You could be dating someone you think is your soulmate—but you can never really know for sure until you've met their family. Could you stay with the person of your dreams if their family was like these?
1. Whip Em Out
While my ex had plenty of issues himself, I really didn't like his dad—for one excruciating reason. His dad had a massive thing for feet. Now, that’s completely OK with me. What made it uncomfortable, though, was how unchecked it was. I would have to wear full coverage shoes at all times whenever I was at his dad's house, otherwise, his dad would go on and on about how attractive my feet were. Many times, he's shown me photos of his favorite female celebrity feet.
I had mentioned to my ex SEVERAL times how uncomfortable I was with his dad's infatuation with my feet, but he would always shrug and say that's how his dad just was. I don't miss that.
2. Double Standards
My ex's parents are strict Christians; so strict that the women only wear long skirts and always have their hair in braids. They also don't use makeup or have any tattoos, piercings, or jewelry. One time, we were in his room and were just going to get something when his mother rushed in. She did not know that her son had a partner, so when she saw me and looked at my clothes (which that day happened to be a maxi skirt with the slightest bit of belly visible), she yelled at us in Russian.
We quickly got out and I went home. His mother, however, found out my mother's phone number and complained about me. Apparently, I was the tar who drove her son into sins. Funny, since he had already been cheating on me for about two months.
3. Happily Never After
My first wife’s parents had no concept of boundaries. Her older brother was in and out of rehab all the time, and her sister did shady things to pay for her habit. We foolishly thought that we'd be able to keep them at arm's length, but she felt guilty and let them pull her back into their dysfunctional messed-up lives. After a while, I couldn't take it anymore and we split.
4. Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth
We were together for 10 years and his mom cried all the time. She made everything about her. For example, one Christmas, her children pooled their money to buy her an expensive TV for Christmas. Her response was chilling. When she opened it, she burst into miserable tears, saying it wouldn't fit in her favorite TV cabinet. She then kept repeating how disappointed she was in the presence of everyone for the rest of the holidays.
She also referred to her daughter-in-law as "the vessel" that provided her grandchildren.
5. Money Matters
My ex-husband. His whole family had such a different concept of money and work compared to me. They were constantly living above their means and buying ridiculous things. Then, when something important came along, they had to scramble and borrow. For example, one time his mother borrowed cash from me, a teacher, even though she lived abroad in a fancy penthouse with a pool.
She told me she’d deposit it in her father’s account and I could get it from him. When I asked him, though, he said that she took it back. We’re talking about like $100 here. I was just baffled. I thought my ex was different...until he blew $3,000 of our wedding gift money on a trip he took without me.
He just said that it was no big deal and that he’d put it back someday. That was the last straw.
6. A Dubious Stamp Of Approval
I’m a girl, and my best male friend growing up had some issues. We’d been friends since middle school, and although he had other girlfriends through high school as we grew up, we still remained really close. His family, who were very traditional Italian, loved me. I spent so many nights at their house and went on family trips with them.
When I was 17, I got my first boyfriend and everything completely changed. I went over for a normal hangout after school one time and his entire family ganged up on me while he ran to his car. They accused me of using them for my own gain, and that his sisters married their high school sweethearts, so we also had to! I was dumbfounded that they said that we obviously weren’t “just friends.”
They just seemed to have this idea that we were soulmates. I explained that we were, just not in a romantic, marriage sense. Besides, I was 17!!! I didn’t even stick with my then-boyfriend for long. They harassed my family after I distanced myself and called me all types of names. We’ve caught up years later, but it hasn’t been the same since.
7. Cult Classic
My ex’s mom heavily recruited me to join her cult. I would be forced to bow down—literally prostrate; like head to the floor kind of thing—to a “guru” and donate a lot of money monthly to fund his lavish lifestyle. Even my ex knew she was nuts, but she wasn’t willing to stand up to her. Ultimately, it just became too much of a problem.
I couldn’t hang out at their house, and we had arguments over not standing up to her. I broke it off, and thank goodness.
8. Beyond Belief
I dated a young woman who came from a family of extremely devout atheists. Yes, devout atheists. Their entire thing was telling everyone about their atheism, how stupid all religious people were, and how logic and reason were the sole measures by which we should be judged. Simultaneously, they were also afraid of cell phone radiation, insisted that the Paleo diet was the only real way to eat, and didn't believe in personal privacy.
They also didn't believe showering every day was necessary and saw it as their place to judge everyone who didn't conform to their very narrow lifestyle choices. Like, I'm an atheist—but those people were freaking crazy. I got sick of the criticisms and having to debunk the asinine beliefs they were instilling in their daughter, so I left.
9. Queen Of The Family
Well, there were a lot of reasons why I ultimately broke up with this guy named Tom, but his family was definitely one of them. The cast of characters included the mom, dad, brother, and sister. The mom was great—she was a total salt-of-the-earth type and a lovely lady. The brother was great too, though kind of distant from the rest of the family. I figured out why quickly.
