Ambivalent

[mrscoreytaylor]

If a relative said to you that this is how they feel towards you and hinting that they’re not the only one, how would this make you feel?
I don’t see this relative often but when I do there’s always a little mean comment out of earshot of anyone else.

Do not see this relative at all going forward. Have nothing more to do with such a toxic person. I would not readily believe this person about not being the only one who feels like this either; it is all being done in an attempt to destabilise you and get under your skin. Do not fall for such attempts.

What was the context? Did they explain why they have conflicted feelings about you, or feel pulled in two directions at once around you? I imagine I’d feel confused if it came out of nowhere, and would ask plainly what it was all about.

I would say: "Pardon? Can you clarify what you mean please?"

Loudly if necessary.

It would make me feel like ending contact with them.

Do you both have the correct understanding of what ambivalent actually means? I know some people misunderstand it to mean having no particular feelings or “meh”, when it means quite the opposite: being unable to decide between two things or strong feelings, feeling conflicted about which way to go or which way to feel. If they meant the latter and you’ve interpreted it as the former, or vice versa, it changes the whole conversation really.