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Original poster

Anyone else get on well with their in laws?

62 replies

BarrelOfOtters · 28/12/2022 09:32

My dh has a good relationship with them which helps. They are a good laugh. Look after our dog a lot and house when we away. They are good with dh’s young adult kids and his ex…

I like it when they pop in…

OP posts:
Jowak1 · 28/12/2022 09:41

Yes I have a fantastic relationship with my in laws they are like my second parents. They are fabulous with the kids, take them at a minutes notice and they live 2 hours from us. We get together regularly for meals, walks, family gatherings. I realise I am very lucky and not all in laws are like this. I get on really well with them too as well as the kids.

LegoLady95 · 28/12/2022 09:43

Yes, a very good relationship. I love spending time with them. The vast majority of my friends and family also get on very well with their in laws. It is only on Mumsnet I hear about terrible relationships with in laws.

pictoosh · 28/12/2022 09:44

Me. My mil and her dh live close to us. They're a great pair.

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Flapjackquack · 28/12/2022 09:45

Love my MIL, she has her quirks which means we don’t always see eye to eye but we very much respect each others roles. She often comes to see me when DH isn’t here for a chat. Miss my late FIL very much, I know he would be so proud of the father DH is. Feel much more comfortable with the in-laws than with my own dysfunctional family to be honest. I often joke to DH I am getting his mum in the divorce.

Dacadactyl · 28/12/2022 09:45

I too like my in laws. They didn't help with the kids when they were younger cos they lived abroad, but we get on well.

pictoosh · 28/12/2022 09:46

Have to say that at least half of the in law problems on here are caused by the precious, selfish dil who's posting about them.

Cherryana · 28/12/2022 09:47

Yes they are both amazing people. They are lovely and helpful and kind and open.
They live close by and my children see their house as a home from home.

GimmeBiscuits · 28/12/2022 09:47

Yes, mine are absolutely lovely. My own parents are dead, and ILs have been in my life a long time. They're quite elderly now, but keep up with all the wider family, and include divorced ex spouses and step grandchildren in events. At the moment, they're hosting a step grandchild and partner who are visiting from another country.
Very thoughtful and kind people who always get the balance right.

Bluelightbaby · 28/12/2022 09:48

my mil is more like my friend, I have a great relationship with my pil :) which is nice as I hated my ex husbands parents !

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 28/12/2022 09:53

My MIL lives with us, and it was my suggestion.

I’m spending Saturday afternoon out with her, my SIL and DH’s first MIL (he was a widow when we met).

Its my family that are the nightmares. I’m NC with all of them.

Hbh17 · 28/12/2022 09:53

Mine are no longer with us, but I always got on with them really well. They were great people, and never judged nor interfered. Much, much nicer people than my own parents, I have to say.

Holly6547 · 28/12/2022 09:58

We get along well enough but I always feel on edge with mine. They are fine most of the time but then will randomly say judgmental or hurtful things. It leaves me feeling like I can never let my guard down because I don’t know when the next insult will come. When my MIL does rarely say something positive about my parenting it’s always in the form of judging someone else which isn’t great either.

BrieAndChilli · 28/12/2022 10:09

My in-laws are more like family than my actual family.
we had in-laws for Xmas (MIL, aunt, SIL) and they joked that they would keep me in a fictional divorce over DH!
MIL loves 2 hours away but she’s always done childcare in school holidays either come to us or the kids have gone to her. SIL lives 20 min away so we see her more often. FIL spends half the year on Thailand/Vietnam but when he is here he loves 20 min away. When the kids were little he was here most of the year and did loads of babysitting when I worked evenings and DH worked varying shifts.

Octoblockisadick · 28/12/2022 10:12

I love my in laws. We get on really well, and I spend time with them without DH quite regularly. I probably see them more than he does haha.

mnahmnah · 28/12/2022 11:00

They’re ok. Cause no issues. Get on fine with them when we see them. I wouldn’t choose to spend time with them and they are nothing like my family and what I’m used to. But as I said, they cause no issues and they help us out occasionally with childcare.

