A newlywed woman was left feeling outraged and "violated" after her new mother-in-law opened every single one of her wedding presents, threw the boxes away, and proceeded to re-arrange her entire kitchen - all while she was on her honeymoon with her husband.
The anonymous woman said her spouse's mum was house-sitting while the couple jetted off to Italy for their honeymoon, and had called ahead of time to ask if she could "help" around the house in any way.
But after being told that all she needed to do was swap some bowls and put out their new toaster, the mum "completely overstepped" and took it upon herself to open all of the couple's wedding presents.
And to make matters worse, the woman's mother-in-law also re-organised the entire kitchen, which has left the woman feeling "overwhelmed" as she now can't find anything - and some of her sentimental items have been thrown away.
In a post on Reddit, the woman vented: "My mother-in-law tried to 'help' and completely overstepped. She and my father-in-law opened every single wedding present my husband and I received, threw every box away, and proceeded to re-organise the entire kitchen. I feel so violated while also feeling so overwhelmed by the task of trying to get things back to how they were.
"She called the day after our wedding while we were leaving the house for an overnight flight to Italy and asked how she could help. We said one task we have been avoiding is swapping out all the old plates and bowls for new plates and bowls, and maybe swapping out the old toaster for the new toaster. (I just wanted them to swap the upgrades).
"She opened every single wedding present and basically threw away every single box in the entire house. I can't return a single thing. (If I CAN return it, I'll have to purchase a vessel to transport the item in). She re-organised my whole kitchen and now I can't find anything.
"I used to love to cook and would combat my lack of appetite by getting excited about trying a new recipe or perfecting a specific dish. Now I don't even want to be in my kitchen. I can't find anything and the process of looking usually leads to finding out they moved or threw away something important to me."
The woman added that she now feels "depressed" whenever she looks at her kitchen and feels stressed at the thought of having to write thank you cards for presents she didn't even get to open herself.
She added: "It feels like they squeezed all the toothpaste out of the tube and I’m left to try to get it back in. I keep trying to let it go, but now the insurmountable task of writing a hundred thank-you notes is even more painful and miserable.
"I honestly haven't been this depressed in years. I am usually a very positive and optimistic person, but I genuinely can't see the light at the end of this. My safe space has been taken away from me and I don't know how to fix it."
In an edit to her post, the woman also revealed her mother-in-law threw away a box that had contained her "favourite custom engraved Champagne flutes", which she had been keeping for sentimental purposes as her brother had bought them for her 21st birthday.
Commenters on the post were sympathetic toward the woman, with many urging her to cut all contact with her mother-in-law if she refuses to apologise for overstepping.
One person said: "This is so heartbreaking! They absolutely need to apologise - genuinely. They need to feel remorse for what they did. Even then it won't be good enough. It just won't. Change the locks. Don't let them come over for a long, long time."
While another added: "I would NEVER speak with her again or let her in our house. This was your house, your stuff, your space. This wouldn't be acceptable if it was a stranger, so hold her accountable."
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