MIL has quite clearly been leaning on her son (my husband) for emotional support. She likes to make him feel superior, like he can do no wrong. The ex husband called her an enabler, and she often made the dad look bad when he would tell my husband off as a child even when he was just trying to discipline him.
she tells everyone (including my mum) her children are “her world and she has dedicated her entire life for them (even though she hasn’t and moved into several men’s houses leaving my husband homeless at 17)
anyway, there has been so many events I can name a few below if you want to read on, but most recently I want to get your view on Saturday, she arrives and she is a master manipulator. She says to my husband “oh I wasn’t sure how I looked today, I feel like I look really bad” and my husbands friend was there. Both men rush to reassure/validate her (something my husband struggles to do for me weirdly) and says “oh no mum you look fine, I saw you at a distance and thought you look fine” and the other friend says “yes mum you look hot, you always look hot” at this point I’m uncomfortable as this is a 60 year old woman looking for 30 year old men’s compliments. She then replies to my husband “oh thanks - JUST FINE???” And the friend proceeds to say well he can’t really say you look hot he’s your son then I weighed in because i felt super uncomfortable saying “yes you birthed him and grew him in your stomach, he can’t really say you look hot? You pushed him out of you” to remind her she is a mother not a partner lol.
she then says to me, well what would you do if he said you look just fine??! I said… he does sometimes. I wish I replied and said he’s allowed to say I look hot in his wife.
im so sick of these silly games but has anyone experienced a 60 year old master manipulator mother in law that looks for her son for validation? Im slowly opening my husbands eyes but its just getting strange now. Her eyes light up when she sees him and she hates me for taking him away, she often cries when we go over there saying she misses him, he never calls her anymore, and tries to get reactions out of me telling me “he said he missed me last week, and that’s all I have to hold on too” whilst crying?
when I asked my husband if he even said that he said no. She said I miss you and he said it back.
is no reaction the best reaction? I used to rise to it but I’m finding some inner peace lately to not even react and just laugh at her in my head.