His father was the biggest piece of trash I ever had the misfortune of meeting. He treated his wife like garbage for no reason. She was a lovely woman, well put-together, an excellent cook, and had a full-time job...yet, he just looked at her like she was gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe.
He hated Tom just as much; again, for reasons that I could never figure out. My boyfriend was a DOCTOR—so educated and successful—and because he was in medical school until his late 20s, he wasn't married. He concentrated on his education instead. However, to his father, something was "wrong" with his son because he wasn't married. He would hassle him about it all the time.
He’d tell him he was "a homo" (his words, not mine) and how he had "no life" and he needed "to get it together." Then there was Tom's sister, Julie, the queen of the family who could do no wrong. As far as the father was concerned, the sister walked on water. Everything was about her—piano lessons, pageants, private schools, etc.
She grew up being a spoiled little princess and also acted the part. For example, my brother and his wife were in a very serious car accident while on vacation. They were vacationing where Julie lived, which was a six-hour flight from where the rest of us did. They were hospitalized for their extensive injuries, and their luggage ended up at the rental lot where the car was towed after the accident.
This lot was about a 10-minute drive from Julie's house. We asked Julie to go pick up the luggage and made arrangements with the rental company so she could just go in and grab them quickly. My brother needed his extra glasses (his glasses were destroyed in the crash and he can't see without them) and my sister-in-law needed some stuff out of her luggage, too.
Julie said she'd do it "if she had time" but she was "really busy." It didn't matter that my brother and sister-and-law nearly PERISHED in a car crash. It was all about Julie and her busy, important life. Eventually, she did go pick up the luggage, but I later found out the disturbing truth. It was because her mom called and screamed at her basically for being a selfish witch.
She got the luggage, but not happily. It spoke to her character, and not in a good way. There were other issues that ultimately ended the relationship, but his family certainly didn't help matters.
10. A Little Too Close For Comfort
My best friend left her husband after five years because of his mother. She was insane, but it was really the spineless husband who refused to stand up to his mom. This is the crazy stuff she did: She threw a tantrum because she didn’t like the wedding invitations. Like, she ripped up 50 invites and they had to order more.
She also told my friend that she looked pregnant in her wedding dress. Then, when the bride was walking down the aisle, she got up to change seats and blocked the groom’s view, only moving out of the way at the last minute when it was too late. Throughout the wedding, she was hanging all over her son and openly pouted when he wanted to dance with his own wife.
She took wine bottles after the wedding and bragged about it, even when she didn't pay for anything except the flowers. She interrupted their wedding night by banging on the door and telling them she wanted to spend more time with them…He then ACTUALLY left to go hang out with his mom on the night of the wedding, while the bride stayed in bed, mad.
She tried to move into their home right after they got married and that caused a fight. She ended up not moving in luckily, but she still had a spare key to their house for emergencies. She used the key to walk into their house unannounced whenever she wanted. Finally, she constantly accused my friend of cheating because she worked late.
There were a ton of other reasons that built up over the years and he always deflected. She finally had enough and left.
11. A Long Way Down
It was my ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law who were the main problems. He allowed himself to get sucked in by her and excused her for the dozen major offenses she committed that resulted in our divorce. I was so distraught by her that I even straight-up told her, “When we have kids, you will not be in their lives,” just to get her to understand how serious her bad behavior was.
She purchased him a plane ticket home when I really needed his support most—that was the catalyst for the divorce and the final straw. No one told me or discussed it with me. I found out when my aunt asked me if I was taking my husband to the airport that weekend...She showed me the message where, aside from the whole ticket thing, his mother told my aunt to “control me.”
I cried on my way to work and told my boss I needed a short shift so I could drop off my husband, who was basically leaving me. He offered me the day off, but work was a needed distraction. Besides that, my mother-in-law took the car keys when I visited once and left me no car to drive for that weekend. Controlling much?
She once told me that the only reason my ex-husband was interested in me was that I had a big chest. I heard her. At the time, I was young and had given her no real reason to dislike me. It was hurtful. I cried. My husband held me, and back then before we went downhill, he marched upstairs and demanded that she apologize to me.
When he left on that plane ride, I told him I would be serving him divorce papers. Everyone freaked out and she sent me a big, dumb Facebook message making excuses. I sent her one back firmly, but not rudely, addressing all her points. I told her he was now her problem, just like she always wanted. Months later, she replied and apologized while taking some responsibility.
I only know that because I read it two years later when I knew I wouldn’t be as angry. Besides that, my former sister-in-law bailed on my wedding the DAY BEFORE without telling me and that started a whole other issue. Her girls were meant to be my flower girls, so it felt like a slap in the face.
She wouldn’t talk to me for a couple of years, even to ask for recipes. It was petty. Oddly enough, we are on good terms now and I think we could still be friends. She tells me the lies he tells his mom to make me look bad. He really spiraled, and I still hope he can get it together at some point in his life.
Today, most of them think I’m sleeping around the entire city. I have a stable job, I fly planes, I have amazing friends and a new loving relationship. I travel, climb mountains, and have generally built the life we were supposed to have on my own. On the other hand, he fell into depression, his mother pays his rent, and apparently, they get into fights because she won't pay for him to move across the country.
