At first, my mother-in-law’s behavior felt harmless—she copied my lipstick shade, bought the same throw pillows, and even stocked her pantry with my favorite snacks. But over time, it started to feel less like flattery and more like obsession. When I brought it up with my husband, he brushed it off as coincidence. So I decided to show him just how far she’d go. For my birthday, I dyed my hair bright blue—a bold color I’d always wanted to try. Days later, she showed up with the same blue hair and even wore the exact dress my husband had given me. That was the moment he finally saw it for what it was.

With my husband now on my side, I took things a step further. I casually mentioned I was “thinking of going pink next” and showed her a fake inspiration photo. Sure enough, she took the bait. She showed up proudly sporting vibrant pink hair, not realizing I had already returned to my natural color. Her reaction? Outrage. She accused me of tricking her, called me childish, and told my husband I owed her an apology.

While she saw it as a prank, I saw it as the only way to finally make my point. I never told her to dye her hair—I just played into her habit of copying me. Now that she was finally embarrassed by her own behavior, she wanted to make me the villain. My husband, caught in the middle, thinks I might have taken it too far, but honestly, I think it was overdue. Sometimes the only way to show someone how ridiculous they’re being is to hold up a mirror.

If nothing else, the stunt opened up a conversation. My husband now understands how much it’s affected me, and we’ve agreed to set some soft boundaries with his mom. I don’t hate her—I just want to feel like I can be myself without someone turning my every move into a blueprint. Whether she’ll change is still unclear, but one thing’s for sure: I won’t be handing her my next hair color plan anytime soon.