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Bride “Pranks” Groom’s Mother, He Finally Decides To Call Her Out For The Mean Behavior
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Bride “Pranks” Groom’s Mother, He Finally Decides To Call Her Out For The Mean Behavior

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Most people in the world are fans of humor. However, what we find funny can vary quite a bit. For instance, some folks absolutely love practical jokes, while others deeply loathe them. And there can be a very fine line between pranking someone and bullying them. In some cases, things get taken way too far, and you’re forced to pick sides between people you love.

One anonymous redditor, who recently got married, shared how he felt forced to call out his wife for being a bully for how she ‘pranked’ her mother-in-law during their wedding. Read on for the full story, as well as how the AITA online community interpreted the situation.

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    Some people have a very hard time getting along with their in-laws. In some cases, this can lead to a lot of deep-seated resentment

    Image credits: zelmab / Envato (not the actual photo)

    An anonymous man shared how he called out his wife for her mean behavior toward his mother at their wedding. He asked the internet for their take

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    Image credits: ASphotostudio / Envato (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: [deleted]

    Loving someone does not mean automatically siding with them if they overstep boundaries on decent behavior

    Being forced to pick between your partner and your mother would be a nightmare scenario for many people. Unfortunately, in the anonymous redditor’s case, this was reality. His girlfriend and mother did not get along, but he stood by the former over the years out of principle.

    However, he finally felt like he had to stand up for his mother, too, after learning how his wife and her friends pranked her at their wedding recently. This, however, didn’t stand well with his wife, who called him a “mama’s boy” and felt betrayed that he wasn’t fully supportive of her actions.

    The author of the post ended up deleting his Reddit account after his post went viral on the website and in the media, so we were unable to reach out to him for further comment.

    Love—true love—does not mean that we automatically approve of every single thing that our partners do. We can be supportive. We can be flexible, patient, and tolerant. However, we cannot and should not keep silent when our partners do something flat-out wrong or overstep common sense boundaries. We can share constructive criticism while still being on the same team.

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    Mutual respect is a huge part of any happy and healthy marriage. That also means respecting each other enough to admit that we may have made a mistake and being humble and self-aware enough to apologize.

    The difference between pranks and bullying lies in power dynamics and whether the victim is in on the joke

    Image credits: viktoriian / Envato (not the actual photo)

    The BBC writes that one well-known ‘rule’ of comedy is to ‘punch up, not kick down.’ What this means, in practice, is that pranks should not be aimed at people who are less powerful than the person making the joke.

    If there’s a vast imbalance in the power dynamic (e.g., someone has more status, resources, and knowledge), this borders on bullying rather than pranking. Even if there’s little to no inequality of power, it doesn’t automatically make a prank funny.

    Child Psychologist Rachel Melville-Thomas, the spokesperson for the Association of Child Psychotherapists in the UK, said that when victims find pranks funny, they usually haven’t` been harmed—they immediately grasp the setup and can join in the laughter.

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    “What we want to do is laugh together—laughing together creates cohesion in social groups. If you’re the victim of a prank, [for it to be funny], you have to very quickly join in and go, ‘Ah, that was such a clever prank.’ It’s hard to see how that happens if you smack someone on the head,” she told the BBC.

    Social Psychology Professor Madeleine A. Fugère, Ph.D., points out that people can overcome their difficulties getting along with their in-laws by trying to convince them that they’re a good mate for their child.

    This means showing how much you care for your partner so that your in-laws have fewer reasons to be critical of you. Something else that can help, according to research, is having more one-on-one contact with the in-laws before marriage. That can lead to a healthier relationship after the wedding happens.

    The author shared some additional context in the comments of his story

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    Most readers were on the man’s side. Here’s what they had to say about the entire argument

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    Others, however, had a different interpretation of what happened

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    Jonas Grinevičius

    Jonas Grinevičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

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    Jonas Grinevičius

    Jonas Grinevičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

    Read less »

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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    Sonja
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can't help but wonder with such mean and bullying behaviour and the Instagram comments, if the wife was mean before. I mean, his mom sounds horrible, but the callousness he describes from his wife and her friend isn't something that just comes to a kind person all pf a sudden. They've been far too gleeful about it instead of being glad that Mozilla finally calmed down and behaved on the wedding. It was unprovoked in that moment and very petty and cruel. I'm a petty person, and even I wouldn't do such a thing, out of respect for my husband and because I'm not an instigator. I would have wanted a nice celebration and warm, fuzzy memories, and as long as MIL was behaving peacefully, I wouldn't have the mind to be mean on my happy day. So this makes me wonder if his mom was truly mean to his gf or if the gf always was a mean girl and his mom had good reason to cut her out of her family. His wife sounds like a troublemaker, and I really wonder if she did such stuff before.

    Binky Melnik
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    While reading this article, I kept thinking how delighted she musta been that MIL was behaving, and how MIL is due a big pile of gratitude for it, and then the c**p started. 😕 I can understand, if not support, doing something small and petty to someone WHILE they’re BEING small and petty, but when they’re not? Why start something? That’ll only convince ‘em that they should be small and petty the next time! Wife shoulda reinforced good behavior (yes, I AM suggesting she treat MIL like a dog to get her to behave in the future!) as she woulda gotten more of it. That she didn’t tells me she’s mean, small, and not very smart. I really hope this guy manages to turn things around but failing that, he oughtta get outta there. Who wants to spend their life with someone small and petty? (And stupid?)

    Load More Replies...
    Papa
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was struck by one of the last things OP said about his wife saying he shouldn't have embarrassed her in front of her friends. Maybe so, by why was it okay for her and her friend to embarrass his mother at the wedding (though it does sound like the mother is a piece of work).

    Load More Comments
    Sonja
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can't help but wonder with such mean and bullying behaviour and the Instagram comments, if the wife was mean before. I mean, his mom sounds horrible, but the callousness he describes from his wife and her friend isn't something that just comes to a kind person all pf a sudden. They've been far too gleeful about it instead of being glad that Mozilla finally calmed down and behaved on the wedding. It was unprovoked in that moment and very petty and cruel. I'm a petty person, and even I wouldn't do such a thing, out of respect for my husband and because I'm not an instigator. I would have wanted a nice celebration and warm, fuzzy memories, and as long as MIL was behaving peacefully, I wouldn't have the mind to be mean on my happy day. So this makes me wonder if his mom was truly mean to his gf or if the gf always was a mean girl and his mom had good reason to cut her out of her family. His wife sounds like a troublemaker, and I really wonder if she did such stuff before.

    Binky Melnik
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    While reading this article, I kept thinking how delighted she musta been that MIL was behaving, and how MIL is due a big pile of gratitude for it, and then the c**p started. 😕 I can understand, if not support, doing something small and petty to someone WHILE they’re BEING small and petty, but when they’re not? Why start something? That’ll only convince ‘em that they should be small and petty the next time! Wife shoulda reinforced good behavior (yes, I AM suggesting she treat MIL like a dog to get her to behave in the future!) as she woulda gotten more of it. That she didn’t tells me she’s mean, small, and not very smart. I really hope this guy manages to turn things around but failing that, he oughtta get outta there. Who wants to spend their life with someone small and petty? (And stupid?)

    Load More Replies...
    Papa
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was struck by one of the last things OP said about his wife saying he shouldn't have embarrassed her in front of her friends. Maybe so, by why was it okay for her and her friend to embarrass his mother at the wedding (though it does sound like the mother is a piece of work).

    Load More Comments
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