Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to be angry he locked us in while ill?

167 replies

BeDandyFawn · 17/04/2026 11:54

My husband has been away with work this week, he called me from the airport to say he was feeling unwell with a bug, he had fever, chills, upset stomach, headache and said he might even go straight to a hotel when he lands instead of driving the 40 mins home.
When he landed I got a text to say that he will stay in our self contained unit which we are very lucky to have, it’s right next to the house - bedroom, bathroom, TV, kitchenette.
He asked for the heating to go on, my daughter and I made sure everything was comfortable - we left a huge jug of water, glass, paracetamol and some Dioralyte.
I then went to bed and he then came across to the house - grabbed the kettle and then took the back door keys and locked the door from the outside leaving me, my daughter and her boyfriend locked in the house!!!
I was absolutely furious when I realised he had done this when I came downstairs, I know it sounds utterly pathetic but I do have a real issue that he doesn’t think of others and always prioritises himself. I text him to say how cross I was and he said he’s been vomiting, and poorly throughout the night. He said he locked us in and kept the keys in “incase he needed to access the house in the night because he was poorly”….he’s mid 40’s and has a sickness bug!!
I know this sounds like such a pathetic ramble but I am so cross that he would lock us in, we have a front door but it has steep steps and following a recent operation I can’t use this. I just feel there is no thought for us, he’s sick so everything revolves around him - I feel it’s so selfish, it’s like there is no consideration for others, he gets what he needs but it doesn’t matter about the rest of us.
Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
KarmenPQZ · 20/04/2026 12:31

I don’t get it. If there’s only one set of keys how did he get in? Or was it open. Was your expectation that the back door would stay unlocked all night?

Why isn’t there more keys if it’s your only way in/out?

Mackerelfillets · 20/04/2026 12:06

You were not unreasonable to be cross but come on dont you or daughter have a spare key? That is unreasonable.

Ilovelurchers · 20/04/2026 00:24

Seems a bit of a strong reaction, as sickness bugs can be terribly painful and make you feel really unwell and not yourself, so I can understand making a mistake in this instance. And in a way he was being thoughtful isolating himself from the family so that you didn't catch it.

However, the general thoughtlessness you speak of may well be a problem, and obviously I can't comment on that as you haven't detailed it. But it does sound like you have reached a tipping point maybe?

Inspectors · 19/04/2026 20:42

Trusttheawesome · 19/04/2026 09:40

I don’t have any doors like that. Both front and back door require a key to unlock frrom both sides.

Well the OP hasn't said she was unable to open the lock - whichever style of lock she has - on her front door.
Therefore she still had a front door to exit from.

Ljzjta · 19/04/2026 18:22

He only locked you in by the back door, you can access and leave by the front door. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that he would want access to the house. You are being very unsympathetic in my opinion.

rwalker · 19/04/2026 18:20

Bombayss · 19/04/2026 11:22

So selfish and dangerous.
He sounds like a total moronic man child.
Yanbu.

So you think the option of leaving the door unlocked would be better

Bombayss · 19/04/2026 11:22

So selfish and dangerous.
He sounds like a total moronic man child.
Yanbu.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 19/04/2026 11:18

GreyfriarsJobbies · 19/04/2026 08:52

Do people really, like really really, think that what happened here was anything more than a minor brain fart on the part of the husband, who may not have been at his most lucid? It seems to me that people are using the vanishingly unlikely scenario of a fire - that in particular blocked timely egress through the front door but not the back - as a means to come to the usual conclusion that All Men Are Unthinking Bastards. How do you function in the big bad world if you catastrophise to that extent? Like others have said he was never going to win here; lock the door and he wants you to die in a fire. Not lock the door and he wants you to be murdered. Come and disturb you in bed and he wants you to catch whatever he's got (probably Ebola). Load of fuss over nothing.

He's an alcoholic. Drunks and fires go hand in hand - including deaths due to starting them, not being able to react and from stupid decisions that make it impossible for people to escape.

https://www.notts-fire.gov.uk/professional/charlie-p-training/a-alcohol-and-drug-related-fire-incidents/

A - Alcohol and drug related fire incidents - Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service

Alcohol is a significant factor in accidental dwelling fires, contributing to 8% (2,483) of accidental dwelling fires in England in 2011/12. In these instances, it was over three times more likely that the fire would result in a fire-related death, and...

https://www.notts-fire.gov.uk/professional/charlie-p-training/a-alcohol-and-drug-related-fire-incidents

ItsOkItsDarkChocolate · 19/04/2026 09:59

ArtAngel · 17/04/2026 12:13

He made a bad / daft decision in a moment when he was ill and dashing.

It's good that he thought of you and your Dd in keeping himself in quarantine.

Do you not have more than one set of keys?

If the place was on fire I bet you could use the steep steps!! Or your DH would have come and unlocked/

Irritating but I think you are over-reacting.

Edited

This.

Clearly more of a bigger issue going on here, but the man was unwell, we don’t think clearly when in that state.

