WE BROUGHT THE FOOD. HELPED CLEAN. THEY STILL TREATED US LIKE OUTSIDERS.

PROJECT 24 - The Table · Sep 17, 2026 · 9m

We wanted a good relationship with our partner’s family.

We made the effort. We showed up. We tried to understand their traditions, their personalities, and how they did things. But some of us still felt evaluated instead of welcomed.

And when we told our partner something hurt, we heard:

“That’s just how they are.”

We weren’t asking our partner to choose a fight with their family. We were asking them to hear us without making our reaction the problem.

In this free conversation, Dominic Michael explores what happens when trying to belong becomes years of trying harder—and how we can step back…