'I stole the show at my sister-in-law's baby shower - but it wasn't my fault'

28 February 2024 , 16:05

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The woman's brother and his wife are expecting their first child (Image: Getty Images)

A woman accused of stealing all the attention at her sister-in-law's baby shower has spoken out to defend herself - and people are on her side.

The 33-year-old was invited along to celebrate the impending arrival of her new niece or nephew by her brother Harry* and his wife Penny*. But it wasn't long before the mum-to-be pulled her aside.

In a post shared online, the woman revealed she had been away travelling overseas for the past 15 months for charity work. And just two weeks after her return home, she went along to the shower.

She revealed on Reddit: "Family members and some of Harry's old friends were asking me questions about different missions and why I left for charity while I could earn a fortune here, was it hard being a woman in those areas etc. I gave them short answers but they asked more questions.

"Penny subtly asked for me to talk one-on-one in the middle of the party. She told me I was monopolising everyone's attention and taking up everyone's time and no one was paying attention to the purpose of this gathering due to my being there.

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"I apologised and asked her if she wanted me to leave. She said I had been enough of a distraction, and told me to please leave early. I left about half an hour after this talk. So far everything's good."

However, "The next day Harry called me and told me I had been a rude guest the day before, because I had ruined their first child's baby shower. He said I should have kept quiet or at the very least left the party the moment Penny asked me to. Was I an a*****e?"

The Reddit community had a lot to say - and they were all on her side. In response to the post, one person wrote: "Not the a****e. You responded to inquiries about your work and travels, and kept the responses nice and light.

"To chastise you because they didn't expect anyone to discuss anything other than the 'parents to be' is wrong. Others enjoying your company should not diminish their celebration. If they were bothered by your presence, it's something they need to address internally."

Another person confessed: "I am baffled by people like Penny. There must have been 16 different conversations going at once at my husband and I's baby shower (I had him come so he could bring his cousins and his brother, who are awesome). I was thrilled by it, it meant everyone was getting along and having a good time!"

A third added: "The sister in law thinks her baby is the most interesting thing in the world. To her, it is but it's not the same for everyone else.

"[Original poster's] life does sound very interesting. She has been to different and interesting places for more than 2 years, doing a challenging job. Obviously her friends and family members would be curious to know more about her. She was being polite when everyone asked questions .Should she have said 'Shhhh , no comment'?!"

And a fourth stated: "Right? I mean why bother inviting anyone? Just hire a paid audience then for crying out loud. People can chat and catch up at any gathering. When did it become okay for a host to tell a guest to leave because omg people are talking about you and not me me me?"

*The Reddit poster used fake names to protect identities.

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