Husband refuses to financially support wife's family after they ridiculed his business idea, believes they don't deserve a ‘dime’ of his major profit: ‘They were very unsupportive’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jan 20, 2025 6:00 PM EST

All of us have big dreams to make it big in the world and come out of the other end with a heaping pile of cash. That's the American dream, baby! We're told all of our hard work will amount to something grand, and a lot of times, it does. If you're thinking about opening up your own business, make sure you know what you're doing. Success touches those who don't give up (so I'm told), you just have to make sure that you keep a small circle of people around you who support you in your endeavors. If you truly know what you're doing, at least one person will have your back.

The guy who posted this story had exactly one person who believed in him and his marketing business—his wife. They had a lengthy discussion about the fact that their income might take a bit of a hit while he's kickstarting the endeavor and she wholeheartedly agreed to the financial compromise. His wife's family, though, is a different story. They would constantly berate him and ridicule his ideas, all the while very forwardly calling him a d*adbeat. So, when his business took off, he made sure they wouldn't see a single cent of his profits. They weren't happy about that, to say the least. Scroll below to get the juice.

Advertisement
  • "[They] get mad when I never pay for the meals, the outing, the vacation, etc..." NOTE THE EDSTATES AMERICA 367349 F OLLAR
    via Unsplash (Vitaly Taranov)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITA for no longer giving support to my wife's family after I became successful with my own company after they talked down about me."

    My (early-30's) wife (mid- 20's) grew up in a fairly poor enviroment. Her grandpa had money, but her mom didn't and her sister doesn't. My wife has an incredibly strong work
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • ethic (she's probably moreso defined as a workaholic). When I first met her, I was in trucking, making about 50k- 70k/year. Since then I developed a niche for a
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • speciality marketing field and became very good at it. All my friends encouraged me to go into business for myself with a marketing company. My wife was fully supportive of this, even after we
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • discussed the financial difficulties we would have for the first year or so due to al limited budget. I made sure she knew that some months, I may not get a check from the business (my salary is paid monthly).
    via UXEGbm7tMy

  • Support like this is key to a healthy relationship. Open communication, understanding, and support is what pushes someone to do their best in life—and that's exactly what this guy did.

    The guy's family, though, really gave him grief about about he chose to occupy his time and the risk he was taking in exploring this business venture. It's really none of their business, especially when their daughter gave him the solid, loving OK to do so. Just scroll below to see how they backtrack. 

  • Her family, however, were not. They accused me of neglecting my family, being lazy, not wanting to work, etc. They would constantly be bringing up the fact that I "didn't have
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • a job" because I was always home (working remote). She would defend me, but they would ignore it and continue to call me lazy and a "d adbeat" for putting my
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • daughter in daycare while I worked from home. I was still driving a truck part- time to have steady, reliable income but it was only half of what I was making on a good week.
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • Cheezburger Image 10455962624
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • In the last year however, I have grown my income from my business beyond what I was making in trucking, and have very little overhead. Since we
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • cut costs back when I first started, we realized a lot of things we were paying for, we could do without or found other alternatives and we never really added those expenses back so
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • it's like we have significantly more money now. I still drive a semi occasionally for a friend who owns his truck (mainly to keep my CDL active and stay knowledgable in the industry as a fallback).
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • Her family has taken note, and they are constantly asking to go out to eat with us, hang out with us, etc then get mad when I never pay for the meals, the outing, the vacation, etc (aside from my part of the tab, obviously).
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • Cheezburger Image 10455963136
    via Unsplash+ (Michael Tucker)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Looking back, I understand why they never had money, they were living well beyond their means, but if it makes them happy then it is what it is.
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • I let my wife do whatever she wants with her money (which sometimes includes buying stuff for her family, which I support her doing with her money if that's how she wants to
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • spend it) but I make sure that she knows I don't want a dime of my money going to her family since they were very unsupportive of what
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • made us our money and would go as far as to talk down about me for doing what lead to our money.
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • CodBeneficial4909 I'm curious as to what your wife says when you say you don't want a dime going to her family. That will tell you everything you need to know. Also - you are NTA
    via CodBeneficial4909

  • His in-laws don't deserve a single cent after what they've subjected him to since he aired out his business idea. Only now do they want to reap the benefits of his ideas, when they can attend fancy dinners and go on expensive vacations. Not happening, fam. The entitlement is baffling.

    Commenters are on this guy's side 100%, and they make sure to let him know that he is, in fact, NTA.

  • otsukaren_613 You are are not obligated to play nice just because they want your money. I would, however, play nice if I wanted my partner to be happy. You can be polite without giving them anything. ESPECIALLY if they haven't apologized. I'm going with NTA.
    via otsukaren_613
  • UXEGbm7tMy My wife is definitely happy. She is content with our arrangement and has never complained about it, but recently her family has been putting pressure on her to make me "loosen up" and be part of the family more.
    via UXEGbm7tMy
  • NhianaBoo NTA. You're not obligated to bankroll people who disrespected you while you were working hard to build something.
    via NhianaBoo
  • gringledoom NTA. Even without the backstory of them treating you badly, it's incredibly Not Cool for them to invite you to things to try to con you into paying for them!
    via gringledoom
  • DomHaynie NTA. Even if you aren't al petty person, you're not required to pay for sh that's not yours or your family's. Congrats on your success and for always being prepared/having a fall back.
    via DomHaynie

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

reddit stories family drama small business marketing finance wife reddit story family feud finances parents in law father in law in laws mother in law family reddit thread Reddit financial support business money parents
Scroll Down For The Next Article