Husband Kicks His Wife & Baby Out Of The House After She Punched His Mom In The Face
His wife was extremely upset after her husband refused to stick up for her.
aslysun / Shutterstock A husband admitted that he let his emotions get the best of him after his mother and wife got into a physical altercation.
Posting to the subreddit r/AITAH, the man revealed that he and his mother's relationship became quite rocky once his wife got pregnant, and things quickly escalated between the two of them.
The man kicked his wife and baby out of the house after she punched his mother in the face.
In his Reddit post, the man explained that he and his wife have been married for eight years and she recently gave birth to their first baby around two months ago. His mother and his wife generally got along fairly well, but soon after she got pregnant, he noticed his mother's behavior shift considerably.
She began telling people that she wasn't excited about the pregnancy or having a grandchild. It got to the point where he threatened to go no-contact, which must've shaken her because she quickly changed her attitude. But while the rude comments stopped, his mother became quite clingy toward him, and avoidant of his wife.
"Now, a week ago my mom, my sister, my sister's husband, and my sister's daughter came over for dinner. I prepared the meal. Before my wife could eat anything, our daughter got fussy so my wife excused herself to go feed the baby and get her down to sleep," he recalled.
He figured that he'd prepared enough food, but his 12-year-old niece was still complaining about being hungry. He quickly apologized and offered her crackers, and afterward went outside to smoke with his sister's husband. Suddenly, he heard shouting coming from inside the house and when he went back in, he noticed his wife and mother screaming at each other.
Apparently, his mother had given his niece a portion of his wife's food, that she clearly saw him put in the fridge to save for his wife. Things quickly escalated between the two women and he overheard his mom say to his wife, "Looks like you can afford to skip a meal," before slapping her stomach.
"As soon as I get ready to step in ... my wife winds back and punches my mother square in the face and drops her," he wrote. "The whole house went silent outside of my mom crying and holding her face."
He explained that while he was on his wife's side, the entire altercation caught him off guard and because he needed to process, he yelled for everyone to get out of the house — including his wife and baby.
Because of his reaction to the altercation between the two women, his wife now wants a divorce.
Over the next five days, he tried to reach out to his wife, wanting to explain that he had simply needed time to decompress and wrap his head around what had happened. She, however, did not respond. It wasn't until eight days later that she returned to their house, this time with divorce papers in hand.
"I told her that's not what I want. I don't want to separate. I just needed time to process her punching my mother in the face," he wrote. His wife argued that she refused to be in this situation anymore, saying, "You needing time to process gave me time to process the fact that I refuse to be in this situation any longer."
"I defended myself. I initially felt bad and remorseful but you making me leave when I needed you made me see more clearly," his wife continued. "I'm done. I'm sorry for what I did but there's no fixing this."
Photo: christinarosepix / Shutterstock
She refused to speak with him and ended up leaving the house after serving him the divorce papers.
"My house feels so empty and I don't know what to do," he admitted. "AITA for making her leave after she punched my mom? I just needed some [expletive] space."
People in the comments section agreed that he was wrong to kick his wife out when his mother disrespected her.
"Processing what happened is one thing. But not supporting your wife and kicking her out is another," one Reddit user pointed out. "Your mom treated your wife poorly because you allowed it."
Another user questioned if he would've kept this same energy had his wife not reacted physically, asking, "What would have happened if your wife hadn't hit her? If she had burst into tears instead? Let me guess, you'd have been mad at your mom for a while, maybe kicked her out or sent her angry messages, and then in another few weeks her constant drip of 'oh, she's overreacting,' would have worn you down and you would have asked your wife to give her another chance," the commenter continued.
A third Redditor chimed in, "You don’t kick out a postpartum woman who defended herself against a physical and emotional assault, even if you think she used slightly excessive force. You didn’t do enough to prevent this. And you don’t get to kick your spouse out, in general."
In this situation, it was clear that his mother was actively bullying his wife, even before they came to blows. It's disheartening to realize that your partner not only refuses to defend you but neglects to put their foot down when their family is blatantly disrespectful.
Time and time again, this man saw and acknowledged that his mother's behavior towards his wife had been problematic, yet he failed to address it effectively. By not setting a boundary with his mother, he left her disrespectful comments and actions unchecked and effectively condoned the mistreatment of his wife.
The entire foundation of marriage is to have your partner's back in the face of adversity, regardless of the situation. By refusing to properly stick up for his wife, that entire foundation crumbled.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.