Internet Applauds Woman's 'Wicked' Revenge on Future Mother-in-Law

A woman has gone viral online for sharing that she recently got "revenge" on her future mother-in-law after the matriarch "insulted" her job.

Posting in Reddit's "Petty Revenge" forum under the username u/littleredbird1991, the woman wrote: "Don't like my 'silly' job, you don't get [its] 'silly' perks." The post has garnered over 12,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments. You can read the full post here.

Unfortunately, relationships between mothers and their daughters-in-law are often tense. In fact, Claire Nicogossian, Psy.D., a staff psychologist at Bradley Hospital, told Newsweek that tension should not only be "anticipated" but also "expected."

"We choose our spouses [but] we don't always choose their families, which is why marriage is a package deal, whether we want to accept it or not," Nicogossian said.

'Petty Revenge'

In her post, u/littleredbird1991 said her soon-to-be mother-in-law recently insulted her job. Naturally, this "pissed" her off, but instead of confronting the matriarch, she decided to get revenge.

"I work in technical theater as an assistant stage manager. There are a couple of theaters in the area, but the tech community is rather small, so we all know each other," u/littleredbird1991 said. "I work for a smaller theater, but I know a few people who work at the largest theater that hosts the traveling Broadway shows."

Of course, tickets for those Broadway shows can be expensive and hard to get. So when u/littleredbird1991's future mother-in-law said she was dying to see one of the upcoming productions, u/littleredbird1991 pulled some strings and reserved two "prime seats" at a discounted rate.

A couple of weeks later, u/littleredbird1991 and her fiancé went to her mother-in-law's house for dinner. At some point, the topic of housework came up. When u/littleredbird1991's mother-in-law asked how the couple planned on dividing chores, u/littleredbird1991 said it would be a 50/50 split. In response, u/littleredbird1991's mother-in-law gave her "the stink eye."

"I asked if there was something wrong, and she said, 'Well fiancé works full-time and you don't, so I don't see how that's fair,'" u/littleredbird1991 recalled.

Redditor u/littleredbird1991 clarified that she does work full-time, but her mother-in-law wouldn't hear it. She called u/littleredbird1991's stage job a "silly side gig" and said it wasn't "real" work.

"This pissed me off because I am very proud of the work I do," u/littleredbird1991 said.

So, in retaliation, she canceled her mother-in-law's theater tickets.

"I then texted FMIL and told her [that] if she thinks my job isn't real, then the side perks aren't real," u/littleredbird1991 wrote.

Expert Advice

In response to one commenter who accused u/littleredbird1991 of ruining her relationship with her future mother-in-law, she said: "I'm marrying her pride and joy...so I don't know how great of a relationship we could have had."

However, Nicogossian argued that it could be possible to move the relationship forward. To do so, she recommends addressing the conflict head-on by using "I statements." Examples include: "I was really excited to provide the tickets for you to the show. I was shocked and hurt when you said my work isn't real work. I have heard negative comments about my job, and usually, I can let it go; however, hearing it from you, my soon-to-be mother-in-law, hurt even more."

Then, Nicogossian recommends using "statements of repair."

"When an insult has ruptured a sense of safety or trust in a relationship, resolving the conflict through repairing is important," Nicogossian said.

"[Say], 'I apologize for responding [harshly]. I did that through my pain and hurt, [and] that was wrong. If I could do it differently, I would have asked to speak with you later and shared my thoughts in a less upsetting way. What would be very meaningful and important to me is for you to understand how your comments were upsetting and hurtful. I hope, going forward, you can be more thoughtful and kind with your comments toward me."

Redditors React

While Nicogossian believes conflict can't be solved by adding "more pain and conflict," many Redditors applauded u/littleredbird1991's revenge plot.

"It's crazy how people won't open their eyes and realize that a job is a job," u/AKski02 said. "Great revenge, by the way—that was well played!!"

"You did absolutely the right thing! Good for standing up for yourself!" u/YupIzzMee exclaimed.

Redditor u/Robyn_withaY added: "Perfect revenge. Bravo!!!"

Redditor u/furstimus simply called the act of revenge "wicked."

Newsweek reached out to u/littleredbird1991 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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