Mothers-in-law are supposed to be our second moms. They should be women that we can turn to when things aren’t the best; they should be able to offer us guidance, or at the very least, a hug that’ll make us feel better, even if the relief is temporary. But most of us aren’t so lucky.

Most of us get stuck with the vile, selfish, despicable, and manipulative creatures that we like to call “monsters-in-law.” And it’s not just the ladies who have to face them, because they can be just as evil to men. No one can understand monsters-in-law better than the people in our stories today, because they’ve encountered almost every kind of the species that exist, most of which have ruined their marriages. If you’d like to read about some of their harrowing encounters, just scroll down.

1. My Best Wasn’t Good Enough

Freepik @benzoix

My wife’s family never accepted me as part of their family, despite all the times they called me for help. I tried desperately to help them in every way I could, but it was never enough.

My ex-mother-in-law was pretty much the cause of my divorce and troubles from the beginning. She would openly tell her friends and relatives that, “they aren’t really married” among other things that eventually led to us splitting up.

2. The Unannounced Visit

Unsplash (Jessica Favaro)

When I was married, my in-laws lived a couple of blocks away. On multiple occasions, my ex-MIL would walk their dog and let herself into our house using the electronic code without calling first.

Thankfully, she never walked in on us in a compromising position, but shouldn’t she have called before walking in? What’s worse, my ex refused to change the code so she would stop.

3. The Makeout Session

Freepik @8photo

My mother-in-law showed up to my wedding reception inebriated, with cans of brew hidden in her purse. She then proceeded to stumble, slur and make-out with her date for two hours until she was ushered home.

This happened in front of all my extended family, who had reservations about my husband, to begin with. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t terrible, but it was mortifying at the time.

4. Disrespecting My Beliefs

Freepik @benzoix

My ex-mother-in-law really wanted her holiday traditions to take root in our home. Even though I was Jewish, she gifted me with a steady stream of crappy Santa statuettes, tree ornaments and Rudolph tea towels.

When I asked why, she told me that it was “the woman’s job to make the home,” adding that I shouldn’t mind the Christmas themes because “Santa wasn’t religious” and “Besides, you’re not, like, a serious Jew.”

5. Is This Supposed To Be A Joke?

Freepik @azerbaijan_stockers

My ex-husband had gotten a vasectomy and his parents know about it.

But one Christmas, my ex-MIL gave me a maternity top and a giant folding screen with room for 15 photos in it. Along with these came a huge box of stationery replete with baby announcements and thank you notes.

6. Only Her Son Matters

Freepik @azerbaijan_stockers

After 22 years of marriage, I found a Post-It note in the bathroom from my husband saying that he was leaving and would be moved out before I got home. I tried to reach my husband by phone but was unsuccessful, so I called his mother.

She screamed over the phone that I refused to make him dinner (I did, but he didn’t come home many nights until after everyone was in bed). She yelled more insults with me holding the phone about 12 inches from my ear. She also stated that only her son matters, not our kids; the boys were in earshot.

7. Tolerating His  Childish Behavior

Freepik @8photo

When my ex-husband was unemployed, which was often and by choice, my mother-in-law would call every single day. “Is he looking for a job today? Because he needs to be looking for a job!” Meanwhile, she would continue to enable his childish behavior by paying all of our bills and never saying anything to him directly.

During our divorce hearing, she said this about my parenting skills during her deposition, “I found evidence that she kept her child in a cage.” The “cage” she’s referring to was a playpen. She was clearly delusional and my favorite is something she told my ex-husband when he was a child. She told him not to go near a praying mantis because they would spit acid into his eyes. What the heck is wrong with that woman?

8. “Devil’s Spawn”

Freepik @wayhomestudio

My ex-mother-in-law is crazy religious. When I told her I was planning on educating my three boys on all religions when they were old enough and let them decide if they wanted to practice whatever they chose, she called me the devil’s spawn and threatened to take my kids away.

She also accused me of stealing her husband’s social security check because we were receiving their mail when they first moved up here. We later found out that they never sent the check in the first place. I’m still waiting on that apology even after the divorce.

9. Her Son Is “Perfect”

Freepik @cookie_studio

My former mother-in-law contributed to her son’s magnified sense of self and his firm belief that he was incapable of making mistakes. When we would face certain trials in our marriage, he would turn to her for advice.

