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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To have confronted DH's cousin for flirting with him?

543 replies

Temporaryusernamename · 05/05/2026 13:56

My husband and I have been together for 18 years, married for 12. We have two children, aged 15 and 13.

Years ago, long before our relationship, when DH and his female 1st cousin were teenagers, they had a brief, secret relationship with each other.

At first, I thought they just slept together, but over the years DH confided in me that he had slept with her once while staying at her house for a week during the summer holidays when they were both 16, but that they also wanted to be together but knew they could never tell anyone.

They lived in different parts of the country and rarely ever saw each other.

My DH has told me he's actually quite angry with his parents for putting them in this position. They were teenagers, who didn't grow up together, rarely saw each other, and yet when the family would meet up once or twice a year, they would always stay over and the kids would be put in the same room, on bunk beds and camp beds, without any thought of the fact that they were developing and going through puberty, just assuming they were innocent kids. He says the curiousity and strong feelings were inevitable and his parents and other adults should have been more responsible.

Anyway, noone at all knows what happened except DH, the cousin, and me.

When they reached young adulthood, the cousin emigrated to a different country and DH and I have only seen her twice in the last 15 years.
However, we are all currently all Holiday together! MIL recently won a large amount of money and took the whole extended family, 17 of us in total, away on a huge Holiday. Cousin is here.

We have been drinking every night and cousin, who is now in her late 30s, and doesn't have a husband or kids of her own, keeps relentlessly saying flirting with DH. Telling him he looks great in shorts, whistling when he takes his top off on the beach, making silly sexual jokes, and hugging him by coming up behind him and resting her head on his shoulder. Noone else seems to notice and DH says not to worry about it as he doesn't feel anything for her and nothing is going to happen and she's just being playful.
But I've noticed she's not like it with any other males here. Just DH.

The final straw for me came last night when she sat on DH's lap while we were all sitting around drinking and put her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek.

DH just laughed and told her to get up then got up himself and went to the bar.

Again, we had all had quite a lot to drink.

A few minutes later, I went off to the toilet and she was coming back towards me. She was quite drunk and came over with her arms out in front of her to give me a hug. I stepped away and looked her right in the face. I said "Stop flirting with my husband. Don't think I don't know your history. If you come anywhere near him again, I will tell everyone about you two." She looked utterly shocked. I walked away. She must have gone straight to bed.
Today, she's been really quiet all day. Everyone's commented on it but they've just assumed she's really hungover.

MIL and I were sitting on the beach and she commented that this trip has been good for her. She's had a hard time lately as a bloke she was going to marry cheated on her with his ex wife and then went back to her. She's really benefitting from being with family to support her as she's so alone out there.

I feel really guilty for saying that to her last night. I just got so jealous seeing her sitting in his lap, looking amazing in her tiny sundress, knowing their history and she was probably his first love, and felt so insecure. The stupid fling they had was so long ago and they were young and I know at least DH deeply regrets it and is embarrassed about it.

I'm worried I've now ruined her holiday. I didn't know she was going through that. I've been chatting to her to be friendly and get to know her but she never mentioned it

Was I unreasonable?

OP posts:
Schoolchoicesucks · 05/05/2026 15:49

ItsNotMeEither · 05/05/2026 14:31

If you want to smooth things over a little, for the sake of family harmony, pull her aside, just say sorry you were so harsh/or sharp with her, you know they were only teens and that you’d like to move on and enjoy the holiday.

It’s not saying you’re happy for her to flirt, just sorry for being sharp about it.

it give you both a chance to enjoy the rest of the holiday, but she will still know that you’ve fired a warning shot.

Do this, leaves the point that you don't like her being openly flirtatious with your husband buy acknowledges that it was poor form to bring up such ancient history.

YourRubyMaker · 05/05/2026 15:51

I think you did exactly right thing and unless you think she will tell dh I wouldn’t mention it

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:51

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:49

Really? Is it anything another woman wouldn't say? Think about what she's doing right in front of the poor OP, ffs, or is The Sisterhood more important and trumps everything?

When we start calling each other slutty tarts we give men permission to do the same. Reflect on that

ec5881 · 05/05/2026 15:51

It was good you said something. Sounds like she was trying to soothe her sore ego by turning to your husband’s old affections, sort of enjoying the idea and affection. It’s good communication to be honest that you just put a cap in it. It’ll be the best thing for her and him tbh, because it’ll stop her seeking solace in affection that won’t actually help her heal. Sometimes boundaries are actually really healthy for people. If I were youd I’d talk to your husband, tell him hour you feel comparatively with her all bikini and you mum, and that you’d told her she’d crossed a line, and how you sometimes wonder. It’ll prob help him know how you feel and be sensitive to you which is very important. It’s not your job to heal cousin’s wounds, you actually gave her helpful boundaries and saved herself from damage. Hope you can leave it behind and enjoy the holiday! Xxx

YourRubyMaker · 05/05/2026 15:52

I also don’t think she will tell him cos she’s embarrassed and I think was flirting 100%

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:56

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:51

When we start calling each other slutty tarts we give men permission to do the same. Reflect on that

Permission's not required to call someone out. While people bicker about semantics, a woman's being humiliated in front of her eyes. Reflect on that.

