A new mom reveals her father-in-law and his wife asked her to change her baby's name, claiming it hurt their sentiments.
Marriage is a union of two souls as well as families. However, it takes a lot of effort for any individual to fit in with their in-laws. A recent post on Reddit by u/ElectricalLeague1580 has ignited considerable debate after a woman shared how her in-laws insisted she change her daughter's name. The reason they stated was just that it hurt their sentiments. The woman explained that she named her daughter after her husband's biological mother, which did not sit well with her father-in-law and his current wife, Sharon. She also gave a background story of her husband's troublesome relationship with his father and his wife following his real mother's separation and demise.
She wrote, "When my MIL died, my husband's relationship with FIL and Sharon deteriorated significantly. He forbade them from attending the funeral and said if they tried to come he would run away until he was placed with other family members. My husband told me about this himself. FIL and Sharon said they feared my husband would start lashing out at them and Sharon was pregnant at the time so they gave in. They say my husband hates them for not being there. He said them following through and not going was one of the better decisions they made and he hated that he had to yell and threaten to run away for them to stop insisting."
Moreover, the woman's in-laws had confided that her real mother-in-law was responsible for the strained relationship between her husband and them. By choosing this name, what was meant to be a touching tribute became a source of resentment for the woman's father-in-law and Sharon. Now, she named their daughter after her late mother-in-law, honoring the profound bond her husband shared with his mother, this did not go well with her father-in-law and his wife.
As per the post, her in-laws approached her at a mall and said, "They told me they found out her name and they wanted to know why we'd do that to Sharon and how could I be okay with my daughter being used to hurt her feelings. They said I should insist on a different name." Moreover, the woman's in-laws asked her to change her daughter's name and may even consider naming her after Sharon, as she has always been there for them.
However, the woman was very firm, stating that she and her husband would not change their daughter's name and would not consider the request. "I told them I will not change my child's name because it hurts her feelings and that isn't even on a list of things to consider for us. I didn't want to hear more so I left. But we are getting inundated with texts from them calling me rude and disgusting for dismissing Sharon's feelings," she added. As soon as the woman shared the post, the comment section was flooded with messages.
u/dncrmom wrote, "NTA Sharon seems to be suffering from main character syndrome. The name of your child has nothing to do with her. Your husband barely has a relationship with her. Suggest therapy." Similarly, u/financial_bear_5071 commented, "NTA and hand this back to your husband to deal with. He's done a great job of putting them back in their place throughout his life, and this is just one more time."
u/negative-resort2352 lashed out at Sharon and wrote, "NTA. Thinking someone named their child after their late mother just to upset you is very self-centered. This says a lot about why the relationship with the stepmom didn’t work out. Honoring a loved one who passed away is a personal choice, not something meant to hurt others." u/suzdg hailed the woman and wrote, "I mean they want to know why he named his daughter after his mother??? How self-involved can they be? This isn’t even worth engaging over. Well done and congratulations."