Get more keys.

CJ50Mum · 19/04/2026 09:43

Manxexile · 17/04/2026 14:05

Not only was it selfish and inappropriate - it's also a criminal offence!

He prevented you, your daughter and her boyfriend from leaving the house?

What if there had been a fire?

Report him to the police for imprisoning all three of you and for his bullying and coercive behaviour.

What he did is neither normal nor acceptable.

It's criminal and inexcusable - man cold or not

Edited

Did you not read that the house has a front door with a key?

Trusttheawesome · 19/04/2026 09:40

Inspectors · 18/04/2026 18:00

So interior they will have a turning lock mechanism that can be twisted open

You mean like the inside of the OP's front door.
Or the inside of any front door.
Simply turn the the lock and open the door and walk out.

I don’t have any doors like that. Both front and back door require a key to unlock frrom both sides.

Oldraver · 19/04/2026 09:34

This really should of been a non problem solved by having more keys.

Yes he was being selfish if it was your only set but the problem shouldn't of arisen in the first place

stopthemud · 19/04/2026 09:31

OP can you please link your other thread people are talking about.

rwalker · 19/04/2026 09:29

MummyWillow1 · 19/04/2026 08:05

What if there was a fire? Would you have been able to get out?

I think your more at risk from burgled and attacked from an open door rather than burning to death

GreyfriarsJobbies · 19/04/2026 08:52

Do people really, like really really, think that what happened here was anything more than a minor brain fart on the part of the husband, who may not have been at his most lucid? It seems to me that people are using the vanishingly unlikely scenario of a fire - that in particular blocked timely egress through the front door but not the back - as a means to come to the usual conclusion that All Men Are Unthinking Bastards. How do you function in the big bad world if you catastrophise to that extent? Like others have said he was never going to win here; lock the door and he wants you to die in a fire. Not lock the door and he wants you to be murdered. Come and disturb you in bed and he wants you to catch whatever he's got (probably Ebola). Load of fuss over nothing.

MummyWillow1 · 19/04/2026 08:05

What if there was a fire? Would you have been able to get out?

SparklyLeader · 19/04/2026 03:46

Change the locks immediately so that can never happen again. You keep several sets of the new keys inside, don't tell him. Massively dangerous fire hazard! He's an A+ a.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 18/04/2026 22:03

KilkennyCats · 18/04/2026 21:55

She can use the internal stairs, apparently. I imagine she’d manage to use the outdoor ones as well if the alternative was perishing in an inferno.

And if this inferno has started on that side of the house, so the exit would be via the locked back door?

KilkennyCats · 18/04/2026 21:55

HaveYouFedTheFish · 18/04/2026 21:46

She explicitly stated that she has mobility issues and had an operation recently and can't use the front door due to steep steps - which he presumably also knows, being married to her and living with her...

She can use the internal stairs, apparently. I imagine she’d manage to use the outdoor ones as well if the alternative was perishing in an inferno.

HaveYouFedTheFish · 18/04/2026 21:52

Butterme · 18/04/2026 19:56

What was the alternative? Leave the door unlocked all night?

Then you would be saying how dangerous it was that he left the door unlocked.

There was a front door, windows and presumably more than 1 back door key.

No need to be dramatic.

That's the decision of the people inside the house - who had left the door unlocked, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get in

If it's like our door then if you close the door it locks and can't be opened from the outside without force, but if you lock it from the outside it's double locked and more secure. Whether it's more dangerous to be locked in or not to double lock depends on what kind of area you live in.

HaveYouFedTheFish · 18/04/2026 21:46

KilkennyCats · 18/04/2026 19:08

He lives there, so had probably noticed the house has a front door.

She explicitly stated that she has mobility issues and had an operation recently and can't use the front door due to steep steps - which he presumably also knows, being married to her and living with her...

Tuesdayschild50 · 18/04/2026 20:11

Do you not have 2 sets of door keys so he can lock it and come in if needs too .. and you or your family can get out if you need too.
Its annoying but get 2 sets of keys for that door.

Butterme · 18/04/2026 19:56

HaveYouFedTheFish · 18/04/2026 19:01

That changes nothing in the moment that this man chose to lock his wife, his daughter and someone else's son into a building and take the key.

What was the alternative? Leave the door unlocked all night?

Then you would be saying how dangerous it was that he left the door unlocked.

There was a front door, windows and presumably more than 1 back door key.

No need to be dramatic.

GoldenGail · 18/04/2026 19:29

Tontostitis · 17/04/2026 12:22

Aside from him being an abusive alcoholic....yanbu to not want to be locked into your own home. Had there been a fire you'd have been in serious trouble

No, she has an opening front door and windows

KilkennyCats · 18/04/2026 19:08

HaveYouFedTheFish · 18/04/2026 19:01

That changes nothing in the moment that this man chose to lock his wife, his daughter and someone else's son into a building and take the key.

He lives there, so had probably noticed the house has a front door.