Even if everything goes absolutely perfect and cloudless in your marriage, there are always people who are ready to spoil the idyll. And, as it often happens, our relatives become such people - for example, our in-laws. And what is most offensive, the reason for this behavior of your spouse's parents can be literally anything. It's just that at some point it turns out that they take you personally - and that's it, the utopia is over.
The result may be a complete disregard of the spouse by the in-laws, for example, not being invited to family gatherings. There may be a ban on breastfeeding a newborn in their presence when you come over to visit them. Or maybe just an open confrontation with direct insults literally out of the blue. From this point of view, the heroine of our next story is still relatively lucky. They "just" refused to call her by her own name...
Yes exactly. Appearing a few days ago on the AITA Reddit community, a post by user u/Illustrious_Bit_178 skyrocketed to nearly 20K upvotes and around 2.5K different comments. And all the ones we've looked at are exceptionally supportive of the author of the post. Just agree, such unanimity makes it worth it to read this story together.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post is happily married yet has a problem with her husband's parents
Image credits: Quinn Dombrowski (not the actual photo)
So, the initial post author's name is Rynn. Yes, that's right, not Katherine, but Rynn. And she had not experienced almost any problems associated with her name - until she got married and met her husband's parents. They seem to be wonderful people, except that from their first meeting they had an obsession, the belief that the original poster's full name was Katherine and Rynn was just a nickname.
Image credits: Illustrious_Bit_178
The in-laws kept calling the author "Katherine" though her real name is Rynn and she asked them not to do so numerous times
We don’t know for sure whether the author of the post showed them her ID card, but the fact remains that despite numerous requests not to do so, her in-laws kept on calling her Katherine almost every time they met. Moreover, just guess how they introduced the daughter-in-law to some of their distant relatives and friends? That's right - "Katherine", "Katherine" and nothing but Katherine.
Image credits: Illustrious_Bit_178
Even the intervention of her husband, who had a serious talk with his parents, did not help at all. As a result, the couple even decided to take a small break from them when it continued - and it worked. The in-laws even brought their sincere apologies, assuring the couple that they did not mean to offend anyone. The OP thought that everything seemed to be doing better. Well, as the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield aptly remarked in The Hobbit, "I've never been so wrong in all my life!..."
Image credits: Illustrious_Bit_178
At the MIL's birthday party, it turned out that the author's in-laws gave literally all of their friends her wrong name
The MIL's birthday arrived, and of course she and her husband were invited, along with other relatives and friends of the older generation. How surprised the OP was when some of those friends approached her and called her "Katherine"! The woman, of course, asked where they got the name from, and they honestly admitted that her MIL told them so.
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)
The author played a small joke on her MIL for being "forgetful" but the lady got extremely offended
The OP had had enough of this and decided to teach her mother-in-law a lesson. "Actually, my name is Rynn," she said jokingly. "But my MIL is so forgetful so she told you the wrong name. I'll probably need to write my name on everything she owns so she doesn't forget." The joke was appreciated and they laughed together, although some guests admitted that it was a bit weird of her to give them the wrong name.
However, when the party was over and the guests left, it turned out that the OP's in-laws held a grudge against her - allegedly for being rude and awful for 'trying to embarrass them in front of their friends'. We must pay tribute to the OP's husband - he fully supported his wife, but the parents still remained unconvinced...
Most of the commenters sided with the author, stating that it's her in-laws who exposed themselves as rude and insulting
However, people in the comments were also very supportive of the original poster, stating that it's actually the most basic of manners to get people's names right, to the best of one's abilities, whenever possible. Commenters also did not forget to praise Rynn for her wonderful sense of humor. And, of course, for having a cool name.
Image credits: Mack Male (not the actual photo)
Some people in the comments just told the OP to follow their in-laws and if they don't stop calling her the wrong way, start giving them the wrong names too. And besides, commenters advise Rynn to stand her ground. "Way to be firm, and this will stop a lot of foolishness from them in the future," one of the people in the comments wrote.
We, in turn, are almost sure that you also have something to say about the characters in this story and their behavior as well, so please feel free to write down your own opinions below this post. Comments are, as usual, highly appreciated.
Exhausted by family or in-law drama like this one? Visit our Family Dynamics Hub for expert-backed guides on toxic relatives, parenting styles, and personal boundaries.