12. Get Out
We had dated for about three months before I went to her house. I didn't complain that it took so long because she was fantastic; however, I always did suspect something was amiss because I never saw where she lived. She explained that she still lived with her parents to save money and pay off student loans, which made sense to me.
When I was finally invited to pick her up at home, I arrived at a very nice place in a quiet neighborhood. I didn't meet her parents because they were not home at the time. The "you-just-missed-them" timing continued for another four months or so. Once I went into the house, it was clear she lived with her parents and was an only child. Seven months in, and I was already falling for her.
Just before we went on an out-of-town trip, her car broke down. Not a problem. I let her know that I was heading her way and would be there in about 30 minutes. As I was getting close, I sent her a two-minute warning text. No response. I parked in front and waited like she had asked me to do on all occasions. I spent five minutes waiting, but no one came out. I send her a text—no response.
I then headed for the door. Her father answered. He was a quiet man—nice, but incredibly quiet. I introduced myself and we shook hands. Then her mother appeared. In my head, I was thinking: "Mother and daughter are clearly related," since they looked the same except for their age. Then she spoke, and my face went pale. Her mother was the devil incarnate. She spewed hatred with every breath.
She turned back to her daughter and threw something at her; something heavy that thudded off the wall and then the floor. The mother proceeded to yell and curse at her daughter while her father and I stood quietly at the door. In retrospect, he was probably so quiet because his wife would have boiled him alive if he didn't follow her directions perfectly.
Within 30 seconds, their daughter broke free by running out through the garage. Her mother watched her go, then turned and charged at me. She stuck her hand in my face and began wagging her finger. The vitriol then about deflowering her daughter then spewed out. It sounded like scary Bible verses, except they weren't.
They had the right shout-about-it preacher cadence, though. I can't remember all of what they said as it all came out too fast. I was amazed their daughter turned out as nice as she did. The mother never had a nice thing to say about anyone other than herself.
I tried to imagine life with their daughter, but I would always be haunted by the thought of her father, who was the shell of what must have been a man at some time in the past. Each time I saw him, I faded a little bit inside. She never sounded like her mother, but she eventually became EXTREMELY manipulative as time went on. I eventually noped out of that relationship after many failed conversations. Life is now good.
13. The Crazy Is Coming From Inside The House
Everyone in my family is a worthless pile of trash who would diss the Pope for attention. I mean, there is something seriously wrong with them and I have no idea why I didn’t turn out like them. Long story short, I brought a girl home who I was dating and it went exactly as I thought it would.
The first thing out of my stepdad's mouth was: "Doesn't he have a tiny Johnson!? You should come over here and sit with me." It was like an old-school cartoon...I could have sworn I saw dust kick up with how fast she took off out of there and never spoke to me again.
14. Simply Shameless
If you have ever seen the show Shameless, his family could have inspired that show. Man, where do I start...So, he was my first love—we were 15 when we started dating. He had two older brothers who were complete wastes of space. Neither of them had a job and or any intention of getting one, yet they were both in their 20s.
Their mom worked at a school, but it was a rough place. The dad was eerily quiet and worked for a phone company. Both of them were separated and would not speak to each other at all unless they were drinking, which happened every weekend. I often used to stay over on Fridays as he lived near my place of work and I usually had early weekend shifts.
Every Friday night, the brothers would invite their friends over to drink and play video games. The dad would go out with his brother and return extremely out of it, which would always end up in a fight somehow. It would usually be enough to wake me, but I’d just go back to sleep. Then, Saturday night would come and everything would go downhill...
The mom and two brothers would go to the local working man’s club. It was some bizarre family night activity they did every week. They would get in their cups and return home at around 1 am in a state. I’m talking kick-the-front-door-because-we’ve-forgotten-the-key kind of shenanigans. The eldest brother was a nasty drinker and would usually end up starting a fight with someone—either in the house or in the street.
The dad would then get out of bed and they’d all end up arguing. Things would get smashed. The middle brother would come and wake my boyfriend up as they couldn’t sort it out themselves. He would sometimes go downstairs and try to settle things down, and other times he’d tell them to get lost. If he didn’t go down, they would keep coming into the room and try to drag him into it.
One time, the eldest brother came upstairs and pulled me out of bed by my hair. He claimed he thought it was my boyfriend and it was dark. I don’t know how many statements I had to give to the authorities about the domestic violence in that house. At some point, I was on a first-name basis with several officers...it was embarrassing. The older brother, in particular, was straight-up bloodcurdling.
One day, my boyfriend and I were getting it on in the bedroom. Afterward, I went to put on a T-shirt before I went to sleep, and when I opened the closet door, I found his older brother in there. He’d been watching us the whole time. He said he’d only meant to scare us, but yeah right. It makes me think this wasn’t the first time either...
I felt so sorry for my boyfriend because he really wasn’t like them at all. He was so different, but his family was trash. At the same time, I could kind of see he just was never going to get away from them. He didn’t have their anger but he had no ambition. He was at college, but he put no effort in and he didn’t want to do really anything with his life.
