We usually cover AITA, malicious compliance, and petty revenge stories separately, but this one is an all-inclusive bundle package.
Reddit user Throwawaygivings got sweet revenge on her boyfriend’s family by sabotaging their Thanksgiving dinner after his mother repeatedly called her by any name but her own. Even his ex-girlfriend’s!
I don’t want to get into the particulars because Throwawaygivings did an excellent job of describing the situation herself, but let’s just say that there wasn’t a turkey. Just a lot of yelling and crying.
Continue scrolling to learn how the ordeal unfolded. I know I’m not saying a lot, but trust me on this one. It’s worth it.
This woman got so sick and tired of her boyfriend’s mom “forgetting” her name, she made a point the lady will remember
Image credits: Drazen Zigic (not the actual photo)
People justified the woman’s actions
Throwawaygivings told Bored Panda that her boyfriend’s whole family were very indifferent towards her. “I know they were close to his ex but it was just understandable,” she explained. “She grew up with them.”
“[My boyfriend’s mom] wasn’t a big problem at first. But the more serious it got between my BF and me, the more I worried she would be a problem. I kept that to myself, though, and that may have been my mistake. I could have shown him more than her disrespect actually bothering me a lot and that I was worried about the future.”
But Throwawaygivings still hoped the lady would change towards her. “We didn’t see much of each other [before the conflict], so it wasn’t affecting me. But when [me and my BF] started to see more of her, I realized her dislike got stronger the more serious my BF and I got.”
A study from the University of Cambridge Center for Family Research and an organization called the Stand Alone Institute discovered that rifts between parents and their son’s wife are among the most common reasons for family estrangement.
The study was based on the responses of more than 800 men and women in England who had little or no contact with their families. It found that divisions between parents and sons lasted a third longer than those between parents and daughters. The issues most commonly listed as “very relevant” in the breakdown of relationships with daughters included mental health problems and emotional abuse. But the issues most closely associated with sons included divorce, in-laws, and marriage.
According to Dr. Terri Apter, who is a psychologist, former Senior Tutor at Newnham College, Cambridge, and author of What Do You Want From Me?: Learning to Get Along with In-Laws, the most common in-law tensions actually arise between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. “Closeness, respect, and influence in the family are particularly important to women,” Dr. Apter told Bored Panda. “For all the change that’s been, women still feel that part of their personal worth is linked to their roles in the family, whether that’s day-to-day care, or long-term nurturing. Since in-law visits often take place in the home, where kinship, status, and respect are expressed – and tested! – there can be competition.”
Sometimes this competition might start because the mother-in-law feels threatened. “This new woman, now closest kin to her son, may displace her. We get into the mindset: ‘I have to prove to her that I have more status/respect/love because I need to reassure myself that I’m still an important part of this changing family.’ The wife, on the other hand, wants reassurance that she has a proper say in the family she and her husband form. She does not want to be undermined, so her mother-in-law’s effort to protect her status may threaten her. That’s why when each assures the other that she is valued and included, the tension is likely to ease,” Dr. Apter explained.
Of course, there might be other reasons why in-law relationships get tense. But sounds like Throwawaygivings dodged a bullet.
After her story went viral, she released an update on the situation
Here’s how it was received
Follow Us
