Entitled family members are no joke. On one hand, they are family. On the other, they can’t get away with treating everyone terribly! But hey, every family has its issues, right? From salty sisters-in-law to catty cousins, these relatives share the most ignorant and entitled behaviors they’ve witnessed from a family member. Content has been edited for clarity.
“Everything At Dinner Went Downhill”
“The third year I was married to my wife, we got invited to a holiday dinner at my cousin’s house. About three days before the dinner, we received a shopping list in an email from my cousin. After reading the email, I almost called off the dinner right then.
My cousin expected me to buy everything! Turkey, ham, potatoes, even napkins and a certain kind of expensive paper plates! She didn’t buy anything herself, and she didn’t send the list to any other dinner guests.
I was livid, but my wife explained, ‘Maybe money is tight since your cousin and her partner just moved. Calm down. We can buy the dinner food and supplies and just consider it a housewarming gift to them.’
After we bought everything my cousin wanted, it cost us almost a grand. I had a big family, so I knew gatherings got expensive. I wasn’t happy about it but I decided to just eat the food and shut up.
The night before, my wife made pies and sweet potatoes as always. I made deviled eggs.
When we got to my cousin’s house the next day, she was furious we weren’t there earlier to get everything started. My wife stopped me from blowing my top, then we go back and found out my cousin expected us to cook all of the food. Again, my wife kept me from blowing up.
My wife sighed and said, ‘This is a family day. Let’s just cook the food and move on.’
My cousin couldn’t cook anyway, so we just did it. However, it only got worse from there.
My cousin began walking around pretending to be a wealthy hostess. I was getting angrier by the second. Orders were constantly barked at me, my wife, and my other cousin.
I finally got fed up, tossed a bowl at my cousin and screamed, ‘Set the table yourself!’ and angrily stomped out of the back door.
I was shaking mad with a lit smoke in one hand and a bottle in the other when my cousin’s boyfriend came out to try to lay down the law to me.
Just as her boyfriend began lecturing me, I flicked my lit smoke in his face and said, ‘Buddy, I’ll knock you out right now.’
Then, everything at dinner went downhill.
The only reason my cousin invited my wife and me to holiday dinner was that we would pay for everything. My cousin had all of her entitled rich friends over from college but made my wife and I cook and set up a feast for them.
As I stood outside, I heard my wife yell, ‘You selfish witch!’ and the turkey went flying out of the door.
There were a few loud crashes, and my wife and other cousin came out of the back screaming at the cousin who tried to scam us.
My wife looked at me and yelled, ‘We are leaving, now!’
With our son on her hip, she grabbed my hand and we booked it to our truck. I didn’t know what happened, but I had never seen my wife so angry before.
During the drive home, my wife explained how my other cousin trashed all of the food and threw everything on the kitchen floor after finding out she was being scammed. I could hardly believe it!
At the next family gathering, my cousin didn’t say a word to us until my mother asked, ‘So, how was the holiday dinner?’
My mother knew what had happened and how my cousin was mad we ruined her dinner party. A dinner party my wife and I paid for, but my cousin didn’t see it this way.
My cousin began screaming at my mother, but my mother put her into place quickly. We didn’t see my cousin for another ten years afterward. She didn’t even call her parents and let them know anything about her life.
Then one day, my cousin came back crying about how her husband left her for another woman. She apologized for how she had acted and we let her back into the family. We never kicked her out of the family, but my cousin told us she felt like she was rejected.
The only answer I got from my cousin’s ex-husband about the dinner party was, ‘Well, we felt like you owed us because we introduced you to our wealthy friends.’
He truly believed I cared about meeting a bunch of trust fund babies. It was sad.”
The Miserable Maid Of Honor
“My wedding was scheduled at four in the afternoon, and it was a destination wedding. My husband and I rented a villa for two nights, just for the two of us. For our guests, we blocked rooms at the hotel near the wedding venue, as well as rooms at another resort around the area in case some guests didn’t want to stay at the hotel. Some guests decided to find their rentals, though, which was fine with us.
Such was the case for my in-laws or my husband’s entire immediate family. They decided to stay in a rental where they could all be in the same house. It was understandable, as they all wanted to see each other.
Since my sister-in-law was the maid of honor, days before the event, I informed her about how I arranged for a makeup artist to do her hair and makeup. Everything was already paid for, and all my SIL needed to do was show up. The makeup artist suggested the bridesmaids and maid of honor arrive at the villa at nine in the morning so she could do hair and makeup for pre-wedding pictures.
I relayed all of this information to the wedding party a few days before, and I reminded them of this timetable the night before at the rehearsal dinner.
Morning came, and the wedding party didn’t show up at my villa until eleven in the morning. When they arrived, they began searching for breakfast. When my husband told everyone how we already ate breakfast, my SIL threw a major fit.
She screamed, ‘You should have waited for us! Some kids haven’t eaten breakfast yet!’
I couldn’t believe she had the nerve to scream at my husband and me on our wedding day. Plus, they decided to stay somewhere else other than the hotel and resort I had booked. I assumed everyone could feed themselves, as they were perfectly capable adults. Let alone have some class and not yell at the bride and groom on their wedding day.
