Relationships

In-Law Horror Stories That Will Make You Grateful for Your Mother-in-Law

July 19, 2025

You know that feeling—the butterflies in your stomach, the sweat on your brow, and the irrational inclination to keep straightening and primping your hair and clothes. It’s what happens when your in-laws arrive. Well, at least if you don’t have very good ones, the horror stories are alive and well.

As the saying goes, “First comes love, then comes marriage…” but people forget to mention what truly comes next—the in-laws. It can be hit or miss when it comes to having good in-laws. Alexandra Madison and Jon Bouffard, influencers and hosts of Give It to Me Straight, share valuable wisdom on this topic.

In a recent episode, they dive into listeners’ in-law experiences, from unwanted cheek kisses to over-the-top arguments to sharing secrets. Perhaps, hearing other people’s family drama will make you feel better about your own.

The in-laws who opt out of your kids’ birthday

One listener shared her frustration that her in-laws are not attending her one-year-old’s birthday party. Although they have the means and the funds and are retired, they are already flying into town a month later for her brother’s wedding. Does the listener have the right to be mad?

The answer is no, according to Bouffard. He believes the listener is overreacting and needs to get over it. “Your kid is only special to you,” Bouffard says. “Don’t make people feel a certain way because they are not as involved as you are.”

Madison agrees that in-laws are allowed to set boundaries. “They’re probably setting a precedent, so they don’t have to fly in for every birthday every single year,” she laughs.

Bouffard encourages people who get frustrated when people don’t meet their expectations to set them aside. “Everyone has their own sh*t going on,” he says. “You just have to be fluid—fluid with your life, your family, and friends.”

The mother-in-law who invited an ex-girlfriend to a reception

One listener wants to know if she’s the a**hole for being mad at her mother-in-law for the past two years since her wedding. The mother-in-law helped plan the reception and invited her son’s ex-girlfriend of more than three years to help decorate. Although the bride was furious, they ended up using table centerpieces, serving trays, and decor from the husband’s ex at the reception. When the listener confronted her mother-in-law after the festivities, she said she didn’t tell the bride because she knew it’d bother her.

Bouffard encourages the listener that she is not the a**hole in this situation,” but she is the bigger person. “That is disrespectful because that is an ex from your husband’s previous life,” he explains. “They shouldn’t even be involved with each other, unless there is a kid involved.”

Madison says some exes are okay to still be in each other’s lives, but she says it wouldn’t work for her if her husband’s ex were at the reception. “I’m not going to make a generalization,” she says. “I would not be okay with that because I would cut a b**ch.”

When your parents hate your spouse

One Give It to Me Straight listener, married for six years, describes the first chapter of family life as nothing short of intense. It began with a wedding just before the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the birth of their first child during lockdown. Since then, they’ve navigated a rare brain condition and the long healing process that came with it, and are now expecting their second child through a high-risk pregnancy.

Recently, the listener’s parents have become overly critical of her husband and unfairly compare him to her sister’s husband. They criticize his parenting, his humor, and even go as far as to suggest that they shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. Unfortunately, the listener cannot just stop talking to her parents because they are their five-year-old daughter’s primary caregivers.

When it comes to overly critical and judgmental in-laws and parents, Bouffard says the truth is that they probably didn’t like her husband from the start. “If he’s doing all the right things and they are still sh***ing on him, they’ll probably still hate him,” he explains. “Don’t worry about what they think.”

Madison agrees that not caring about what your in-laws or parents think is a good approach. You have to brush off the criticism. “Who the f*** cares?” she says. “If you guys are happy and secure in your relationship and they are helping you with your child, I wouldn’t start drama here.”

The father-in-law who gives unwelcome kisses

What do you do if your father-in-law always greets you with a kiss on the cheek? Although it’s not sexual in nature, and he does this to everyone, one listener shares her uncomfortable experience with this. Even her husband feels uncomfortable with the kisses, but it would be difficult to speak up as the father-in-law is difficult and tends to overreact.

Bouffard thinks setting this boundary might be awkward, especially if it’s a cultural issue. “If you go in for the kiss, I’ll do it back, but it’s definitely not my thing,” he says. “If you hate it that much, just be prepared for the blowback from the day.” Madison agrees and encourages the listener to be direct, expressing that it’s not how they would prefer to be greeted.