Topic : 03/21 When In-Laws Cross the Line

I was with my ex husband for  13yrs. Everything was fine between my mother in law & myself (by fine i mean, she didn't like me, but we tolerated each other)....until my first child was born. When this happened, my mother in law wanted me to hand over my baby to her to be raised and of course, i refused. My husband worked 12 - 14 hrs/day, I was a stay at home mom, but when she wanted to see the kids (I have 4 now), she would call him at work & ask him. The straw that broke the camel's back was this........ she barged into my house one day having said that my husband said she could take my oldest daughter for dinner. I told her she should have called me, I have plans with my kids. She forcefully tried to take my daughter from the house, and I intervened. Told her she was not taking my daughter anywhere. My mother in law then brutally assaulted me in my house, in front of my children, almost knocking my 3yr old down the stairs in the process.  I went to the doctor and had the damage done to me documented, and warned if she ever came to my house again, I would have her charged.  My husband took her side. We have now been divorced for 7 yrs. I have moved away. 

As far as I see things, mothers will never accept any woman in their son's life & will do anything she can to intervene and ruin the relationship.

Inlaws should NOT get away with this. They should learn to butt out of something that doesn't involve them and only put forth their input when asked !!

I saw today's show for the first time.  Just 2.5 weeks ago, I was arrested by my 'daughter-in-law' and sat in a jail cell while my husband had to bail me out.

History:  My son's 18 yr old girlfriend was kicked out of her home 20 months ago - right after graduating high school.  We thought we were doing a nice thing, and knowing she would go off to college in the fall - allowed her to move into our house.  Her parents pulled her college funds and we were stuck having her live with us.  Our son was a senior in high school at the time. 

Our worst nightmare happened - she got pregnant - and we strongly believe - on purpose.  Here we are 20 months later.

Our son graduated from  high school, and they are going to community college and working 'a pt job'.  Our lives have been hell since she moved in.  She's lazy, won't help out around the house AT ALL, and is extremely disrespectful towards me.  My husband and I work professional FT jobs, but our 2nd job hit us when we walked in the door.  Many time the baby was 'thrown' at us to care for.  Of course we had our regular times we babysat, which we committed to, while they were at school/and/or work.  Kayla had a sense of entitlement and was so disrespectful.

After a couple months, we noticed her 'blow-ups' and home disruptions were about 30 days apart.  Hmmm. PMS?  Finally, my husband and I found a therapist and went to see her.  We needed help with the kids.  They had no direction, desire, or maturity - we needed help.

Two months ago she had another blow up and called 911 "to find out about custody laws were."  Of course, the police were dispatched to our house.  My son told me over the phone and I rushed home.  Two cop cars in my driveway!  How devastatingly embarrassing.

30 days later - blow up again - only this time she went to the police station, made a report, and I was arrested on 3 charges of Domestic Violence.  Her parents who have not assisted with one thing since she moved out (by the way, we gave them both a car, cell phones, paid all the bills, even paid for 90% of the things for the baby- where her parents have never even bought him a gift) they have taken Kayla and Aidan in, but not our son.  He was welcomed there -but after one week - they let him move in.

I feel our son has turned his back on me.  We have begged her to go to the prosecutor and tell him she doesn't want anything to happen to me - but she's too lazy.  She can't be bothered.  While I was sitting in a jail cell - she had the nerve to tell my son, "I guess I won't be able to move back in, huh?"  I have always known she hated me, and during our argument - she shouted 5 times, I HATE YOU.

Now, I'm going through the legal process, and although the prosecutor told my husband he has no problem dropping the charges - I still can't get over this.  It's absolutely crushed me.

We haven't seen our grandchild - she won't let me.  She'll let my husband - but not me.  My husband says we're a team - if I can't - he won't.  She has no desire to mend our family. 

Where do you go from here?  I won't be held by her emotional hostage.  My husband and I have come to terms we won't see our little Aidan any  more.   How do you heal?  I know they are young, but she has anger issues and hates authority figures.

Right away, I'll say that I can tell that Mom-in-law in this case is clearly not the easiest person in the world to get along with. I also have some very difficult in-laws who have used the We-are-fine-Southern-folk on me. That said, I can totally identify with Maria's frustration. But even so--is anyone else completely horrified that a 29 year old woman would savagely rip apart a 72 year old woman's arm? Does any sort of annoyance justify such a brutal attack? Maria's justification that she felt that she and her children were being threatened is outrageous. "Threatened" by the elderly grandmother that Maria admittedly adores the grandchildren and is herself adored by them? Also--was it or was it not brought up that Maria has repeatedly thrown things around the house and physically assaulted her husband?

She sounds to me like a woman who has a severe and violent temper and was justly prosecuted. I was very dissapointed by Dr. Phil's criticisms of the decision to prosecute Maria. Frankly, I have on many occassion found my in-law's behavior to be very rude and/or unfair. But I wouldn't dream of savagely attacking my MIL like some sort of wild animal would!!