I wanted to go to university and make something of my life. I tried so much to motivate him, but he just didn’t have it. I tried for three years, then I realized I had to walk away.
15.Brotherly Love
I actually had the opposite happen to me. During the course of our relationship, my girlfriend was cool most of the time, but she would often flip out after some perceived disrespect. She would always be apologetic later, but towards the end, I felt like I was walking on eggshells. Her family, though. was amazing. Unlike mine, I looked forward to visiting with them.
Her dad and I would shoot pool every week and her siblings were always inviting us to some cool activity. Then, one day, they invited us to play mini-golf and my girlfriend didn't want to go. I was actually relieved because that was the moment I realized that I was only still with her because her family was so awesome. We broke up and I kept in touch with them a bit, but I do miss hanging out with the coolest group of people I ever met.
16. Mommy Dearest
I dated a guy for just shy of four years but ended it because his mother REFUSED to let us have a future together. His mother was basically his owner. She told him where he was allowed to go, what he could spend his own money on, and who he was allowed to see. The dude was 32 when we started dating, by the way. I was his "rebel phase."
He managed to carve out four hours a day, once a week, to see me (and it was always at my house). He insisted, during that whole time, to get pizza delivered, and always got a separate pizza to take home for his mom. The guy despised pizza and would force down half a slice, but his mom wanted it, so that's what we had.
I met his mother once, about a year in. He invited maybe eight people around for a D&D night and he tried to sneak me past her. I ended up bumping into her later in the night and introduced myself. Her reply shook me to my core. I went to shake her hand and just she stared at it, grunted in disgust, and left the room.
As cliché as it sounds, I really did think he was my soulmate, so I put up with it. We'd talk on Skype every day and text each other constantly, so I guess I'd convinced myself that things would eventually get better. The final straw was when I ended up in hospital. I called him in pain and asked him to come down since I was really scared.
He told me he couldn't because he needed to take his mom to her bridge club.
17. Do What You Love
The family’s actions were 90% of the reason for the breakup. I was a high achiever in high school and college. I was at a top 20 university majoring in STEM and was one of the best in my class. Everyone, including my girlfriend and her parents, thought I was going to get some super high-paying job because of my major.
However, I really wanted to be a public school teacher. My dream has always been to run a school one day. When I told my girlfriend that, there were a lot of tears. Her parents fully expected her to become a stay-at-home mom. They acted like I was throwing my life away. Her dad spoke to me one-on-one and told me I could never propose until I was "financially stable," even though I had been working for two years, paying for everything for both me and my girlfriend, had no debt, and was still saving $1,000 a month.
When my girlfriend talked about spending an extra semester in grad school, her mom said openly, "We're not a bank; we can't always support you and your boyfriend obviously can't either." There were also a lot of texts from the mom to my girlfriend about "rose-colored glasses. "He makes you happy now, but when push comes to shove, he won't be able to be there for you."
For years, after making the decision to become a teacher, her parents would ask me, "Oh, so when are you going to get a real job?" or "When are you headed back for grad school?" That one was especially silly since I already had a master's degree. It got to the point that I started applying to jobs in my STEM field. I actually had two offers that would double my salary.
Ultimately, I decided I'd rather keep doing what I loved than be with someone I loved. Recently, I was told by a mutual friend that the mom said, "Thank God they broke up. He had such potential but just no work ethic."
18. Monster-In-Laws
A guy I really thought I would end up with had extremely conservative parents. I’m Black, and his dad would regularly call me names. I've even heard him call me “worthless” under his breath on occasion. Although my boyfriend never completely defended the names, he often downplayed the seriousness. It got to the point where dealing with his parents’ behavior was mentally exhausting. It made thinking of a future and raising a family around them horrifying. I had to let that one go.
19. Sister Act
I was dating this woman who I was madly in love with. She was a great person and had a beautiful soul. We just clicked. The biggest problem was her sister. Her other siblings were terrible too, but her sister won it all. She used to steal stuff from the church, but that's not the issue I want to talk about—I want to focus on what caused the break-up because it was horrific.
Every year, like clockwork, she would show up and drop off a baby. The first one had serious problems because of her rampant substance use. Then, another year passed and she had another baby. Then came the third kid in as many years. It just became too much that I had to leave. I didn’t want to be a father to those children, and my ex absolutely wanted to keep the kids.
I get it, I really do, but she and I never talked about having kids ourselves. I mean, she was on birth control for a reason! So in the span of three years, we had three kids in our hands and I was not in a position to be a father to any of them. It still bothers me to this day. I feel like I was robbed in some capacity, but I also realize that I was the one who left.
20. Stay-At-Home Friend
I broke off my friendship with my best friend growing up because she gave in to the pressure of her nutty family and gradually turned out nasty as well. There's very little you can do from outside. I didn't even realize how completely messed up that family was until her mother passed away unexpectedly at 44. At that time, the father and his entitled firstborn son turned my 17-year-old friend into their cook, nurse, maid, and cash cow.
