Dealing with In-Laws Divorce

my husband and I are both 22yo.

His parents recently divorced due to his father’s several affairs. His father openly confessed, was not caught in the act and apologized to the whole family. After several months and hard conversations with the father, my husband and I decided that we wanted to continue or at least attempt to continue the relationship with his father. His mother did not appreciate that and was constantly comparing the relationships to the point that we had to hang out with her shortly after a get together with him to keep her happy.

recently, his sister (16yo) texted us expressing reluctance to continue the relationship with her father. I texted back just explaining where we were at with it, why we were continuing the relationship, and encouraged her with explicitly no pressure , that if she changed her mind, we would be with her every step of the way. I guess my MIL saw this text and got very angry at us and told us to no longer talk to his sister about the divorce. Side note: if my parents got divorced, I would 100% be verbally processing with my sisters!

Since I am the one who texted to his sister, I believe she blames me for my husband continuing the relationship with her ex. She has now asked to go out for breakfast with my husband several times, just him. When my husband asks if she would like to go out with both of us, she responds: no offense , but I’d like to spend time with just you. She proceeds to use those breakfasts to ask if I ‘like her’ or if I have something against her. My husband is trying to be Supportive of his mom through this hard time while also protecting his relationship with me. She went so far to suggest that I am a very toxic person and asked my husband if I was abusive. Granted, I certainly have a cold shoulder around her so unfortunately she only sees the worst. am I the asshole? How do we navigate this relationship??

Posted Feb 20, 2026, 4:35 PM UTC

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