In-Laws Visit Woman To Keep Her Company, Then Accuse Her Of Starving Them After She Refused Taking Them Out For Dinner
In a world where many burst into tales of monster-in-laws straight out of a comedy-horror flick, our narrator (Original Poster) struck gold with the sweetest in-laws around.
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OP’s husband was on a two-month work trip, and her immediate family lived miles away. What did her in-laws do? Well, they strategically popped in and out randomly, invited her out, and made sure to check in on her frequently—that’s how sweet they were.
However, like all humans, they had their ‘moments,’ and today’s visit was definitely one of them. One fine afternoon, the in-laws decided to drop by for a visit; OP was grateful for the company as usual.
Hours ticked by, and what was meant to be a brief social call stretched into an impromptu marathon of quality time. Our hostess, ever the gracious one, scrambled to keep the snacks flowing—crackers, cheese, and drinks.
She never imagined they’d stay so long, so dinner, unfortunately, wasn’t on the agenda. At around 6 pm, the in-laws popped the question: "Dinner at the local diner?”
Now, OP knew she’d get saddled with the tab, and didn’t feel like splurging on a meal, so she politely declined. They seemed mildly irritated but carried on as usual.
By the time OP and her husband had their nightly chat, the in-laws had already laid their complaints. Naturally, OP’s husband was upset she kept his parents ‘starving’ for hours.
He insisted she should’ve simply gone to the diner since she didn’t have any food at home. Was OP truly the bad guy in this case?
The story in detail
OP’s In-laws called and asked to have a meet-up
OP invited them over and they ended up staying till late in the evening
OP could tell that her in-laws were tired of the snacks and needed real food. However, she didn’t plan for their extended stay, neither was she willing to spend money eating out
OP’s husband later told her that his parents were complaining bitterly about not being fed when they came over
We gathered some reactions from the Reddit community:
“NTA. It was kinda weird for them to stay SO long.”
“Sounds like your in-laws just wanted a free meal - either home-cooked or from a restaurant.”
“We do this with my FIL all the time. We always have something ‘planned’ so that he can’t overstay.”
“They were under no obligation to stay just as much as you were under no obligation to feed them.”
“You're NTA. They invited themselves over and stayed far longer than they should have.”
“NTA- you didn’t invite them for dinner, youre not responsible for feeding them.”
Redditors have spoken, and they agree OP wasn’t the a**hole in this case. The million-dollar question was, did the in-laws invite themselves over for a visit or a meal?
The fact that OP’s husband was quick to take his parents side didn’t sit well with the Redditors. As she explained, she didn’t have time for dinner arrangements since her in-laws’ extended stay wasn’t expected.
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