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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH angry about my behaviour at playdate

233 replies

Plastictreesofgold · 02/08/2026 08:01

I'm feeling a bit unsettled about DHs behaviour so looking for people's perspectives.
For background Me and DH are in our 40s married 10 years with one DD who is 6. I would say since having DD the relationship has become strained, very little intimacy and in general he just seems withdrawn and unhappy. Ive raised concerns asked for us to attend couples counselling he has refused. My main issue is that he will often go silent fully ignore me if I say something to me or give one word or grunts as answers.

My DH suspects he is autistic I agree it seems likely though he has severe childhood trauma too so that could be a factor, he blames his behaviour (silent treatment) on the autism but he's never moved forward with diagnosis. He drinks a bottle of wine at least 5 nights a week he says its because of the stress of masking.

On Friday we had a playdate with my childs friend and her mum who I've become good friends with we hadn't seen each in ages she brought a bottle of wine and we had the nicest catch up. I rarely get to see my friends and had a tough week work wise so it was nice to laugh and connect with someone. My husband would also be friendly with this woman but immediately when she arrived he said he was going upstairs and didn't sit down at all (he finds social interactions draining so assume he was happier watching TV upstairs) he came down twice over the 3.5hrs once to ask me if the dog was fed. I joked " we got carried away sorry no, not a child in the house washed or fed" and the second time he came back from walking the dog I was in the middle of telling my friend a story about something we had been discussing when she first arrived and when he came in I said "I promise we've chatted about other things too haha" he was otherwise silent when he came into the room.
When my friend left I could tell the energy with DH was off he went to bed without saying goodnight (he wasworking early sat morning,) and when I text him the next morning to say my DD ended up vomiting during the night he didn't respond.
When he got home he told me that I was obnoxious and treated him like a "c@#t' in front of my friend and that I "always do it," when questioned about what I said he said it was my tone. He was really angry but said he wouldn't discuss it further and announced he was going for a nap.
I'm baffled, because I thought my awkward jokey responses when he came in were fine..... certainly not meant to upset him and I'm still confused as to why they upset him.

I feel so unsettled and weird now because i feel like when me and my DD were downstairs having fun with our friends he was sitting upstairs silently seething at me over something I had no idea about. Its made me not want to have anyone over while he's here and honestly I'm starting to think there's no saving this marriage now but the thoughts of having to share custody and not live with my daughter all the time terrifies me.

OP posts:
Besidemyselfwithworry · 02/08/2026 11:31

Myfridgeiscool · 02/08/2026 08:06

He sounds awful, no one wants to live with a moody fucker. Silent treatment is abuse OP.

This
I would leave him
no intimacy
mardy, silent treatment
alcoholic

why on earth would you even want to salvage this? I know I wouldn’t!! Life is too short!

Duckiewasthefirstniceguy · 02/08/2026 11:29

oviraptor21 · 02/08/2026 11:28

Maybe not intentional but comes across as 'aren't you silly for thinking that I have forgotten or not bothered to look after the pets/children'.

Oh, for goodness sake.

oviraptor21 · 02/08/2026 11:28

DoughnutDreamer · 02/08/2026 08:37

It wasn’t a sarcastic response directed at him. If anything it was a joke implying she was useless and had neglected the animals and kids for wine and a chat with her friend. There was nothing directed at him at all.

Maybe not intentional but comes across as 'aren't you silly for thinking that I have forgotten or not bothered to look after the pets/children'.

ThisSparklyHelper · 02/08/2026 11:25

Plastictreesofgold · 02/08/2026 11:20

No she is mine and my DHs child. I gave birth to her.

Apologies, don't know which post I picked that up from.

oviraptor21 · 02/08/2026 11:23

YANBU about his general behaviour.
But making jokes at my expense is what my DH does. It's not cool. I usually call him out on it but it gets tiresome. If your DH is socially awkward you are just making things worse for him.

MolkosTeenageAngst · 02/08/2026 11:21

Happyjoe · 02/08/2026 10:02

In the OP's post she explains that her husband is normally friendly with this lady. I presume she's been around before and all ok.
So if he was really suffering with anxiety etc of having someone around, why has he been ok before with her?

Sorry, I thought I had quoted but it’s disappeared - please see my above post in response to this question.

