Woman Says Mother-In-Law 'Humiliated' Her By Making Her Try On A 'Too Small' Coat For Christmas
She was concerned the coat would be too small.
Lightfield Studios / Shutterstock There are so many horror stories from wives about the relationships and actions of their mothers-in-law.
If you are currently contemplating what to get your mother-in-law for Christmas, consider yourself among the lucky women who actually like their husband’s mother.
One woman originally wrote in to Slate's Dear Prudence advice column to share her humiliating story about the Christmas gift her mother-in-law got her.
Her mother-in-law bought her a coat that was 'too small' for her to wear.
She starts by telling readers that she is a newlywed and just spent her very first Christmas with her new partner’s family.
Her new mother-in-law has established a tradition of getting the entire family gifts from the “outdoorsy lifestyle” store she works at.
This year, she decided to get expensive coats for everyone — however, high-end clothing brands don’t exactly cater to plus-sized women.
The woman’s mother-in-law purchased an extra-large coat for her and asked her to try it on in front of the entire family.
She was humiliated when the coat “didn’t even come close to fitting”.
It could have been assumed to be an honest mistake had the partner’s mother not admitted that she was concerned the coat would not fit her new daughter-in-law.
The upset woman explains that to add insult to injury, several members of her newfound family have lost massive amounts of weight and her mother-in-law had made a big deal out of it.
While she celebrated her family members dropping unwanted pounds, the disrespectful matriarch was sure to throw in her take on “fat people,” calling them unattractive.
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The mother-in-law then told the family that being fit and thin should be their preference.
The writer spent most of the evening crying in the basement and feeling like an outsider.
She considered explaining to her mother-in-law that she didn’t want her to buy clothes for her unless they were from stores that had plus-sized clothes, but decided against it.
She explains that her mother-in-law is “extremely petite” and strongly believes that overweight people must just lack willpower.
Now she wants to know how to address the situation and avoid a repeat next Christmas.
Prudence shares her advice with the woman and isn't surprised by the mother-in-law at all.
Prudence starts her reply by expressing her lack of surprise at the mother-in-law’s behavior since weight discrimination is fairly common.
She does ask the woman what her partner was doing during the embarrassing situation and her subsequent retreat to the basement to lick her wounds.
It sounds like the new spouse failed to be there when needed and didn’t set any clear boundaries with his mother.
At the very least, Prudence suggested that the woman’s mate could have prepared her for what was to come.
In the end, Prudence advises the distraught woman to have a conversation with her partner about the impact of the incident.
She proposed the couple proactively have a plan in place to prevent the same in the future and that they keep the option of simply skipping the family gathering open.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.