I tried to help her get out of there, but she wouldn't listen. She just closed herself off. It was like watching someone being immersed in a cult. Eventually, she turned against me. The last interaction we had was her going off at me about how I DARED to have a baby when she was infertile...By the way, she wasn't infertile; she had a fully treatable condition that would allow her to have kids eventually. From what I know she's on kid number five and counting.
21. Dress To Impress
I was dating someone whose parents had super strict rules about their kids' partners. She was of Vietnamese descent and was only allowed to date Japanese, Korean, or white guys. Her dad straight up said he knew how bad Vietnamese men were, as he was one. They also expected their partners to be studying business, accounting, law, or medicine.
I was tolerated since I was in the military at the time. However, her oldest brother, who was a lawyer, married his long-time white girlfriend who was a nurse. Not only did they disinherit him for this, but her second oldest brother (who was a doctor) was essentially shunned out of the family for supporting them. Her other older brother, who was getting his master's degree at the time, was basically trying to lay low and not anger anyone.
Suffice it to say, she was under a lot of pressure. Considering how close she was to her older brothers, plus her parents’ expectations for her to get a good corporate job, I realized our relationship was causing her too much stress and anxiety. I'm still in touch with her, and some of the family drama has subsided, but I still kind of regret how it all ended.
22. Here Comes The Pride
My husband and I almost broke up right before the wedding. We were a mixed-race couple and really, really, really didn't like me because of it. About a month before the wedding, it came to a head when I called his mother, aunts, and grandma "witches." I had a good reason to say it, though—they said it was a good thing my grandmothers were both gone because it was two fewer women of my race in the world.
My husband cut them all off for a long time and didn't invite them to our wedding. He started talking to them again only after his sister-in-law died last year—he thinks life is too short to be angry at the people you love. He established rules with them, though: No one talks about me, about our marriage, and I don't have to have anything to do with them if I don't want to.
It works for us. He wishes we were closer to them, but his family spent the better part of our relationship harassing me while I kept my mouth shut. I don't like blowing up at people since it only makes me look bad, and having already lost my temper with his family on past occasions embarrasses me. Fortunately, he's been very supportive of me.
If he hadn't been so great, we wouldn’t be together now. His mother sent me a letter recently apologizing for their behavior, but I think my pride is too great to accept.
23. Mind Games
Her family is prominent in psychology, so a large part of their interactions involved trying to diagnose each other and those who came into their lives. It also didn't help that the parents had seemingly been running up a tally on how much it costs to send their kids to college and raise them. They even tried to leverage a $300,000 balance for repayment when they graduated.
Oh, but that balance was only a front to motivate their children to become financially independent and marry into money. Not only did I have to think about how we were compatible, but I was also seriously having to consider taking responsibility for paying their parents $300,000 if I wanted to marry them. I honestly wanted nothing to do with their family as a whole.
24. Under The Influence
My friend in middle school had a mother who was very controlling. She acted nice and sweet but would try anything she could to distance her daughter from me so that “she could be around more popular girls” or something along those lines. I wasn’t exactly the most popular; I was a quiet, nerdy girl with ADHD.
My mom revealed this to me one day and it crushed me.
25. Bad Role Models
Her mother was an incredibly bad influence on her. The mother was as mad as a box of frogs and a really poor judge of character, so she would pick nut-job men who would actually endanger her life on a regular basis. I would then be expected to bail her out of trouble. I once got a call at 3 a.m. to fetch this woman on the side of the highway.
She was an hour out of town in the middle of nowhere, on a weeknight. This sort of thing used to happen on the regular. Eventually, I just gave up.
26. Nice To Know You
My ex. On top of him cheating, his family was pretty crazy—especially the dad. I have a physical disability, and both his parents were pretty ableist. They would address me with horrible names at times and talk smack every chance they got. They also kept saying I was the reason their son is "on the wrong path." I remember first visiting their house and his dad never said a single thing to me the moment he saw my disability.
Honestly, the relationship was doomed from the start because of his parents.
27.Small World
Yes, a family ruined my relationship…because we found out we were related. As a result, I now refuse to date anyone from my state as I feel like I'm probably going to be related to them.
28. Thoughts And Prayers To This Family
His dad was a very old-school pastor and his mom was a very timid, religious nut job hoarder. I was only allowed in his parents’ house one time—when I had to use their bathroom before a road trip. When I went in, you couldn’t see the floor or countertops because everything was covered in junk. The worst part was that all of the kids grew up knowing they had to lie to their parents about everything.
For example, the kids weren’t allowed to live with their partners before marriage, so all of the older children rented apartments that they never actually lived in just so they could live with their significant others. The kids weren’t even allowed to go on dates with their significant others alone. They had to lie and say one of their siblings would be going with them.
Oh, and the parents forced one of the siblings to stay with her abusive husband because they didn’t believe in divorce. Meanwhile, they just all acted as he’d never beaten her within an inch of her life, multiple times. Dodged a bullet getting out of that family for sure.
