E2. When In-Laws Cross the Line: Maria and Ted
Sep 19, 2006 · 60m
Getting Physical
Dr. Phil Staff
"Ted and I have been married just over seven years and have two beautiful children," says Maria. When she and Ted were first married,
Maria had a great relationship with her mother-in-law, Catherine, but that changed when their oldest daughter was born. "Catherine likes to disagree with us on almost every aspect of how we choose to raise our children, whether it's what they eat, when they nap, how long they nap for. My mother-in-law definitely feels that I'm not a proper wife and mother," Maria explains. "It's built a lot of tension. I've bit my tongue for a long time."
Ted agrees that their relationship with his mother changed once their daughter was born. "Any decisions that involve my daughter, my mother would like to control," he says.
Recently, the tension between Maria and Catherine escalated when they had a physical altercation. Maria was home with her daughters
after just having had breast augmentation surgery, and Ted was away on business. Catherine came to the house to help Maria out.
"Maria was complaining that Ted was having an affair. I walked in the kitchen and she said, 'He's been F-ing his girlfriend all week.' It really startled me, the language that she was using in front of the children," Catherine reveals.
Maria says that Catherine started to scream. "She began yelling at me, saying that I didn't deserve Ted, I didn't deserve the children, and that she would do whatever she had to do to take my children from me," Maria explains. "Through the entire altercation, she was holding my 1-year-old daughter."
Catherine says that Maria then shoved her and threw her down on the kitchen floor. "I said, 'Maria, what is wrong with you?' She told me that I was a piece of sh*t, I wasn't a good wife, a good person. I pushed
her against the wall," she says. "She reached and dug her nails into my arm, puncturing my arm pretty severely. Blood started running. I was scared, I was nervous, b
