You think your mother-in-law is bitter, rude and exists only to make your life miserable? Then take a peak at our list of the 3 most evil mother-in-laws known in history - they may even make the mother of your husband/wife seem like an angel.
There are mother-in-laws out there that have no respect for their son's personal space, let alone their daughter-in-law's. They believe they have to boss around those younger than they and have no qualms about getting involved in the raising of the kids and in every choice the young family faces.
Some mother-in-laws have gone much farther in their hatred toward their daughter-in-laws, making the constant nagging some of us have experienced pale in comparison.
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the most influential family living in Milan in 1494. She was highly educated and wielded immense power for her time. Although she was of aristocratic descent and was expected to act accordingly, Bona did quite the opposite.
Wherever there were scandals, treachery and manipulation, Bona was involved in some way. But her malevolence reached its apex when her son, Sigismund II, decided to marry Elizabeth of Austria, who was of the House of Habsburg.
Just like in "Romeo and Juliet", there was a bitter feud between the Habsburgs and Sforzas. A marriage between members of the 2 families was unthinkable and Bona took it upon herself to prevent any would-be marriage from occurring.
Her efforts proved unsuccessful and ultimately, the two lovers were wed. However, the sinister mother-in-law did not relent - 2 years after the wedding, her young and healthy daughter-in-law died unexpectedly.
Bona's son married a 2nd time, infuriating her even worse than during his 1st marriage. Six months later, he buried his 2nd wife. Rumors started that Bona found ways to get rid of her daughter-in-laws but it would be centuries later until it was finally proven that she had poisoned them.
Sara Roosevelt
When U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt fell in love with his cousin Eleanor, his mother Sara did everything in her power to get the thought out of his head. She even organized a cruise to the other side of the world to separate him from his infatuation.
But her efforts proved futile because the couple would ultimately marry on March 17, 1905. To the public, Roosevelt's mother demonstrated strong support toward the young family and even gave them a house in Manhattan, which she personally furnished, as a gift.
What the general public did not know was that the duplex house had connecting doors on every floor to the other half. Sara could visit them any time she wished and she did so constantly. In the first years of their marriage, photographers were basically unable to snap any photos of the young family without the mother-in-law.
Eleanor's salvation came when Franklin was elected senator and the family moved to Albany, leaving Sara in New York.
Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Princess Sophie of Bavaria was a devoted mother and wife, as such deciding that it was her duty to pick a wife for her son Franz Joseph I. "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know, " as she used to say.
And so she chose 16-year-old Elizabeth. She married Franz in April 1854, giving birth to their child 10 months later. The mother-in-law Sophie decided that it would be named after her and so took the daughter from her mother shortly after birth.
She would do the same to the other 2 children that Elizabeth would have. She did not allow Elizabeth to spend any time with her own children, worried that this would have a negative influence their upbringing.
As a result, the young mother fell into a deep depression and stopped eating properly. Several years later, she died of bulimia and anorexia.
