A new mum says she wasn't exactly thrilled when, just four weeks after giving birth to their first child, her husband invited his side of the family over for dinner, without checking with her first.
The exhausted mother says she only found out about these plans when her in-laws quite literally turned up on her doorstep, leaving her feeling embarrassed by how messy the house was.
She hadn't been ready for visitors, having barely showered or slept for weeks, and so suggested to her husband that they order an easy takeaway.
He immediately told her 'no', arguing that "his parents would find this rude and unwelcoming", and advised her to instead just prepare anything for them, as long as it was "homemade".
Taking his advice on board, she decided to whip up a mac and cheese dish, a recipe she chose on account of how simple it would be to make.
Unfortunately, once she served the meal to her in-laws, her mother-in-law shot her an "appalled" look, and she quickly realised there was some sort of issue.
Taking to Reddit, the fed-up mum wrote: "She asked if I really found it 'appropriate' to serve her and the family mac and cheese. I asked why not and she went on a rant about how disrespectful this was and that I clearly have no experience in what is right and wrong when it comes to hosting.
"I said, 'excuse me? Who said I signed up to host an expected visit from them?' and she took it as in I didn't want them there. Her husband said they were just there to finally see the baby that I kept them from seeing for an entire month. That's a whole month of his life they 'missed' out on. We had an argument and they decided to go home."
She continued: "My husband said that deciding to serve his family mac and cheese was more offensive than serving them nothing at all. I told him I was too exhausted to cook their 'traditional feasts' that I was forced to learn from his mum.
"He took offence and said that I was being mean and disrespectful towards not only his family but his culture. I went inside the bedroom to stay with my son. My husband stayed on the phone with his family for an hour then kept giving me the cold shoulder and refused to eat what I cook in support of his family."
Puzzled by what exactly could be so wrong with mac and cheese, the tired mother reached out to fellow Reddit users for their thoughts on the matter. Many felt her in-laws had been completely unfair, and confirmed that there was nothing at all wrong with mac and cheese.
One person commented: "Why on earth would your husband not tell you? Also, does he need a map of the kitchen? Also, traditionally family brings food TO the new mum, not the other way around."
Another warned: "Girl come on! The issue here is your husband. He has no right to talk to you the way he did ever. Least of all after you have just given birth to his child. You have a very long and hard road ahead of you. I strongly advise you to keep some money separate for when you need to leave."
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