Introverted Couple Refuses For Distant Cousin To Stay In Their Home To Save Money, Family Reacts

"The whole family feels like we’re too closed off"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• April 20, 2024

Even though we may all need a little alone time from time to time, for some of us, it can make all the difference. When introverts spend more time by themselves than with others, they tend to refuel and gain more energy. 

By definition, introversion is a personality attribute defined by an emphasis on one's own emotions as opposed to outside stimuli. The OP of today's story is an introvert, and she got married to one as well.

They are both in their early 30s, and they own a house in a rural area that has only one hotel. So her husband’s BIL’s cousin reached out about his sister’s husband’s cousin.

You can imagine the chain of contacts, and OP's husband has no relation at all with these people, though he has met her a few times at their kid's birthday parties. This cousin lives out of state and has asked to stay at the OP's home with her husband when they travel to their town for a wedding.

Mind you, there is a hotel and venue in their town, but this cousin said she wanted to save money and thought of the OP as the perfect host. Of course, OP's husband told her that the arrangement would not be possible.

In plain terms, they want the OP and her husband to spend money hosting them while they save. Does that even make sense? 

The OP writes

She asked to stay at the OP's home with her husband when they travel to their town

This distant cousin only knows the OP and her husband moved here because SIL probably mentioned it

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the a-hole:

1. we told cousin she couldn’t stay with us (I made the decision) and 2) because she wanted to save money and we do have a guest room and no conflict, and now family feels we’re too uptight because we couldn’t just help her out when we weren’t really going out of our way

Below are a bunch of the most upvoted comments from other Redditors in response to the story

The OP can refuse if she's not comfortable with them there

We will not be able to accommodate you

They are basically strangers to the OP and her husband

We tend to resent people asking us questions

These people are strangers so they can't demand for such

The OP says that they do not know them that well

The OP is clearly not fond of entertaining people

Redditors made it clear that these people aren’t their friends or cousins. It’s the OP's home and she is six months pregnant which isn’t a bad excuse to use for not wanting them there.

Many Redditors went further to add that OP's SIL should mind her own business. The OP was declared not the AH and you can share this story with your friends and family to get their own opinions as well.

Maryjane