Woman shares the 'passive aggressive' Christmas card she says her mother sent to 500 people the year she got divorced, outlining the nitty-gritty details of her breakup

"Remember that one time my mom included ALL of the details of my messy divorce in our family Christmas letter? Because same."

• Laura Kinney told TikTokers her mother sent a Christmas card with the details of her "messy divorce."
• Including a screenshot of the note, Kinney said she has the "most passive-aggressive Southern mom."
• Despite being "not thrilled," Kinney appears to have approved the note: "Que sera, sera."

Laura Kinney's family sends a Christmas card to about "500 different families" every year, including a double-sided, single-spaced newsletter update on the family's annual experiences — getting a dog, going to Alaska, or, for Kinney, getting a divorce.

For 2022, Kinney told TikTokers, recipients received an "immaculate" and "passive-aggressive" update on Kinney's divorce in the newsletter portion.

In a December 16 video, captioned "remember that one time my mom included ALL of the details of my messy divorce in our family Christmas letter? Because same," Kinney told viewers the family's 2022 card included an "immaculate" and "passive-aggressive" note detailing the end of her marriage.

She explained to viewers that she grew up in a "very traditionally Southern family," and that she has the "most passive-aggressive Southern mom in the entire world."

Knowing the family Christmas card would be sent to a host of strangers in the winter, Kinney said she'd been "panicking" since she realized she wouldn't be married when Christmas rolled around.

"My mom sends me the first draft, which basically details every indiscretion that my ex-husband did after he let me know that he wanted a divorce and didn't want to work on anything," she told viewers. "She's letting all of our readers know that — down to the detail of the date that our divorce was finalized."

"Now, as the person that this letter is talking about," Kinney continued, "I am not thrilled with this information. I don't think that many people need to know this much information about me. However, if I were to be the recipient of a letter like this, that would be the best thing that I had ever received. I would frame it."

So, to give the mailing list — "500 strangers, for the most part, who don't know me from Adam" — a bit of holiday joy, Kinney appears to have given her mother the green light to send the lengthy note.

In a follow-up video posted the same day, Kinney shared a screenshot of the paragraph she said her mother included on the family's Christmas card this year.

"All seemed well; but unfortunately, it wasn't!" the note read, in part. "Long story short, Jake suddenly did not need nor want to be married any longer. He refused all suggestions of counseling, declared that he wanted a divorce, and began 'living as though he was single' (to put it kindly). Laura was blindsided and devastated."

Continuing, she told readers Laura moved back into a "garage studio apartment that some good friends of ours graciously offered to her" and offered updates on her career and 30th birthday.

"It has been hard watching someone we love so much go through such a painful time," the note went on, "but Mike and I are grateful that she is out of that toxic relationship, and we know that God will carry her through."

"That's a very long "bless your heart" to Jake," commented a user. "I love it!"

"Christmas letters are an art and your mother is the Jane Austen of this art," wrote another.

Answering viewer questions, Kinney clarified that her mother had refrained from sending the Christmas card to any of her ex-husband's friends or family, though she said they "know what happened" and assumed that, now, they would find out about the letter, too.

"It's just what it is," she continued. "If you are going to behave in that way, you know that my mom has always written this letter. Do better."

"Treat others with kindness and respect. That's what I say to my dog, Felicity. When she barks at people in the park: 'treat others with kindness and respect.' If my rescue Chihuahua can do that, you would think that a grown man can but he can't," she said.

Insider has reached out to Kinney for comment.

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