Relatives by marriage but close friends by choice, these locals say they drew the lucky straw when it comes to in-laws.
LORETTA FABBRO & RACHEL FABBRO
Living only two doors down from your mother-in-law could spell danger for some, but not for Rachel Fabbro and her mother-in-law Loretta Fabbro, who reside in Garbutt. “Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think how lucky I am to have such a close relationship with my daughter-in-law,” Loretta says.
“I often get dressed and walk down to Rachel’s, knock on her door and ask ‘Does this look alright on me…?’. I couldn’t do that with two sons!”
Loretta considers Rachel a close friend as well as a beloved daughter-in-law. “Loretta has told me that I’m one of her best friends. It’s so heart-warming that she fully accepts me as not only her daughter-in-law but as her friend too,” Rachel says. “We speak daily, if not multiple times a day, and she’s always supportive of Andrew and myself as a couple and as parents. We have a four-year-old son, Denham, and a baby on the way.”
Loretta and Rachel enjoy going out for lunch, shopping expeditions and just hanging out together. “I try to drag her walking The Strand but she usually stops halfway and has a coffee at Juliette’s while she waits for me to finish,” Rachel laughs.
“I’m very lucky we have the type of relationship we do. I can go to Loretta with anything and she supports me 100 per cent and tells me straight — whatever I need. I value her friendship immensely.”
The duo also have a lot of fun teasing each other.
“I jokingly started introducing Loretta as my monster-in-law to see people’s reactions,” Rachel says. “So she started calling me her DIL (daughter-in-law) to get a giggle.”
The ladies also love to catch each other out. “Rachel tells me I repeat myself a lot, so when I catch her repeating herself I laugh and tell her she’s becoming just like her monster-in-law!”
