{"id":3553,"date":"2026-07-02T08:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:11:16","slug":"dear-abby-how-do-i-bar-this-woman-from-my-home-after-she-embarrassed-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553","title":{"rendered":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: My husband\u2019s sister \u201cJewel\u201d and her husband sometimes make condescending comments and embarrass me.<\/p>\n

Read more Berkeley man charged with statutory rape of 17-year-old he allegedly paid<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently, I held a family get-together at my house and prepared lots of food for it. Great meal and great time had by all. Her husband came in late, walked past every dish and announced there was nothing there he liked. He then told Jewel, \u201cLet\u2019s go and pick up KFC. I\u2019m hungry!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jewel didn\u2019t go, but she looked at me and said to the crowd, \u201cOh, my dear, you were cooking a lot. I\u2019m so proud of you!\u201d Neither one ate anything, but everyone else loved it.<\/p>\n

There are some people you just don\u2019t like to be around. How do I avoid inviting these people to my house or anywhere?<\/p>\n

\u2014 HAD IT IN FLORIDA<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR HAD IT:<\/strong> Because Jewel is your husband\u2019s sister, you may not be able to avoid them entirely. However, because the issue seems to be with your cooking, exclude them from gatherings in which you are the chef, or serve them a bucket of KFC. (With a smile, of course.)<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been married for 20 years and have three kids: 19 (in college), 17 and 15.<\/p>\n

My wife and I sleep in separate beds and haven\u2019t had sex in more than five years \u2014 her choice, not mine. We tried counseling in the past but never got anywhere.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

My wife is not investing in our relationship and isn\u2019t interested in seeking outside help. At this point, I\u2019m in it for the kids and my faith in God.<\/p>\n

I long to be in an intimate relationship. I feel incredibly lonely and have a growing resentment toward my wife.<\/p>\n

I work two jobs; she stays at home \u2014 doing what, I can\u2019t tell you. She\u2019s resistant to going to work.<\/p>\n

Read more Concord Cat Lounge lets felines to adopt be met in more relaxed setting<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid of the crash and burn of a divorce and how it would impact my children and my career. Please advise.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 DESPERATE FOR HELP IN PENNSYLVANIA<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR DESPERATE<\/strong>: Your wife may not be interested in getting outside help for your marital difficulties, but you definitely should. If you do, it will help you to clarify your thinking and decide how to rationally handle the next steps.<\/p>\n

From where I sit, your marriage died five years ago, and you shouldn\u2019t have to live the way you have been.<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> Some of my friends and relatives have passed away recently, and some of the families have requested donations to religious organizations or charities I don\u2019t want to support (nor do I wish to send flowers or plant a tree).<\/p>\n

Is it acceptable to send a donation to a charity that feeds children or in other ways works for the good of humankind?<\/p>\n

I do want to acknowledge the family\u2019s loss. What would you suggest?<\/p>\n

\u2014 MEMORIAL MALAISE<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR MEMORIAL MALAISE<\/strong>: I\u2019m sorry to hear you have lost so many loved ones. However, it would be inappropriate to honor the deceased with a donation to a charity of your own choosing.<\/p>\n

If you want to support the family but not the causes they\u2019ve suggested, enclose a check with a thoughtful sympathy card and trust that the money will be used to offset the funeral expenses.<\/p>\n

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more A\u2019s slugger Brent Rooker to have season-ending knee surgery<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Complication: She’s my husband’s sister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Complication: She's my husband's sister.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553\"},\"wordCount\":638,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553\",\"name\":\"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":614},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3553#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest","og_description":"Complication: She's my husband's sister.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me?","datePublished":"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553"},"wordCount":638,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","articleSection":["Advice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553","name":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me? - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-02T08:11:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","width":1024,"height":614},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3553#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dear Abby: How do I bar this woman from my home after she embarrassed me?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}