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Mother-In-Law Desperately Tries To Save Her Son’s Marriage After He Cheats On His Wife, Fails
Middle-aged woman and younger woman having a heated argument on a couch over cheating and family issues.
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Mother-In-Law Desperately Tries To Save Her Son’s Marriage After He Cheats On His Wife, Fails

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According to a common saying, marriage is a union not just between two people but between their entire families. However, some take this idea even further. Reddit user Beneficial_Bison4677 recently discovered that her mother-in-law believes she has the right to decide when—and if—her son’s marriage should end. The woman tracked her down and publicly confronted her, insisting it would be a mistake to divorce him over his recent affair and that she should forgive him because their children need to grow up in a “complete” household.

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    This woman left her husband for cheating on her

    Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

    So her mother-in-law tracked her down and tried to change her mind

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    Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)

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    It’s true that some marriages survive infidelity

    Image credits: pexels (not the actual photo)

    Talal Alsaleem, who has helped hundreds of coupleswork through their infidelity in his almost two-decade-long career as a clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family counselor, believes that in situations like this, partners need to turn toward each other. That doesn’t automatically mean forgiving, he says, it’s just facing the problem head-on.

    Not everyone can or should forgive infidelity, and it’s OK to end a relationship to save yourself from unnecessary pain and suffering.

    However, in Alsaleem’s experience, couples can and do recover from romantic affairs if they commit to healing. “If people choose to rebuild their relationship for the right reason, they’re going to end up with a better, healthier relationship than ever before,” he explains.

    Couples should take the time to understand the root cause of the transgression. It will help them leave the trauma behind and avoid ending up in the same situation again, whether in the current relationship or future ones.

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    Rebuilding trust requires a lot, sometimes even proactive transparency on the part of the unfaithful: sharing their location or phone and laptop passwords to prove there’s nothing to hide.

    “Breaking someone’s heart – that’s not a small thing, regardless of how far we went into the infidelity,” says Alsaleem. Ultimately, it’s a personal choice, and we shouldn’t judge someone over the route they decide to take.

    But the courts would probably disagree with the mother-in-law

    Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

    According to the legal experts at Rodier Family Law, a Maryland-based firm that specializes in these types of cases, many American states consider adultery as a valid ground for divorce, meaning that the spouse who was cheated on can use it as a fault-based ground for filing for divorce.

    This, in turn, can impact the ruling. For example, if the cheating spouse spent assets on the affair, their partner may be entitled to a larger share of wealth.

    Additionally, if the cheating spouse engaged in financial infidelities, such as hiding assets or running up debts, the wronged spouse may be entitled to an even larger share of the property to compensate for the harm.

    Infidelity can also impact alimony. If the cheating spouse was the primary breadwinner, they might be required to send the other spouse bigger payments for the loss of income and stability caused by the affair.

    It may also impact child custody. If the cheating spouse engaged in behavior that could be harmful to the kids, such as exposing them to the affair or neglecting their parenting responsibilities, their partner may be awarded more custody time.

    So the Redditor is kind of right to point out that her mother-in-law should be grateful to her for not dragging her son into a much more complicated legal battle.

    Most of the people who read what happened supported the woman’s decision to get a divorce

    But some believe everyone involved could’ve done a better job navigating the situation

    And some even accused the wife

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Author, Senior Writer

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    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Author, Senior Writer

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Rugilė Baltrunaitė

    Rugilė Baltrunaitė

    Author, Community member

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    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

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    Rugilė Baltrunaitė

    Rugilė Baltrunaitė

    Author, Community member

    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

    What do you think ?
    🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As ever, the YTAs be crazy - "I don't think it entitles you to judge others for making a different choice" - she's literally *defending* herself from her MIL who waylaid her and is attacking her for making a different choice!

    Mike F
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And citing "vows", like in "keeping yourself one to the other..." apparently that one doesn't count. Mutton heads.

    Load More Replies...
    KrazyChiMama
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don’t think I’d ever be one of those women who forgives either. The thought of STI’s is a big one for me, there’d be no way I’d ever be physically attracted to him after knowing he’d been with someone else.

    Clown fish
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    🤔 hmmm the YTA one is stupid what's the "I, [name], take you, [name], to be my [husband/wife/partner], to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." Got to do with anything when the husband forgot I promise to be your loving and faithful [husband/wife/partner], in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live part??

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He also seems to have forgotten "forsaking all others".

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    🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As ever, the YTAs be crazy - "I don't think it entitles you to judge others for making a different choice" - she's literally *defending* herself from her MIL who waylaid her and is attacking her for making a different choice!

    Mike F
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And citing "vows", like in "keeping yourself one to the other..." apparently that one doesn't count. Mutton heads.

    Load More Replies...
    KrazyChiMama
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don’t think I’d ever be one of those women who forgives either. The thought of STI’s is a big one for me, there’d be no way I’d ever be physically attracted to him after knowing he’d been with someone else.

    Clown fish
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    🤔 hmmm the YTA one is stupid what's the "I, [name], take you, [name], to be my [husband/wife/partner], to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." Got to do with anything when the husband forgot I promise to be your loving and faithful [husband/wife/partner], in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live part??

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He also seems to have forgotten "forsaking all others".

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