Am I Wrong for Refusing to Buy MIL a Couch?

Some people don’t recognize a favor, they just treat it like free storage. In this Reddit story, a woman (40F) is trying to decide whether to buy her mother-in-law a couch after a whole chain of “it’s fine, nothing happened” turns into a mess in her living room.

Here’s the setup: her in-laws bought a couch for their TV room, then it “mysteriously” got scratched on the bottom, later it got handed off to the husband’s friend, and now the OP’s TV room is basically stuck with their other couch while the in-laws redo everything. This morning, OP asked her husband if they wanted their couch back, and he immediately got mad, claiming the couch is broken anyway, plus one recliner has never worked since it arrived.

Now the real tension is what’s underneath it, OP thinks her husband is angling for her to pay for a new couch, and she wants to know if refusing makes her the bad guy.

Original Post

So, this might just be me overthinking but my gut tells me this is what’s going on and it’s usually right. I (40F) have been married to my husband (42M) for almost 3 years.

So here’s the situation - my in-laws bought a couch for their TV room. Nothing I would have bought but we all have our own style.

Allegedly, my dog scratched the bottom of the couch. Since it’s the bottom, couldn’t be seen.

Fast forward later and husband’s friend needed furniture so she gave it to him. Now, currently in our TV room is their other couch (all of their furniture is in there because they are completely re-doing their tv room- which is a whole other story).

This morning I asked my husband if they’d like their couch back, I would rather us by our own. He got mad asking why would they want their broken couch back?

(One of the recliners doesn’t recline and never has since it’s been there. We didn’t break it).

Since I make decent money, I end up paying for a lot - more than I should have to. It probably sounds like this is just a wild assumption of mine but I know my husband and the way he’s been talking lately I know he wants me to buy them a couch.

My mom always taught me to “pick my battles”. I rarely even stand up for myself (something I’m working on getting into therapy for).

WIBTA if I stand my ground and refuse to buy them a couch? They can have all of their original furniture back.

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This is like the OP who hid inheritance from her mom and triggered a major fallout.

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OP’s gut says the couch saga is really about who ends up paying, not what happened to the bottom scratch.

When the husband snaps that they would never want a “broken” couch back, it clashes hard with how the couch ended up in their TV room.

The fact that one recliner has never reclined, and OP insists they didn’t break it, makes her question why she should be the one funding a replacement.

With her mom’s “pick your battles” rule in her head and her husband’s tone turning pushy, refusing to buy MIL a couch feels like the line she’s finally ready to draw.

We'd love to hear your take on this situation. Share your thoughts below.

If the couch is “broken” until it’s time to replace it, then OP shouldn’t be the one paying for the family’s convenience.

For a similar tug-of-war, read about a friend demanding the OP give up the puppy she’s bonded with.