Honestly, Im absolutely certain were not responsible for supporting my brother-in-law and his entire family, nor should we be paying to rent them a flat. Let me just say straight away, the three-bedroom flat we live in is mine I bought it before we got married, and, trust me, it was in a shocking state back then. Honestly, the front door was just propped up against the frame! But the price was right, so I went for it and sorted things out myself over time. Anyway, thats not really the main point of this story.
By the time I met my husband, Id already renovated two of the bedrooms and even put in a bit of furniture. It was turning into a lovely, cosy place, really.
So, my husband was a decent bloke, good-looking, good morals, but he was renting a flat. After a few months of us seeing each other, he moved in with me. After the wedding, we fixed up one of the rooms as a kids room, and then I had our son and, soon after, our daughter.
Life was ticking along nicely, until one particularly chilly autumn night, when our little domestic bubble was popped by my mother-in-law. She turned up, lugging her suitcases, in floods of tears:
Can I stay with you lot for a bit? My sons moved his girlfriend into my flat. Im hoping it works out for them, maybe shell be his wife and theyll have a long happy life together, who knows… I wont be any bother, honestly, Ill help out, pick the kids up from nursery and school, make tea. You know, I havent got anyone but you lot left!
She was so upset I let her in, obviously. Gave her the biggest bedroom. Shed been retired for ages, so she really did look after the kids just like shed promised. But she hadnt set foot back in her own place because her younger son was living there now one bedroom, with his new wife and their two children: one they had together, and her other child from before they married.
Years back, my brother-in-law married his school sweetheart right after theyd finished their GCSEs. My parents-in-law sold their place and split the money bought themselves a studio flat and got a two-bedroom place for him and his wife. Then, not long after, my father-in-law got ill and sadly passed away.
My brother-in-law and his first wife had two kids together, eventually split up, and he left the flat to them. Now his ex lives there with her new husband and their three kids. Once the divorce was final, my brother-in-law moved back in with Mum. Hed said to her, Mum, Ill live with you now, Im a free man with big dreams! Ill sort myself out soon, find my own flat. But whatever he was planning just didnt quite pan out, and a few months later, he rocked up with his new girlfriend.
Every weekend, his partner would bring her children from both her previous and current relationship round to ours it was absolute chaos, like a circus.
A whole year of this went by, and eventually I told my mother-in-law she had to sort out her own living situation. She burst into tears again, completely beside herself.
So I ended up having a chat with my brother-in-law, said it was about time he moved out of Mums flat. He just flat out refused claimed he couldnt leave because of the kids, and said he didnt have the salary to rent a place of his own. So whats a person meant to do?
These days my relationship with my mother-in-law has gone really sour. I can barely make myself go home after work anymore. I decided to sit down with my husband, told him he needed to sort out a place for her, otherwise Id have no choice but to file for divorce.
He was absolutely floored completely shell-shocked. He just had no idea what he was supposed to do, because of course he wouldnt put his own mother out on the street.
I suggested she could rent a flat herself, after all we do have enough money to lend a hand with that. But my mother-in-law wouldnt have it, absolutely not. She insisted instead that we ought to be the ones renting a two-bedroom place for my brother-in-law and his family, so she could move back in with us.
I had to draw my line told her, if she didnt move out in a week, Id put all her stuff outside the front door. What else am I supposed to do?
Honestly, I just dont feel were obligated to look after my brother-in-law and his lot, let alone set them up with a place to live!
