Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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:
diddl · 05/05/2026 16:08

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:06

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

Well you'd hope that the man would have done it first!

But no, it seems a woman has to step in!

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:09

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.

Her husband wasn't flirting. Only the cousin was.

SorcererGaheris · 05/05/2026 16:10

VanGoSunflowers · 05/05/2026 14:29

Same, totally lost. Did OP’s DH shag OP’s sister and they grew up together? How does that work?

@VanGoSunflowers

I think the "sister" comment is referring to a previous thread the OP started, in which the person she said was her cousin was in fact her sister.

In this thread, the DP's cousin is his cousin.

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:11

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:09

Her husband wasn't flirting. Only the cousin was.

Yes, he was. He was allowing his cousin to take his clothes off, sit on his lap and flirt with him.

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:11

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:03

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

So fucking your cousin is ok in the UK? And I thought that sort of thing happened only in the hillbilly deep south of the US.

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:13

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:05

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

The bloke wasn't doing anything! Why would she launch herself at someone who wasn't doing anything wrong?

Are you the cousin?

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:14

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:11

So fucking your cousin is ok in the UK? And I thought that sort of thing happened only in the hillbilly deep south of the US.

It's legal.

Most people are absolutely NOT okay with it, though.

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:15

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:13

The bloke wasn't doing anything! Why would she launch herself at someone who wasn't doing anything wrong?

Are you the cousin?

Obviously not what a stupid thing to say

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 16:16

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:13

The bloke wasn't doing anything! Why would she launch herself at someone who wasn't doing anything wrong?

Are you the cousin?

He 100% shouldn’t have let her sit on his lap! So disrespectful

CatRestaurant · 05/05/2026 16:17

Not sure why anyone is defending the husband. He allowed the woman to sit on his lap ffs! He’s just as bad as the cousin.

DustlandFairytales · 05/05/2026 16:17

I don't think he can blame other people for shagging a cousin at 16.
Think I would have felt ill instead of angry witnessing that.

Shitshowpolitics · 05/05/2026 16:17

Temporaryusernamename · 05/05/2026 14:29

I know, it's gross.

They regret it massively though and definitely don't want anyone to know.

Yet she's all over him I wouldn't feel guilty about telling her to back off. You did the right thing. I would be having words with him about setting boundaries with her. I think the reason why he brushes it off as nothing is because he likes the attention which is even more gross.

MrsBroccolini · 05/05/2026 16:18

I don’t think you were being unreasonable at all but I think given what you now know and that you feel bad you could maybe pull her aside and saying I’m sorry for being a bit strong and if my revealing what I know shocked you, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or unhappy, but I also need you to not make flirtatious comments or jokes to DH.

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 16:19

CatRestaurant · 05/05/2026 16:17

Not sure why anyone is defending the husband. He allowed the woman to sit on his lap ffs! He’s just as bad as the cousin.

Can you even imagine a woman sitting on another man’s lap with her husband there?!

SorcererGaheris · 05/05/2026 16:19

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 15:39

She didn’t tell me anything.

@ohyesido

Yes, she did. Earlier in the thread, she responded to your post and told you that she was unaware of what her husband's cousin had gone through at the time she told her off. She only found out the day after.

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:19

ThatBlackCat · 05/05/2026 16:11

So fucking your cousin is ok in the UK? And I thought that sort of thing happened only in the hillbilly deep south of the US.

Yes, it's legal.

MyDeftDuck · 05/05/2026 16:20

SerafinasGoose · 05/05/2026 15:31

This misogynistic language is a dead giveaway.

No admonitions for the husband - the man actually married to the OP and who owes her his loyalty - for engaging with her inappropriate behaviour? Or does the fault as ever only rest with women?

'D'H's conduct might also lead OP to question what kind of man actually shags his cousin in the first place. Anyone can look past a bit of youthful folly. Had nothing else happened, then despite the inappropriateness of the family connection I might have thought no more of it. It's what he does within the marriage, and the fact that this situation has rearisen in such an ugly, inappropriate way that would make me think again about what kind of man I'd actually married.

In that context, the cousin's behaviour is immaterial.

Edited

🙄

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/05/2026 16:21

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.

No. All I meant was that it is not legally incest.
I didn't say that I approved of it.

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:21

SorcererGaheris · 05/05/2026 16:19

@ohyesido

Yes, she did. Earlier in the thread, she responded to your post and told you that she was unaware of what her husband's cousin had gone through at the time she told her off. She only found out the day after.

So what is your point?

let’s all vilify the vulnerable cousin so any passing men will think we are wife material?

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 05/05/2026 16:22

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:14

It's legal.

Most people are absolutely NOT okay with it, though.

Maybe not these days but certainly in the past they were.

SorcererGaheris · 05/05/2026 16:23

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:21

So what is your point?

let’s all vilify the vulnerable cousin so any passing men will think we are wife material?

@ohyesido

No. My point is that your original comment implied that the OP was aware that the woman was vulnerable and therefore shouldn't have said anything nasty to her.

Given that the OP has made it clear that she wasn't aware of what the woman had recently been through, you shouldn't come down so harshly on OP for what she said. If she had known beforehand, maybe she would have tempered her language a bit.

This is about sticking up for the OP, not trying to get men to like me!

sunflowersandsunsets · 05/05/2026 16:24

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 05/05/2026 16:22

Maybe not these days but certainly in the past they were.

I'm not sure anyone has been okay with first cousins fucking each other in the last 50 odd years.

Walkyrie · 05/05/2026 16:25

ohyesido · 05/05/2026 16:21

So what is your point?

let’s all vilify the vulnerable cousin so any passing men will think we are wife material?

Why is she vulnerable? She sounds the opposite.

ArtAngel · 05/05/2026 16:25

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.

He was minimising her behaviour and needed to have been clearer about boundaries.

But she was the one doing the flirting (unnacceptable), and I think the fact that she was coming towards you all huggy meant that she was generally carrying on like that in drunken luuuuurve. She got a nasty shock from you - if you want you could approach her and say 'look, no hard feelings, don't let it spoil this special time with MIL , and of course I would not say anything. The past is the past, best keep it that way in all forms of communication"

SingedSoul · 05/05/2026 16:25

You went 30 to 100 on this one. She was being inappropriate, you were right to say something but maybe using the words that you did. Fair play though, after a few drinks I might have done the same. No way back from it though, just don't see her again.