Getting married to someone means you say “I do” to your spouse and promise to be with them through sickness and in health , through thick and thin. But, when you marry someone, you don’t only marry your spouse, but you also marry into their family .
You not only gain a husband or a wife, but you gain in-laws. And, for some people, gaining in-laws means you are gaining new, life-long friends and family to spend the holidays with, and all the in-betweens, too.
We’ve all heard “scary stories” about in-laws.
The stereotype of in-laws is that they are the absolute worst. They’re overbearing, pushy, needy, and they always chime in when their opinions are not wanted or needed. Many times, people marry their significant other and brace themselves for a life connected to their new in-laws—drama and all.
However, some people actually like their in-laws.
While there are those that dread the holidays, there are many who look forward to them and even enjoy them because they adore their in-laws. Many people marry into families who welcome them with open arms and treat them kindly, respect their boundaries, and enjoy having a new “son or daughter” in their lives.
Loving your in-laws is something special.
Having a good relationship with your in-laws is a special thing because not everyone gets to have a good bond with them. However, the one downfall is that not all marriages last forever. Sometimes, things in life can go wrong and get in between couples, and they lose that loving feeling they had when they said “I do.”
When couples get divorced, things have to be divided.
Many couples get lawyers to divide their assets and properties in order to have an amicable divorce. However, while you can divide physical things, trying to figure out how to divvy up your personal relationships can become increasingly complicated. Especially when one of those relationships is the one you have with your mother-in-law.
Meghan Beaudry went through just that.
Meghan Beaudry recently shared her story of divorce with TODAY , sharing how the one thing she was worried about throughout her divorce was maintaining her relationship with her mother-in-law.
“When I divorced my husband, my biggest concern wasn’t how to divide our assets or moving to a new place. It was whether my mother-in-law would still be in my life,” she shared.
Beaudry first met her mother-in-law when she was in high school.
Her mother-in-law was a parent volunteer for her high school youth orchestra. She used to take “special care” of her and said, years later, she was always “special to her.”
After Beaudry married her son, the two became incredibly close. They would grab lunch while her husband was at work and discuss their careers as teachers. Whenever they went out as a family, she always introduced Beaudry as “her daughter.”
Then, Beaudry became ill.
Beaudry revealed she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that made her very sick. Her husband became distant and depressed over her illness, so her mother-in-law moved in with them to help take care of her. She would cook for her and stay by her bedside to help her all of the time. Beaudry said the two got even closer.
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When Beaudry recovered, her husband never did.
Beaudry revealed that her husband was just as distant when she finally got better and wasn’t as ill anymore. One day, she saw her husband’s phone light up and found another woman texting him—revealing that he had been cheating on her.
She immediately told her mother-in-law, who was in shock, but also sad.
Beaudry said she “tried to make the marriage work.”
“It took over a year of my husband’s lies, failed marriage counseling, and tearful conversations before I knew I needed to leave. Still, I stalled. With her downcast eyes and sad expression, my mother-in-law was also grieving the end of my marriage to her son,” she said.
But, on the first Valentine’s Day since her divorce, Beaudry received a surprise.
“I heard a knock on the door of my new apartment. My dogs wagged their whole bodies when I opened the door and saw my ex-mother-in-law.
‘For my daughter,’ she said, handing me a Tupperware container of homemade sushi and squeezing my hand,” she shared.
True love is sometimes not between spouses, but between family.
h/t TODAY .