Mother-in-Law Goes Through Woman’s Suitcase, Criticizes Bikini Packed for Honeymoon

A woman recently shared a story on Reddit about her mother-in-law rummaging through her suitcase just before her honeymoon — and finding a bikini she deemed “revealing.”

The anonymous woman explains that the night before she and her husband were set to depart, their in-laws came over to see them off. Her mother-in-law brought some vitamins and offered to place them in the woman’s suitcase.

Although the woman asked her to put the vitamins in a zipped pocket, her mother-in-law went through the entire suitcase and discovered “a fairly revealing bikini I had bought for this occasion.”

“She asked me if I was really planning on taking this along. I kind of lost my cool because I was embarrassed and said please don’t go through our private stuff — it’s rude and ill-mannered,” she writes. “She then said a honeymoon doesn’t have to mean that I wear revealing clothes on public beaches (we’re Muslim and she’s a bit more conservative, I guess). I said our relationship and our honeymoon are our own and not for her to comment on.”

She adds that her mother-in-law likely had “a misplaced idea of mine and my husband’s relationship” before their marriage, as they never shared with their families that they were in a physical relationship.

“She was very affronted by what I said, and said I’m the one who didn’t have manners, that all she wanted to do was help. My husband talked to her in private and tried to explain that I felt violated even if she meant well,” the woman continues.

“The mood had soured, and my in-laws wished us a good trip and left soon after. My husband said I shouldn’t have let her near the suitcase at all if this was the case, and that while he had spoken to her about boundaries, I shouldn’t have reacted without thinking. We decided not to let this affect our honeymoon and didn’t talk about it again.”

Other Reddit users have voiced support for the poster, with one commenting, “There’s no excuse for rifling through someone’s stuff. You had every right to set that boundary.”

Another user added, “Going through your things was her goal all along. It looks like she’s going to be on your case from now on. Be prepared for it, and your husband needs to always have your back. If he can’t, or won’t, stand up to his mother, please rethink your marriage.”