So, the person of your dreams has a mother from Hades? "This issue is a bit bigger than just being a red flag," advises Arterburn. 

"This is a show stopper or at least it should be. They always say you can tell a man by the way he treats his mother but this situation is the exception to that. The bottom line is that you do not want to spend your life with a Mama’s boy. If you do, you will be 'the other woman' all your life, interfering with two people who are umbilically attached. You are not his Mama and everything that is not his Mama must learn to relinquish all dreams of being anything but number 2.

"If you have not wondered why he has not married by age 40, wonder if you have not questioned why he lives within a half mile of her, question. His mama has him under her thumb and she is not going to allow you to pry him loose. The same can apply to a female and her Dad. But it is not as frequent.

"The main thing you are looking for is a person who feels free to be separate and distinct from the parents while maintaining respect and love. Mama’s boys and Daddy’s little girls are looking to replicate their childhood and you just don’t have the ability to do that. So when the parents are leaning in too close, it is time for you to lean back out a bit."