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Wedding went viral

283 replies

Xenia · 29/06/2011 16:11

Agree with the step mother but she should not have written it. If you want a sil,y big wedding you are not someone to marry.
www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23965571-in-the-white-corner-the-bride-in-the-pink-the-mother-in-law-from-hell.do

In the white corner, the bride. In the pink, the mother-in-law from hell...
Laura Roberts
29 Jun 2011

The last thing any bride-to-be wants is to fall foul of her future mother-in-law - particularly when her damning criticism of your behaviour goes viral on the internet.

But that is what has happened to Heidi Withers, a PA working in the West End.

She received an email last month from Carolyn Bourne, the stepmother of her fiancé Freddie Bourne.

The 29-year-old forwarded the message to a select group of friends who were so surprised by its tone that they too forwarded it on to others...and then on to thousands.

Mrs Bourne, 60, who is married to Freddie's father Edward, wrote: "It is high time someone explained to you about good manners. Yours are obvious by their absence and I feel sorry for you."

She went on: "Unfortunately for Freddie, he has fallen in love with you and Freddie being Freddie, I gather it is not easy to reason with him or yet encourage him to consider how he might be able to help you. It may just be possible to get through to you though. I do hope so. Your behaviour on your visit to Devon during April was staggering in its uncouthness and lack of grace.

"Unfortunately, this was not the first example of bad manners I have experienced from you. If you want to be accepted by the wider Bourne family I suggest you take some guidance from experts with utmost haste."

She even described her future daughter-in-law as "an ideal candidate for the Ladette to Lady television series".

Mrs Bourne, who lives near Dawlish in Devon and is a renowned breeder of pinks and dianthus flowers, went on to list numerous examples of Miss Withers's "lack of manners" - as detailed below.

She concluded by saying: "I pity Freddie."

Her stepson, who runs online bike shop Capital Cycles and lives in Putney, declined to comment. His father Edward Bourne, 63, said: "We have nothing to say."

Miss Withers and Mr Bourne are not the first to suffer acute embarrassment because of out-of-control email round robins. A derogatory email exchange between Harry Fildes, 25, and Sebastian Marsh, 24, about the latter's ex-girlfriend "went viral" in March after Mr Fildes accidentally copied her in. Mr Marsh was later sacked by his company, Miller Insurance.

Holly Leam-Taylor, a graduate trainee at consultants Deloitte quit in December 2009 after sending an email discussing attractive male staff. The email, entitled Deloitte First year analysts Christmas Awards, asked her female colleagues to vote on which men in the office they considered most attractive.

The nine categories included "boy most likely to sleep his way to the top".

An excerpt from their email exchange...

from: Carolyn Bourne
to: heidi withers
subject: your lack of manners

Here are a few examples of your lack of manners:
When you are a guest in another's house, you do not declare what you will and will not eat - unless you are positively allergic to something.
You do not remark that you do not have enough food.

You do not start before everyone else.
You do not take additional helpings without being invited to by your host.

When a guest in another's house, you do not lie in bed until late morning in households that rise early - you fall in line with house norms.

You should never ever insult the family you are about to join at any time and most definitely not in public. I gather you passed this off as a joke but the reaction in the pub was one of shock, not laughter.

You regularly draw attention to yourself. Perhaps you should ask yourself why. No one gets married in a castle unless they own it. It is brash, celebrity style behaviour.

I understand your parents are unable to contribute very much towards the cost of your wedding. (There is nothing wrong with that except that convention is such that one might presume they would have saved over the years for their daughters' marriages.)

If this is the case, it would be most ladylike and gracious to lower your sights and have a modest wedding as befits both your incomes.

One could be accused of thinking that Heidi Withers must be patting herself on the back for having caught a most eligible young man. I pity Freddie.

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 30/06/2011 16:17

MIL is a nutjob!

