My mother-in-law is committing ’emotional incest’ with my husband – she calls him ‘babe,’ rubs his thigh, and even slaps his BUTT in front of me
A woman has accused her mother-in-law of committing ’emotional incest’ with her husband, revealing she caught her calling him ‘baby’, rubbing and ‘squeezing’ his thigh, and even slapping his bum.
The woman, 30, who did not share her name, opened up about the situation on Reddit in the Am I The A**hole? last week, while asking people on the internet for advice.
In her post, she explained that her mother-in-law’s “weird” behavior started after she and her husband, 31, found out they were expecting their first child together in December 2022.
“These signs weren’t there before my husband and I found out we were pregnant,” she said.
A woman has accused her mother-in-law of committing ’emotional incest’ with her husband – revealing she caught her ‘rubbing’ and ‘squeezing’ his thigh and slapping his bum (stock image)
The woman, 30, who did not share her name, opened up about the situation on Reddit in the Am I The A**hole? last week, while asking people on the internet for advice
‘I have been part of this family for six years and my MIL has never been a stranger to my husband. It’s like her behavior changed as soon as she found out I was pregnant.’
She said it started when her mother-in-law “showered her husband with gifts” such as jewelry, money and “literal romance cards.”
The woman added that her mother-in-law told him she wanted to “spoil” him because he “wouldn’t be able to buy anything for himself” once he became a father.
And then it only got worse. The Reddit poster noted that her mother-in-law then began referring to her husband as “sweetheart,” “baby” and even “daddy,” as well as discussing the couple’s sex life and asking questions about “how they got pregnant.”
She also said that the woman did not show any excitement about the upcoming arrival of the new family member.
She added: ‘My MIL told everyone she was ‘indifferent’ about the pregnancy. All her other kids have multiple kids, but she was (so) weird about our baby.”
When the Reddit poster gave birth, she said her mother-in-law “showed up” in the delivery room and forced her husband to sit with her instead of staying next to the poster because she “wanted to make sure he was okay . ‘
“I then saw her rub/squeeze his inner thighs several times,” she wrote. “Every time she did that, he immediately left her and you could tell it bothered him, but he didn’t say anything.”
The message quickly went viral. In the comments section, many people quickly came to her defense, with some labeling the mother-in-law’s behavior as “gross” and “creepy”
The woman explained that the final straw came two days before her post, when her mother-in-law showed up “unannounced as usual.”
She said she was overly sensitive to her husband during her visit, prompting her to finally confront her mother-in-law once and for all.
“When she shows up, she immediately slaps my husband’s ass, which is completely out of character,” the woman revealed.
“He says, ‘WTF mom,’ and she laughs and says, ‘What?’ Then he sat and held the baby and she came behind him and started hugging him from behind with her whole body pressed against him.
“She said, ‘She looks just like us’ (he and his mother look NOTHING alike). He just looked at her and then at me and without thinking I said, “Hey MIL, have you ever heard of emotional incest? If not, maybe look it up and correct your behavior, because if this continues, you won’t be allowed to come here anymore.”
The Reddit poster said her mother-in-law “played dumb” but “eventually left ten minutes later.”
She added that her husband is now furious with her for the comment, and asked others if they thought she was wrong.
‘I don’t want her near my child if she’s acting so strange. She makes me feel uncomfortable,” she concluded.
‘(But now) my husband doesn’t want to talk to me about it at all. He literally refuses. Am I the hole here?’
In a follow-up, the woman added that she talked to her husband “twice” about how uncomfortable she felt before bringing it up to her mother-in-law.
‘I told him I would say something if he didn’t. That was months ago, before I had the baby,” she added.
‘He clearly didn’t think I meant it. I don’t want this behavior around my child at all.
“And at the end of the day, she’s being weirdly sexual with my husband, and if he doesn’t defend himself, I will.”
Others suggested that the ‘sudden change’ in her behavior could be a sign that something is wrong
The post quickly went viral, receiving thousands of likes and hundreds of comments.
In the comments section, many people quickly came to her defense, with some labeling the mother-in-law’s behavior as “gross” and “creepy.”
‘Not the hole. No, she should not sexually harass her son in front of you and expect you to be quiet or polite about it,” one person wrote.
“That’s absolutely disgusting and she won’t be allowed back until she apologizes and stops the behavior.”
“NTA, MIL’s behavior is truly disgusting. Your husband is probably too scared and ashamed of this, he doesn’t want to talk about it but he has to,” someone else agreed. ‘This has to stop.’
‘NTA. As soon as she found out you were pregnant, she realized her son was a ‘sexual being,'” another user theorized.
“And that caused a huge amount of jealousy, because, ‘Oh my God, my baby might like her more than me!’
‘At least that’s what I see. The man must close that off and ensure that there is sufficient (physical) space between them.’
Others suggested that the ‘sudden change’ in her behavior could be a sign that something is wrong.
‘If this is a sudden change, it needs to be evaluated. She could have brain cancer or early stages of dementia,” a fourth comment read.
‘She could also have abused him as a child. Either way, she needs to stay away until there is an answer to her behavior.”
Another commenter said, “A radical change in inappropriate behavior can sometimes be the result of an illness or a brain tumor.”