tied to (one's) apron strings
Controlled or dominated by one. Used especially in reference to a man controlled by a woman. I'm worried that my husband will forever be tied to his mother's apron strings—he's a grown man but still does every little thing she asks! Can you make a decision on your own, or are you tied to her apron strings?
tied to apron strings
Wholly dependent on or controlled by a woman, especially one's mother or wife. For example, At 25, he was still too tied to her apron strings to get an apartment of his own. This expression, dating from the early 1800s, probably alluded to apron-string tenure, a 17th-century law that allowed a husband to control his wife's and her family's property during her lifetime.
tied to someone's apron strings
too much under the influence and control of someone (especially used to suggest that a man is too much influenced by his mother).tied to his mother's apron strings
Momma's boy. An adult male deeply attached to his mother, dating from the era when mothers (and other homemakers and housekeepers) wore aprons.