Plastictreesofgold · 02/08/2026 11:20

ThisSparklyHelper · 02/08/2026 11:17

Agree, so sad for everyone involved, especially the little girl. The child is the OPs step daughter so I don't see a 50 50 split being a possibility but correct me if I'm wrong.

No she is mine and my DHs child. I gave birth to her.

OP posts:
MolkosTeenageAngst · 02/08/2026 11:20

I don’t know but I don’t think not always reacting in the same way to people or events is a uniquely autistic thing. How we feel on any given day and how much resilience or energy we have to deal with a stressor is not always the same. Things like hunger, tiredness, hormones, illness etc can affect how we feel. For me how easily I can cope with social interaction and change will depend a lot on what I have already been doing that day, I am high masking in my day-to-day life but that takes a lot of energy and some days when I’ve had to navigate a lot of social interactions or something unexpected has happened that I’ve had to navigate I come home and have no energy to manage even the simplest social demand or change.

is As I said, I can be this way even with my own friends who I have invited over sometimes even though obviously I am comfortable with them. It’s not about the individual person, it’s about my ability as an autistic person to cope with the social demands, to communicate or read the situation or to cope with a change of routine. That ability can vary day to day or situation to situation. It’s the case with a lot of disabilities that functioning can fluctuate based on other factors.

I can’t say which combination of factors may have led him to be this way. Maybe the friend isn’t usually around in the evening and it doesn’t usually affect his routine in the same way. Maybe he’d had a stressful day already navigating change or social situations and just needed to switch off. Maybe he was more tired than usual. Maybe the play date wasn’t communicated to him far enough in advance for him to feel prepared. Maybe he’d isn’t usually in a situation where he is sober and the people he’s interacting with are drinking. Maybe something else, I don’t know! I wasn’t aware it was a neurodivergent thing to react differently to things on different days based on the situation or mood and if that’s genuinely not something you’ve ever experience then that is a bit mind-blowing to me!

PetulaGordeno · 02/08/2026 11:19

He is an alcoholic and at the heart of alcoholism is resentment. He resented the fact that you were having a good time with your friend.
He wanted your attention and felt you brushed him off. Which is so childish.

ThisSparklyHelper · 02/08/2026 11:17

CinnamonJellyBeans · 02/08/2026 11:10

Yes. Would he actually want 50 50 custody if you divorced?

This must be a horrible home for your little girl

Agree, so sad for everyone involved, especially the little girl. The child is the OPs step daughter so I don't see a 50 50 split being a possibility but correct me if I'm wrong.

Thehop · 02/08/2026 11:17

He was in a mood because you were having fun and he couldn't drink, or join in. (Through his choices)

he tried blaming you and punishing you and he's now shotting himself and trying to pretend it didn't happen to get you back onside.

you're getting nothing from this relationship but wasting your funnest years. Though I get your fear about contact......would he even want much?

Foodylicious · 02/08/2026 11:14

Okay, so personality aside
Has he ever had any treatment for his anxiety?
Is he aware that he doesn't have to feel like this (the fear of being around others in a shop for example, feeling uneasy around your friends)?
That how he likely feels after a drink (as you describe - lighter etc), can be achieved through treatment - either or both psychological or medication.

It does sound like he is self medicating.
Definitely worth him exploring an assessment. Possibly a combined adhd and autism assessment.

He does need to find a better way of communicating with you.

NoMumLeftBehindLiz · 02/08/2026 11:12

He sounds very similar to my ex. Never diagnosed but our DD is AuDHD and I now suspect Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria was behind a lot of the times he lost his temper at something I had supposedly done or said (but could never give me a clear example of) that was utterly baffling to me.
Knowing what I know now I would interpret this as him feeling “rejected” simply because you chose to spend time with a friend instead of him. My ex believed that I didn’t need friends because I had him. He certainly had (and still has) no friends. Every time I went out to see a friend he felt rejected. He also refused counselling and so there was only one solution (I left) as it is no way to live. He still believes I have rejected him every single day but I no longer have to live with it or even take notice of it and it is bliss!

CinnamonJellyBeans · 02/08/2026 11:10

IronEverything · 02/08/2026 08:26

So he's self diagnosed himself with autism and uses it as an excuse to drink to excess and be a crappy person? And he refuses to get a proper diagnosis? Yeah, he's not autistic, he's just an alcoholic arsehole.

