A woman has asked Coleen Nolan for advice after her sister's husband made repeated cruel jokes about her sister's weight following the birth of her baby. The sister had a baby a few months ago and is "bigger than she was, having grown a tiny human inside her body."
Public jibes at Christening and pub
The first dig came at the baby's Christening, when he joked that they should get to the buffet quickly "or his wife will have scoffed all the food." The second was at a pub, when he advised her not to sit on a particular chair in case she broke it, then guffawed.
The woman said she didn't call him out on either occasion for fear of making the situation more embarrassing for her sister, but was left seething afterwards. She added that they are not close, so it doesn't feel natural to speak to him privately, and she doesn't want to cause stress for her sister.
Coleen's response: call it out
Coleen replied: "He sounds like a charmer. I'd find it really hard to stay quiet if someone was putting down one of my sisters."
She suggested she would not shy away from calling it out at the time and giving him "a little taste of his own medicine" with remarks such as: "Excuse her for growing your child in her body for nine months", or, "Thanks for your input, George Clooney", or, "Have you seen your shoes?"
Coleen advised pulling him to one side and explaining how bad these quips are making her sister feel. "I think he needs to hear it and reflect on it," she wrote. "You can feel extremely vulnerable emotionally after having a baby and these comments could really impact your sister's self-esteem. I honestly wouldn't care if he fell out with me over it."
Build sister's confidence
She also suggested gently reminding the sister not to let him talk to her in that way, and to keep telling her how beautiful she is and what a great job she's doing as a mum. "I'd build up her confidence at every opportunity," she added.
Coleen concluded: "Banter isn't funny when it becomes a pattern and is at the expense of someone else's feelings. Some things need to be called out. Do it."