Advice that was, unfortunately, given over FaceTime conversations one room over from me. As he relayed the fight of the week, she would cut him off a few sentences in, only to reassure him that he did no wrong. He was free from all blame. And the problems stemmed from one person – me.

10. “It’s Not Like We Had A Choice”

Freepik @nakaridore

Shortly after my engagement, I had to send my ring in to be resized because it was a little too big. My MIL asked me where my ring was and I said it was being resized because it was half a size too big. She answered, “Why make it smaller? You’ll get fatter anyways and it’ll fit fine!”

And a few years after, I was telling them (my husband’s family) how much I appreciated them in my life and my children’s lives. My MIL quite spitefully replied, “Well, it’s not like we had a choice. We never had a say in who he married!”

11. She’s Good At Calling Me Bad Names

Freepik @benzoix

My ex-mother-in-law was the WORST! She would call me Heather or Rachel. My name is Amber. I was with her son for six years. She called my son a mistake.

When I met her, she called me “exotic” because I have dark brown hair, light blue eyes, and olive skin. Apparently, she meant that I looked like a club dancer. Not just that, she also said that I’m a gold digger, but hey, your family is not even rich, so how come?

12. It’s His Fault, Too

Freepik

My in-laws did not directly influence the ending of my marriage. I can only say that my ex-husband’s lack of interest in holding his mother accountable for some extremely atrocious behavior and statements directly affected the level of respect I had for him.

That played a part in ending my marriage.

13. The 365-Day Diet Pill Supply

Freepik @karlyukav

Each Christmas, the whole family (10-15 people at least, plus their guests) would get together and exchange gifts. Each year, I would get the same themed gift from my mother-in-law. I am overweight (just chubby), so she felt the need to emphasize it by doing things like giving me individually wrapped cans of slim fast, or a box of diet pills.

But my favorite was when she gave me one of those neoprene waistband things that are supposed to make you sweat like a goat until you have a slim waist. Like, come on! Is my fat hurting you so much that you’re that bothered by it? I never regret getting divorced because I don’t want to be near her anymore.

14. A Bit Extreme

Freepik @wayhomestudio

I sat around having dinner with my husband’s family one night and the father-in-law asks my husband and I if we wanted to have a child. We both said not as of the moment, to which the mother-in-law replies “But what’s the point of your marriage? If you don’t want children.”

I then told her it was because I wanted to commit to her son and spend my life with him. I could tell she totally didn’t get it. After a few minutes of silence, she pipes up with “To be honest, if you’re not going to have children, what’s the point in being alive?” They’re a big part of the reason we’re not together anymore.

15. The Hate Is Just Too Much

Freepik @stockking

My wife’s family was a hot mess. I came from a very loving family; we always got along and loved to spend time together. Her family, on the other hand, hated each other. Every holiday there was a fight and it was a mess all of the time. We had two kids together; it was our oldest daughter’s fourth Christmas when her family started a fight that ended with her and her mother getting physical.

I continued to offer that we just go to my family functions, but m wife refused; she kept wanting to be around the dysfunction and I just couldn’t do it.

16. Third Time’s The Charm

Freepik @gpointstudio

My ex-husband was married prior to marrying me. His mother kept their wedding pictures on her living room walls. When asked why, her response was, “We knew her before you and she will always be a part of this family. Isn’t she beautiful?” Oh, okay.

During our marriage, my ex-mother-in-law also made sure that her son’s ex-wife attended family functions where we were present as well. Needless to say, he remarried again after I divorced him. Third times the charm, right?

17. She’s Heartless

Freepik @karlyukav

My ex’s parents-in-law both said (when I had briefly left the room) that it was stupid how I was upset over my childhood pet dying because he was “just an animal” and that I was clearly just faking sadness to get attention and sympathy from my ex.

They clearly don’t understand how hard it can be to lose a pet. I still miss that cat seven years later. I am so glad that my ex’s witch of a mother (she controlled the family basically) is way out of my life.

18. A Cross-Dressing Appearance

Freepik @master1305

I came out to my (now-ex) wife as a cross-dresser and she was super-cool. My wife didn’t want to lie to her darling mommy about it, so she outed me to her family. The next time her mom was due to visit, which was not long after, it was suggested to me that I be in girl-mode to help normalize my weird as part of our relationship; I thought it was fair enough.

