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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What sort of family would you not want to marry into?

149 replies

BeLimeViewer · 04/08/2026 15:47

A criminal one

OP posts:
WineCharm · Today 15:11

Different or no religion.

catlovingdoctor · Today 15:49

An outwardly religious one

IntoTheRoseGarden · Today 15:50

A family that 'races to the bottom'.

Viviennemary · Today 15:52

Ones that do everything together. Horrific.

Justanopinionnothingmore · Today 15:53

Loud mouthed and rude with no manners.

So that you couldn't go anywhere with them and they'd be making a spectacle of themselves every where you went. That behaviour makes me cringe inside out.

Luckily my partner's family are lovely.

Justanopinionnothingmore · Today 15:54

MindThePause · 04/08/2026 15:56

I don’t recommend marrying minor royalty from far, far away.

And Italian mother-in-laws who embody the stereotype are hard work. Top tip - Always wear a shower cap in case of sudden drenches of Holy Water from behind to “get Satan out” of you.

Is there a back story to this or is this satire? As I am really interested and invested for the back story if you care to elaborate?

MindThePause · Today 16:32

Justanopinionnothingmore · Today 15:54

Is there a back story to this or is this satire? As I am really interested and invested for the back story if you care to elaborate?

Not much of one. It’s mostly ADHD fuelled impulse and not considering the wider implications of my actions before I enthusiastically hurl myself into to obvious minefields. All done with the confidence of a golden retriever, but the defensiveness hurt feelings of a Chihuahua.

I married a very minor (not rich, so no tiara) royal when I was very young and he was an international student. He married me without telling his family. We lived in poverty, on love and resilience of youth. Then the embassy found out and told on us. His family were not happy, not least because the embassy described me as “some shop girl”. We went to live in his country where I managed to look wrong, say the wrong thing and fail to pick up up all the millions of tiny ways you use your voice and body to show respect to somebody’s status above or below you. I understand why I was a disappointment from their perspective. It wasn’t much fun for me either. I got drunk a lot to stop feeling like a constant failure who couldn’t do anything g right. Eventually I worked out love is not enough, accepted it was nobody’s fault, I was just a flower being a weed cos I was in the wrong garden. And I ran away.

Which took me to another country, a new (blessedly non royal) husband. Who happened to have a mum who was like a walking stereotype of the over involved Italian mother, her bipolar being an element in why it was all ramped up so much with Holy Water being flung around. We’re still together, with an adult DS. MIL long dead, but lives on because she made an impression on my family who still can’t quite believe how adept I am at picking exactly the family who’d be least happy to have me in it. 😬

This is my final marriage. I give up if DH croaks.

CallmeMumchkin · Today 16:41

scatterolight · 04/08/2026 15:54

Families with divorce, kids by multiple dads, blended families, families where members have gone "no contact". Basically all red flags for marriage stability and family cohesion.

This is my family. I really thought it was genetic/unavoidable as I don't know anyone unaffected in the last 3 generations. When (now)DH spoke about marriage I explained I wasn't marriage material for all of the reasons you've listed. I also definitely wasn't motherhood material as lots of children in my family are NC with their parents and others I've been listening to the parents bitch about for years so it didn't seem to be working out for either side.

Very glad he laughed at me and said the fact that I could see it already showed how different I am to them and he was up for the challenge. We're only 10 years in to the experiment, 3 children...going well so far. touches wood.

scoobysnaxx · Today 16:57

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 04/08/2026 15:50

A racist, sexist, homophobic or ablist one.

A criminal one.

An unkind one

An emotionally illiterate one.

An interfering/controlling one.

A cold, uninterested one.

all of this.

and one that constantly makes excuses for poor male behaviour.

Echobelly · Today 17:00

One that thinks it has the right to control other people's legitimate life choices

One that loved 'drama'

One that says it expresses affection through 'pranks' but it's impossible to tell if they really like you or are just laughing at you.

An orthodox Jewish family that didn't believe I was 'Jewish enough'

Miketymokety · Today 17:02

I wish we'd had better families on both sides. My husband's aren't terrible, but they are quite cold, ignorant, selfish, unhelpful and stingy. Mine are unhelpful, volatile and resentful. I feel we spend our lives helping everyone else and have not really enjoyed many benefits that family should bring. Life would have been so much easier and nicer if we'd both had better sets of parents.

