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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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DH has hidden some heavy stuff...AIBU to want to separate?

829 replies

mummymalta · 29/05/2016 22:53

3 weeks ago DH revealed some very personal things which I feel I should have known before we got married. To be honest, we are all entitled to secrets and personal experiences I suppose, but where do you draw the line?

DH and I have been together for 10 years and married for 7. He's my best friend, I feel like I knew and loved him so much. Affirming these things is very strange to me. We were solid.

A "friend" of DH from the country he used to live in came to a party of a mutual friend of ours. Lets call him Bob. I don't know Bob, DH has only mentioned him briefly and my friend knows him but not well. He came with my friends brother who he is sort of close to. DH didn't want to come to the party (long day) and didn't know Bob would be there. I kissed the kids and ran out the house desperate for freedom on a friday night went to the party.

Get to the party and was enjoying child free time when my friends brother came over to say hi with Bob. "Bob you haven't met DH's wife have you? it's been about 12 years right? "
Bob: "Holy shit - you know I barely remember those days"
He then made a slick comment about him and DH being on coke half the time. I really cant remember what he said verbatim but I sort of nervously laughed (was shocked and he was drunk) and excused myself.

Naturally went home and curiously prodded DH the next morning in bed who waffled about trying it a couple of times and said Bob was a royal prick with a big bouth. I was uneasy that he didn't tell me but nothing divorce worthy. I ask why he didn't tell me and prodded as you do (smelled a rat, wife spidey sense) and then he told me:

He had a coke habit when he went to live abroad in his early twenties right before I met him. He said it was just a bit of fun and just when it started getting a bit out of control he met a girl who he really loved. They had a real relationship and spent a year getting high. Only god knows how he kept his job, but of course drug addiction doesn't necessarily have a face. Anyway she had previously had a heroin addiction and they started doing heavier stuff. He freaked out and ended it. She stopped picking up her mobile and he went to check on her she's dead in flat. Huge drama with her family/ police / drug debt I wont get into it but its fucking insane. He comes home tells no one traumatised. We meet about a year and a half later.

I didnt sense one thing - he spoke of his couple of years abroad quite normally but rarely looking back. I thought nothing of it why would I?

I'm still in shock, not just from the incident, but of the fact that he didn't tell me. I was so shocked that I just said he needs to give me time to digest it. We haven't spoken about it since because I've just shut down. I don't know what's wrong with me - I feel nothing. It's like he's a stranger now. We had a very happy and passionate marriage. Such a great banter affection. Even the kids sense something is off. He keeps trying to talk about it but i don't even hear a word he's saying. I just keep on thinking who are you?

AIBU to want to separate for a bit? I have had no time to digest this?! He said lets send the kids to their nans for half term and deal with this so off they go tomorrow.

OP posts:
DoinItFine · 30/05/2016 21:22

You do know him.

He is exactly the privileged, dishonest little shit moving on from his crimes to a nice successful life unsullied by his tourist trip to drugsville.

Given that he pimped out the girlfriend he definitely physically abused and probably raped, it is pretty disturbing that he would compare his violrnt and criminal past to the past of a victimised woman.

He only told you because you coukd easily have looked up the friend who told you sbout his fun adventures in beating up women.

Creep.

DoinItFine · 30/05/2016 21:24

We can't call ourselves civilised if we don't allow rich young men to abuse women and walk away as if it never happened?

Hmm
Babettescat · 30/05/2016 21:25

Your DH did drugs for a brief while before you met him?

I don't owe my partner every single aspect of my past especially bits I am not proud of. Neither does he.

Your reaction is quite OTT.

Janecc · 30/05/2016 21:26

Babette did you RTFT?!!!!

Babettescat · 30/05/2016 21:27

Ah RTFT. That's big stuff. The rape and murder accusations!

limitedperiodonly · 30/05/2016 21:27

But don't you believe everyone deserves a second chance DoinItFine?

Babettescat · 30/05/2016 21:27

Ah RTFT. That's big stuff. The rape and murder accusations!

WannaBe · 30/05/2016 21:30

To be fair, the murder "accusations" came from posters on this thread as some said it was convenient the gf was dead, and other posters jumped on that and turned it into accusations that perhaps he murdered her.

AnotherTimeMaybe · 30/05/2016 21:30

But don't you believe everyone deserves a second chance DoinItFine?

