Why so bitter?

[MollyBee]

I have read the relationship board for a long while now, and what never ceases to amaze me is how bitter some of you are on here. Why?

My OPs come on here looking for simple advice and help in their relationships and most you of come back with the usual, he's having an affair, he's looking at porn, he's exiting the relationship, LTB. Sometimes it's not helpful and I actually feel very sorry for the OP.

When do you feel it's time to stop being so bitter? How do you all live like that?

[MollyBee]

Sorry, typo. My OPs should have read, many OPs

[ImperialBlether]

Can you show me a thread where the OP has come on to ask for advice because her husband is being horrible or distant or is lying or spending too much money etc and it turns out that really he's a decent man and the OP has misunderstand the situation?

[NotAnotherPackedLunch]

Interesting first post.

[Ginebra]

I don't think it's bitterness. I think people are blind when they're in the middle of the storm. There usually IS a reason somebody's partner treats them with a total lack of respect.

I don't think it's bitterness to expect that your partner treat you with some level of respect, and to notice you.

I have a couple of failed relationships behind me but I@m optimistic enough to believe that men don't see through women, or have a lack of respect for them if they want to be with them.

It's not bitterness to expect a bit MORE than jackshit.

What your post smacks of however is "i'm alright, MY life is fine, MY husband is grand, so therefore the rest of you must all be bitter". That's not a very nice attitude, to invalidate the experiences of so many with a wave of your hand, filing it all under 'bitterness'.

But so long as your relationship is ok! (for now)

[MollyBee]

Yes actually, there have been many threads like that. Those ones, just tend to die out/fade out because lots of you can't say, 'yep, we were right'.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow]

show us the threads you mean then

[Ginebra]

No there are many, many threads where the OP is making all the comprosmises, the OP's husband won't go to counselling, is very aware of his own needs but has not acknowledgement whatsover that his wife has any needs that aren't being met. MANY threads like that. And there's always somebody who'll come on and say that the wife should bend over backwards a bit further, sublimate her needs a bit more, accommodate her husband MORE. She won't be happy, but he'll be happy.

There are currently at least TWO threads on the relationship board like this.

[MollyBee]

Ermm, no, hope I didn't come across that way, and if I did I apologise. Yes I have been crapped on in the past, but I don't dwell on it (it killed me at the time)

I only wondered why some people never seem able to move on and always see the worst in everyone.

[Ginebra]

Well, Mollybee, don't worry, because even when the OP's husband is a cheating, lying, porn-addicted, gambling, drinking (insert or delete as applicable here) SOB, wives don't generally leave because some random internet sprites on mn told them to. It takes months, sometimes YEARS to see things clearly, and to feel that you have a right to draw a line and say 'this' is unacceptable. So if I were you, I wouldn't worry that there are wives packing their bags because they've been told to by mn.

[issey6cats]

when my marriage imploded i came on here and got some lovely replies from other posters and most of the posters who do come across as being bitter have been treated badly by men after what my ex did to me 15 months later i am still heartbroken at how he treated me and it isnt easy trying to be positive some days so of course im bitter , and generally speaking the women who come on here for advice are either in a shit situation and mumsnetters can point them to the relevant help they need, or just want to rant and this forum allows them to do that, or they already suspect their husband is up to no good and more experienced posters can point out to them what to look for

[Ginebra]

eh, I've moved on thank you very much.

I've moved on precisely because I now recognise a good man from a lazy / entitled man. I am not bitter, but I feel I'm worth more now. I won't accept less. I don't want other women to accept less either. The more women accept it, the less men are motivated to up their game.

I call this OPTIMISM and FAITH. Not bitterness as you call it.

[kalidanger]

'Bitter' is the wrong word. You're thinking of astute, knowledgeable, experienced and supportive, Molly

[YouKnowNothingOfTheCrunch]

When I came on here asking for advice it was mostly because I was really scared that it was all in my head. I was constantly asking myself if his behaviour was normal and if it was my reaction to it that was the odd thing.

People reassured me that he was treating me badly. That he was not behaving normally, and that I was trying to be understanding where I should have been asking for respect.

So I asked for respect. And he rubbished that too.

