Online Advertisement Seeks Wedding Date For Rotten Mother-In-Law — It Reaches A Massive Audience

Sep 18, 2021 by apost team

What do you do when you have a difficult family member and you know they will make a scene at a wedding? Hire someone to distract them! This is what one person tried to do when they made a hilarious ad on Craigslist looking for a wedding date for their “narcissistic” mother-in-law. The ad explained that the 51-year-old woman would need constant attention and de-escalation in order to make it through the wedding drama-free.

The Craigslist ad goes into great detail about the mother-in-law’s troublesome behavior and promises to pay $1,000 to anyone who can successfully distract her for two evenings in August 2021. They also said that they would cover all food, hotel and travel expenses to Hudson Valley, so it sounds like a free trip as well. The main job of the date would be to keep the mother-in-law from causing any drama.

The advertisement also mentions that the decoy date would have to be a good dancer and should be in the age range of 40-60. They said that they would provide any background information and conversation topics needed to keep the mother-in-law distracted. The entire affair sounds like something straight out of a TV sitcom.

The ad was posted to Reddit where it has been mocked but also taken seriously enough that several people applied. It is unclear whether the date actually happened, but the premise of the ad is enough to make you chuckle. Keep reading to learn more about this peculiar proposition and what other Reddit users had to say about it.

In the advertisement, the Craigslist user wrote: “I’m looking for a wedding date for my mother-in-law from Friday evening to Saturday evening for a wedding in Hudson Valley in August. She needs constant attention and supervision. She will probably wear white and try to escalate small dramas - your job is simply to distract and de-escalate. Flatter her for two days and make an easy $1000.”

They described the perfect date with a list, writing, “You: Conversationalist, De-escalator, Good dancer, Experience with narcissists a plus, Able to pretend you happen to be a guest interested in sitting/dancing with the MIL, Able to give her your undivided attention, Ideally age range between 40-60ish (she is 51, slim, attractive), Has own suit to wear.”

Of course, this is a job, so it is paid. And the advertiser also offered to provide a list of helpful items. “We will provide: Background information, Conversation topics, Hotel room (your own, of course), Food, Travel expenses,” they wrote. It seems like a good deal on paper, but maybe dealing with the mother-in-law in person would change that.

The ad ended with a request for any interested parties. The advertiser wrote, “Please send a photo of yourself and a quick blurb indicating your interest/qualifications. You will also need to be OK with us running a background check on you just for safety’s sake.” Including a background check is a very smart choice, especially when meeting people online. This way the mother-in-law is distracted, and you know you didn’t accidentally invite another problematic person to the wedding.

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Reddit users who saw the advertisement found it hilarious.  The majority of people thought the post was funny and well written and even offered to take the job. One person commented: “The pay is more than okay and he's honest. Hell, I'd take the job. 10/10 advertising.”

Another person replied to that comment, writing, “Same, I’m free in August and great with narcissists. I’m related to several.” Many people pointed out that they were also related to narcissists, so the job didn’t seem too bad. Someone else added, “I deal with crazy family members for far less every week, so I would definitely be down for this!”

One Redditor seemed impressed by the idea itself, writing, “This person is a genius.”

The best part, according to Reddit users, was the $1,000 reward for making it through the wedding. One person even broke down the amount into hourly pay. “The average person is awake 16hrs a day, so it's like $31/hr. That's quite good. And considering you get a hotel room and food and everything,” they said.

A different user felt the cost was much greater than the award and said they would never take the job. They wrote, “I’m not dealing with someone who will clearly cause a scene, at a wedding, that I’m in no way invested in, just for a measly grand.” 

There has been no update added to the post on Reddit, so we don’t know how the wedding ended up or if they hired anyone from the ad. Hopefully, the wedding went off without a hitch and the troublesome mother-in-law behaved herself!

Do you think this advertisement is funny? Would you ever go on a “date” like this? Let us know, and feel free to pass this on to your friends and family.