She may not have a Michelin star or a bestselling cookbook, but your mom cooks better than anyone else. Period. No question about it. She meticulously prepares each meal with love and devotion, nourishing your body and soul and sparking your culinary curiosity. You hope she passed those honed skills and time-honored recipes down to you, but something is missing no matter how hard you try to replicate them. Sure, it’s good, but it never tastes like mom’s.

However, things can get complicated once a spouse comes into the picture. The loyalty you feel to the food that’s been a part of your life for many years makes it difficult to break the pattern. It can even lead to tensions and conflicts in your relationship. Something that one Redditor knows from personal experience.

As the woman detailed in her AITA confession, her husband only eats his mom’s cooking and keeps turning down every meal she tries to prepare for him: “No thanks, I prefer mom’s food”. Feeling frustrated with this behavior, she decided to trick him into trying out her own version of the meal. But guess if the man was happy? Scroll down to read the full story and the responses where readers determine if she did anything wrong. Then be sure to let us know what you think of the whole ordeal in the comments!

After feeling frustrated with her husband rejecting every meal she makes, this woman tricked him into thinking her cooking was actually his mother’s

Image credits: Live on Shot (not the actual photo)

Unsure of what to think of his reaction, she reached out to the internet for advice

Image credits: SenuScape (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Throwaway5756346

After reading the story, the members of the AITA community seemed to have more questions than answers. Some expressed support for the woman and voiced concerns about her family dynamics. Most commenters considered the husband as a mama’s boy who seems to place his relationship with his mother ahead of his wife. Other users determined that both parties were at fault and that everyone needed to share responsibility for the situation.

Everyone has felt tension when trying to get along with in-laws, so the story deeply resonated with many people. After all, your partner’s strong connection with their parents may be something that wins you over at first. But once you settle into your daily routines, witnessing how your mother-in-law becomes the highest priority can obviously burden the relationship.

“As tribal creatures, we hope to be accepted by our ‘new tribe’, and typically, we have already encountered various family dynamics, such as controlling parents, those who believe no one is ever good enough for their kids, even groups who are outright judgmental,” relationship coach Marta, the founder of MyCoachMarta, told Bored Panda in a previous interview. “We hope for the best while preparing for the worst.”

“We want to, of course, get on with our in-laws, and simultaneously we’re discovering the dynamics our partner grew up with. There’s no escaping the fact that those dynamics affect how they show up in relationships. As much as we want to be welcomed and accepted by the family, we are also observing and using our filters to determine whether this tribe is similar to our own; and if there’s anything they passed on to our partner we don’t quite like.”

But we humans have a tendency to look past our partner’s negative behaviors in hopes they will change as time goes on. But for this to work and for happiness to grow in the relationship, both people must be willing to change and act in ways that improve their partner’s life. And communication is key, so the best move is to start a calm conversation with your spouse about what you expect from your partnership. It may take time, but striving to find balance will bring its benefits.

However, conflicts like this might be more common than you think. According to a poll by Food Network UK, over half of the men surveyed prefer their mother’s cooking over their partner’s. The main reason — mom’s dishes are “more hearty and traditional.”

“As adults, men still seek the comfort and tradition of the cooking they have grown up with so they turn to their mums for what they perceive as a ‘proper meal,'” Nick Thorogood, a spokesman for Food Network UK, said in a news release.

But this doesn’t come without a cost. The pressure for their partners to live up to their mother-in-law’s cooking standards affects the relationship. Three-quarters of the respondents revealed that competition between their partners and mothers has sparked a conflict at some point in their marriage.

Well, we’re curious to hear your thoughts on this matter below. Do you think the woman’s actions are justified and the man acted inappropriately? Or was she wrong to use deceit and trick her husband into trying her food, something he has refused to do for years? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Some readers have sided with the wife, reassuring her that she’s not in the wrong in this situation

And others expressed that both parties were at fault, here’s what they had to say

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