A woman shared her frustration on Reddit, explaining that her in-laws “are still not comfortable” with her, even after more than three years of marriage to their son.
In her post, she writes: “They don’t initiate conversations with me unless I reach out first. I’m an introvert by nature—I can open up when I feel positive vibes, but with them, especially my MIL, I never do.”
She describes mealtime interactions: “Whenever we visit, she’ll ask everyone what they’d like to eat, especially her son, but never me. And if I happen to say no to something, she taunts me. On calls, it’s always me who has to dial. Despite her son calling her every single day, she expected me to call separately too. I’ve stopped because I’m tired of one-sided communication.”
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When they do converse, the tone is rarely uplifting. The poster notes that her mother-in-law frequently criticizes her: “She either body-shames me, health-shames me, or compares me to herself and her daughter—saying I don’t know how to take care of the house, my health, or even her 36-year-old son. Once, she directly told me I’m an outsider and it’s my responsibility to keep in touch.”
The woman recently stopped reaching out altogether and now senses “cold, negative vibes” from her in-laws.
“And honestly, I hate pretentious, one-sided relationships,” she writes, questioning whether she is “overreacting” or if this is “genuinely unhealthy behavior from their side.”
Other Reddit users reassured her that she is not in the wrong. One commenter wrote, “You’re not overreacting, she’s showing you exactly where you stand, and it’s not as family. Stop setting yourself on fire just to keep her warm. If your husband’s fine calling daily, that’s enough.”