A spin-off of neilly's post below... I am genuinely curious as to how you - or your FI/H, if your parents are the "problem" - could have gotten this far in your relationship with your FI/H if you do not like - or downright hate - his parents and the rest of his family (or your family as the case may be)? I realize you don't have to live with them on a daily basis - most of the time - but I am truly of the belief that when you marry someone, you marry their family as well. You can't escape them, unless you live across the country or in another country, since there are things as holidays and other family gatherings that come up from time to time. All families are dysfunctional. I can certainly attest to that, between feuding SILs on my mom's side and my dad's family betraying him over money. Even my H who had the perfect (in his eyes) ever-functional family has seen, after the death of his grandmother earlier this year, that what is on the surface is not all there is. Before my H was in the picture, my parents certainly didn't dictate who I could or could not date, but I could tell their approval or disapproval right away the first time they met the person I was dating at that time. I honestly, in good conscience, do not feel I could have married - spent a life with, had children with - a person they hated, if for nothing else than I dislike discord. Marrying a person they did not approve of AT ALL would have been difficult for all involved and IMO is not fair to your partner. Thoughts?