I do if the person showed any sign of regrets! Not what's happening here

DoinItFine · 30/05/2016 21:34

This dude is still on his first chance.

He did some seriously nasty, immoral criminal stuff that he just swept under the carpet, along with his victims.

He can't even be arsed talking about it, so little is he troubled by the fucked upnthings he did to other human beings a litlle more than a decade ago.

aginghippy · 30/05/2016 21:35

People deserve a second chance if they face up to their mistakes and are genuinely contrite and remorseful. Not sure if mummymalta's dh is in this category. He may be in the deny, minimise and brush under the carpet category.

ClashCityRocker · 30/05/2016 21:37

I believe in second chances, but I also believe in honesty - he has not been honest with OP and to me that smacks of trying to sweep it under the rug rather than facing up to it. Having said that, I can understand why he didn't want to do that - but he should have done.

and yes some posters did get very silly.

Emilyfarnsbarns · 30/05/2016 21:40

Oh for goodness sake doinitfine that is not helpful at all. As others have said, if we do not allow people to start again and move on after they have made monumental mistakes, then we're not a civil society and following on from your way of thinking - why not lock all criminals up for the rest of their lives?!

And not all prostitutes are victimised - some do it willingly as a way of making easy, fast money. MN will not like this fact, but it is a fact. You cannot say all of them are victimised.

Mummymalta I think you're doing brilliantly. It will take time to get through this. As has already been said, he has told you the worst of it and he didn't need to, he could have been very vague and you would have been none the wiser. Your husband is the man you know now.
Try to not listen to all those baiting for more drama - this is not their life...

clam · 30/05/2016 21:41

Your DH did drugs for a brief while before you met him?

Well, it was a little bit more than smoking the odd joint, to be fair.

ffs, readthefuckingthread

limitedperiodonly · 30/05/2016 21:43

He probably thought it was all in the past. How was he to know that OP would bump into Bob from his former life at a party? Maybe he needs time to come to terms with the long-buried horror that this chance meeting has unearthed. I think they could move on from this. Perhaps with a bit of councilling.

ClashCityRocker · 30/05/2016 21:44

Um, she was a drug addict who was on at least one occasion beaten up by her junkie pimp boyfriend because she had no money for crack.

I'm hedging a guess that she was a victim in this scenario...

notonyurjellybellynelly · 30/05/2016 21:44

He has shown remorse and been contrite. He turned his life around!

ClashCityRocker · 30/05/2016 21:45

Sorry that was to emily

ClashCityRocker · 30/05/2016 21:46

Turning your life around does not equal remorse.

DoinItFine · 30/05/2016 21:46

following on from your way of thinking - why not lock all criminals up for the rest of their lives?!

Confused

This criminal hasn't served a single day in prison for the crimes he has admittted committing, and given his economy with the truth and lack of remorse we can presume he has not given the full facts.

According to your line of reasoning we should just let people go around committing horrific violent crimes and do nothing at all about it, even if they don't even pretend to be sorry.

JayDot500 · 30/05/2016 21:47

Doinitfine Yes he's privileged and rich, and then there is the awful past, not to mention the people who he has affected. But a person must be given a chance to prove they have changed. It's been over ten years, he hasn't done anything like that again it seems. Allegations seem to have come to nothing (although I would research this). It's you who thinks he is walking around as if nothing happened, you don't know if he still struggles with the past. The fact he is seemingly arrogant about it all is a matter the OP will have to call for herself as time passes. We can appear arrogant when we brush off things we would rather not discuss emotionally.

Emilyfarnsbarns · 30/05/2016 21:47

I wasn't talking about the gf being victimised. It was in response to his comment about 'would you ask a former prostitute about her former clients' and doinitfine commented about them all being victimised, which they're not.

Heidi42 · 30/05/2016 21:48

This is sounding more like a script from a film sorry OP I do believe you, personally I think you should talk it all out till you feel better, it's obv been a terrible shock for you and you love him very much . I so hope you have a happy ending .

limitedperiodonly · 30/05/2016 21:49

But he might have spent every day regretting it DoinItFine. And now he's been exposed. I feel a bit sorry for him.

DoinItFine · 30/05/2016 21:50

He didn't "turn his life around" Hmm

He walked away from his brief sojourn in the seedy world of NYC hard drugs scene and returned to the privileged moneyedife he always knew was there waiting for him.

I know more thsn one person who managed that unremarkable feat.

Admittedly the ones who committed crimes actually had to go to jail first.