Brides Admit to Major Mother-in-Law Issues

Justin Timberlake's mother has reportedly made it hard for his girlfriends to get close, and Josh Brolin's stepmother,  Barbara Streisand, is rumored to not be the easiest mother-in-law to deal with (though Brolin’s wife, actress, Diane Lane remains mum on the topic). Needless to say, most brides would agree their future husband doesn't have to be a celebrity to receive the star treatment from their moms while they in turn, get the cold shoulder.

According to Dr. Terri Apter, British author of the new book, What Do You Want From Me?, nearly two-thirds of brides believe their MIL's are out to disrupt and hurt their marital relationships.

One London bride complained that the sabotage and jealousy began well before her wedding day with e-mails that said, "What you don't realize is that my son thinks about me every day, every minute of the day, every second of every minute of the day."

Apter says that much of the drama stems from brides and MIL going head-to-head for the alpha female role in the family. "As they struggle to achieve the same position in the family as primary woman, each tries to establish or protect her status, each feels threatened by the other," she explains to the UK’s Guardian newspaper. "Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict often emerges from an expectation that each is criticising or undermining the other, but this mutual unease may have less to do with actual attitudes and far more to do with persistent female norms that few of us manage to shake off completely."

When we wrote about the recent rise in wedding sabotage, 36% of you felt your MIL was the most likely candidate.  Is your MIL causing problems for you and your groom? Share your story here.

photo: Lauren Rutten