Somehow, between my ex and I both getting carried away, the idea turned into mother-in-law, two sisters-in-law and all their husbands coming to ours for an afternoon with tea, sandwiches, and drinks, all served by me mincing around in a french maid outfit, fishnets, and heels. I didn’t look any of them in the eye ever again, but I did get my bum groped by my 65-year-old mother-in-law.

19. She Was Pro-Divorce

Freepik

I am unquestionably certain that my mother-in-law played a part in my divorce. When my ex told her he wanted to divorce me, rather than express sadness or concern, she just said, “Oh honey, that’s totally fine.” There was no suggestion to try and make it work.

She then told me her son probably wanted to end things because I decided to go back to school and not choose to stay in a job I hated. She was definitely not ready to let go of the control she had over him. She didn’t understand the concept of a man leaving his father and mother to make his own family.

20. The Reason For Our Divorce

Freepik

My mother-in-law didn’t allow me to have WiFi or data on my phone and would randomly check my phone to make sure I wasn’t talking to boys or sending any nudes. Like, really? As soon as I came out of the house, my husband knew something had happened, so he went back in and asked his mom not to cause any problems today.

When I walked back in past her, she mutters under her breath, “You sneaky brat.” I whirled around and said, “What did you just call me?” And as she reached the front door, she started screaming, “Oh, screw you! I will not have you treat me like this in my son’s house. I knew you would take him from me. You brat!” I yelled back, “Don’t bother coming back in until you apologize.” She then sat in her car for two hours refusing to speak to her son or me while telling everyone else that I had started it all. She’s definitely the reason for our divorce.

21. “I Know What I’m Doing. It’s Much Better This Way”

Freepik @lookstudio

We asked her (my mother-in-law) to feed the cat while we were on our honeymoon. We returned to discover that she had rearranged the furniture, pictures on the walls, kitchen cabinet & drawer items, etc.

When I asked her why she rearranged everything, her answer was, “I know what I’m doing. It’s much better this way.” To clarify, she is now my FORMER in-law and boy am I thankful for that!

22. Just So You Know!

Freepik @cookie_studio

Before our wedding, my now-ex-MIL stole a stack of our wedding invitations to send to her friends that we weren’t inviting, even though she knew we wanted a small, intimate wedding with only people we knew and loved. I hardly knew a soul there.

Later on, when I had my daughter, she came to visit us in the hospital. She held my baby for a moment, handed her back to me, and said, “Just so you know, I’m a grandmother, not a babysitter.” I’m pretty sure my jaw was still on the floor when she left five minutes later. I just can’t handle her attitude.

23. The Non-Stop Complaints

Freepik

My ex-MIL is extremely negative and can find fault with anything. When she stays with us, it’s a nonstop litany of complaints.

My favorite example was when we went to the Holocaust Museum for an exhibit on Nazi propaganda art. When we came out, an employee of the museum asked us what we thought of the exhibit. My MIL told him, “It wasn’t my cup of tea. Too depressing, and I think there was too much about Hitler.” She was so insensitive!

24. “Well, Maybe He Could Meet Someone New”

Freepik @8photo

My ex-mother-in-law suggested that my now ex-husband go on ‘The Bachelor.’

I was sitting right there and said, “But he’s already married.” She replied, “Well, maybe he could meet someone new.” I hate that woman.

25. Poor Attendance

Freepik @prostooleh

My ex-in-laws asked us to cancel our wedding one month before the day. I refused and told them we had paid thousands in deposits and had dresses custom made for two of my bridesmaids who were heavily pregnant. They offered to give us the money to cover our loss if we canceled it. A crap fight ensued.

They convinced almost their entire family to boycott the wedding, including my husband’s best man. Only his grandmother, an uncle, an aunt and three cousins showed up. His sister threatened to show up at the wedding and cause a scene, so we hired security. On the day, his father sent him a text at 7 am saying, “I hope you are happy ruining your life with that brat.”

26. Monster-In-Law

Freepik @cookie_studio

My ex-mother-in-law HATES me with a passion. She has been nothing but vicious and cruel to me at every opportunity during the 22 years I have been married to her son. She is also a self-proclaimed, born-again Christian, so full of love and all that drivel.

