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After my mother passed away, getting my father 75/M married to my widowed mother-in-law 69/F, please suggest how to make this happen

(59 Posts)
abhaydinkar Fri 25-Jul-25 20:02:13

Around 3 years back my mother passed away and I was very close to my mother, my father since then feels lonely and he is 75+ years but physically fit, he sometimes sits in his room and keeps staring at my mother’s photo and starts crying after sometime..while that shows how much he misses my mother but its equally concerning as it might have deteriorating effect on his health as well as he has a prolonged history of BP and Diabetes, so somehow I want to give him a comfort or someone whom he can talk to, be around him all time and be a good friend and partner to him so that he doesn’t feel lonely.. Now we being kids to him, I feel he doesn’t openly talk to us due to the age gap i guess, so I was thinking that he gets a companion of his own age. Now on other side my mother in law is a widow (younger than my dad by a couple of years), her husband and my father-in-law passed away long back before even me and my wife got married, she lives with her son / my brother-in-law who doesn’t do any work, he just wants easy money in life, so he gambles in stock market and there have been instances where he has lost lot of money in share market, he doesn’t take care about his mother, he got married 2 years back to a girl who does job but she shares her earnings with her mother and doesn’t bear my brother-in-law expenses, so my brother-in-law keeps borrowing money from my mother-in-law for his expenses..my father-in-law was in a government job so my mother-in-law gets pension and instead of earning money and giving to his mother, my brother-in-law expects his mother to bear his expenses..now seeing all this my wife is always worried about her mother but she is hesitant to ask her mother to come and stay with us because of the society, basically her concern is that if she has elder brother then that brother is suppose to take care of her mother and as a daughter its not her responsibility as per the view of the society, so this made me think that what if my mother-in-law gets married to my father, in that way it would be a win win situation as my father will get a companion and my mother-in-law can stay with us with all rights as my own mother with no guilt and no one in the society can also point fingers at her because she would be legally my father’s wife and my mother so she can stay with us with no issues whatsoever plus my wife will also be very happy with this since she no longer has to worry about her mother’s health or needs as I would become legally her son and I would take good care of her in the same way as I was taking care of my mother. I was very hesitant with this thinking earlier but I thought about it for a long time and i feel this would be a right thing to do and really want this to happen as I feel in the form of my mother-in-law even i would get my mother back, so I wholeheartedly want her to come and stay with us not just trying to pity on her. but I have a dilemma now that how should i approach my wife and my father and convince them for accepting this idea and moving ahead with it.. I feel that this discussion is going to be very awkward.. so i really need some good guidance and suggestions to make this happen..to start with I was thinking to invite my mother-in-law to stay over at my place for couple of days on some festive occasion first, so that both my father and mother-in-law get some time to interact with each other and then slowly we take things forward but to be honest I don’t think this will honestly work as this might take very long time for a bonding to happen between them.. I just want to make it happen as quickly as possible so please help with some ideas and suggestions

Bea65 Sat 26-Jul-25 09:47:24

How did your now lady wife ‘lovebombed you?’

Allira Sat 26-Jul-25 09:57:41

Bea65

How did your now lady wife ‘lovebombed you?’

I know someone who started the love-bombing at the man's first wife's funeral.

Readers - they married in a lovely, romantic ceremony (we were there) but, sadly, they have now separated. ☹

Witzend Sat 26-Jul-25 10:00:32

Another very long post with no paragraphs!
I don’t know about anybody else, but I really CBA to wade through it.

henetha Sat 26-Jul-25 10:54:25

Agree, Witzend but I always feel vaguely guilty about it.

merlotgran Sat 26-Jul-25 10:59:32

Witzend

Another very long post with no paragraphs!
I don’t know about anybody else, but I really CBA to wade through it.

Same here. TLDR.

ExDancer Sat 26-Jul-25 11:00:19

I don't think this is the right group for you. To westerners your idea seems to be bordering on obscene and insulting.
Why not search the w.w.web for an Asian group who would be better able to advise you?

Shelflife Sat 26-Jul-25 11:12:39

This is bizarre!

Aldom Sat 26-Jul-25 12:37:15

Shelflife it's not bizarre at all.
The OP has explained that he is Indian and that in his culture they take responsibility for their eleders.
The OP seems to be a very kind, thoughtful person.

Aldom Sat 26-Jul-25 12:37:44

Drrr. Elders

BlueBelle Sat 26-Jul-25 12:47:04

Witzend

Another very long post with no paragraphs!
I don’t know about anybody else, but I really CBA to wade through it.

