Husband demands that he and his wife sell their own house and buy something else so his sister and her two children can move in: ‘My husband expects me to give up the home I love’

Author image for Giuliana Tiscioni
Giuliana Tiscioni • Writer
Nov 11, 2026 8:00 PM EST

A woman's landlord tells her to leave and doesn't renew her lease, so she moves in with her brother and his wife for a month with her two children. That one month turns into six, and now the husband is demanding that his wife sell their big house and buy two smaller ones so his sister can live next to them. 

Who should come first? Your spouse or the rest of your family? 

I've seen many people ask this question, and it's one of the most complicated to answer. If you ask me, once you choose to build a life with someone, they should be your priority over the rest of your family, and any important life decision should be made together, for both your sakes. Psychologists support this idea for many reasons. Partners are the ones who remain with you after the rest of your family leaves to build their individual lives. They are the ones who support you and are there for you when you feel like you've given everything there was left in you. Having that connection lowers your stress, gives you a safe place for emotional support, helps you work better as a team, and, generally, you manage to build a life that suits both of you and makes you happy. Some of these things can get complicated when you start having kids or are taking care of elderly parents, but in those cases, the key is to maintain balance in your life. It's a complicated task, but it's the only way for both of you to stay sane and connected as a couple, while also tending to the needs of those who need more attention at a specific time in life. 

But what happens when another family member, who's not a child or an elderly parent, demands some of your attention and help? Well, whatever you do, you definitely don't go over your spouse's head by choosing to make a life-altering decision without their consent that wrongs them so you can favor a relative. Sadly, that's exactly what this husband is trying to do.

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  • AITAH for kicking my SIL out and refusing to sell my house to accommodate her?

    Hi everyone, I'm a woman who has always been independent. I was working long before I got married, and I had my own savings and gold jewelry when I got married.
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  • With some help from my father, we bought a 150-square-meter house in a decent, middle-class neighborhood. I really love my home and enjoy living there.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10676155392
    via churchoftodd

    The house.

    Photo is a representation of scenes.

  • About six months ago, my SIL was told to leave by her landlord. She came to me crying and begging to leave her belongings at our house for just one month while she stayed with her mother and looked for another place.
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  • I felt sorry for her, so I agreed. But as soon as she brought her things over, she moved in too. She kept saying her mother was sick and
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  • emotionally unstable, along with making other excuses. Anyway, that one month turned into six months. I've asked my husband many times to talk to his sister and tell her she
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  • needs to leave because I'm no longer comfortable with the situation. But he always refused, saying he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
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  • A few days ago, I finally made it clear that it was time for her to find somewhere else to live. She has two young children who aren't even old
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  • enough to go to school, and they constantly make a mess around the house. After that, my husband came up with a new idea. He suggested
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  • Cheezburger Image 10676154368
    via gettyimages

    The sister-in-law and her two kids. 

    Not actual story subjects.

  • selling our house and buying a smaller two-story property with two separate living units, one for us and the other for his sister.
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  • I disagreed, and he started arguing with me right in front of her. She immediately started crying and playing the victim, saying, "Please don't fight because of me, brother. I'll leave."
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  • My husband immediately responded, "Where are you going? You're my sister. What's mine is yours!"
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  • Then he turned to me and said, "If you want me, you have to accept my family too."
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  • Notice how he didn't even bother to ask his wife what she would feel if they tried to help his sister financially. He single-handedly chose to say they would sell their house, a house that, in reality, is more hers than his, since her father actually helped them buy it. And, key part, helping someone financially doesn't entail getting rid of everything valuable you have to give it to them. Offering to help a struggling family member doesn't mean going that far overboard. I feel for the sister, but she's a grown woman, and her brother has no issue giving her a house for free. Besides, what's with that ' what's mine is yours' thing? He clearly doesn't understand how life works. Whatever he got while he was married belongs to him and his wife, no one else. Even more to his wife, since she seems to have put in quite a percentage of the money. The only one in the wrong here is the guy. A good husband would never ask his wife to renounce her life in favor of a grown-up sister who should be able to look after herself by now. 

  • I was furious. I told him, "I want you, not your entire family! This is my home too, and you don't get to make decisions about it just to give your sister a place to live." I told them both to leave, and they did.
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  • Four days later, my husband called me and tried to change my mind. He said, "Come on, stop being stubborn. What's the difference? We can sell this house, buy a
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  • smaller two-story property with two separate apartments, live in one, and let my sister live in the other. What do two people need a 150- square-meter house for anyway?"
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  • M
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    The husband wants to sell the house.

    Still frame for contextual reference only.

  • But I don't want to sell my house or change my whole living situation just to make room for his sister. I only agreed to let her stay for one month, and somehow that turned into six months. Now my husband expects me to give up the home I love as well.
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  • I just want his sister to move out so I can go back to my normal life. I don't want to sell my house or share my living space with her anymore.
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  • So, AITAH for kicking my SIL out and refusing to sell my house just to accommodate her, even though my husband thinks I should make room for his family?
    via Least-While9704

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family drama AITAH house wife reddit story husband sister in law family sister Reddit apartment moving out
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