Neither my husband nor I have spoken to the SIL since. It’s been six years.”
“It Was Like They Pruned A Branch Off Of The Family Tree”
“My entire family has treated me terribly for as long as I can remember.
One time, I wasn’t told about a family reunion until everyone was all together. I only found out because my brother texted me to see if they could schedule a thirty-minute video call with me to say hello to the rest of the family. The entire family was all together for a week or so, and they had planned it many months in advance and didn’t tell me.
Even worse? My father and stepmother drove within a few miles of my house on the way to and from the family reunion. On the way back, they stopped in a town very close to mine and stayed with friends for several days. They never attempted to reach out to me.
My brother did something similar, too. He had been driving to and from within a few miles of my house several times a year. One year, he stayed with friends who lived within a few minutes of my house for three days but never once bothered to stop by.
But there’s more. My family had a group chat, but my father made a new one. The difference between the old and new ones? I wasn’t in the new group chat!
None of my family made any attempt to reach out to me. They didn’t acknowledge my children’s birthdays or even said congratulations when my oldest graduated high school. They made no effort to be in our lives, and I was the one constantly reaching out to them.
When I communicated how hurt I was, I was met with plenty of gaslighting.
My family constantly told me, ‘It’s all in your head,’ and, ‘You don’t need an invitation from your family.’
But I did need to know something was even going on in the first place to invite myself to, right?
One would have thought that there was a clear reason for the estrangement. However, there honestly was not one thing I did to deserve how my family treated me. It was truly like they pruned a branch off of the family tree.
I haven’t tried to reach out to them at all after the family reunion I wasn’t invited to, and I haven’t heard from them since. It’s been nearly two years. I promised myself not to hold my breath about hearing from them anytime soon.”
“They Didn’t Have Any Common Courtesy”
“One time, a brother and sister-in-law came from overseas for a holiday with their four children. During this time, they were also planning to attend a friend’s wedding elsewhere in the country.
My brother and SIL stayed for a few days, then prepared to leave for the six-hour drive to the wedding where they were planning to stay for three nights. However, they got in the car without loading their four children inside, then proceeded to back down the driveway.
We had no previous discussion about this part of the plans they had made. My brother and SIL made a major assumption about how my husband and I were going to watch their four young children for three days and nights.
My husband chased the car down the driveway and said, ‘Did you guys forget something?’
They were livid when we made them go back to the house, pack the children’s belongings, and change their plans. They didn’t consider how my husband and I felt about watching their children, and they didn’t have any common courtesy.
I had come to never underestimate my brother and SIL’s rudeness and sense of entitlement. It had no bounds.”
“They Have Never Been Invited Back”
“This incident happened when my brother and his wife came to my house to visit.
I had only met my brother’s wife once previously. Unfortunately, they showed up at my house with their spoiled, yappy, dog. When they came into the house, my brother’s wife took our dog out back to go to the bathroom.
Suddenly, she ran back inside screaming, ‘We CANNOT allow Teddy outside! There is wood missing in the back gate, it’s unsafe!’
There was wood missing in the back gate because I was a single parent, and putting food on the table was more important than fixing the gate. I let it go and carried on.
Then, their dog ran all over my furniture and constantly tried to nip at me. They didn’t even try to stop their dog’s behavior!
Fed up, I yelled, ‘Why are you allowing the dog on the furniture? I wouldn’t allow my dog on the furniture!’
My brother and his wife didn’t get the hint, and they continued to let their dog on my furniture.
When I had guests over, I usually gave up my bed and slept in my child’s room. I did just this when my brother and his wife came over. The following morning, my brother woke up and made his wife a cup of coffee. Then, I found out his wife had the dog in the bed with her! I was appalled, as they knew I wouldn’t have my dog in bed.
When she eventually got up, I asked, ‘What time did you guys plan on leaving?’
They have never been invited back since. Never again.”
The Aggravating Aunt
“One time, my husband and I went to a family reunion in Missouri. It was over one hundred degrees outside, so I bought a kiddie pool and toys for our children to play with.
The aunt hosting the reunion told me, ‘I don’t want you running water into the pool. It’s expensive, and I don’t want to grass wet around it!’
All of the kids were red-faced, sweaty, and cranky. They weren’t allowed inside the air-conditioned house but were allowed to sit in the shade or the garage. The aunt wouldn’t even turn off the electric fence so the kids could pet her horses. All there was left to do while watching the kids whose parents went missing into the air-conditioned house, was eat sweaty food and drink warm drinks.
When my husband and I reached the hotel the same evening, I announced to my husband, ‘I don’t want to go back tomorrow. I don’t want to put myself or our children through it again.’
My husband confessed, ‘I don’t want to go back, either.’
I wasn’t sure what excuse he gave his family, as he was polite and always took the ‘everybody please like me’ road, but I was headed home on the road where a kid can splash, shriek, and laugh to his heart’s content.”
