Women ‘criticise mothers- in-law’

Comedian Les Dawson referred to his as Hitler – now a study has found that many British women think their mothers-in-law are “bitchy”, domineering and even a cause of marital breakdown.

The poll of more than 2,000 mothers found that a quarter of respondents (25 per cent), think their spouse’s mother is “controlling”.

Many confessed they see their mother-in-law as “bitchy” (16 per cent) or “rude” (22 per cent).

And one in 20 (five per cent) told the study for Netmums parenting website that they blamed their mother-in-law’s meddling as a factor in a break-up.

Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of Netmums, said: “Mother-in-law jokes are as old as time but it’s usually men who do the complaining.

“Our results show that mums are suffering in silence when it comes to their mother-in-law who they feel looks down on them, criticises their parenting skills and interferes in their relationship.”

The study identifies seven different types of mother-in-law, including the “I-know-best”, the “uber-nana” and the “I-think-the-sun-shines-out-of-my-son’s-bum” mothers-in-law.

The difficult relationship between women and their mothers-in-law was highlighted recently when a vicious e-mail from Carolyn Bourne to her future daughter-in-law Heidi Withers went viral.

Ms Bourne panned her son’s partner, calling her out for her “staggering uncouthness and lack of grace”.

But Ms Withers hit back by sending the e-mail to all her contacts, from where it made its way into the news across the globe.