If you thought your family had some skeletons in the closet, you might want to buckle up. A woman has taken to Reddit to share a jaw-dropping story that unfolded in her fiance's family, after her mother-in-law flipped out when she and her partner began look into genetic testing. The only thing more wild than the mother-in-law's over-the-top reaction is the follow-up story that came later, when the Reddit poster was filled in on some family drama that had taken place decades earlier.
According to the woman's initial Reddit post, her mother-in-law has always been something of a "problem."
Unfortunately, she's always been less than supportive of the couple — doing everything from making fun of her daughter-in-law for being in school for so long (ahem, she's working on her doctorate) to berating her own son for letting his fiancĂ©e pick up the check too much.
Things can be tense, to say the least.
But they really got tense recently, when the couple recently started discussing having kids in the future.
The daughter-in-law says that it's "super important" to them that their future kids are healthy.
They want to ensure they wouldn't be passing on some "unfavorable" genes that could potentially cause health issues down the line.Â
"It's not that we wouldn't want them!" the poster explained. "We just want to be prepared in advance for any health issues so that we can set aside money for any treatment/visits to specialists/medication."
This was how the topic of genetic testing recently came up — something both she and her fiancĂ© would undergo, just to make sure there weren't any issues they should know about.
When the mere mention of wanting to do this came up in front of the mother-in-law, she "lost her mind."
"She's very religious (Catholic) and is adamant that it's 'God's will' for our children to be a surprise, and we shouldn't take 'the Lord's own work' into our hands," the daughter-in-law shared.Â
She got a little nasty about it, too.
"She basically said I'm a dirty sinner, and that my fiancé needs to leave me because I don't 'put my faith in God' and our children will be born with the devil in them if we "allow doctors to create our babies,'" the woman continued. "She said he's not to bring me to any family events until I allow Jesus to change my heart, and she won't acknowledge them as her grandchildren if we have any testing done before/during pregnancy."
Um … YIKES.
Understandably, the woman was hurt. But she also felt "terrible" for her fiancé, because "he really doesn't do well with conflict, and craves love/approval from his mom and wants her to be a part of our future kids' lives."
The whole thing was pretty mind-boggling, and felt like a real overreaction by the mother-in-law.
"I'm just not understanding why she wouldn't want what's best for her future grandchildren," the poster continued. "It's pretty mind-blowing, actually, especially considering my future father in law is a nurse and she's a fairly well educated woman."
In the comments, people had some FEELINGS.
"He needs to put her on an info diet," one person advised. "If something doesnât directly pertain to her … donât tell her."
"If he won't protect you and/or your future kids is he really father material?" another person questioned. "He needs to tell FMIL to back off or he wont see her anymore. And all the therapy so he can get out of the FOG."
"As someone who is married to the exactly the kind of person your fiancĂ© is, my advice is 'get ahead' of the s–t you are inevitably walking into," another person chimed in. "She doesnât want you and your kids around — honestly, just be happy."
And more than a few people seemed to smell a rat.
"Anybody who hits the ceiling over genetic testing has something to hide," one person noted.
Turns out, they were right.
In a follow-up post, the Redditor dropped a bomb on everyone when she revealed that she'd learned the real reason the MIL was against testing.
"I didn't expect such an outpouring of support on that post, and I really appreciate it," the woman began. "Those of you who suspected she had something to hide … you were right."
Apparently, gossip started to spread throughout the family, shortly after the mother-in-law's "freakout."
A cousin of her fiancé eventually reached out to the couple to offer a bit of insight into why it may have happened.
"It turns out, my fiancé isn't his father's son," the woman revealed. "He isn't even his mother's son."
(Um — WHAT?!)
"He's adopted, but still related," the poster continued, adding that her mother-in-law didn't want anyone to know that he was actually her sister's child, which she reportedly had out of wedlock.Â
Apparently, that sister lived out of state at the time, and hid the pregnancy from the rest of the family. At the same time, her sister (the MIL) became pregnant too, just months apart, but her baby was ultimately stillborn. There was some unsubstantiated controversy there, too — including the accusation that the stillbirth was the result of alcohol and medication use during the pregnancy. Of course, none of that has really ever been proven.
So, with the sisters giving birth just days apart, and one of them wanting so desperately to keep hers a secret, a plan was hatched.
The baby (aka the Redditor's fiancé) was adopted by his now mother, and the truth was never revealed.
That is, until now.Â
According to the Reddit poster, he confronted his mother after learning the news, and she "freaked out again over it." He left town to stay with a friend and has been avoiding his parents ever since.Â
They haven't been trying to avoid him, though. The poster says they've been showing up at the couple's apartment nearly every day since the family secret was revealed.
The mother-in-law is "furious" that her son now knows the truth of his birth and is especially angry at the cousin who spilled the beans.
"She's also angry at me, since it's 'my fault' that this came to light, and my actions have 'stolen her son from her,'" the poster shared.Â
For now, they are the only ones who know the secret, and the fiancĂ©'s own sisters (who are apparently really his cousins) are still in the dark.â
Redditors were pretty floored by the new twist.
"Seriously what else is this woman hiding?" one person questioned. "That whole family sounds like theyâve got more secrets than a Lifetime movie of the week. I wonder if his sisters are also adopted or if they have genetic testing they should be having done?"
"She threatened harm. Thatâs grounds for an order of protection while you guys get your asses to genetic testing," another person wrote. "If she continues her statement, Iâd out the family secret on social media and take a bow."
"Your SOâs history is not hers to hide," the person added.
Others pointed out that the MIL's "freakout" was pretty uncalled for from the get-go, for one major reason.
"Correct me if Iâm wrong, Iâve never looked into genetic testing like that, but itâs not a parentage test, right?" one person asked. "They just look for markers for genetic disease? Would his mom even be asked to submit DNA for it? In other words, if she had kept her mouth shut, no one would know her secret?"
"Yep," another person chimed in. "MIL shot herself in both feet. She should have shut up and taken a seat and practiced smiling supportively. Pre-natal genetic testing might tell you if you and your fiancé are very, very closely related. However, it will not tell you if your mom and dad are really your bio mom and dad. You would have to collect samples from mom and dad and run different tests specifically to find out that information."
Oops.
Here's hoping the family drama resolves itself, though we're willing to bet that one's a long shot.
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