Husband’s Family Ices Him Out When He Decides to Take Wife’s Last Name

One woman is opening up about why she’s not willing to follow traditional gender roles — especially when it comes to family names.

Writing on Reddit, she shared that she’s been married for a little over a year, though she and her husband have been together for five. She describes him as calm, kind and hard to offend, “the most level-headed man” she knows.

For as long as she can remember, she’s dreamed of her future children carrying her surname. It wasn’t, she said, about making a statement or rebelling for the sake of it. Instead, she feels deeply connected to her last name and can’t picture her kids with any other.

So when the couple got engaged, she decided to be upfront about it. She expected pushback — maybe even the end of the relationship — but instead, he surprised her with a simple response: he would take her name.

After they married, they went through all the legal steps, and he officially changed his last name to hers.

That’s when the problems began.

Her husband’s family, whom she describes as loud and very traditional, reacted badly. His father started calling her “Miss Modern Woman” in a mocking tone, while his mother suggested to relatives that she had somehow “bewitched” her son.

According to the post, some family members even claimed she must have used “voodoo” or “witchy” spells to make him “abandon his bloodline.”

At first, she tried to laugh it off. But over time, the comments escalated. His mother cried about “losing her son’s legacy,” his father ignored him on Independence Day, and an aunt told her to “repent before the spell wears off.”

Throughout all of this, her husband has remained firmly on her side. He keeps telling his family that the decision was his, that she didn’t pressure or trick him, and that he genuinely likes the name they now share.

Still, the tension is starting to take a toll. The couple says they’re no longer invited to family gatherings, and his relatives have warned that they won’t visit their so-called “cursed household” if the pair have children.

The woman wrote that some of her own friends are now questioning her choices, suggesting she should’ve just taken his name to avoid conflict and that the fight “wasn’t worth the drama.”

But she insists she never demanded that her husband give up his name. She only said she wouldn’t change hers — and he volunteered to take hers instead.

Since sharing her story, commenters have rushed to show their support.

One person wrote that the couple made their decision together and shouldn’t feel guilty: the extended family’s “outdated views” are their own problem. They added that if the family refuses to visit their “cursed house,” that might actually be a blessing.

Another commenter praised her husband for choosing his partner over his “bullying” relatives, noting that he agreed freely and continues to stand by the decision: “Good man! Stand your ground.”