There’s nothing like being in a relationship and knowing your partner will have your back no matter what. And when you’re expecting, it's reassuring to realize that your little bundle of joy is being cared for as well, whether it’s dealing with unforeseen health situations or heated arguments with your SO's family.
When it comes to the latter one, user Roseonthefloor’s boyfriend knows it all too well from personal experience. Recently, the man shared a story on the popular AITA subreddit about how his mother and his girlfriend, Rose, seemed to get along just fine until they announced she was pregnant. "Something definitely switched in her," the user wrote and opened up about the many snide comments his mom throws Rose's way.
While the couple decided to take a step back until she fixes her behavior, Rose had to spend one night at her place. As you can guess, the mother was less than happy to share a space with the pregnant woman, so she decided to add even more fuel to the fire by forcing her to sleep on the floor. Read on to find out how the family drama unfolded.
Recently, a man opened up about the family drama that ensued after his mother made his pregnant girlfriend sleep on the floor of her apartment
Image credits: Juan Encalada
Even though the boyfriend was stunned to hear about this incident, his brother told him not to make a “big fuss out of it”
When the author turned to the trusted AITA community to seek advice on what others would have done in his place, he was greeted with overwhelming support. Over 22.6K Redditors upvoted the post and left several hundred comments determining Roseonthefloor was not at all in the wrong in this situation. Many pointed out that no matter if a guest is pregnant or not, it’s completely inappropriate to let them sleep on a cold hard floor.
After all, Rose is five months pregnant and is living through one of the most exciting and precious periods in her life. Sadly, the miracle of carrying a child can quickly turn sour if your partner’s family member is on a mission to bring you anxiety and show disrespect every time they get the chance.
But parental disapproval of partners is nothing new. It can be blunt, subtle, or, as the user explained in his post, passive-aggressive. And if given the opportunity, it can wreak havoc in relationships whether it's your partner's fault or not.
Moreover, it can be really difficult when your mom or dad doesn’t approve and tries to get in the way of your happiness. It can even be harder to understand the reason behind their thinking.
You see, sometimes there’s no obvious motivation for their actions — they might show dislike because they had a specific image in mind with whom their child would end up with. Their imagined ideal could be related to their partner's appearance, socioeconomic status, cultural background, career, or other life choices.
"Most parents have at least an unconscious opinion or hope for who their child will partner with, and the choice of a significant other that strays from this vision can stir up grief, anger, denial, avoidance of the partner or the child and aversion," psychotherapist Kathleen Dahlen deVos told the HuffPost.
Another reason might be jealousy. Psychotherapist Tina Tessina added that parents could disapprove because they feel their child’s partner is "stealing" them or may see this person as a threat to the parent-child relationship. Plus, if parents ever experienced turmoil in their own love lives, they "may be projecting their own relationship failures on you," she said.
Disapproval of your partner might even put you in a position where you have to choose between your family and your other half. "By-and-large, barring a crisis, I would say that your partner should come first, and know that he or she is the top priority," licensed clinical psychologist John Duffy, Ph.D. said.
Duffy explained that when you're building a life with your partner, "you will make decisions every day that are laying a blueprint for that life, especially early on." Matthew Fray shared his opinion in a Thought Catalog piece and agreed with this line of thinking: "Ranking anything ahead of your spouse is the most surefire way I know to create mistrust and instability in a marriage which often leads to divorce and almost always unhappiness for everyone involved."
So when it comes to this specific family conundrum, it seems that the user made the right decision to stand by his pregnant girlfriend. However, it won’t come as a surprise to hear that even in the direst of situations, communication is key. So to prevent this heated argument from spiraling even further, the couple and his mother should try to have an open and thoughtful conversation to get a wider understanding of the issue and, if possible, try to resolve it.
The vast majority of Redditors sided with the user, here’s what they had to say
