The relationship between sisters-in-law can be a delicate balance of love, support, and occasional conflict. But what happens when boundaries are crossed, testing the limits of familial bonds? This article delves into the stories of sisters-in-law who ventured into forbidden territory, exploring the repercussions and lessons learned from their actions.
All stories have been edited for clarity.
No Turning Back
“As a quick backstory, I dropped out of college after I had my first child. At the time I was a single mother and could not handle the stress. I always regretted the decision, but it had to be done. A few years later, I met my husband who has an established career in the military. I got along with literally everyone in his family, except his sister who was a bit of a show-off. She’s a traveling nurse so she makes a decent amount of money. She’s always showing off her name-brand purses and clothes on social media and talks down on others that she feels isn’t on her ‘level.’
When my husband and I eloped after we found out we were having a child together, my sister-in-law scoffed and said, ‘Well I guess there’s no going back now. Enjoy your new dependa.’
I couldn’t believe how open she was about her comment, but my husband told me to just ignore her, so I did. After I had my second child and he got big enough, I decided to go back to school online. Four years later, I received my degree in Human Resources in the mail. Excited, I posted pictures of it and myself online, sharing my accomplishment with friends and family. Going back to school is a huge deal, especially after starting a family. After settling down for the night after celebrating all evening, I logged onto social media and saw that my sister-in-law had tagged me in a very disrespectful comment under my post.
‘Congratulations! Took you long enough! Now you can get a real job!’
The comment had been posted four hours ago by the time I saw it, so I know everyone saw it. I was so embarrassed that I cried. I blocked my SIL on social media and told my husband that she was NEVER invited to anything we do from now on.
My SIL is gone most of the time, so it didn’t register until I had a baby shower for my third child and everyone was invited except for her. Even my MIL didn’t tell her about the event. When my husband showed me a sad post my SIL made the next day, I shrugged and went on about my day.”
Our Big Break
“Years ago our lives changed when we won the lottery. We paid off our debts, bought our dream home, and shared some of our wealth with family and close friends. We were determined to use the money wisely, so after we finished our initial spending, we invested the rest as well as opened several certificates.
Little did we know, our newfound wealth would stir up a storm within our family, mainly on the behalf of my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law had always been a bit needy, but we never expected her reaction to lose her mind over money. She was an assistant branch manager at a local bank, but her poor spending habits forced her to live paycheck to paycheck living. It was mind-boggling to think about, but anyone can be poor with money.
Initially, we gave her fifty-thousand dollars. Instead of using it to pay off her debts, she brought a brand new car, wasting more than half of it. The rest of the money went to reckless visits to the casino. When she came knocking on our door six months later asking for more money, I honestly thought she was joking. After sitting her down and hearing her case, my wife told her that we would wire her another fifty-thousand and that was it.
But it wasn’t.
The next time we saw my SIL, she was on our front porch asking for yet again another handout. This time she said she had fallen behind on her mortgage and needed cash fast or she would lose her home. My wife, adamant on breaking the habit, only gave her exactly the amount that she needed and tried to send her on her way. However, this only angered her.
‘You really can’t help your own sister?!’ My SIL screamed at my wife. ‘That’s honestly very selfish.’
That’s when I intervened and told her to piss right off and to never come back on our property asking for money. Determined, my SIL kept coming up with different excuses as to why she needed more money. Her brand-new car wouldn’t start, she needed a new roof, her son needed books for school. Every excuse lead to me shutting her down because my wife grew tired of seeing her sister this way. Her anger then evolved into bitter arguments over the phone at all times of the night. Eventually we had to block her because she wouldn’t stop harassing us for more money. My SIL’s nasty attitude even poisoned family gatherings. The once-close relationship we had shared with her quickly fell apart, all because we stopped feeding into her gambling addiction.
Winning the lottery was a life-altering experience, not just in terms of wealth, but in unveiling the true colors of the people around us. Eventually she stopped asking for money, but she won’t communicate with us unless my wife calls to check on her nieces and nephews.”
A New Look
“A few years back, my husband and I won tickets for an all expense paid vacation to Las Vegas in a giveaway for a radio station. We were extremely excited, but were faced with the task of finding a babysitter because running after three young kids just wasn’t happening.
After asking around, my SIL volunteered to watch our kids while we were away. She only has one child and works from home so she said it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Ecstatic, we packed bags for our children and gave them a lecture about behaving while we were gone. Now at the time, my oldest son had a full head of curly blonde hair. We had been told my many that his hair made him look ‘like a girl,’ but our son was very attached to his hair. He’s also autistic and after a very traumatic visit to the barber shop, we decided to leave his hair long until he was ready to cut it.
Anyway, we dropped off the kids and went on our way. I made sure to give my SIL plenty of money to take care of food, diapers, etc. Still, I couldn’t help but worry about my babies while I was gone. I found myself calling my SIL every few hours just to check on my children, especially my oldest. The first two days went well, but on the third day when I asked to speak to my son, my SIL said he was ‘busy.’
I didn’t think much of it, but when I tried to talk to him later that day, my son was a little too quite on the phone. When I asked him if there was something wrong, he asked me when I was coming back in a quiet voice. On that day there were still two days left, but hearing my son’s voice made me want to leave right away. When I told my husband, he told me that our son was probably just a little nervous about us being away for so long but he would be fine. The next few times I called, my son didn’t have much to say and would hand the phone to one of his siblings prematurely.
I confronted my SIL and asked if my son was feeling sick.
‘No, he’s fine!’ she said in a super cheery tone.
I didn’t buy it for one second. I couldn’t even enjoy the rest of my vacation. I just knew something wasn’t right. When we finally made it back, I took one look at my son and had to stop myself from screaming at my SIL. My son’s hair was completely gone. When I asked her why she did this to my son, my SIL explained that it was ‘too hot’ for my son to be walking around with a mane full of ‘unkept’ hair. She then added how she took the kids to the playground and a group of boys poked fun at my son so she decided to ‘take care’ of his problem.
Livid, I piled all of my kids in the car and left without even thanking her. My husband eventually went back to her house to give her the money for watching the kids. When I asked my son if what my SIL said was true, the only thing he said was, ‘I don’t know.’ He was too nervous to speak up for himself. I just couldn’t believe my SIL would do such a thing. It took me years to let it go. My son’s hair grew back over time, but to think how uncomfortable he must have been was infuriating. I’ve never left any of my children in her care after that.”