Witzend it does all make sense, English is not the posters first language and personally I ve understood what he is asking and thinking he expressed it well
No Shelflife it’s not bizarre at all
In India and other Asian countries it is the younger generation that look after their elders, unlike this country, where elders are often left to fend fir themselves or put in old folks homes out of the way , and he is trying to do the best by his father

I think we should be supporting him in his concerns and the fact he is trying to do what he can for both his Dad and his wife’s mum We should not be ridiculing him, he sounds a thoughtful and caring person what as shame he hasn’t encounter the same caring answers

Nannylovesshopping Sat 26-Jul-25 13:02:04

BlueBelle

Witzend

Another very long post with no paragraphs!
I don’t know about anybody else, but I really CBA to wade through it.

Witzend it does all make sense, English is not the posters first language and personally I ve understood what he is asking and thinking he expressed it well
No Shelflife it’s not bizarre at all
In India and other Asian countries it is the younger generation that look after their elders, unlike this country, where elders are often left to fend fir themselves or put in old folks homes out of the way , and he is trying to do the best by his father

I think we should be supporting him in his concerns and the fact he is trying to do what he can for both his Dad and his wife’s mum We should not be ridiculing him, he sounds a thoughtful and caring person what as shame he hasn’t encounter the same caring answers

BlueBelle as always completely and utterly nailed it!

Blossoming Sat 26-Jul-25 13:58:45

I don’t think he cared about his mother very much if this is his only concern after her death.

Crossstitchfan Sat 26-Jul-25 14:05:49

Pull the other leg. It’s got bells on!
What a stupid post. Sorry if I’m wrong, but I can’t believe this is real!

AuntieE Sat 26-Jul-25 14:10:20

David49

All you can do is invite both of them to family get togethers and leave them to it, either they have the attraction or they don’t.
If either think you are matchmaking it likely to have the opposite effect

Spot on, David!

BlueBelle Sat 26-Jul-25 14:22:11

Blossoming It’s 3 years on not a week or a month (like my cousins wife ) His dad has been mourning for three years and his son is trying to think out the box to see if he can give his Dad a reason to live he is trying to think of the best way to keep them both looked after. Of course the dad may not want another woman around he may want to continue grieving and that’s ok to, but the young man is trying to think of ways that may help him

I don’t think the son is necessarily looking for sexual attraction for his dad David although western eyes will only see that, but companionship can give you a reason to live

* Crosstichfan* that’s pretty cruel open your mind beyond your own boundaries

David49 Sat 26-Jul-25 14:29:59

Bea65

How did your now lady wife ‘lovebombed you?’

LOL once a woman decides you are the one for them and their life is going to be better with you they become very amorous.

Allsorts Sat 26-Jul-25 14:30:43

Bizarre!

Cambsnan Sat 26-Jul-25 14:34:27

TLDR

Allsorts Sat 26-Jul-25 14:39:42

🥴

David49 Sat 26-Jul-25 16:29:34

Well they are certainly not going to live together if they don’t like each other, it doesn’t matter wether it’s an intimate or platonic relationship you have to enjoy life together or it doesn’t work.

I did assume it was a culture where traditionally the elderly are looked after by the younger generations, instead of selfishly neglecting them as many do in the UK

crazyH Sat 26-Jul-25 16:37:53

Bluebelle as always is our ‘voice of reason’

InRainbows Sat 26-Jul-25 16:40:56

This sounds like arranged marriage

Not something us Brits agree with at all. The part where you and your wife become siblings is also a bit odd.

Crossstitchfan Sat 26-Jul-25 16:54:02

BlueBelle

Blossoming It’s 3 years on not a week or a month (like my cousins wife ) His dad has been mourning for three years and his son is trying to think out the box to see if he can give his Dad a reason to live he is trying to think of the best way to keep them both looked after. Of course the dad may not want another woman around he may want to continue grieving and that’s ok to, but the young man is trying to think of ways that may help him

I don’t think the son is necessarily looking for sexual attraction for his dad David although western eyes will only see that, but companionship can give you a reason to live

* Crosstichfan* that’s pretty cruel open your mind beyond your own boundaries

BlueBelle, I have always had great respect for you but I think this time you may be wrong. I am convinced this post isn’t rea but obviously you are entitled to disagree. I hope we won’t fall out over it!

AGAA4 Sat 26-Jul-25 17:04:41

I've heard posters described in many ways but "sour old prunes" is a new one David49

BlueBelle Sat 26-Jul-25 17:07:42

No I don’t want to fall out with you or anybody Crosstitchfan

I really don’t think it’s a false post I think it genuinely is a young man looking for help with his grieving father and ‘not very well looked after’ mother in law and asking for our views
However he maybe asking the wrong people with a rather closed minds
If I m proven wrong I ll happily apologise