Are you physically affectionate with your parents? One woman is unsettled by the ‘intimacy’ between her boyfriend and his mother – she doesn’t know what to do next
One woman is completely baffled by the ‘strange thing’ her boyfriend does with his mother – it’s sparked tension in their relationship.
The unsettling situation unravelled when the ’25-year-old’ had gone with her partner to visit his family in Cuba. Growing up, he was an only child and a ‘golden boy’, so she braced herself for some ‘interesting happenings’ during the trip.
But what came to light was beyond anything she could’ve imagined, claiming her boyfriend takes on the peculiar role of a ‘second husband’. “He takes on a protector role, especially guarding his mother, calling out his father if he doesn’t ‘act right’,” she said, taking to Reddit anonymously.
“For example, if his mum slaves away in the kitchen and his father doesn’t pick up after himself, my bf tells his father off. I thought it was sort of funny and cute, and probably normal.
“But, he also has a very physically intimate relationship with his mother. He kisses and hugs her (normal), but when we go to the beach he plays in the water with her, holding her by the waist in the water, carrying her, etc. I normally associate that with intimacy.”
However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. Two incredibly overfamiliar incidents have since left her deeply troubled.
The woman continued: “The thing that truly called my attention was that he slapped her on the [bum] in the kitchen. Presumably because she made a funny remark and he was laughing with her or something along those lines.
“He did it again today at the table, when we were sitting down for lunch, slapping her repeatedly on the a***, and thanking her for the food.”
Since then, she’s repeatedly second-guessed her own discomfort, wondering whether it’s just a ‘cultural issue’ or something she’s simply not used to. And while she isn’t ‘accusing him’ of anything, she has been left utterly bewildered.
“I do feel that his relationship with his mum might be too overwhelming for me to handle,” she admitted. “Throughout our trip I’ve become nervous talking about the future with him, because I am not sure I can adapt to this family dynamic.
“His parents are moving to Europe in the next year and will live very close to us. They will be in our lives every day. I want to be close with them if we stay together, and this is making me very nervous.”
Unsurprisingly, the anonymous confession has since racked up countless comments on the platform, including one from a Cuban man who gave his two pence on cultural norms. He said: “34M Cuban dude here – this is kind of weird.
“The butt slapping is (unfortunately) somewhat common practice in Cuban culture, though definitely not with the frequency you’re experiencing. The carrying and other intimate things you described are definitely not common and can’t be chalked up to cultural differences.”
Meanwhile, another person added: “I’m from a Latino family and this is not normal behaviour but it’s also not abnormal. Latino families can be super physically affectionate and they do tend to stomp all over boundaries.”
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