A woman said her mother-in-law repeatedly told her 6-year-old stepdaughter that she was not the child’s “real” mom and that her husband told her she was overreacting, per a Reddit post by user french_toastieee in the r/AmIOverreacting community.
The Reddit user did not give her name or location. She said she asked the community whether she was overreacting after telling her husband she would leave if his mother did not move out.
Woman Described a Household Shared With Her Mother-in-Law
The user said she and her husband had been together for three years. She said his mother lost custody of him when he was a child and the two reconnected when he was about 25.
Per the Reddit user, her mother-in-law lived with her husband when the couple met. She said he told her that after they moved in together, “She’d be gone ASAP.” However, three years later, she was still living with them. The user wrote, “She’s still here.”
Reddit User Described the Girl’s Family Situation
The Reddit user said her husband had a 6-year-old daughter whose mother left when the girl was 2. She said she joined the household when the child was 3.
She wrote that the girl’s mother had “completely abandoned her,” did not call and “check up every now and then.” The user said she supported the girl “emotionally, financially” and that the couple had her “every single day.”
Woman Said Her Mother-in-Law Told the Girl About Her Real Mom
The Reddit user said her mother-in-law went “behind our backs” and told the girl that the user was not her mom. The girl was told she had a “real” mom who was “just sick.”
The woman said her stepdaughter came to her and said her grandmother showed her pictures and videos of her mother from Facebook. Per the Reddit user, the grandmother did this to remind the girl what her mother looked like and to show what she was doing.
The Reddit user said the girl started “acting out” at school and at home after these moments. She said the girl had been written up multiple times for bad behavior at school. Per the creator, her mother-in-law would not stop and said, “What’s the big deal? That’s her mom.”
Reddit User Described Her Mother-in-Law’s Other Children
The user said her mother-in-law had four children, one of them younger than 18. She said her mother-in-law lost custody of all four. An aunt and uncle were raising the minor daughter.
The user said the aunt and uncle recently gave her mother-in-law the girl’s phone number. She said her mother-in-law then told the girl she was not there because she “wasn’t allowed to be.”
Her mother-in-law said the aunt and uncle kept her from being there, while the user said her mother-in-law lost custody because of a drug issue.
The Creator Said Her Husband Called Her Reaction an Overreaction
The user wrote, “I’ve had enough,” and said she told her husband she could not live with her mother-in-law anymore. She said he told her she was “overreacting” because he “finally has his mom in his life.” The user said he also said his mother was “just this way.”
The woman added that she told her husband that if his mother did not leave, she would. She said she told him his mother “wasn’t supposed to live in our house forever.” She asked, “Am I overreacting?”
The user did not say how the dispute ended. The account was not independently verified.
Commenters Shared Their Reactions
The post drew replies from other users. One person wrote, “Leave. He’ll always put his mother first.”
Another commented, “Sons are raised to stay sons.”
One more user wrote, “It’s a blessing that you two don’t have biological kids TOGETHER. Run!”