I’m adopted and she has always thrown that in my face. I’ve always heard her say things like “since nobody knows where you came from,” to “you have no heritage,” to “aren’t you afraid of what could be wrong with your baby?” Yes, I have a real winner of a monster-in-law.

27. The Devil Child- And Mom

Freepik @stockking

My son was diagnosed with ADHD. My MIL told me I must not be very smart if I think ADHD is a real thing when really it’s the devil causing my son to act that way; she even said that I was poisoning him by giving him medication for it.

And that wasn’t all! She also told me that I must have been on something while pregnant to allow the devil into my child. I just can’t take her anymore!

28. Unwanted Assistance

Freepik @drobotdean

My mother-in-law was staying with us and my husband just went back to work after us being in the hospital for a week after having our daughter. She continued to tell me about my husband’s ex that he has a daughter with also and how she broke his heart and had maybe given him a disease (she hadn’t).

She also continued to make me feel horrible about myself by saying, “I’ll make you an appointment with a dermatologist to fix your breakouts.” I just had a baby and I wasn’t even breaking out that bad. She was commenting on losing the baby weight asap, and then continued to say rude things to our newborn like, “Hope that one day you’ll be a cute baby.”

29. She Knows It ALL

Freepik @stockking

Shortly after our wedding, my ex-mother-in-law said, “Are you still on the pill? I hope you are, because I’m too young to be a grandma!” Three years later, “Why, oh why won’t you give me grandchildren?”

When I did get pregnant, I received so many weird tips from her and she told me, “It’s your fault if something goes wrong.” Two days after the baby was born, she said, “Are you sure there isn’t another one in there? That belly sure is still big. Mine went away immediately.” And in general, she knows it ALL because “I’ve seen it on TV.” I’m too glad that she’s out of my life now.

30. Hey You!

Freepik

My MIL insisted on being called Mrs. [X] while we were dating. As soon as we got engaged, she sat me down at her kitchen table and said, “Now, we can’t have you calling me Mrs. [X] anymore. That’s too formal for family. What do you want to call us?” I answered that I would be happy to call them by their first names. She replied that “the mister and I do not do first names.” I then responded that I was uncomfortable calling them “mom” and “dad.”

Meanwhile, she introduced herself to my siblings and friends by her first name and never once corrected them. Annoyed by the inconsistency, I called her by her first name. She called my husband and complained I had disrespected her. When we sat down to talk it out, what I thought would be an airing of griefs and reconciliation turned into a huge, heated argument. She finally screamed at me that I needed to “respect the pecking order of the human race!” My husband got involved at one point and asked her what I should call her and she said, “[husband]’s mother'” or “hey you!” and hung up. So, “hey you,” it was… until the day I got a divorce!

31. But, It’s Our Baby!

Unsplash @Colin Maynard

My ex-mother-in-law lives with my ex-husband and I. He and I have recently been trying to conceive (first child for both of us). We’ve been talking about turning the spare bedroom into a nursery, and my ex-MIL said that there was no need, as the baby would be sleeping in her room with her. I told her no, MY BABY wouldn’t.

She then became angry and said that my husband and I sleep too soundly to hear a baby crying. I said that unless she plans on breastfeeding my baby, there’s no way she’s keeping the baby in her room. She answered, “Fine! then I’ll be the one to pick the baby’s name.” Um, that’s not how this works!

32. What If?

Freepik @wayhomestudio

While I never met my SO’s mom because she always refused, the most memorable quote I know that came from her was after she hacked into my significant other’s e-mail to discover we were spending a weekend together in New York City.

She forbid us from not only staying in the same room, but from even staying in the same hotel because, “What if your future wife gets upset because she’s not the first person you spent a night in a hotel with?”

33. Her Participation Wasn’t Necessary

Freepik @rawpixel

When I was pregnant with my first child, my mother-in-law tried to make so many decisions for me that I had nightmares about her abducting my baby.

When I finally got my ex-husband to talk to her, she cried and said that if it wasn’t for her, there would be no baby! I guess my participation in the process wasn’t necessary!

34. No Hearts for Me

Freepik @stefamerpik

My mother-in-law said I was ruining her son’s life at one point. I think the worst thing, though, was last Christmas, when his dad, step-mom, her two sons (with one’s wife and one’s girlfriend there), my SO and I were there.

