My mother-in-law lay down on the doormat by the front door just to make her son leave me and stay with her: she threw a tantrum, cried, threatened, but one action of mine put an end to that performance 

I had always heard stories about unbearable mothers-in-law and thought they were exaggerated. It seemed impossible that grown women could behave like that in real life. Until I met my fiancé’s mother.

We were both forty when we met for the first time. I had already been married before, and he had never been married. According to him, he had never had a serious relationship. Everything lasted at most one or two months and always ended in a breakup. I couldn’t understand how that was possible, because he was a kind, calm, and attentive man.

We had been dating for almost six months. I had introduced him to my family, but for some reason he wasn’t in a hurry to introduce me to his mother. He didn’t have a father and lived only with his mom. When he proposed to me and we set a wedding date, he finally said it was time to go visit her.

And that’s when I understood why he had never had a serious relationship in his life.

When we arrived, his mother opened the door. Without even greeting me and without knowing me, she looked me up and down with contempt and said:

— Another snake. Why did you bring her here? I’m against this anyway.

— Mom, this is my fiancée, Anna, he said calmly.

We went inside, but she wouldn’t calm down.

— I told you we don’t need anyone. We’re already happy together. Son, isn’t it enough to have just me? Why do we need a third wheel?

I tried to stay calm and simply smiled so I wouldn’t respond rudely.

When she found out I had already been married, she seemed to explode.

— We don’t need damaged goods. Leave my house immediately and forget about my son. He’s happy on his own.

I stood up to leave because I didn’t want to cause a scene. But my fiancé stood up too.

— Mom, if you throw her out, I’m leaving too. I love her.

At that moment, his mother suddenly grabbed her chest.

— Oh, I don’t feel well. Call an ambulance right now. Stay with me until the doctors arrive. Let her go.

He sighed heavily.

— Mom, enough. I know all your tricks.

We headed toward the exit. I had already stepped over the threshold when my mother-in-law suddenly lay down right on the doormat, spreading her arms and legs to block her son’s way with her body.

— I won’t let you go. Leave her. We don’t need her. Son, you don’t love me.

I had never seen such a performance in my life. And at that moment, I felt my fiancé hesitate. He felt sorry for his mother. He froze, not knowing what to do.

That’s when I realized that if I didn’t step in now, everything would end badly.

And I did what finally made her fall silent.  Continued in the first comment  Share your opinion — is this normal behavior for an adult? 

I stepped closer and looked her straight in the eyes. She lay on the mat with her arms spread out, trying to cry, but there were no tears. Only anger.

— You’re humiliating yourself right now, I said calmly. — Your son is a grown man, not your property. And if you don’t get up and stop this circus, I’ll call professionals. Because this behavior is no longer a joke. You need help, possibly in a clinic.

She fell silent for a second and stared at me as if she hadn’t expected me to say anything at all.

— Are you threatening me? she hissed.

— I’m protecting myself and your son, I replied. — Because this is not normal.

Then I turned to my fiancé. He was still standing in the doorway, confused, between me and his mother.

— Now you have to decide, I said quietly but firmly. — Either you continue living like this, under her control, or we build our own family. I will not be the third wheel in your life.

Silence filled the house. His mother began wailing again about her heart, about being betrayed, about him abandoning her.

My fiancé looked at her, then at me.

And for the first time, he didn’t look away.

— Mom, I love you. But I’m not obligated to live only for you. I choose my own life.

He took a step forward. Stepped over her outstretched arm and walked out the door.

She remained lying on the doormat, unable to believe that he had truly left.