Trivia night is no fun when sister-in-law belittles my brother in front of us
We were the ones who invited them, hoping it would help us grow closer, since we’re already much closer to my older brother.
Unfortunately, these outings have become uncomfortable. When my brother questions an answer—something all of us do at times—his wife routinely belittles him in front of us. At first, we brushed it off as playful banter and even laughed along, but it no longer feels lighthearted.
My brother never responds because he doesn’t want to cause a scene, but the tension is obvious, and the night almost always ends on a sour note for my wife and me. We’ve reached the point where we’re considering telling my brother we don’t want to continue being trivia teammates with them, but we don’t know how to do that without causing a major blowup.
What can we say to set boundaries while keeping the peace?
— SOUR NOTE IN MICHIGAN
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