It's no secret that getting along with your in-laws can make or break your relationship, but while one bloke knew he had to impress his girlfriend's mother, he wasn't quite prepared for what happened when they decided to move in together.
The man and his girlfriend, who are both 28, have been dating for two years, and recently decided they wanted to take their relationship to the next level by moving in together.
All was going well, until his girlfriend's mum insisted that she wouldn't allow her adult daughter to move out, unless she was allowed to move in with them too.
Taking to Reddit, the man explained that it wasn't so much an issue that she didn't want her daughter living with him, but as a single woman she "doesn't want to be alone" when her daughter flies the nest.
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"She simply just will not let her daughter venture out with her own life in peace because she doesn’t want to be alone," he wrote.
Unfortunately, despite their age, the situation has made him "feel like a teenager again," because he's "dating someone whose parent is always in their ear."
Sadly the situation is unlikely to improve any time soon, as his girlfriend's mum leans on his partner quite heavily, "so she feels the need to be the saviour for her all the time."
"It's such a toxic relationship and she knows it and is tired of it herself," he added. "Is it worth staying to see if it changes, should I show my frustrations in hopes it'll change things for the better or would this be a deal-breaker?"
Other Reddit users were quick to comment with advice on how the man should handle the situation - with most agreeing he simply had to be honest with his girlfriend.
One person responded: "The more your girlfriend enables her mom's behaviour the more things will never change for the mom. She needs to work on herself and probably some sort of therapy."
"You just have to lay it out to your GF, you aren't interested in living with her mom, and in fact you consider it to be a deal-breaker," another user suggested.
"You have concerns about the basic viability of this relationship given her mom's attachment and this is a totally valid concern."
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