Makes me grateful to have very ordinary PIL who expect us to make ourselves at home, help ourselves to food and generally enjoy spending time with them.

maypole1 · 30/06/2011 16:37

Well my mil asked my husband when he was going to stop slumming it with the ethnics ( I am black ) and marry someone who would be accepted at the country club Shock

And when we first meet I already had a son she asked my if I kew who the father was

She also left half way through our wedding keeping in my it finished at 8 also she didn't speak to me the whole day, shouted at my sister for sitting in the front row which she believed should of just been reserved foe her family

Just a few things she has got up to

I feel so sorry for this girl ,y mil is awful. And treats my oh like shit because of how she feels about me.
I hope dear greedy is not a wimp and told his mum what the score was and she should ship up other wise she wouldn't be seeing them again

limitedperiodonly · 30/06/2011 16:40

xenia you're embarrassing yourself. I don't mind. I find your wriggling hilarious. But as a responsible adult I feel obliged to try to protect you from your mulish stupidity.

Xenia · 30/06/2011 16:45

A lot of people seem to think the MIL was right to speak out. I think it's an issue of culture - if you move into a different culture of a family you find out what their own "rules" are and that just as much applies to the other family too. Also as I've said sending emails like this is never a good thing and not itself polite either.
The girl's father has now spoken out to a newspaper apparently with a string of expletives which probably doesn't do much for his daughter's side....

OP posts:
CrapolaDeVille · 30/06/2011 16:47

The MIL just sounds like a snob,,,,she should have complained to her step son if she had issues.

headfairy · 30/06/2011 16:49

the MIL obviously comes from a different school of hospitality. When we have people over I postively over feed them and insist they lie in every morning. I'd consider myself a shit hostess if I didn't.

LtEveDallas · 30/06/2011 16:51

Where is the string of expletives? www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8608471/Mother-in-law-is-Miss-Fancy-Pants-says-father-of-bride.html

SpringHeeledJack · 30/06/2011 16:53

my Mum was once ticked off by my Nanna for only making two puddings when someone came round for tea

if being well bred=not feeding folk properly, you can keep it Grin

Longtalljosie · 30/06/2011 16:54

Err - well he called her Miss Fancy Pants, is Pants an expletive?

It's ludicrous. The whole thing. From what I can see from the email the MIL was under-feeding her and then expected her to go on a long walk, and when she said she couldn't (presumably because her blood sugar was low because she wasn't being allowed to manage her diet) she gets this email implying diabetes can be managed by social graces alone...

limitedperiodonly · 30/06/2011 16:54

Who suspected that vast cultural chasms yawned between two white, middle-class families living in half million pound houses on the mean streets of Dawlish and Ledbury?

sobloodystupid · 30/06/2011 16:56

Xenia, what the hell are you doing? Why are you defending this snobby rude "lady" who is being so insulting to a young woman joining the "wider Bourne family"? Suppose DIL was to send that email upon her father in law marrying that ghastly woman? Some welcome to the family! MIL has shown herself up to be a puffed up silly vain woman, were she "Freddie's" natural mother, I would be inclined to think of Jocasta and Oedipus. But MIL wouldn't understand that reference 'cos at finishing school (WTF!) one learn's about how to instruct the butler/ignore extra marital dalliances/ give BJs.

RitaMorgan · 30/06/2011 16:57

The MIL seems to have missed that politeness is about making your guests feel comfortable and at ease.

AnnieLobeseder · 30/06/2011 16:59

Ouch, Xenia, I usually respect pretty much everything you have to say but you seem to be having an off-day today.

I used to be a PA. I was a very good one.

Now I'm doing a PhD in molecular biology.

But since I'm apparently thick, I shall withdraw immediately.

Hmm
lachesis · 30/06/2011 16:59

Sorry, but this lady is deluded about her precious Freddie stepson. 'The most eligible young man'? Snort!

SpringHeeledJack · 30/06/2011 17:00

'Who suspected that vast cultural chasms yawned between two white, middle-class families living in half million pound houses on the mean streets of Dawlish and Ledbury?'

GrinGrinGrin

lachesis · 30/06/2011 17:00

'I used to be a PA. I was a very good one.'

