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If you have an estranged family, that’s something you’ve probably come to terms with. Whether it’s due to emotional abuse, infidelity, stealing, or other types of betrayal, you may have accepted a long time ago that you are not going to have one of those tight-knit families who always has each other’s back. You’re okay with that—you’ve made a new family through friends. You take care of yourself. You’ve been to therapy, done plenty of meditation, had your self-healing journey and you’ve let go of the idea of having a close family. But that all can be disrupted when you meet your forever partner. He wants to know your family, but you know they’d ruin everything. Having to explain to someone new—and their family—that you have a weak, tattered, and turbulent relationship with your family can be difficult. You’ve accepted it—but they may not. They need a lot of time to catch up. Here is how having an estranged family affects your marriage.
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His parents can judge you
His parents cannot imagine ever being estranged from their child. They would never forgive their children for severing ties with them, or purposefully having a limited relationship. If they can’t imagine forgiving their child for that, it’s hard for them not to judge you for being estranged from your family.
