Most couples blame in-laws for arguments

LES Dawson was right all along – you can blame your mother-in-law for all those domestic bust-ups.

The majority of us say a partner’s family is the main reason for marital strife and about one in five say they would ‘divorce’ them if they could.

Top reasons for tension include in-laws giving unwanted opinions, partners taking their parents’ side, and disagreements over how to discipline grandchildren.

Almost a third of those surveyed by lawyers Slater and Gordon described their partners’ parents as ‘interfering’, with those who clashed exchanging cross words on average once a month.

The research found in-laws caused arguments in 60 per cent of marriages, while 22 per cent said they would divorce their partner’s parents if they could.

The firm said the rising cost of living means many adults now borrow from the Bank of Mum and Dad and 19 per cent believed in-laws therefore expected more of a say in their lives in return.

Rupi Rai, from Slater and Gordon, said in-laws are taking ‘more of an interest in how their money is spent, which a child may understand, but their partner may not and may find uncomfortable’.