MeinKraft · 28/12/2022 11:03

Yep and like a PP I am probably closer to them at this stage than my DH in some ways.

StephanieSuperpowers · 28/12/2022 11:06

Yeah, love my in laws. They've been nothing but kind and welcoming to me. They're good people.

HopefullyBePregnantViaIUI · 28/12/2022 11:08

My MIL lives across the road from us 😊.. Initially I found this difficult however now love it! Shes extremely supportive x

superdupernova · 28/12/2022 11:32

Mine are lovely. They live a couple of hours away so we don't see them often but when we do it's like we see them all the time. They're really easy to get on with.

maddiemookins16mum · 28/12/2022 11:33

I adore my MIL. She moved in with us last year (has her own little annexe). She’s 90. I’ve known her since I was 15 - she was the Youth Group leader at my (then) Church. I’m 58 now.
She’s funny, generous of heart and spirit, practical, supportive, a very intelligent and decent woman.
We used to go away for Theatre breaks (she’d sneak miniature bottles of booze in her handbag for the interval 🤣🤣).
She never interferes with how we raised DD (apart from she hated the dummy DD still had at two because it affected her speech - she was actually correct 🫢🫢).
I sometimes think about what our lives will be like when she dies, I cannot bear to, it will be awful.
I count my blessing every day that she has been such a part of my life.
She’s currently doing the ironing singing along to Dusty Springfield.
She’s a joy.

Lndnmummy · 28/12/2022 11:36

I love my MIL. She has been like a mum to me. She nursed me through two horrible episodes of PND and were an angel when my boys were babies. She is elderly now so we would never ask her to mind the kids now but she is amazing. Love her to bits.

Lndnmummy · 28/12/2022 11:37

maddiemookins16mum · 28/12/2022 11:33

I adore my MIL. She moved in with us last year (has her own little annexe). She’s 90. I’ve known her since I was 15 - she was the Youth Group leader at my (then) Church. I’m 58 now.
She’s funny, generous of heart and spirit, practical, supportive, a very intelligent and decent woman.
We used to go away for Theatre breaks (she’d sneak miniature bottles of booze in her handbag for the interval 🤣🤣).
She never interferes with how we raised DD (apart from she hated the dummy DD still had at two because it affected her speech - she was actually correct 🫢🫢).
I sometimes think about what our lives will be like when she dies, I cannot bear to, it will be awful.
I count my blessing every day that she has been such a part of my life.
She’s currently doing the ironing singing along to Dusty Springfield.
She’s a joy.

This made me well up. She sounds lovely

YouremywifenowTubs · 28/12/2022 11:40

Well, I thought I did.

For 10 years in fact. Until I walked in on them unexpectedly one day and heard them describing me to a friend as the “fat, useless incredibly racist term for Indian person that dh married who they only tolerate to see the grandchildren.”

That stung. I’d thought we had always had a lovely relationship and did lots of things together.

FuntCase · 28/12/2022 11:43

Bloody love my MIL she’s madder then a box of frogs but it makes me love her all the more. She’s kind and loving and doesn’t overstep with DD. FIL is a quiet man, but no issues with him. He loves DD and he’s the most animated with her so that’s lovely to see. Even BIL is a good egg, we don’t see him a lot. DH gets on well with my parents too. There are times when people don’t see eye to eye and we eye roll but it gets shrugged off as it’s never anything major. I would absolutely hate to have family drama and I strive to be a good MIL if the time comes.

Fifthtimelucky · 28/12/2022 12:14

Mine are both dead now. My mother in law, who died a couple of years ago, was great and we got on very well.

She was one of the least judgmental person I have ever met and was almost embarrassingly over-grateful for the smallest thing we did for her, and over-generous in her praise of my parenting, cooking, driving etc etc.

She was also much loved by my husband's ex-wife, with whom she stayed in touch for 40 years after their divorce. She considered us both as her daughters and we were very lucky.

I got on ok with my father in law, but he died over 20 years ago.