Wife laments husband’s ‘weird’ weekly sleepovers at parents’ house

The internet can be a wonderful place at times, but it can also be somewhere where people air their dirty laundry or where confused wives ask random strangers what’s acceptable behaviour in a relationship.

One woman, simply known by her username of “Twonkerbell”, took to forum Mumsnet with a particular aspect of her relationship that had been bothering her for quite some time. “I would like honest opinions here,” she asked other mothers in the group. “Don’t know if I’m being unreasonable or not.” 

The woman explained that her husband’s parents lived just an hour away from the couple, although her husband felt inclined to have a sleepover at his parents’ house once a week. “He spends at least one night a week visiting them and spends the night there,” she revealed. “He moved out of his parents’ house in his early 30s so maybe it still feels like home to him.”

She revealed that she had been with her husband for six years, that they share a house together, got married and are even expecting a baby in just three short months. Despite all that, her husband takes a night out of his life each week to sleep over with mum and dad.

The woman pointed out that it wouldn’t be a problem – except that they already see her in-laws once a week as it is. She said that he’s been doing it for as long as she’s been with her husband and that previous efforts to bring up how unimpressed she was by the arrangement had fallen on deaf ears.

The woman added that her mother-in-law was particularly pushy when they had visits and always asked her son when he was next staying over the night. The father-in-law is also going through cancer treatment, although the sleepovers started long before that.

“Maybe I am just jealous because this is his home,” she pondered. “I also really don’t want this to continue when baby arrives, just seems unfair.”

She questioned again if her desire to have her husband sleeping next to her each night was too much to ask for in a marriage.

The post started a debate from both sides of the argument. One person said: “You say this is something he has always done and really likes to do. Knowing this, you were happy to marry him and conceive a child with him but now you want him to stop. I can see why (you’ll have a newborn soon) but yes you do sound jealous which make me wonder about the background here”.

Another said: “It doesn’t sound anything like normal to me. I would have had words long before now,” while a further comment read: “It’s pretty weird though. Married man with baby on the way stays over with his parents once a week? Who does that?”

What do you think? Is this strange behaviour? Do your own married children ever have sleepovers at your house, or is it good to set boundaries?