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Ex husband and new kitchen

238 replies

donotknowhownottomind · 17/11/2019 07:27

Ex moved out 19 months ago and we have been divorced for almost a year.

It was a horrible divorce - I divorced him due to emotional abuse mainly - and he does not speak to me at all. Any logistical message which I have to send him is never responded to - ever. Though he does read them and sometimes do what is suggested.

One of the worst things about our marriage was the fact that he would regularly subject me to very long silent treatments - we are talking weeks and weeks. It’s hardly surprising that having had the temerity to divorce him I am now dead to him 🙄.

The settlement meant that I got the family home and he got smaller assets, which put together roughly equalled the value of the house. He could have sold these and got somewhere suitable for him and the kids when they were with him, but instead he has been building a new property for him to live in for the past I don’t know how long, and living in another of his assets which is not suitable for the dc (teenagers).

So he has been coming to mine when the dc are home from school and cooking for them - while I am still at work. We never cross paths. The last time we came face to face was in February.

This has been ok but I have recently told him (by unanswered email) that it has to stop when he finishes his house - because I can see a situation where he either never finishes the house, or the dc don’t want to budge and he is still coming to mine months down the line.

The issue now is that after months of saving and planning and buying units and organising it all, and emptying the old one, I am having a new kitchen installed, to replace our very old and manky one.

Aibu not to want ex, who ignores me completely, to be using it when it is finished? Not always but he sometimes leaves a mess, I know he bangs pots and pans around but now we have a fragile induction hob, and he used to sometimes cut straight on to our wooden worktop (Angry) when we were together, but he better bloody not do that to the new ones being installed!

As is normal, all the effort has been made by me (am painting it as well), but he might even get to use it before I do - it will be ready to use on Tuesday afternoon.

Aibu to just want ex to go away and to claim what is now my space? Am I being petty?

Forgot to add that he very obviously got together with someone while we were forced to live in the same house for months during the divorce. It was extremely painful for me. I don’t know if they are still together, but he obviously moved on at the speed of light. Why, two years after this, is he going to be in my hard worked for kitchen which he essentially won’t give a shit about?

OP posts:
Horsemad · 30/11/2019 09:28

Do people generally ignore your wishes OP?

How does that make you feel?

JKScot4 · 30/11/2019 09:28

Yes the kids can do as they’re told and stop being so disrespectful to you. I don’t know any divorced couple who carry on like this, I’d tell them they’ll be losing wifi if they disobey you.

RandomMess · 30/11/2019 09:29

Yes you can tell your DC is not to come in anymore!!!

You explain that him damaging your property and stopping CM with no notice isn't an accident and no-one deserves to be treated like that EVER including you.

You explain for your well-being and to stop his abuse that if they wish to see him on those week nights then they need to go out with him. That Ex has been told he is not to come in and you are telling them the same.

If they don't want to see him if it means going out that's fine and you will let him know not to stop by and pick them up.

Interested in this thread?

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chocolatesaltyballs22 · 30/11/2019 09:31

You've posted about this before and everyone told you to stop letting him into your house. I can only repeat what I said last time. It's up to him to provide a space where he can see the kids. He's walking all over you, and you're letting him.

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 30/11/2019 09:34

And yes, you can tell them to keep their own father out of YOUR house. My daughter has instructions to tell her dad to wait in the car when he comes to pick her up. She does as she's told as she understands that MY house is MY space and I don't want him in there.

Singlenotsingle · 30/11/2019 09:35

I bet he wouldn't allow you to go to his house (or wherever he's living) and use the kitchen. No, I thought not. It's a control issue.

TowelNumber42 · 30/11/2019 09:42

However I can’t ask them to keep their own father out of the house, so I have to approach it differently.

What? Of course you can. This is completely normal in many divorced families. What on earth makes you think you can't demand this completely ordinary thing?

PigOnStilts · 30/11/2019 09:48

@towelnumber42

Its not for her children to manage his access. Your responsibility op. Own it.

Cobblersandhogwash · 30/11/2019 09:55

Look, it's up to him to make the effort with the dcs. Not for you to enable him and them.

I would never have let him in my home in the first place.

He should take them out etc.

He has zero respect for you so I can't imagine your new kitchen will fare well.

Cobblersandhogwash · 30/11/2019 09:57

Even if it is about the worktops, so what?

Say you made a mistake from the off even letting him in the house.

Say you're uncomfortable with it because he was so horrible to you.

You don't actually need to justify yourself though, you know. It's your home.

areyouafraidofthedark · 30/11/2019 10:00

Go to CMS, ban him from your house indefinitely, tell the children he is no longer welcome and if they let him in there will be consequences ie no technology. Time to play hard ball OP.

Mumsnut · 30/11/2019 10:07

is it possible for you to move house? It would be a wake-up call for ex and your dc - they have all pissed on your boundaries

He may not have the same territory marking Instinct towards a new place

Parker231 · 30/11/2019 10:10

As he has burnt one of your new pans - tell - not ask him that he needs to transfer the money to you for it to be replaced.

