I don't know if y'all have heard of the subreddit called Am I the Asshole?, but it's one of the best things on the internet.
I recently saw a post about a woman who planted a fake positive pregnancy test in her bedroom trash can in hopes of catching her snooping mother-in-law, and I knew I had to share it with y'all.
Here's the full situation, as told by the woman, u/Milathrowaway37:
"My mother-in-law moved in with us a month ago. I began to notice my stuff in the bedroom being moved and furniture being rearranged."
"I felt like I was going crazy because my husband is the only one who has access to the bedroom and he doesn't usually touch nor come near my things. I figured it must be his mom walking in and snooping on my personal things. I told my husband, and he said his mom would never. I had a huge hunch but couldn't install a camera in the bedroom to catch her in the act."
"So, I got one of those fake positive pregnancy tests and threw it in the bedroom's trash can. (Note: the trash can was placed in the corner near the closet.)"
"Literally the next day after I got to work, I got tons of calls and texts from my in-laws 'congratulating' me for my 'pregnancy.' My husband came over to my workplace and was all worked up about it and asking when I learned I was pregnant, and why didn't I tell him. I asked how he found out, and he said his mom found the positive test in the trash can in the bedroom."
"I asked if his answer just confirmed that she's been snooping in the bedroom all along. He had a 'realization' moment but demanded we stick to the bigger issue. I said there was no bigger issue because the positive test was fake and this whole thing was done to expose my MIL's snooping. He was not convinced."
"He had me take an actual test right in front of him, and he was livid, asking how could I lie about such thing and break his mom's heart since I know very well that she longs for grandkids. I got a lot of shit because of this from him. His mom and his family are now calling me a liar and a manipulator. AITA?"
Very interesting. I know I had my own thoughts about the husband and the mother-in-law.
And it looks like redditors did too. One person who goes by u/babymargaret reassured the woman that she wasn't the asshole.
"Not the asshole, but ordering a lock for the door and kicking MIL out seems easier," the redditor said.
"If you WERE pregnant, how dare she announce it. So many red flags, one of you needs to go, and it shouldn’t have to be you."
Another person with the username u/Feycat concurred.
"If my MIL announced my pregnancy to my spouse before I got a chance to, I would never speak to her again, nor would I allow her in my house," they said.
"Holy shit, how does her husband not see what a fucking violation this is?? OP is not the asshole, and her husband and his whole family all suck."
Someone else who goes by u/nopatients4this warned the woman about the dangers of having a husband who sides with his mom all the time.
"Seems that you have several problems," they said.
"The mother-in-law snooping is obvious. However, your husband is the bigger problem. He doesn’t seem to have any problem with his mother ignoring boundaries. I don’t even want to get into 'He had you take an actual test in front of him.' He needs to grow up and stop being a momma’s boy and learn to trust his wife’s word."
And finally, someone with the username u/Just_passing_time321 raised another salient point about what would have happened if the woman actually was pregnant.
"I bet if she was pregnant, he'd still be more upset that she didn't tell him first and would still back MIL snooping over his wife potentially planning a moment to deliver the news."
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.