29. Let It All Hang Out
My first girlfriend when I was 20 was a “character,” but her family was on another level. The first time I met her aunt, she came to the door in a very sheer bra and panties, then hung out with us like that for a couple of hours. She never put any clothes on. Nobody else seemed bothered by this either. I should have realized that was just the start.
Later, I saw her aunt and uncle undressed in her backyard, basically getting it on by the pool while my girlfriend’s mom snapped photos. I could go on, but I think this is enough information to convey how crazy these people truly were.
30. Bubbling To The Surface
I was visiting my boyfriend in a different state once and he got into a fight with his brother where they almost came to blows. His brother walked past me after the fight and I was actually worried that he was going to hit me for just being there. It was the first time I'd ever been in a situation like that. Never again. Also, his mother and stepdad were there the whole time, but they said and did nothing.
They were just passively letting the boys work it out. What a terrifying situation. Oh, and by the way, the argument was over soda. My boyfriend had apparently taken his brother's soda…What the heck. It’s like $5 for a 12-pack. Such a stupid argument. If I knew where anything was, I would have left and bought them both giant cases of soda to shut them both up.
31. Mommy’s Little Boy
My first boyfriend. He was a momma's boy, but his mom liked his older brother more and made it blatantly obvious. On his 21st birthday, she rented us all a limo to bar hop, and she insisted on going with us. At 1 am, we are all properly sloshed, and she went on a rant about how my boyfriend was a piece of trash for having more fun than her.
She started talking about how he isn't half the man his older brother is. Apparently, since she rented the limo, she should be the one having the most fun, and since she wasn't, it was all his fault. She proceeded to throw empties at the two of us, then pulled the limo over and made everyone get out with the exception of her and the older brother. She drove away, leaving us on the side of the road in a bad part of town at 1 am.
What a super fun way to end your 21st birthday, right? Basically, every single night at her home ended in something similar, with her berating my boyfriend and comparing the two brothers. The worst part is, he'd always make excuses for her. I tried to get him to distance himself, but when she found out, she was so angry that she went to my work and caused a huge scene.
I worked in a high-end boutique hotel, so they fired me the next day. I broke up with him shortly after. He was actually a nice guy, and surprisingly, so was the older brother. I have no idea why they put up with her.
32. Let’s Get Down To Business
After 10 years of marriage, my father-in-law admitted that he never wanted a relationship with me and that if I had something to say to him, I had to go to my husband who would then decide whether or not to appeal to his dad. If he wasn't so serious, I would've laughed. He said that I dishonored him. In all honesty, all I could think of was that darn song from Mulan.
33. Getting The Full Picture
Her family’s disapproval put a huge strain on things. In general, her parents didn't really want her to date, and instead wanted her to focus on her coursework, which is reasonable given that we were in a pretty intensive program at the time. I think one of the issues was that my ex never brought me up, so it came as a surprise when I accidentally "met" her mom after she came to visit one time.
I say "met" because I didn't really meet her mom face-to-face. She was in another room when I came over to borrow something, and I made the mistake of trying to introduce myself; not knowing that she didn't know about me. Needless to say, she and my ex had a long conversation afterward about what was going on between us.
In hindsight, that's probably when my ex started pulling away, but in my ignorance, I didn't understand why—so I kept pushing and thinking I wasn't giving her enough attention. Long story short, things eventually ended.
34. An Unfit Parent
Her mother took a loan from shady sharks in order to lend the money to her aunt at a higher rate. Her aunt then refused to pay the money back. Her mother decided to skip town and go into hiding, taking her 12-year-old sister out of school to go with her. My girlfriend was an adult and independent from her mother, but she went along with her out of loyalty.
Yes, she went with her into hiding. We were at a point in our relationship where marriage and having kids were part of the conversation, but I knew that her mother would have influence over our kids and I couldn't put them, or myself, in that spot.
35. Jumping Ship
I was with a girl for over two years. She was my most serious relationship at the time and I loved her with all my heart. Her family, however, was kind of...trash. They were a big family that all stayed together. I was over at their place quite often, which means I saw more than a few things that were very, very disturbing.
For example, the mother, who was morbidly obese, kept giving her obese daughter (who couldn't have been older than three years old) Pepsi in a baby bottle. Also, she complained about the fact that her child's pediatrician kept mentioning the child's weight. The kid looked like a baby that was inflated with a tube.
There was also a woman who married into the family who was nine months pregnant but still smoked regularly. When I pointed this out to my girlfriend, she chided me and said that her mother smoked while she was pregnant with her, yet she turned out fine. Meanwhile, my girlfriend was born very premature and without a sense of smell. Literally, she couldn't smell anything.
There were a few other issues as well, such as her dad being unable to handle money properly, resulting in him taking out multiple mortgage payments to pay for stuff they didn't need. When the time came to decide whether to take the next step or jump ship, I decided to jump ship. I haven’t looked back since.
