My Relationship with My Husband’s Parents Had Broken Down and My Husband Seemed Indifferent to Their Toxic Behaviour, but When My Mother-in-Law Locked Me in the Cellar, I Realised I Had Finally Reached My Breaking Point

So, I got married three years ago, and honestly, everything seemed perfectly fine right up until the wedding. But then my husband started acting like a completely different personhe became distant and just didnt seem to care about me at all. I felt totally invisible; even the smallest thing I asked for was ignored. During my pregnancy, all I wanted was a bit of attention and support, but instead, hed snap at me or just pretend I wasnt even there.

In his family, there seems to be this tradition that a bride should do whatever the in-laws, especially the mother-in-law, want. From the get-go, his parents would have a go at meshouting and belittling me over absolutely nothing. And my husband never once stood up for me or supported me. He always sided with them, acting like it was their job to educate me, and he picked apart everything I did. The few times I tried to speak up for myself, it only seemed to make things worse.

There was one time that was honestly just awfulhis mum actually lashed out at me physically, and then locked me in the cellar for three days. She was cold as ice and couldnt have cared less about my wellbeing. His dad wasnt much better, always criticising me for reasons I couldnt even understand. After a while, I just felt like everything was my fault and genuinely started to wonder where Id gone wrong.

Lately, divorce has really been on my mind; I just cant keep living in this constant state of fear and judgement. I got married wanting to build a loving, respectful family, where people actually looked out for each other. But instead, every visit with my husbands family turns into a blazing row, and Ive simply had enough of being insulted and staying silent.

Ive been hoping and praying my husband might changethat maybe hed go back to being the caring person I once knew before the wedding. But I just cant put up with his familys behaviour anymore. I really believe mutual respect and understanding are essential in a family. A couple of months ago, I told my husband I wanted us to live separately. He refused, which led to yet another argument, and in the end, I left. My mother-in-law even started spreading nasty rumours, saying my husband had kicked me out because I was apparently so wild and disobedient.

Just yesterday, my husband got in touch and asked me to come back. Maybe hes realised hes made a mistake. I honestly dont know what to do now or how I should move forward in this messy situation. Part of me hopes things could somehow change for the better, but I also really want to escape from all this abuse.