ApplePieCinamon · Today 17:03

Viviennemary · Today 15:52

Ones that do everything together. Horrific.

Same. Enmeshed, in each others pockets, popping around unannounced, holidaying together all the time. Gives me shivers

Ponoka7 · Today 17:28

hattie43 · 04/08/2026 16:56

An Animal hating rough poor family .

Would animal hating be ok if they had money?
To the person who said the royal family, that covers most posts, except the poor ones.
I don't know why people are picking apart ones that mention religion. Religions comes with rules, traditions and are often bigoted and exclusionary.

JuliettaCaeser · Today 17:31

My in laws are cold and uninterested. But think that’s preferable to being enmeshed or criminal or worse a combination of the two!

Dh gets on far better with my parents than his own. His don’t seem to appreciate him at all whilst mine adore him. He’s frequently taken aback and touched at how my parents are to
him. They are way nicer to him
than his own. I will never understand them.

JuliettaCaeser · Today 17:34

So he has just done a sport challenge. His parents barely know he’s even doing it. My parents have maps out and are tracking his progress and message him cheering him on. It’s all they can talk about.

Lampzade · Today 17:36

Ultra religious . I don’t have an issue with people with a strong faith , but the ultra religious ones can be very judgemental

Racist/ sexist/

uneducated ( meaning ignorant )
Lack of ambition
Drinking / excessive smoking

I already had the terrible mother in law( now deceased ) . I married her favourite child and she never forgave me for this

Pickledonion1999 · Today 17:39

I'm glad my dd has just split with her bf as his family were dysfunctional ( in my opinion ! ). Screaming matches, mum tipping bowl of cereal over 21 year olds head because he didn't do something quick enough, charging the young adults hundreds a month to live there whilst she partied all the time, some very dubious goings on in the house etc.

GinaandGin · Today 18:27

Family members who think it's ok to just pop by and clock all day / night at other family member s houses.

JHound · Today 19:12

SarahAndQuack · 04/08/2026 19:12

I don't think it is snobby to think about poverty.

My ex's family are very poor because they have no work ethic. When I met my ex, neither she nor any of her three siblings was working full time; her parents were long-term benefit claimants. And her dad had been sanctioned for fiddling his benefits, which I know is pretty unusual.

At the time I thought I ought to not be snobby and I ought not to assume anything. But, actually, their attitude to money goes very deep. One SIL is not like this at all - she's ended up with a decent job; she works hard, etc. But the others all genuinely believe someone else owes them. There is always an expectation that if you can get something by being greedy, you should, and if you can avoid work (not just paid work, but effort in general), you should.

It is really bloody depressing. It followed me around - my ex was quite happy to take whatever she could get from me; she chronically lied about money. I have to work really hard with DD to counterbalance the messages from DP about how money should work.

I would never, ever be blase about it again. I would, I'm afraid, but looking at why this family is poor. I was really naive and just assumed that if someone could talk the talk, they must be honest. I would now think really hard about how much family shapes you and your assumptions.

I think the difference here is your ex was lazy too. If she was nothing like her family why would their laziness matter?

BettyJoanPerske · Today 19:22

A very large one. A very religious one. One with an overbearing MIL.

BrownWoodenChair · Today 19:34

I married into a family full of needy lazy men. I was glad to escape them all when I divorced

greengreengrass3 · Today 19:56

The family that I did marry in too, but DH is worlds apart from his parents and siblings and thankfully is now no contact with them so life is good after almost 30 years.

SarahAndQuack · Today 21:22

JHound · Today 19:12

I think the difference here is your ex was lazy too. If she was nothing like her family why would their laziness matter?

It would matter less, but it would still matter - the whole family are an influence on my daughter. And if you marry into a family who are net 'takers' then you lose that support. There could be good reasons why you would want to do this, but it's still a hard thing to do.

thesealion · Today 21:59

A family that expects me to be interested in them because I’m dating their adult child. I have zero interest in “becoming part of a family”. I’m dating/marrying an individual.

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