September 15, 2025 at 11:15 pm

She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother-In-Law Was Concerned About Something Else

by Sarrah Murtaza

Woman with glasses in black and white strips shirt talking on call

Pexels/Reddit

Some family members can be really heartless and it shows!

Imagine worrying that your husband may have been in an accident and possibly hadn’t survived. How would you react if your mother-in-law didn’t seem nearly as concerned about her son’s life?

This woman shares how her mother in law reacted in a situation like this, and it forever changed their relationship.

Check out how things got bad.

Newlywed + Nearly a Widow + Heartless Mother-in-Law = Petty Revenge.

This happened many years ago, but I will never forget and never forgive.

I was 24, newly married, and working as a teacher.

My husband, a Merchant Marine, had just shipped out less than a week earlier from Texas on an oil tanker headed to New York.

While I was grading papers after dinner, the tv news started flashing that an unidentified oil tanker was on fire and in danger of sinking off the coast of the Carolinas.

She was really worried.

My heart pounded, it could be his ship.

I called his company, but they said they had to follow protocol before releasing any information.

I called a friend, the wife of someone shipping with him, no news there either.

Then the phone rang, but it was not the call I needed. It was my MIL.

She told her what she knew.

She asked if I had heard the news.

I told her yes, and that I was trying to confirm if it was his ship. I told her I was worried because the timing matched his ship’s route and his company gave me no information yet. I told her I would let her know as soon as I learned anything.

Her response?

Her MIL’s response was shocking!

In the coldest, most matter-of-fact tone, she said, “Oh. Well, if something happens, who’s going to pay for the funeral now that you’re married?”

I was stunned.

No concern for her son. No comfort for me. Just a completely emotionless comment about money.

It took a few moments of silence for her question to sink in.

She had no mercy for her mother in law afterwards!

Without a word, I quietly hung up the phone and then swore like a sailor.

In those moments I realized exactly what kind of person she was.

After hours of alternating between cold fear and not so silent fury, I finally heard from my friend, it wasn’t my husband’s ship. He was safe.

Here is where the petty revenge came in.

She let her MIL wait.

I never called MIL back. I let her wait through the night. I let her find out about her son the next day from the news just like the rest of the country.

From that day on, I was nothing but civil and distant with her. I never let her get close again.

She meant nothing to me, and we had a much better life for it.

GEEZ! That must have been a rough night!

How can a mother be so heartless?

Let’s find out what people on Reddit think about this one.

This user shares how some people really have no brains!

Screenshot 2025 08 12 170824 She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother In Law Was Concerned About Something Else

This user knows that not reacting was the best reaction!

Screenshot 2025 08 12 170655 She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother In Law Was Concerned About Something Else

This user wants to know if the husband is aware of what his mother said.

Screenshot 2025 08 12 170710 She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother In Law Was Concerned About Something Else

This user is so done with their mother in law!

Screenshot 2025 08 12 170733 She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother In Law Was Concerned About Something Else

This user is happy that she cut off her mother in law.

Screenshot 2025 08 12 170748 She Found Out That Her Husband May Have Gotten In An Accident, But Her Mother In Law Was Concerned About Something Else

Her mother-in-law is heartless.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.