AITAH FOR ASKING MY MOTHER-IN-LAW FOR ADVICE ON

Matthew's mother told the woman divorcing her cheating son to "work on my marriage and not give up so easy," and got a question she clearly did not want to answer back.

The marriage was already over on paper. The poster had filed for divorce after Matthew's affair, and the split was in motion when his mother stepped in with her advice. She told the poster she needed to stick with it, to work on the marriage instead of walking away.

So the poster turned the conversation back on her. If Matthew's mother believed a wife should stay after infidelity, then how had she handled her own husband's affair?

That was enough to stop the room.

The mother-in-law reportedly stammered and asked what the poster was talking about. The poster didn't let it slide. She said that five years earlier, Matthew had cheated, and if she was expected to work through it, she needed advice from someone who had actually done it. She also said Matthew had asked her not to talk about it, so she had kept quiet.

Then the mother-in-law got up and left.

After that, the family story exploded. The poster heard there had been a massive fight. The mother-in-law's husband denied everything. Matthew denied he knew anything at all about the affair, including any claim that he had told the poster to act like nothing happened. The mother-in-law was left furious, at her husband for cheating, and at Matthew for keeping her in the dark.

In an edit, the poster added more of the backstory. She said she only found out about the affair because Matthew gave her Chlamydia. She also said she discovered the other affairs during fights with him.

There was more to the secrecy than a cheating husband and a silent son. According to the poster, the father-in-law had helped cover for Matthew too. He said he was golfing with Matthew on Saturdays, and that they were taking overnight fishing trips so Matthew could have excuses for being away from home.

The mother-in-law had come over while the poster was packing to move out. The poster owned the home and had been giving the couple "cheap rent," which is why she let her in.

What started as a lecture about saving a marriage ended with a hidden affair dragged into the open, a husband denying everything, and a family split wide open.