Wedding Woes

My new GF is jealous of my dead wife.

Dear Prudence,

About five years ago, I lost my wife after a lengthy illness. The first year was hard, but I got through it thanks to my in-laws, who never stopped letting me know that I would always be part of their family. (My parents are no longer with us.) Six months ago, I met a wonderful woman I love and want to marry. My problem is that she is very twitchy about my relationship with my in-laws. We call each other frequently and I visit them, and their extended family, a few times a year, including holidays. But any time I mention them or my former wife—such as saying something she enjoyed doing—my girlfriend gets angry or very upset. She accuses me of still being in love with my late wife and not letting go of the past. I've tried to reassure her, but I feel that I have to constantly censor myself to avoid setting her off. I don't want to cut my late wife's family out of my life, and they are very happy I've found someone, but I fear an ultimatum is coming. What should I do?

—Found Love Again

Re: My new GF is jealous of my dead wife.

  • i'd keep the in laws in this instance.

    we have a family member in this situaiton, but the new spouse is not jealous. the family member is related by marriage, and the spouse died, but this person is still part of holidays and events, even after they remarried. i think it is very nice that they keep in touch as a married couple.
  • I thought for sure Prudie was going to say that he needs to get over the dead wife and dump the parents.  I'm pleasantly surprised that Prudie said to reevaluate the relationship with GF and dump her.
  • While I don't think he should have to get rid of in-laws, i think I as the GF would struggle with this as well.  I would hope I would handle it better than she apparently is though.
  • conn, if your GF does not want you to reamin friends with your ILs, then you need to kick her to the curb. They have maintained a good relationship and have been in your life much longer. You deserve to find a nice woman who is accepting of you and your relationship with your deceased wife's family. 

  • lol @ Barbie.


    And "I feel that I have to constantly censor myself to avoid setting her off."  - Wow. What a great way to live every day of the rest of your life, dude. Definitely marry that woman.

    image
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_my-new-gf-is-jealous-of-my-dead-wife?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:9359c920-a009-447d-b228-33b342bb4517Post:c94ff372-8052-482b-94ec-7743fdc4acb3">Re: My new GF is jealous of my dead wife.</a>:
    [QUOTE] And " I feel that I have to constantly censor myself to avoid setting her off."  - Wow. What a great way to live every day of the rest of your life, dude. Definitely marry that woman.
    Posted by DG1[/QUOTE]

    I know, right?  I was all sorts of <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-undecided.gif" border="0" alt="Undecided" title="Undecided" /> at that one.
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