I was as well. But you know, 'the help' are always thick, that's why they're there and Xenia is Xenia.

BettySuarez · 30/06/2011 17:06

I'm glad that the majority consensus on here is that the MIL is in the wrong.

Even if the DIL is guilty of the things she has been accused of (and that's a BIG 'IF' as we only have one side of the story from this deranged and deluded woman), then surely the cruelty of the email far outstrips anything that the DIL may or may not have done.

We have four children so will be welcoming our fair share of partners into our home in the years to come. I will be treating them like family from day one (not 'guests' Hmm, but FAMILY)

You'll get forced fed cake and told to put your feet up when you come here (you can even leave your shoes on if you want to Wink).

But really, what a deeply unpleasant, unkind, bullying, sneery, intimidating email. You couldn't make it up.

I wonder what Mr and Mrs Withers think about the whole thing? It would be quite nice to see them come forward and speak out in defence of their daughter.

lachesis · 30/06/2011 17:08

'but then what do you expect if your step son picks a girl like this?'

LOL. She's far prettier than short arse Freddie. It's entirely possible she earns more as well.

EldritchCleavage · 30/06/2011 17:13

The lack of compassion and insight over the diabetes gives me pause. It isn't a given that every sufferer's diabetes is stable and easy to manage. If a problem arises it can be serious-sometimes, however low-key you are, you need to tell people what is going on.

Longtalljosie · 30/06/2011 17:18

They have done Betty - see a few posts above

mousymouse · 30/06/2011 17:38

I wonder what did traumatise the dog...

MardyBra · 30/06/2011 18:37

I love the link to the dad. He sounds like a real sweetie - and it's a shame he and the mum have lost their jobs.

I couldn't help smirking at

"Speaking from his home in Ledbury, Herefordshire, which is adorned with the family's own coat of arms"

I'm guessing they are considered a little arriviste by the MIL.

MichaelaS · 30/06/2011 19:02

This is hilarious. I am now convinced that Xenia is the MIL in question!

Office consensus is split, jury needs more information. We imagine one of the two following scenarios:

  1. DIL turns her nose up at a lovingly prepared home cooked meal stating "if yer expect me to eat that shite yuv got anuva thing coming". then lays in bed till noon, when she gets up and explains to MIL how she expects PIL to pay for her Jordan style wedding. MIL clearly in the right but tactless to send email - what the hell was she trying to achieve?

  2. and much more likely - DIL sitting at the dinner table helps herself to more veg without asking because it's on the table, then refuses chocolate and cream dessert stating "i'm afraid i can't eat that, i'm diabetic". The next day she gets up at 8am and is suprised to learn MIL has been up since 5. Later in the day she discusses her and her fiance's plans for a self funded completely "normal" wedding day which happens to be based in a castle rather than a country home, large church, big hotel etc. MIL goes mental.

After reading the extra bit about diabetes (below) from the digital spy website, I'm siding more and more with number 2)

"You regularly draw attention to yourself. Perhaps you should ask yourself why.

It is tragic that you have diabetes. However, you aren't the only young person in the world who is a diabetic. I know quite a few young people who have this condition, one of whom is getting married in June. I have never heard her discuss her condition. She quietly gets on with it. She doesn't like being diabetic. Who would? You do not need to regale everyone with the details of your condition or use it as an excuse to draw attention to yourself. It is vulgar.

As a diabetic of long standing you must be acutely aware of the need to prepare yourself for extraordinary eventualities, the walk to Mothecombe beach being an example. You are experienced enough to have prepared yourself appropriately"

hmm, so, she is diabetic and didn't happen to keep sufficient snacks and/or insulin on her to enthusiastically partake of a forced march along the beach. I'm with the DIL!

TotalChaos · 30/06/2011 19:22

according to the DT article linked to, the e-mail was also sent to Heidi's work e-mail Shock

sue52 · 30/06/2011 19:26

I can't help wondering what Xenia's PA (she's bound to have one) thinks of her.