They gave us all cards with our names on the front, and mine was the only one without a heart around it. The new girlfriend of her son got this heartfelt message and I just got a “Merry Christmas, love x&x.” I’ve been around the longest and I don’t know why that stung so much. I had to go to the bathroom to cry.

35. The Worst Grandmother On The Planet

Freepik @8photo

While I was pregnant with our first child, my mother-in-law would make rude comments about how she wanted to keep my unborn child every weekend and how much she would help and teach me.

Now, after being divorced for eight years, she has had absolutely nothing to do with them!

36. She Managed To Convince Him, Eventually

Freepik @master1305

My ex-mother-in-law used to give me things to decorate our home with. Then she would come over when we weren’t home and take them back when she wanted to redecorate her house.

But the main reason for our divorce was when I found emails where my ex-MIL was trying to convince my husband that I didn’t love him and had a mental illness. It worked, eventually!

37. The “Stay-At-Home” Mother-in-Law

Freepik @stockking

My twice-divorced mother-in-law was always at our house. It was like she took over the place.

The worst part was that her son was unable or unwilling to stand up and be his own person. My evil mother-in-law began verbally abusing me. I filed for divorce.

38. The Mama’s Boy

Freepik @Drazen Zigic

I don’t know a time of day that my ex-husband wasn’t on the phone with his mother. He would also visit his mom every other day because she “missed him, ALWAYS.”

Too bad that my husband missed that part where it says, “A man will leave his mother and cling to his wife.” His new girlfriend is 13 years older than him, so he’s got a second mommy. He’s happy and I’m free, which makes me deliriously happy!

39. The Ex’s Recycled Gifts

Freepik @azerbaijan_stockers

I am divorced now, but my ex-MIL was a strange bird. For starters, the ex-in-laws liked shopping for gifts months or even years in advance, such that for the first several holidays with my ex, I received gifts that they had picked out for his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t go so far as to have her name on the items, but they were very clearly intended for her with her favorite colors and motifs (stars and moons) all over everything.

I guess they assumed the items were generic enough that I wouldn’t know, and maybe it was my ex’s fault for telling me so much about his ex-girlfriend, but I knew these were leftover gifts from his last relationship! I dutifully and diligently wrote polite thank you notes and then either sold, donated, or gave the items to my ex if he found them useful.

40. “Privacy” Isn’t in Her Vocabulary

Pexels @Photomix Company

My ex-mother-in-law has a problem with locks. She has a firm belief that family should never have to knock and should be allowed to arrive and walk in uninvited. We do not believe this, and she would nag us about it. So, my significant other was at her house one day and accidentally left her keys there. Luckily, I was in the house, so it didn’t really matter. My SO called her mother up, asked the keys and arranged for it to be dropped off. Three days later, the keys arrive.

A week after, we’re sitting playing games when our front door swings open and her family walks in. It turns out that my mother-in-law had taken my SO’s keys and made copies before giving them back. This woman doesn’t seem to understand what privacy is.

41. Mom Knows Best

Freepik @benzoix

My mother-in-law, I mean ex-MIL, never accepted me and told me that I was taking her baby away (my husband was 30 at that time); she even said that I was “making him” marry me.

She would also send mail to us addressed to me using my maiden name. The worst part is that my husband never defended me or made her respect me, because according to him, “his mom knows what she’s doing.” When we split, he went back to live with his precious mother.

42. She Should Have Married Richer

Freepik @8photo

My wife’s parents always urged her to be with someone more successful than me; their friend’s son. They grew up being the kids of people who paid too much money for golf, and I grew up working from the age of 12.

One day, our financial problems caused us to have a fight in the morning, and later that night, I came home to her in bed with the guy her parents always compared me to. It was really crappy.

43. Talking Crap In A Different Language

Freepik

My in-laws hated me. My husband wanted to make things better by telling his mom to at least give me a chance and meet me. They invited us over and then proceeded to talk crap about me in their language while I sat there smiling like an idiot, not knowing what was being said.

My husband ended the night early and we left. He told me what was going on once we got to the car. Needless to say, I’m glad that they’re not part of my life anymore.

44. The Peeping Tom

Freepik @wayhomestudio

At my rehearsal dinner, my mother-in-law told my mom, dad, sisters, grandma, and grandpa (I was sitting at another table) the story about how she caught me and my husband in bed.

She went into detail. I had to hear from my sister later what happened. Needless to say, I didn’t talk to her at all after that.