Would you find this gift rude/hurtful?

[Darkclothes]

MIL recently bought me this cooking apron for my birthday. I do cook meals from scratch daily, but only bake cakes for birthdays- so maybe twice a year!

I've put on weight the past 2 yrs. A combination of finishing 12yrs of sub-fertility and rounds of IVF, then finding out I'll never have my own children, moving from an active job to WFH and also an injury which has limited how much exercise I can do.

MIL and I had a falling out 10yrs ago, but have been on reasonable terms since. I don't know if it's a subtle hint to my weight gain or I'm overthinking and she just saw a cooking apron and didn't think about the text. Would you feel hurt/offended by this?

I quite like it but can see how it could be offensive with that sort of backstory.

I think this is nasty op, and was very deliberate, sorry x

That is rude nasty and in no way funny.

That's the sort of thing my MIL would do without thinking and I don't think it would be malicious. But if you have history of this sort of thing plus it being something you're sensitive about then I can see how upsetting it would be.

I know.

OP says they fell out (which happens to anyone, not just MILs, 10 years ago)
But have been OK since.

Maybe DMIL thinks they have a better relationship than OP does.

You could always regift it back to her and say you liked it so much you thought you’d get her one!

I would not bin it, I would cut it and make a few cleaning cloths, and everytime she is visiting, would wipe the floor with that, sayng what a nice fabric the apron was made of, such a great cleaning cloth, thank you MIL!

Put the apron and her in the bin.

Bake her a cake for mother's day and wrap it up in that nasty apron

I absolutely agree and would not have been offended, although I am fat. Thoughtless and crap seems far more likely than deliberately malicious. There is a whole world of ‘hilarious’ gift items along similar lines out there, and lazy gift-buyers can easily end up thinking they make sense as a choice.

But then, I am often surprised by how strongly MN replies seem to lean in to ‘yes, you should assume this was deliberate rudeness’ when there is a post about any kind of ambiguous gift or comment. A lot of posters seem to be constantly scanning everyone around them for ‘digs’

Came on to say just that!

I think it’s a compliment.
No one could be that rude- she doesn’t think you’re fat.

It's really naff. That Dunelm one is pretty. I'd like that. There's some fabulous aprons here.

For her birthday buy her an iron. If she asks why say you're going to need it with all them wrinkles that have appeared the last few years.

Rather than binning it can you cut it up into cleaning rags? And let MIL see one lying around sometime?

Nasty “gift”.

witch ! I’d be searching online to see what bitchy quote gift I could buy her back.. but then the bitchy gifts might just go on every year 🤣

Bake her a cake for mother's day with the apron baked into it like Mrs Doyle did with the jumper cake on Father Ted

Such a shame baking requires close contact with a hot oven where gifts can get burnt beyond redemption and require binning.

nasty would be cutting half cms off the ties every time shes round.

Came to say the same thing. Absolute no-no.

Thank you for everyone's thoughts/ideas. To answer questions:

-No, MIL isn't a Twiggy shape and has fluctuated in size in the 20yrs since we met, but never been below a size 16 in that time.
-She does have form for giving odd gifts, but usually to DH.
-No, I wouldn't bin it, but will give it to a charity shop

Does she have any other DIL?

Don't give it to a charity shop, some other poor woman might receive it as a gift. Bin it.

Send it back asap with no message.

There is a step DIL that lives abroad, but they divorced a few years ago and MIL has no contact with her. Why?