OP, from the sound of your post, it seems as though your ex boss broke the honor system and divulged information that he shouldn't have, especially not to your in laws. It could be true that some of what they heard got overblown or taken out of context, but the point remains that he opened his mouth when he should have kept it shut.
When I was in my early to mid twenties, I had a similar issue. I used to share stuff with my coworkers, who would then take that information and spin it in the worst possible way. One time, my manager sat down nonchalantly and we started talking about our weekend. My friend and fellow coworker (who I'm still friends with to this day) called in sick (it was Monday morning and he was legitimately ill). The day before, he was at my house watching a football game. I mentioned this little detail when talking about my weekend. That manager took that little bit of info, went to the higher ups, and said that the two of us were getting drunk all weekend, and that the only reason the other guy called in sick was because he was hungover. I found out all that info from my friend when he called me asking what the fuck I had said--apparently he got a nasty phone call from our boss.
The good news was, he trusted my word that I hadn't gone around spreading rumors, and the entire issue eventually got cleared up. Ever since then, I don't share anything personal with coworkers. I've had smaller instances where it didn't do much harm, but where I learned not to talk to certain people. With my current job, I had a former coworker who tried to "befriend" me in order to get information that he wasn't privy to. Because of my previous encounters, I knew better than to fall for the trap.
Your ex boss could be like me, where he shared a tiny detail that your in laws then blew up into some huge ordeal, or he could be like my former manager who loved the stir the pot and cause unnecessary drama, and who was deviously malicious. If you still talk to him, I would confront him with what you've heard. If he skirts the issue or flips the table on you (i.e. says you're too sensitive, a little bitch, etc.) then he was likely being malicious. If he shows genuine concern and explains his side of the story, then it's more likely that he accidentally said more than he should have, but wasn't trying to hurt you.
When I was in my early to mid twenties, I had a similar issue. I used to share stuff with my coworkers, who would then take that information and spin it in the worst possible way. One time, my manager sat down nonchalantly and we started talking about our weekend. My friend and fellow coworker (who I'm still friends with to this day) called in sick (it was Monday morning and he was legitimately ill). The day before, he was at my house watching a football game. I mentioned this little detail when talking about my weekend. That manager took that little bit of info, went to the higher ups, and said that the two of us were getting drunk all weekend, and that the only reason the other guy called in sick was because he was hungover. I found out all that info from my friend when he called me asking what the fuck I had said--apparently he got a nasty phone call from our boss.
The good news was, he trusted my word that I hadn't gone around spreading rumors, and the entire issue eventually got cleared up. Ever since then, I don't share anything personal with coworkers. I've had smaller instances where it didn't do much harm, but where I learned not to talk to certain people. With my current job, I had a former coworker who tried to "befriend" me in order to get information that he wasn't privy to. Because of my previous encounters, I knew better than to fall for the trap.
Your ex boss could be like me, where he shared a tiny detail that your in laws then blew up into some huge ordeal, or he could be like my former manager who loved the stir the pot and cause unnecessary drama, and who was deviously malicious. If you still talk to him, I would confront him with what you've heard. If he skirts the issue or flips the table on you (i.e. says you're too sensitive, a little bitch, etc.) then he was likely being malicious. If he shows genuine concern and explains his side of the story, then it's more likely that he accidentally said more than he should have, but wasn't trying to hurt you.