36. I Ain’t Saying She’s A Gold Digger
I broke off an engagement because his family was convinced I was a gold digger. They talked my fiancé into “testing” my intentions by telling me that he didn’t want my name on his house deed once we got married. They sure expected me to help pay the mortgage, though. I would have stayed with him if he’d just told them to screw off. He didn’t.
I hated that house anyway and I would have been perfectly happy if he’d sold it so we could buy something smaller together. His parents’ house shared a yard with his property too, but I was willing to live there with him because I loved him. When he pulled that stuff, I noped out.
37. Mommy And Me Time
He had expressed to me that his mom was "crazy," but I didn't fully understand the extent of the horror. So when she invited me out for fast food, I went. After our dinner date was over, I went to throw out my paper cup, and she started to scream at me, stating that I could have kept using it. He then later told me that his mom was a hoarder.
Again, I didn't think much of it, until one day, he invited me over to his mother's place...Well, it was exactly like the TV show about hoarders depicts. It was strange because my boyfriend didn't feel a sense of shame. He was clearly over his mother’s issues and she didn't even seem to bat an eye when I came over. She didn't even apologize for the hoarding.
Better yet, she didn't have a job, so she was living in the basement that her ex-husband owned. She also rented out the top floor, but I don't think to this day the renters know how much of a rat’s nest the downstairs apartment is. I didn't end up breaking up with him over that, however. What ended our relationship was much, much worse than that.
I had the last straw when he accidentally sent a voice clip of his mom to me, saying how much of a big. strong man he is and how she wanted cuddles.
He also called him by his father's name, which was worse. Before I broke up with him, I confronted him about what I heard, and he told me that, "My mother always loves to have mommy time."
I jokingly asked how long he was breastfed, and he told me until he was nine...even though there was no milk coming out by then. I haven't told anyone this story because I am frankly ashamed that I slept with someone who probably sleeps with his mom.
38. Miss Independence
Dumping me was the best thing my ex ever did for me because his family was absolutely horrible. They voted that I was too snobby to join them in marriage. They didn't understand why I took offense when they demanded I clean his apartment because it was getting messy. Did I mention I didn't even live there? They also wanted to know why I let him sign a lease with a slum lord.
He was 27 and old enough to decide for himself. Oh, and the mother got angry because I was the one who drove. He didn't own a car.
39. The American Dream
I’m 33 and my husband is 35. We have been happily together for 13 years and we don’t want any children. My father-in-law, however, is desperate for grandkids. He said behind my back to another family member how he is afraid his son will leave me because I won’t give him a child. He also told me he has daydreamed about my telling him I’m pregnant. Freaking weird.
40. Wheeling And Dealing
My ex’s dad expected her to drop everything and come help him with random stuff concerning his shady contracting business. It would always be something like, "I forgot my tools, go grab them at the shop and bring them here." But the worst I remember when he didn't have a spare tire for his work truck, so he wanted my ex to drive to his warehouse, then drive the almost five hours up to Tallahassee to deliver a spare to him.
And that's not even the worst part. Nine times out of 10, she would do it. It didn't matter what she had planned—she was expected to drop everything and help him. Like, I get it; she was raised around his business, but almost everything he would call her about could be easily fixed by some freaking foresight...like keeping the darn spare tire with your work truck or getting Triple-A on it.
41. Throw These Men In The Trash
His family was part of the reason why I broke up with my high school boyfriend—twice. His dad asked me to sit on his lap, and his brother told me I had a nice rack in front of his wife when I was 14. I stopped wearing swimsuits at their house, and I hated going to any family functions with him because his dad and brother were so gross.
42. Not-So Picture Perfect
Her family absolutely hated her. She was the third child. The first daughter was a math genius and was off in Europe teaching at some fancy university. Her brother was a recently graduated chef who, along with his girlfriend, was on the verge of opening a fancy restaurant. Her father was also quite skilled in math and worked as a teacher at our university.
Her mother was a housewife. They, along with the rest of the extended family, worked together on their own fruit and vegetable import enterprise. And yet, over and over again, they would treat her like garbage little chance they got, especially because of her looks.
She was a little overweight; her only "flaw" to be honest. They would compare her to her hot cousins, to her successful brother and sister who already had their lives figured out, and they also held her responsible for things that went wrong in the family business when they knew full well she was studying AND working as a teacher part-time.
It was awful to be around them as it felt like they were trying to make us both feel horrible. For me, it got the impression that they were thinking, "Wow, of course our good-for-nothing daughter would end up with a loser like YOU."
43. Give Me Just One Reason
So, the last girl I dated wanted to introduce me to her family after New Year’s break when I had gone home to see my family. I was nervous, but I really liked this girl, so I wanted to go. They were really cool, despite some peculiarities. I genuinely thought they were great...until they suddenly weren't.
Well, the next time we met up for her sister’s 50th birthday, I got the tour of their home and was shown the father's bedroom in the basement, which was separate from the mother's. They started to explain why, but I replied by saying that I didn’t need to know and that I wasn’t going to judge them for being a little unorthodox.
