4 reasons why your parents don’t like your partner

Few things are quite as stressful as your parents disapproving of your relationship. It is even worse when the relationship is not a casual one, and you are planning to get married to the embattled partner. The success of every marriage leans heavily on the ability of your partner to get along with their in-laws, more so your parents. Perhaps a good way of getting to the solutions of this prevailing impasse is to understand the reasons why your parents don’t like your partner. Some reasons may be genuine; others are not justifiable.

 What they have heard about your partner

Protective parents may disapprove your relationship because they genuinely care about you. This is especially true if they have heard bad things from friends or family members about your partner. Negative reviews received by your parents only serve to make them protective. In this protection, they may develop ill feelings towards your partner.

ALSO READ: How to cope with parents who hate your partner 

How your partner treats you

If your parents have witnessed your partner mistreating you, they will not like your partner. No parents want to see their children spend the rest of their lives with an abusive partner.

These are authentic reasons. Other reasons against the relationship may be indefensible because they are just plain petty.

 Unmet standards

Unmet standards are one of the top reasons why your parents don’t like your partner. Parents may already have a picture of whom you are supposed to be dating even before you start dating

If the personality, physical appearance, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, race, cultural, or religious background don’t align with what they had pictured, it could open a Pandora’s box.

The green-eyed monster

One other outrageous but true reason is that your parents are jealous. They might think your partner is severing the bond you have with them, or you are being ‘stolen’ from them. They might also feel like your partner is replacing them and that the control they had over you is waning.