Wife furious over husband’s weekly sleepovers with mother-in-law

A woman has asked for help dealing with her husband’s weekly disappearing act – but many think there’s something more to his “selfish” behaviour.

Wife furious over husband’s weekly sleepovers with mother-in-law. Picture: iStock

It’s perfectly normal for a parent to want or need a bit of alone time, a chance to recharge their batteries and practise a bit of self-care.

You shouldn’t feel bad if you need to take some space away from your family every now and then.

But how much time away is too much? That’s what this mother wants to know, after her husband started spending one day a week, almost every week, sleeping over at his mum’s house, leaving her with the kids, Kidspot reports.

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It’s great to be close to your mum, but are weekly sleepovers a bit much? Picture: iStock

WEEKLY SLEEPOVERS

The woman asked Mumsnet for advice on her issue.

“My partner’s mother lives nearby,” she wrote. “Increasingly he will decide to stay over at her house one night a week.”

She added that he leaves for his mother’s place in the evening and often doesn’t return until the following afternoon.

“This really annoys me,” she said. “I feel as if I’m left, literally ‘holding the baby’.

“None of my friends live nearby, and with COVID at the moment, not easy to organise an evening meet-up either.”

She asked commenters on the site if they think she’s overreacting.

“I don’t want to be controlling, or stop him going out, but I feel like once a week overnight is a bit much!” she said.

“He is/was an only child, and says that he just needs some downtime, which I understand, but it’s really eating into what I see as ‘our’ weekend time together.”

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A woman has branded her husband ‘selfish’ for spending one night a week at his mum’s place, leaving her with the kids. Picture: iStock

NOT OK AT ALL

Commenters were firmly on the mum’s side.

“A grown man with a family at home who needs to stay at his mum’s once a week? He’s being selfish and ridiculous,” one person wrote. “We all need downtime, doesn’t mean he should regularly abandon his family to get it. He needs to let go of his mum’s apron strings!”

“He’s leaving you in the lurch with the baby and it’s like he’s not fully bought into the idea he has family responsibilities now?” another added.

Some people were suspicious of the man’s entire story.

“He’s staying at his mum’s?” one person asked, “Really?”

Some people were suspicious of the man’s story. Picture: iStock

Another was more blunt.

“I think you’re deluding yourself if you really believe he’s sitting around all night watching telly with his dear old mum and then can’t manage to get home until the afternoon. Come on now, get serious.”

What would you do in this situation? Comment below.

This article originally appeared on Kidspot and was reproduced with permission