Chinese woman invites late ex-husband’s mother to live with her 12 years after divorce

A woman from central China has moved many online after inviting her ex-mother-in-law to live with her following the deaths of her ex-husband and ex-father-in-law.

Lin, from Henan province, recently flew more than 1,000km to Guangdong province in southern China to bring her ex-mother-in-law to live with her, despite having divorced her ex-husband 12 years ago.

Lin made the decision after her ex-father-in-law died of an illness in 2024 and her ex-husband died last year.

Lin’s ex-mother-in-law, whom she still calls “Mum”, has five children who would all be happy to take her in and care for her. But the elderly woman preferred to continue living in her old village house, where she had lived with her husband, Lin’s ex-husband and the two children Lin had with him for more than a decade.

However, Lin’s two children now live in Henan with her and her current husband, which meant the elderly woman would be left living alone – a prospect that worried Lin.

At first, the elderly woman turned down Lin’s offer, fearing she would be a burden. But Lin insisted that she move in with her.

Lin said she married into her ex-husband’s family at the age of 20 and divorced him five years later. For the past 17 years, she has continued to call her former mother-in-law “Mum”.

Lin said her former in-laws had always treated her kindly and often praised her for doing a “good job” raising her children.

After the divorce, Lin’s two children continued living with her ex-husband for a decade. Her former mother-in-law never complained. Instead, she often checked in on Lin to make sure she was looking after herself.

Knowing that Lin runs a braised-food business in Henan, the elderly woman also told her not to “work too hard”.

Lin said: “Divorce does not mean estrangement. I must repay the kindness I received.”

Lin thanked her current husband for understanding her decision.

She said her “Mum”, now in her 70s, had initially worried about being a burden, but eventually agreed to move in because she wanted to live with her grandchildren.

Lin said she welcomed her “Mum” to stay with them either temporarily, for a change of scenery, or permanently in Henan.

Lin’s own mother also supported her daughter’s decision: “Their whole family treated my daughter well, sometimes even better than I did. I’m happy to see her living with Lin and her two grandchildren.”

Lin’s gesture also won praise online.

“All relationships are reciprocal. If you treat people nicely, you will also be treated nicely,” one person commented.

“They must have such a close relationship for an elderly woman in her 70s to be willing to move so far from home to live with her,” another said.