Woman's in-laws pushed for a prenup fearing she was a gold-digger — they had no clue she was actually richer

Being married to someone means becoming part of a family, but that only works if the family lets you in. For one woman, years of hostility, exclusion, and disrespect from her husband’s family finally led her to walk away on her own terms. A 31-year-old woman, u/Potential_Low_8645, shared how her marriage was doomed from the start. She married her 33-year-old husband in 2018, despite knowing his family did not like her. Her in-laws pushed for a prenup fearing she was a gold digger but they had no idea she made more money than him. “STBX (Soon-to-be-ex) husband insisted that they're (his family) just putting up a tough exterior and they'll grow to love me,” she wrote. That never happened.

From the beginning, they made their feelings about her clear.

“One time, I joined them for dinner and brought a cake I'd made (because I was always raised to be a gracious guest). When I stepped into the kitchen and offered the cake to his mother as a thank you for inviting me, she took the plate over to the garbage bin, dumped it in, and handed me the plate back,” she wrote. When she told her husband, he confronted his mother, only for her to turn on the tears. The mother-in-law said she just lost her grip, and it was not her fault. Her sister-in-law immediately backed her up.

Things worsened. His family called her a gold-digger and pushed for a prenup, which she agreed to, hoping for acceptance. It never came. COVID hit, and the business her husband owned collapsed, draining their savings.

“I refused to go into debt to keep it going, so he closed it down,” she wrote. By 2022, he was unemployed and depressed, convincing her to move closer to his family for support. He worked part-time to restart his business, making her the breadwinner and gift buyer.

Hoping to earn their acceptance, she chose thoughtful, expensive gifts, but they were clearly just for him. "I realized that if I ever tried to talk or join a conversation, everyone would go quiet, so I just stopped talking when I visited," she explained.

In early December, her in-laws had finalized Christmas plans, deciding they didn't want her to join them for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch because she would "ruin the family vibe." In response, she told him, "Fine, we’ll do our own thing instead." But her husband sheepishly admitted that he was still going.

That was the final straw. She realized her marriage was over. She returned their expensive gifts, replaced them with petty alternatives, and saved $600 for a new apartment. He was furious, saying she humiliated him and "embarrassed him in front of his family."

She served him divorce papers, and the prenup ensured he wasn't entitled to any of her savings. “He doesn't have money for rent and auto insurance. Not my problem anymore,” she wrote. Many people on Reddit applauded her for standing up for herself.

u/Icy_Material_4387 said, "He chose his family over you and still expected you to buy all the presents? This was perfectly planned and well deserved for every one of them, including him!" u/Junior-Author6225 commented, "You were treated horribly. Good riddance." u/Bundt-lover joked, "It would’ve been even more awesome if the shampoo had gone to the chihuahua, and the giant dog bone to the mother-in-law." u/Liu1845 wrote, "So thoughtful of them to insist on a prenup! I hope you send them a sincere thank you note after the divorce is finalized, lol."