Cherrysoup · 30/11/2019 10:27

Yes, you CAN keep their father out of YOUR house. It is yours, not his, he has no rights to come in. You need to be firm with the kids. A solicitor”s letter would be useful. Stop allowing him to still control you!

moltonbrownsoap · 30/11/2019 10:57

Wow sometimes I read things on mn and slap my hand on my head asking if people are really like this. Rarely do I post. I'm not sure what you gained in divorcing him. You are enabling him to control you over and over. What will it take for you to show your dc good boundaries and for you to have your own home?
Why do you post about what should I do then get hundreds of responses all saying 'BOUNDARIES' and then go ahead and let him walk all over you. You're not doing yourself your dc or even him any favours.

moltonbrownsoap · 30/11/2019 10:59

Oh and don't dither about CMS just get it done. Because I'm actually sure this will affect what happens next in your sorry saga. You deserve financial support. Tell him once he's found a suitable place for the dc to be they will be coming each week. And see a solicitor anyway. The solicitor letter is a good one and normally finally alerts the controller that you mean business having let them walk all over you in recent times.

buckeejit · 30/11/2019 12:50

Tell dc not to let him in again. Tell him not to enter your home again. His lack of preparation is not your problem, even though you've enabled him for too long.

Be firm so you can move on. I'd actually leave all his stuff on the front doorstep or by the door for dc to pass out to him. Dc are old enough to feed themselves - he can take them to a coffee shop if needs behold luck

timeisnotaline · 30/11/2019 14:03

Oh op please stop being such a doormat!!! There’s a reason you are divorcing him.

  1. You can tell the children not to let him in
  2. If you don’t trust them to do this (which is NOT a good reason for not telling them) I think the suggestion to have a lock on the kitchen door (dc don’t have keys) and leave snacks outside of the kitchen is a good one.
  3. Tell him you want payment by Friday for the missing maintenance and your pan. You will start the process to sell his remaining things in your house Saturday and Monday start a cms claim if the money isnt there.
  4. Every single night and morning look in the mirror and say 3 times ‘if the dc don’t see their dad that is his fault. All of it. All I can do is be the best mum I can . I am not afraid of them not seeing him, they have me and he makes his own choices.’
BlackCatSleeping · 30/11/2019 14:24

It’s tough but you need to stand up to him. Talk to a solicitor about the best way to keep him out. Involve the

BlackCatSleeping · 30/11/2019 14:25

Police if necessary.

PerkyPomPoms · 30/11/2019 22:41

He shouldn’t be in your house he can buy the kids a hot meal if they need it. Why should you pay for the power and food? That’s for him to sort. He needs to be kept out and your kids need to understand that he is their dad BUT he has no right to go in your house and damage your things.

SurpriseSparDay · 01/12/2019 01:45

So, OP, your latest email, apparently intended to keep him away from your house, contains an urgent invitation to him to return, at his convenience.

I don’t think I’ve ever hidden a thread I’m actually on before - but this one is teaching me the meaning of the word ‘triggering’, and I’m really not enjoying the experience.

donotknowhownottomind · 01/12/2019 06:04

Why, because he needs to remove his furniture? How else is he going to remove it other than by picking it up?

We were together for a long time, we have 3 dc. Once this whole afternoon and cooking issue is sorted out, which it will be because my next step is the solicitor’s letter, he will still be the dc’s Dad who comes to pick them up. He can also pick his furniture up. If he doesn’t (more than likely) at some stage I will have to get rid of it.

This is the thing - you might be triggered. I have been pretty triggered and depressed by so many posters calling me spineless, and have felt pretty shit about myself.

However there have been other posters whose insights have really helped so I have returned to the thread despite the people who have joined the “cor OP, get some backbone” chorus. The people who have insisted that if I wanted to I could get some time off work (no, until Xmas I really can’t) etc... On the other hand the backbone posts (though a bit rude some of them) have also helped as they have made me think a bit. I think people do enjoy being scandalised by a situation however, without really understanding the history or dynamic that got the people involved there. However it is true that once my boundaries are much stronger I will feel a lot better and I am working on it. What posters don’t realise is that the divorce itself was a massive exercise in boundary setting and things are already so much better for me than they were. It also was a really horrible experience and took a lot of courage to go through, though I did have help from my own family. So this is the last hurdle and I will get there.

So your post just now has been a bit triggering for me Parker, and what reason was there to tell me that in any case in the way that you did.

There have been people who have been very direct but kind, and they have helped.

With ex, there have been times that my dc are off school sick. I haven’t been able to take time off work but being self-employed he has been able to pop in on them. While I don’t want him cooking in the afternoons any more and taking over in that way, I couldn’t tell my ill dc that their Dad cannot come to see how they are while I am at work. Or tell him that he couldn’t look in on his child. For example.

When his bloody house is finished he can pick up any ill dc and they can lie on the sofa at his house while I am at work.

I am trying to see my way out to the other side of what has been a traumatising experience. I feel damaged by the last years of the marriage and the divorce. Altered and damaged. I don’t know if I will ever be able to have another relationship as I feel so kind of jaded and uninterested in a way.

I would like a normal life however, and have just started going back to counselling. It is just permanently odd however that with ex there is no communication whatsoever. It would be so much better if we were able to talk about the dc. Instead I do my utmost never to cross his path as there is too much bad feeling and still some fear of what he might say. It’s him in any case. He could easily answer the logistical messages that I need to send him but he doesn’t.

So I have to accept that the silence that he used as a weapon during our marriage will never in fact go away. No amicable co-parenting for me. I have to get to a place where that silence no longer affects me. I am getting there. When he told me I was using the children as pawns (Hmm) the penny kind of finally dropped. Because it was such a manipulative statement and such a load of nonsense. Which means that a lot of what went on in the last years of the marriage was pretty manipulative as well. I don’t know how you come to terms with that.

OP posts:
donotknowhownottomind · 01/12/2019 06:17

The other main priority is trying to sort out the maintenance because that’s £240 a month that I have lost with no word of warning Angry.

OP posts:
donotknowhownottomind · 01/12/2019 06:17

And it makes me a bit scared.

OP posts: