Problematic mothers in law are such a cliché by this point, and there’s a reason for that.

Matriarchs are often very protective of their children – even long after they’ve grown, married, and have a family of their own – and some even see their kids’ partners as getting in their way.

And that’s really not nice.

So when the guy in this story wanted to treat his wife to a dream vacation, he never imagined it would be an issue with anyone.

Little did he know, it would end up being the downfall of his relationship with his mother-in-law.

Read on to find out what happened.

AITA for not wanting my mother-in-law in my house?

I am a 40-year-old man, and I have been married to my wife (41, female) for seven years.

For the most part my wife and I get along great. We have a very big blended family.

Me and my mother-in-law got along great for the first few months of me and my wife’s relationship too.

That was, until my wife told her I was taking her to Hawaii for her birthday.

Let’s see why this kind gesture caused animosity between the man and his mother-in-law.

My wife was excited so she decided to tell her mom – but right out the gate was pure hate.

You would’ve thought she’d be happy for her daughter. But first came the belittling questions.

How’s he taking you to Hawaii? Why didn’t he ask me if can he take you? Can he even afford it? Etc, etc.

I brushed it off when I heard about it.

Read on to find out how their dream vacation went.

Boom, Hawaii vacation was a success – except for the fact that my mother-in-law tried to call everyday asking questions.

Eventually, I came to find out that she’s always wanted to go, but had nobody to take her.

From that point on she never wanted to hear about how much fun my wife had in Hawaii.

Fast forward two years, and now we’re planning a big family (both sides) vacation to Jamaica. So yes, she’s coming.

And planning this trip was anything but straightforward.

As the trip is being planned we were mapping out how many rooms we would need when my mother-in-law made a suggestion that she shares a room with my wife and the little kids and I get my own room.

How about no? So it didn’t happen, and she was mad again.

After I told her she needs to get her own room and pay for it herself, she stood up, walked towards the door then stopped and said, “I hope she divorces you.”

Wow.

Let’s see how the relationship between this guy and his mother-in-law is down the line.

Here we are five yrs after, and me and my mother-in-law don’t talk at all. Not even a hello – and that part is not on me.

After the Jamaica trip I told her she’s not allowed at my house ever when I’m home, but she should feel free to visit anytime I’m at work.

I don’t mind having a conversation with my mother-in-law, but she has to apologize for her actions first. I told my wife that the moment she apologizes, I’m taking her mom to dinner.

AITA?

This man’s mother-in-law has only shown her complete immaturity thorough this whole saga, and her inability to be happy for others?

Why?

Jealousy got the better of her, and she seemingly couldn’t take that her daughter had a happy relationship with a man who wanted to take her somewhere she’d always wanted to go herself.

It’s selfish, it’s controlling, and it’s borderline narcissistic.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit thought about this.

This person agreed that his mother-in-law is toxic.

But others thought that his wife should be supporting him and putting her foot down with her mom.

Meanwhile, this Redditor was skeptical that the woman would ever apologize.

Sure his wife should be standing up to her mom and creating boundaries when it comes to how she treats her son-in-law.

But given his mother-in-law’s behavior right now, it’s clear that she’s likely been controlling her daughter her entire life, and his wife is going to need some significant therapy and support as a result.

If their marriage is going to continue to be the happy one that her mom is so jealous of, it’s important that she does the work and stands up to her mom.

Their happiness depends on those boundaries.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.