Well, apparently this didn't sit well with my girlfriend and it turned into this whole argument. Eventually, she called it off…I just still do not understand what was going on there? I was very honest and open with my opinion on the matter when asked, but somehow it wasn't correct?
44. Thank You, Next
He broke up with me and I made the choice to walk away entirely after that, despite him asking us to give it another go a few months later. His family is extremely toxic, co-dependent, and his mother is a straight-up cancer to his life. They would never, ever, ever apologize for the things they did to me.
When he tried crawling back to me, I said no. I had already healed and moved on with my life by then anyway. I loved that man and wanted forever with him, but I refused to live my whole life with people who were willing to cause great mental harm to me and my child for the mere sin of establishing boundaries. Get some therapy, people.
45. Not In The Cards
One of the reasons I broke up with my first serious boyfriend was because of his family. He came from an Indian (Hindu) background and didn’t want his parents to know he was dating a white girl. I once sent him a birthday card. His mother found it and apparently freaked the heck out. After two years, I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore.
46. High Rollers
Her mother wanted her to be nothing short of a celebrity. She wanted her to have a BMW Series 7 to drive, at the minimum. Oh, and she needed to have a work visa as soon as she landed in the US. I paid business class for five of them to visit just so they could basically measure me up.
Eventually, I said no even though I loved her since my college days.
47. An Act Of God
I dated my ex for three years. One of the biggest barriers between us was that her family was very Catholic and I am not. Her parents seemed to think the relationship wouldn’t last, but as it continued for longer and longer, they started to take more drastic actions. At first, they tried to convince her that the difference in our lifestyles would not be compatible.
Then, they got her uncle, who is an Archbishop in the Catholic Church (two steps away from the Pope) to let her know that she will essentially be going to hell. Her mother went into a "catatonic state" in which she didn’t get out of bed, eat, or drink for three days. Finally, it got to the point where I realized I SHOULD NOT marry into crazy.
48. Welcome To “The Family”
My first girlfriend was a nice Italian girl whose family drove me crazy. I'm a white-bread Canadian; what one might call a "mangia cake," so that was the first strike against me in their eyes. Her mother treated me well, but the dad always looked at me as if I wore my shoes in the house or something. The first time I had dinner at their house, he went into a whole speech about the etymology of the word "wap," unbidden by anything I had said or done.
Oh, and we had to take her younger brother on dates with us. This one time, he made plans with some friend so we could drop him off and get some alone time…and he immediately ratted her out when he got home. Then, another time we were out on the porch with my arm around her shoulders as we watched the sunset. Her father came out and made some meaningless small talk about how the weather was so nice and that it was so nice to have such a warm evening.
I found out the next day that he beat the heck out of her for being “loose” in "public." We talked about getting her out of that house, but at the end of the day, she couldn't leave her family behind. We were only together for a few months, but the whole family situation was just something I couldn't deal with. And then came the icing on the cake.
It was my birthday and she went and gave me a Rolex. Again, we had only been dating for a few months and I had already been to her house many times, so I knew she wasn't from some wealthy family where money was meaningless. Still, she assured me it was a genuine Rolex that her father had "acquired." That was when I learned that he was a local mafia boss and more than a few pieces fell into place.
I thanked her for the gift but gave it back as I didn't want to feel like I owed any favors to anyone. We broke up soon afterward. The next time I saw her has at a friend's wedding where she was there with her (very Italian) fiancé.
49. Always Be My Baby
His parents were divorced and he mainly stayed with his mom, probably because she let him slack off. We would have pretty much the same arguments about our relationship that would get quite heated without ever getting resolved. I would come over to his house and while he was in the other room, his mom would come up to me and rant over very personal things I had told him.
She told me that I needed to pick my battles and do better for her child. I thought it was really strange of her to overstep boundaries, especially because he told her things that I would tell him in confidence. He had some serious mommy issues and she would talk about herself in the third person, calling herself “Mommy,” like “Mommy wants you to vacuum your room today.” So weird.
50. Run White Boy, Run
A girl I had been on a few dates with had invited me back to her place. Score, right? Well, when we got there, I realized she had failed to mention one huge thing: Her entire family lived there. I was introduced to her mother, father, and siblings at midnight when we got back to her place. The thing is, it got so much worse than this.
She told them, "We're going to my room to sleep together" and her dad said, "You brought protection, right man?" I kind of nodded in a daze. So we went back there and did the deed. To be honest, she was actually amazing. Afterward, I got anxious thinking about having to do the "walk of shame" as I passed her family on the way out, so to avoid all of that, I tried to duck out at 3 am.
Her dad was still in the kitchen, eating tamales. He asked me to sit down and I was like, “Oh God,” but then he served me up a delicious tamale—and told me the whole truth. He said that his daughter liked to hurt men like me and that if I had any sense, I would keep the memory of the night close and never speak to her again.
I thought it was just her dad who didn't approve at first, but then her brother came in and said, "You need to run white boy, my sister is crazy." I nodded sagely but I didn't end up taking their advice. I really, really should have. The relationship lasted about a month and ended with my car windows being destroyed by her during the middle of the night.
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