Pleasing the mother-in-law

A relationship is like a tree – the roots need to be strong to hold the tree but the leaves and the branches are also important because they too give life to the tree. A relationship, although consisting of two people, is also connected to other people, like the couple’s parents. For many men, it is important for their women to get along with their mothers and their mothers’ approval of their women mean everything.

So how did you build that relationship with your mother-in-law?

Nicky:

It is never easy to gain the approval of another woman first of all, so it was no walk in the park for me. I straight up did not like the lady when I met her because she had a bad attitude towards me but when she got sick and she saw me turn up and help out, she warmed up to me and now it is like she is my mother too. So, I say, do not let someone’s bad attitude turn you off from doing good.

Karlene:

My mother-in-law was initially not a nice woman towards me but I understood how important it was for my husband that his mother and I somehow build a relationship. So I would constantly call her and check on her or visit her even though I knew I was not welcomed at her house. I just kept at it until she confessed that she hated me but she saw that I loved her son and that was enough for her to try with me and basically that was it.

Angie:

Surprisingly, I never had a real challenge warming up to my mother-in-law because I decided that I was going to simply be myself and hope she liked me and if she didn’t, I wasn’t going to fake it for her to like me. I think the key to this is to simply be yourself.

Marlene:

Years ago when I met my mother-in-law, she thought I was going to cheat on her son and that all I wanted was someone to use. I actually heard her telling him that. It really hurt me at the time but I really loved her son and so I knew I had to really let this lady know me for real. I tried to call her and ask her out to events and she actually came with me to a cocktail party one night and that was the beginning of a great relationship. People will judge because they don’t know you and they are protective of their sons, so simply let time fix it.

Sophia:

A relationship with your mother-in-law is necessary because you want peace and you want your man to feel comfortable to take you around his family. I simply started off by calling and messaging until I started inviting her to our apartment and from then, we started going out and now she is definitely my second mother.