SleepingStandingUp · 05/05/2026 15:56

Not unreasonable to tell her to back off.
Unreasonable to do it by threatening to reveal her and her's secret

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 15:58

Temporaryusernamename · 05/05/2026 14:58

I don't know why. DH and I are great. We have never one, in all these years, had any issues with jealousy. No suspicions or suspicious behaviour. He never comments on other women or flirts even a little bit. I've always felt he's totally loyal to me and I to him.

Most of me thinks he simply doesn't take her seriously. Thinks she's just drunk and silly.

But a tiny niggling doubt is making me wonder if maybe he is into her and is enjoying it, knowing people will never suspect.
She's absolutely gorgeous, and wild and fun and seemingly carefree and wears bikinis and tiny shorts and tight little dresses and there's me, a dumpy mum of two.

But then I think surely if he is into her he wouldn't be so obvious on front of me, knowing I know the history? So maybe he just thinks it's nothing.

So there's this back and forth in my mind, mixed with alcohol and heat which she (probably deservedly) got the brunt of.

I need to talk to DH don't I?

Yes.

I would absolutely hate this and be very angry HE wasn’t the one to put her in her place and tell her to back off. Who the fuck lets an ex sexual partner (and cousin 😷) sit on their lap in front of their wife? That in itself would be a major argument for me.

You did the right thing though, removing the husband from it for a moment. You have nothing to feel guilty about.

OP - I don’t want to plague you with suspicions and I’m not delighting in this, but why did he tell you about his ‘secret relationship’ with her? How often had this come up over the years? In my experience men only want to talk about ‘exes’ if there’s something still unresolved and they just want to say something about it out loud. He could easily not have said anything (after all they were 16, nobody reasonably needs to tell their spouse about an ex lover from decades ago especially if they live overseas).

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:58

SleepingStandingUp · 05/05/2026 15:56

Not unreasonable to tell her to back off.
Unreasonable to do it by threatening to reveal her and her's secret

Aye, let's not reveal incest.

Coconutter24 · 05/05/2026 15:58

I would have told my DH she was making me feel uncomfortable and he can deal with it. If he shuts it down and tells her clearly to stop acting inappropriate great, plus it will mean more coming from him. If he doesn’t shut it down he obviously likes the attention

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:58

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:56

Permission's not required to call someone out. While people bicker about semantics, a woman's being humiliated in front of her eyes. Reflect on that.

Do you approve of women being called such names to assuage another’s ego?

Iriseee · 05/05/2026 15:59

How old is/was your husband in relation to his cousin when they had sex ? I would be wary that there could be another side to the story and you could open a can of worms if your husband was older and there was grooming involved. If you piss her off then it may well be a different story that comes out.

Edit: Sorry just seen they were both exactly the same age.

diddl · 05/05/2026 16:02

Sounds as if your husband was enjoying the attention.

You should have shouted out "bloody hell you two you'll be shagging next".

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 16:02

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:58

Do you approve of women being called such names to assuage another’s ego?

Really, when one woman behaves so abysmally like that with another woman's husband right in front of her eyes, I think she's lost the right to be addressed civilly.

SerafinasGoose · 05/05/2026 16:02

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:51

When we start calling each other slutty tarts we give men permission to do the same. Reflect on that

Far worse that a bloke was flirting with his own cousin right under the nose of his wife.

Yet he's given a free pass. Yes, funny, that.

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:03

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:58

Aye, let's not reveal incest.

It isn't incest.
It's legal for cousins to marry if they wish.

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 16:05

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:03

It isn't incest.
It's legal for cousins to marry if they wish.

Really, you're going there? It might well be legal, but it's morally and civically reprehensible and disgusting.

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:05

SerafinasGoose · 05/05/2026 16:02

Far worse that a bloke was flirting with his own cousin right under the nose of his wife.

Yet he's given a free pass. Yes, funny, that.

Yet the OP launched herself at the cousin and not the bloke. Low hanging fruit ….

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:06

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:45

I’m not, you seem to be telling me what happened. The OP chose to chastise the cousin and now seeks validation for having done so

Why shouldn't she chastise her for flirting with her husband? ??

Why are you defending women who crack onto other women's husbands?

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:06

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 15:46

In the first place, what type of woman flirts so blatantly with a man right in front of his wife? A slutty tart, that's who.... Why is nobody else pulling her up?

Yep, you'd think the MIL would be horrified and pulling her up.

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:07

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:06

Why shouldn't she chastise her for flirting with her husband? ??

Why are you defending women who crack onto other women's husbands?

I’m not. I’m not responsible for what you infer from my words.

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:07

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:03

It isn't incest.
It's legal for cousins to marry if they wish.

Legal incest, then Hmm

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 16:07

LoyalMember · 05/05/2026 16:05

Really, you're going there? It might well be legal, but it's morally and civically reprehensible and disgusting.

Agree. I can’t even imagine going there with my cousin, the thought of it makes me feel ill.

CoffeeTime4583922 · 05/05/2026 16:07

She was being horrible, creepy and inappropriate.

You can excuse a 16 year old for being dumb. You cannot excuse a middle aged woman. She knew exactly what she was doing and needed to be put in her place.

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 16:08

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:07

Legal incest, then Hmm

😂

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