Yes. Would he actually want 50 50 custody if you divorced?

This must be a horrible home for your little girl

LokiDoki75 · 02/08/2026 11:07

How could you interact with him if he wasn’t there? He took himself off upstairs and then out with the dog!

PhaedraTwo · 02/08/2026 11:04

AgnesX · 02/08/2026 08:19

He wasn't drinking. OP and her friend shared a bottle of wine so not exactly tanking it?

Edited

OP said

He drinks a bottle of wine at least 5 nights a week he says its because of the stress of masking

cabus · 02/08/2026 11:03

Are you able to keep wine in the house? People who need to buy it as they go often have a problem, well the ones I know do anyway.

IStillHearTheWaves · 02/08/2026 11:03

He said he was just "sad" because I ignored him and didn't interact enough with him when my friend was there. He said he felt invisible.

And this is the crux of it, isnt it?

He might well have been confused by the dog comment, but if he is on the spectrum, he's clearly highly functioning and able to ask you what you meant. How did he manage to build a relationship with you to the point of marriage? He is choosing to behave like this towards you.

Couldyounot · 02/08/2026 11:03

OP, this man sounds utterly exhausting to live with. Is anything ever his fault?

Plastictreesofgold · 02/08/2026 10:55

aWeeCornishPastie · 02/08/2026 10:52

He was silently seething by the sounds of it. I have been with men like this before and he sounds awful. And drinking a bottle 5 nights a week?? You can do better than him

I said this to him and he took awful offence to it and said he wasn't angry at all....

OP posts:
BeetrootLentilsGoatsCheese · 02/08/2026 10:55

He sounds difficult and hard to live with.

The alcohol consumption is problematic and in my experience, will increase - it won't go down without proper intervention. It will move from 1 bottle to 2 and so on.

Your "quips" and "jokey comments" indicate to me that you felt awkward in front of your friend. I am not sure if it was obvious to your friend that he was being rude/friendly/unwelcoming, or if you just feared this and tried to overcompensate or "keep things lighthearted".

I will say though, I don't think you should assume any responsibility for his moods. It's really not for you to carry at all. Autism or not, he needs to regulate his moods and communicate his feelings like an adult.

Calling you a c**t is the final nail in the coffin for me. It would be over for me.

I think you need to look seriously at separating. Yes shared custody is hard (I am doing it at the moment and it's hard I won't lie) but honestly it's better than living in a messed up dynamic which will be affecting your daughter, whether you think so or not. Also a lot of these men make a big hoo ha at the beginning about asking for 50/50 but in time a lot fall off and you might have your daughter a lot more than you think, in the end. It's time for you to look into what separation and divorce looks like.

Also - keep seeing your friends. You need them.

Unpaidworkmakestheeconomytick · 02/08/2026 10:54

Please don’t stop seeing your friends. It’s bad for you and bad for your child. Him having a hard time when you and your daughter are having normal social interactions with friends is his problem to deal with. You isolating yourself is not the solution.

Plastictreesofgold · 02/08/2026 10:53

I sent him a text today (as he refuses to talk about it in person) and said that I wanted him to move forward ASAP with ND diagnosis and or trauma counselling and that from now on I wasn't buying any alcohol.
He called me very upset saying that the disagreement over the playdate had nothing to do with his potential autism or alcohol use and that im inventing the issue in my head he wasn't even angry about it (he certainly seemed angry when he told me I was obnoxious and treated him like a c word). He said he was just "sad" because I ignored him and didn't interact enough with him when my friend was there. He said he felt invisible.
He admitted that he misunderstood my first comment about the dog.
He wanted me to explain how his alcohol use is connected I wasn't getting into it I just said again "I'm not buying it anymore". He will be home later so not sure how that will go but I think it's clear I've been enabling his drinking and that stops now.

OP posts:
aWeeCornishPastie · 02/08/2026 10:52

He was silently seething by the sounds of it. I have been with men like this before and he sounds awful. And drinking a bottle 5 nights a week?? You can do better than him

chocoluv · 02/08/2026 10:48

Were you sat in the kitchen?

I’m just wondering why he didn’t ask if you’d fed the kids and if not then he cook for them.

You sound really awkward/on edge around him when your friend is there.

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