Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Woman Decides To Stay At Hotel During Vacay, BF’s Family Offended She Won’t Abide By Their Rules
Young woman holding a pillow over her head looking frustrated in a hotel room instead of parents house setting

Woman Decides To Stay At Hotel During Vacay, BF’s Family Offended She Won’t Abide By Their Rules

Interview With Expert

40

ADVERTISEMENT

Harry Potter is trending again, but today we’ll remember the boy wizard for a completely different reason. If you recall, Harry lived for many years in a cramped room under the stairs with his aunt and uncle, but such cruelty was most likely because his relatives were forced to live next to a living Horcrux, which only amplified their negative traits.

Okay, so what kind of Horcrux was influencing the parents of our narrator’s boyfriend, who not only forbade them from sharing a room during visits but also tried to house her in a similarly windowless room? Okay, let’s try to figure it out together.

More info: Reddit

RELATED:

    Many parents try to influence their children still, even after they come of age, making the separation process incredibly painful for both sides

    Image credits: user15327819 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    The author of the post has a boyfriend, and his parents recently invited them to stay in their beach house during their vacation

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: krakenimages.com / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The woman, however, rejected this kind invitation mostly because of the quite uncomfortable experience of her previous stay there

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: namii9 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    The author rented a hotel room 10 minutes away from their house, and her boyfriend stayed at his parents’ place

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: CourtGuilty1551

    However, the boyfriend’s mom got incredibly offended by the author’s “rudeness” and literally made her apologize profusely

    So, the original poster (OP) and her boyfriend are both in their mid-twenties, and they recently planned a vacation near his parents’ house. They live literally on the beach and invited the couple to stay with them. However, our heroine decided to decline this hospitable offer – and here’s why.

    The thing is, the boyfriend’s parents, since they’re not yet married, always ask them to refrain from sharing a room while at their home. Well, their home, their rules, but since her last visit, the author has been incredibly upset to be housed in a windowless, very stuffy closet with a very narrow bed.

    Furthermore, the boyfriend’s father is an early riser. No, that’s not true – he’s a VERY early riser, and this decent gentleman’s usual morning ritual involves getting up at 4:30 a.m., blasting the music at top volume, and singing loudly while making coffee and breakfast. Just agree, that’s not exactly what you expect from a beach vacation, is it?

    ADVERTISEMENT

    So, anticipating “all the delights” of staying at this house, the OP politely declined the invitation, renting a hotel room ten minutes’ walk from her partner’s parents’ house. He, in turn, went to their place, but his mom took offense at the author, and during a FaceTime conversation, icily asked why her house wasn’t good enough for the OP.

    Our heroine tried to politely explain that she didn’t mean to offend any of her boyfriend’s relatives, and the guy also sided with her. At the very least, because now he had to live in that very same room since his siblings had come over as well. Overall, it was a very unpleasant situation, and the author decided to take this online, seeking netizens’ support.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: stockking / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    “Most likely, the issue here has nothing to do with principles or hospitality, but simply a desire to demonstrate power,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “Yes, hosts have the right to set their own rules in their home, but guests also have the right to refuse to spend the night there, don’t they?”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    According to the expert, this man’s parents, or perhaps just his mother, are trying to show, probably quite unconsciously, that they are the ones in charge of the family and that their opinions will be respected even after their son and his girlfriend tie the knot.

    “Separating adult children from their parents is often a painful process, and not all parents are willing to accept it. Without even realizing it, by trying to influence their adult children in every way, they often end up interfering with their lives. I’m glad that this woman’s boyfriend clearly sided with her. I do hope this situation will remain a minor annoyance for them, nothing more,” Irina Matveeva sums up.

    Most people in the comments, while fully supporting the original poster, also couldn’t help but note the humor in this situation. Some even recalled a similar story from an episode of the legendary TV series Seinfeld. By the way, dear readers, has anything like this ever happened to you, too? If yes, please feel free to share your own story in the comments.

    Many commenters supported the author, and some of them even recalled a similar case from a legendary sitcom

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    Read less »
    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    What do you think ?
    Fat Harry (Oi / You)
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Although she says the boyfriend defended her, he should have explained that part of the reason was that they are adults and choose to share a bed, and not be treated like children. That becomes harder when he decides to stay at his parents' house anyway! They should BOTH have stayed in the hotel.

    Scott Rackley
    Community Member
    13 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    BF didn't put foot down hard enough. "This is the way it will be Mom, and neither I nor GF are going to entertain your argument again."

    Load More Replies...
    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My husband didn't even bother. My parents were all "but all we have is single beds" and he shut that one down immediately. Hotels exist for reasons, one of which is refusal to play power games.

    Ali
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I spent almost 20 years trying to get my husband and his family to understand that I was massively uncomfortable sharing a small space with all of them for the summer, and was perfectly happy to shell out for an extra room in walking distance to avoid the inevitable problems. It always caused trouble, and resulted in me being very limited on the amount of time I was prepared to go along with it all to keep them happy. I wish I had put in firmer boundaries when I was OPs age. Over the last few years, they finally got it - and we have communicated well what we all need to make it work for everyone, but it took about 20 years to get there. Just because they all look back and agree the really uncomfortable bed in the same room as my father in law plus no decent access to any privacy - I showered in a bikini because people just came in - was completely unreasonable, (given I was always happy to pay for a room in walking distance). Grrr. I was regularly accused of trying to take my husband

    Ali
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Away from his family. But all I ever wanted was to find a solution for everyone. My husband often misunderstood and tried to book us a room far from his family, but that never worked as it made me the outsider. I just wanted to book an extra room in walking distance, we had the money. Why was it such a huge deal? Why not let people do what they are comfortable with?

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
    Fat Harry (Oi / You)
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Although she says the boyfriend defended her, he should have explained that part of the reason was that they are adults and choose to share a bed, and not be treated like children. That becomes harder when he decides to stay at his parents' house anyway! They should BOTH have stayed in the hotel.

    Scott Rackley
    Community Member
    13 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    BF didn't put foot down hard enough. "This is the way it will be Mom, and neither I nor GF are going to entertain your argument again."

    Load More Replies...
    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My husband didn't even bother. My parents were all "but all we have is single beds" and he shut that one down immediately. Hotels exist for reasons, one of which is refusal to play power games.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    Ali
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I spent almost 20 years trying to get my husband and his family to understand that I was massively uncomfortable sharing a small space with all of them for the summer, and was perfectly happy to shell out for an extra room in walking distance to avoid the inevitable problems. It always caused trouble, and resulted in me being very limited on the amount of time I was prepared to go along with it all to keep them happy. I wish I had put in firmer boundaries when I was OPs age. Over the last few years, they finally got it - and we have communicated well what we all need to make it work for everyone, but it took about 20 years to get there. Just because they all look back and agree the really uncomfortable bed in the same room as my father in law plus no decent access to any privacy - I showered in a bikini because people just came in - was completely unreasonable, (given I was always happy to pay for a room in walking distance). Grrr. I was regularly accused of trying to take my husband

    Ali
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Away from his family. But all I ever wanted was to find a solution for everyone. My husband often misunderstood and tried to book us a room far from his family, but that never worked as it made me the outsider. I just wanted to book an extra room in walking distance, we had the money. Why was it such a huge deal? Why not let people do what they are comfortable with?

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT