History Main / JealousParent

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' Hal Emmerich/Otacon reveals that his father was the Selfish type and [[DrivenToSuicide drowned himself in the family pool]] (and tried to take [[MurderSuicide his stepdaughter Emma with him]]) after discovering that his wife and Hal's stepmother had been having sex with his son, and tellingly treated it as an insult to his masculinity rather than the ugly potential statutory rape it was since Hal was only 17.

->'''Wife 1:''' You said, "If a bus is coming and they're going to run both of you over, I would help the baby." And I was like, "Ok, that's understandable."

[[folder:Live Action Film]]
* Amelia in ''Film/TheBabadook'' is Selfish, as she ultimately admits that she loves her dead husband more than her living son. The fact that he died driving her to the hospital to give birth plays a big role in it. [[spoiler:She gets better.]]
* In ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'', ex-firefighter-turned-TheAlcoholic LowerClassLout Richard is a Selfish type who abuses his son Andrew, while the only one he loves was his bed ridden wife, which Andrew loves too and in turn his mother loves him back. It is implied the reason Richard abuses Andrew other than to use him as a stress vent to pass out his financial problems onto him was out of alcohol-induced jealousy of Andrew being more loved by his wife than him, while the way he abuses Andrew can have him come across as an absolutely CrazyJealousGuy and a {{Yandere}}. When Richard learns Andrew attends a talent show and a party and that his son has powers which he uses to overpower the former from abusing him, Richard's jealousy of his son upgrades to being jealous of his son trying to find his own happiness and improve his life then Richard and the fact Andrew is a more powerful being then him, finally culminating in Richard attempting to strike Andrew at the hospital after the death of his wife which Richard proceeds to blame Andrew for (likely for Andrew "stealing" all of his wife's love away from Richard before her passing, while leaving him out), only to earn Andrew's wrath.
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* In ''Theatre/Waitress'', when Jenna tells Earl that she is pregnant, it takes him mere seconds before he demands that she promise not to love the baby more than him.

%* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "She Used to Be My Girl", Marge gets jealous when Lisa admires her old high-school friend who now has a successful journalism career.

->'''Wife 2:''' No, but I think she got really upset and I think that was like a turning point in our relationship, because I think you were like, "I thought I was the center of your universe, and now you're not."

This can be understandable, to some extent: becoming a parent is a major life change for a couple. Even the SickeninglySweethearts will get a rude wake-up call when their child is screaming to be fed just as they settled down for a snuggle. Babies require time, money, affection and attention...and that means, no matter how hard mum and dad try to carry on as normal, someone or something else is going to have less of those things. Usually, in fiction at least, it's the spouse/partner. And if it's ''not'', that can easily slide into ParentalNeglect.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Jaime says he was like this with Cersei after the birth of their firstborn. Complicated slightly in that their son was born of a SecretRelationship, and parenthood wasn't something they did together: Cersei was socially considered a mother but Jaime ''wasn't'' socially a father.

* In the non-fiction book ''Mating in Captivity'', couple's therapist Esther Perel describes it as a very common situation she sees in her patients. She also highlights that the role of the JealousParent is not a purely negative one: they are the keeper of the relationship, a reminder that their connection as a couple matter, in a time when the other partner is not thinking about that.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "She Used to Be My Girl", Marge gets jealous when Lisa admires her old high-school friend who now has a successful journalism career.

* In the non-fiction book ''Mating in Captivity'', couple's therapist Esther Perel describes it as a very common situation she sees in her patients.

This can be understandable, to some extent: becoming a parent is a major life change for a couple. Even the SickeninglySweethearts will get a rude wake-up call when their child is screaming to be fed just as they settled down for a snuggle. Babies require time, money, affection and attention...and that means, no matter how hard mum and dad try to carry on as normal, someone or something else is going to have less of those things. Usually, in fiction at least, it's the spouse/partner.

* '''Concerned:''' Yes, this parent is a little resentful at being left out in the cold, but overall their motivation is altruistic. The attention their partner gives the child is truly over-the-top, and they run a real risk of turning into a smothering parent or an overly-restrictive one. The "resentful" parent is actually more concerned that the child will be adversely affected, or that their partner is burning themself out -- the fact that their spouse hasn't spoken to them since the kid was born is a lesser concern.

* '''Selfish:''' To be blunt, this character should probably not have had children, at least until they'd grown up a bit. Every action their partner takes on the child's behalf is a personal insult to them. And not just playing with them or cooing over them - they resent the time taken to feed and bathe the child. If the child gets sick, this parent will probably fake being sick too. They always seen one step away from throwing a tantrum themself. May cross the Moral Event Horizon and become an AbusiveParent. Nearly AlwaysMale, to the despair of good dads everywhere.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Literature/WeNeedToTalkAboutKevin'', Eva is a Concerned / Justified type in her own eyes, and a Selfish type in the eyes of her husband. Due to UnreliableNarrator, it's hard for the reader to pin down which one is truth...but given that Franklin dismissed Eva's concerns, doted on Kevin and demanded that Eva give up her job and move to the suburbs for Kevin's good, there's probably an element of Justified at least.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Jaime says he was like this after the birth of their first child.

* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', Christian flips shit when Ana reveals she's pregnant, saying that he doesn't feel ready to "share" her with anyone and that she will prioritise parenting over being his wife. While drunk, he even suggests that Ana will love the baby more than him. Ana [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out on it]], saying he's being immature and needs to grow up and take responsibility, also suggesting that she ''will'' choose the baby over him if she has to because unlike him, the baby actually ''is'' a helpless child who cannot fend for itself. He seems to have [[BabiesEverAfter mellowed out]] by the time their second child is on the way, likely putting him under Type Temporary, though he strongly comes off Type Selfish the first time.

%%* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', Christian Grey becomes a selfish type during Anastasia's pregnancy.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' Hal Emmerich/Otacon reveals that his father was the Selfish type and [[DrivenToSuicide drowned himself in the family pool]] (and tried to take [[MurderSuicide his stepdaughter Emma with him]]) after discovering that his wife and Hal's stepmother had been having sex with his son, and tellingly treated it as an insult to his masculinity rather than the ugly statutory rape it was since Hal was underage.

See also ObnoxiousInLaws, LetHerGrowUpDear, MyBelovedSmother, and OverprotectiveDad.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' recurring antagonist Nicole Wallace killed her toddler daughter because she viewed her as competition for the baby's father's love -- not just in the general sense, but in an actual romantic sense. In her case, [[FreudianExcuse her view of sexuality was warped]] because [[ParentalIncest her own father molested her]] from the time she was three and then claimed Nicole had seduced him, and this caused her to see her three-year-old as a legitimate romantic rival.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' recurring antagonist Nicole Wallace killed her toddler daughter because she viewed her as competition for the baby's father's love. In her case, [[FreudianExcuse her view of sexuality was warped]] because [[ParentalIncest her own father molested her]] from the time she was three and then claimed Nicole had seduced him, and this caused her to see her three-year-old as a legitimate romantic rival.

* Cleveland acts as mix of all of the above in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', when Donna's constant affection for Rallo gets in the way of their sex life. While he does act somewhat self centered and childish about it, he is at least somewhat justified since his step son is deliberately trying pry the two away from each other out of his own jealousy. Eventually, the two negotiate.

* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', Dr Cox went through this just after his son Jack was born and the usually self-absorbed and cruel Jordan made a genuine effort to be a caring mother to him. Partially because Perry can’t stand not being the centre of attention and partially because his own mother was extremely [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] and he saw Jordan’s doting on Jack as abnormal.

* Ren Sohma, in ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', is a Selfish type who can't stand the attention that her husband, Akira, gives to their child. In fact, she's so jealous that she does her best to ruin said child's life. Looking closely, there may be a small element of Justified as well - it had to be unnerving for the woman when the Zodiac children started pawing at her stomach.
** Said jealousy, combined with the [[MindRape cruel psychological games]] she plays with said child, ends up turning him [[spoiler:or rather ''her''-part of said games involved denying her real gender-into an example who's almost as bad. Akito is the Selfish type, obsessed with finding some or any way to keep her family from never leaving. She doesn't have a spouse, but see how she treats ''anyone'' who threatens to remove one of her family from her social circle or house.]]

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654493/chapters/59615725#workskin What to Expect When You're On the Run]]'', [[{{Yandere}} Vanessa]] becomes jealous of her daughter when she feels her husband Michael is spending to much time with her. [[DramaticIrony The Irony]] being that said daughter was only conceived as TheBabyTrap, which was planned by Vanessa to get Michael to leave his university and be with her more permanently. [[GoneHorriblyRight Well, she succeeded]].