“She Ruined The Holiday For All Of Us”
“My sister wanted a particular ring for a holiday present from her then-husband. When he went to purchase the ring, it had already been sold. So, as a compromise, he bought the next best ring. The ring was bigger, better, and more expensive.
I thought the ring was beautiful. It was old and very pricey. It had sapphire and diamonds and was constructed of solid Edwardian gold.
My sister hated the ring! She ruined the holiday for all of us, and she never stopped complaining about how the ring was not the one she wanted and had picked out previously. The ring she wanted had already been sold, and there was nothing her husband could do about it.
My sister moaned, complained, and ruined our once happy and cheerful family day. Not once did she let up about how the ring wasn’t ‘perfect.’ She had always been spoiled, manipulative, and selfishly ungrateful. However, this incident was beyond belief, even by her standards, which were low to non-existent. I felt bad for her husband who truly thought she would like the ring.
I would have been blown away if someone had spent a ridiculous amount of money on a ring for me. However, nothing was good enough for my sister.”
“Nothing I Did Could Make Her Happy”
“My cousin from my dad’s side of the family came from Kansas for my mom’s memorial. The cousin, ‘Kate,’ expected me to not pick up my mom’s nephew from the airport, but to be at her beck-and-call the second she arrived. My cousin hadn’t met my husband or my half-sister yet, so picking him up was my responsibility.
When Kate learned she would have to share my mom’s house with my half-sister, best friend, and her husband, she told my husband he’d have to move my sister’s belongings out, and how my friend wasn’t welcome to share the house with her. My friend was a part of my family, and she was entitled to stay in the place before anyone else!
Kate was sweet as pie to my husband, yet she sent me nasty, hateful texts about how ungrateful I was for not being there when she came into town, expecting her to share a house with strangers, and generally making her life inconvenient. It was ugly, so I blocked Kate on social media. Then, she screamed at me for being childish. Nothing I did could make Kate happy. It was like Kate completely ignored how it was my mother for whom we were holding the memorial service.
The texts Kate sent were along the lines of, ‘I am coming in town for MY AUNT. You are horrible for pushing me aside in favor of people I have never met! I am family and I deserve better!’
Kate claimed to be family, but she wasn’t there during my mother’s final days. I couldn’t believe the nerve she had to talk about my mother and me so poorly.”
The Remorseless Relative
“I had an entitled relative who was always late to everything. It was not just a few minutes late, either. It was always more like one or two hours late.
I don’t think this relative ever made it to a wedding, always just the reception. She had the nerve! She would complain about how she never got to spend time with my mother, but when my mother would come to stay overnight, the relative would go out and leave my mother alone. No plans were ever solid for this relative, as she always thought something better would come along.
At one point, my parents moved to Florida. The relative and her husband would always go on vacations about forty minutes away from where my mother lived. They made plans to stop and see my parents multiple times, but they broke plans and never showed up.
Finally, this relative left the only father to ever take care of her. My wonderful father adopted her and her sister after he married my mother. Then, the relative didn’t even bother to visit my father when he was sick before he passed away. My father lay in bed in tears because he knew he didn’t deserve to be treated so poorly.
In the end, my father didn’t want my relative to know when he passed away. However, the relative was furious and blamed me for not telling her anyway. She and her husband picked up and moved away, changed their numbers, and refused to have further contact with anyone in the family.
Truthfully, if the relative came back, she would be welcomed if only for my mother’s sake.”
Birthday Party Problems
“This incident hit a sore spot in my memories.
My brother had been in a wheelchair since he was nineteen years old resulting from an industrial accident. During this incident, he was celebrating his sixtieth birthday.
After the games, chat, food, and drinks at my brother’s birthday party, we all posed for photographs done by a professional photographer, one of my brother’s friends. The photographer gathered people together in various groups for specialty shots.
When it came time to photograph the nieces and nephews, my aunt by marriage decided that she was in charge. She declared that all the children with only her last name would be eligible for the photo. The aunt insinuated my two children with different last names were not ‘real’ members of the family, and didn’t deserve to be in the photo.
Luckily the photographer did not agree with her and we have some lovely photos of all the nieces and nephews together celebrating their much-loved uncle’s birthday.”
“They Didn’t Care About My Son”
“Years ago, I took my son to meet his father’s side of the family. At the time, I was stressed, depressed, and struggling.
When I went to my father’s, my sister-in-law and family met us for a meal. The family members refused to hug or hold my son, and the SIL’s husband was in a huff and wouldn’t speak to anyone.
All my SIL talked about was her pregnancy. Then, all of the family members kept forcing me to watch their children as I was trying to settle my screaming son. They didn’t care about my son, and there was no conversation about anything other than themselves and their side of the family. It was horrible!
The next day, I took my son to meet my mother-in-law. All she was interested in talking about was the SIL’s pregnancy!
So, I traveled over one hundred miles with a newborn and stayed the night in a hotel for my husband’s family to treat me and my son like we were nothing! I didn’t expect my son to be the center of attention, but acknowledging his existence and giving me room to mother him would have been nice.”