It took me 5 years of trying to make the relationship work before I couldn't do it anymore.

Now I'm in a loving relationship with a man who shows me respect and consideration. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. It's just so far from what I have known.

I don't need to post about him.

People post here for help. Usually after a long period of confusion and difficulties. If I could have those 5 wasted years back I would.

There are plenty of "work on things" responses on here. But where there are clear signs of disrespect, entitlement and abuse, it is fair to give both sides.

I thank god for my shouts of LTB. The dcs and I are all now stable and secure where once we were frightened and unhappy.

It wasn't bitterness that drove it. It was compassion for a woman they had never met who was in pain and alone. Which in itself is an incredible thing.

[Feelingpissedoff]

I came on here because I don't want to tell every little humiliating detail. Speaking online to a group who have empathy & knowledge on the practicalities can be empowering.
Welcome to mn.

[Pagwatch]

Bitter?
About what?
Happily married for 23 years to a fab man. So, bitter about what?

I post on relationships usually when i can't bear to read 'yes he shouts at me, calls me a cunt, won't give me any money and won't help at all around the house. But he's great with the kids' one more time

[Ginebra]

OP, read the thread about the woman who is 40, 8 months pregnant with dc2. Her husband won't let her go to pilates because that is a 'waste of money' even though she paid all his debts and paid the deposit on their house. he can spend what he likes though. on whisky in particular. they earn the same. she got up at 7am with the baby and he slept til ten. he wouldn't let her go and buy second hand stuff for the baby. NICE guy? Misunderstood? does she need to "work at it"???

[KeepCoolCalmAndCollected]

A lot of threads in Relationships are truly horrific, and a lot of advice given is very wise, realistic, supportive and helpful.

Can you be specific and give us some examples?

[McBuckers]

When my husband cheated on me when I was pregnant and again when DD3 was 3 months old, I came on here asking for advice on how to show my husband how much I loved him and how I could change to make him love and want me. The advice I got on this board opened my eyes to how selfish and cruel my husband's behaviour was. Without MN I would have continued to blame myself for my husband's behaviour. The people on this board pulled me through a very difficult time and I am forever grateful for their wisdom and kindness.

[Spero]

If by 'bitter' you mean I have lived through it and would like to share my knowledge and offer support, just in the hope it will help someone not waste years of their life in a relationship that is not just stagnant but abusive, then yep I'm as bitter as a truck load of lemons and proud to be so.

[Diagonally]

I think you are confusing bitterness with experience, OP.

You need to give an example.

[WobblyHalo]

Yip, you are confusing 'bitter' with a whole range of things. Try realistic for one. The women on here have mostly lived through shit and are trying to help other women to learn through their mistakes.

I don't post a lot, but I lurk and read, and it has helped me a lot!

[MadAboutHotChoc]

I was one of the many OPs who came on here and was told that he was probably having an affair - thanks goodness they did otherwise I would have spent months going crazy trying to be the perfect wife while he was shagging OW.

[ImperialBlether]

I was driven nearly crazy by my ex's infidelity. He didn't go out at night without me and it didn't occur to me that he was having an affair. I felt like my world was collapsing yet on the surface everything was fine.

If I'd been able to come on here I know I would have had some fantastic help.

Sometimes the advice is harsh. It has to be when someone is desperately in denial. There is usually one line that hits home and from that moment the woman concerned sees her life how it really is.

Do you really think anyone enjoys watching that happen?

[izzyizin]

'Bitter' suggests one who has an axe to grind, but the perceptive and the pragmatic have no ulterior motive when recounting personal experiences in order to support and advise others.

What's your motive for starting this thread and in what way do you envisage it adding value to this board?

[BitBewildered]

I have a great DH, happy life and am sometimes appalled at the circumstances some OPs describe. My DM had dreadful partners who were abusive in various ways and was sexually abused by her stepfather. Her life has been shit, and my older brothers lives were severely affected by watching their mum being beaten up by their father and once she left him and went into homeless accomodation with 3 small DSs my father came along and did the same thing.

Living in an abusive relationship is awful. People who are in one would be better out of it. If you think I am bitter, that's fine.