere at home grew heavier with each passing day.

My mates mate just shrugged and let the complaints wash over him, as he was the only breadwinner at the time.

We cant leave Mum on her own; she hasnt even got two pennies to rub together. I cant abandon her, and I cant afford to rent a flat and still help Mum out. Once she finds a job, well be free to move.

But the young ladys patience ran out. One day, she packed up her belongings, grabbed her son, and headed to her mothers place in Bristol. Before leaving, she told her husband shed never set foot in his mothers house again. If he valued his family, hed have to come up with something better.

She was sure hed be desperate to win her back. But she couldnt have been more mistaken.

More than three months have passed since she moved, and the man hasnt even tried to bring her home. He still lives with his mother, chats to his wife and son over video when hes home from work, and pops round to see them at her mums house on the weekend.

He gets doted on by two women and gets genuine sympathy for the son left behind by his angry wifeand besides the odd visit, he doesnt have to do much as a dad. Hes come out of this rather well for himself! And the mother-in-law hasnt really lost a thing either.

The young woman, though, isnt the least bit happy with how things are. She still loves her husband, much as she feels hes not doing right by her.

What did you expect when you left? her husband asked. Youre welcome to come home if you wish.

Chances are, shes not keen to leave her mum or fork out to rent a flat on her own. On maternity leave, moneys tight and its understandable she doesnt have the means.

Is this really the end of the family?

I do wonder whether she has any hope left for returning to her mother-in-laws and saving any dignity in the affair.

Looking at all of this, I cant help but feel that tiptoeing around problems doesnt solve themsometimes you have to be bold enough to sort matters out before they fall apart entirely.