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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want to see or speak to her again?

297 replies

froofroomcgoo · 22/04/2017 20:43

Been wanting to write this for a while but didn't have the guts. This could be loooong.

My BF is one of DH's BF. They met at uni, I met her about 3 months after he did. I was her maid of honor, she mine. DH was an usher at her wedding, we see each other most weeks. Or did.

I got pregnant shortly after getting married. She requires an operation before she can have children (well, it's advised the operation is before pregnancy as pregnancy could make her condition worse) she doesn't want the operation so has put it off until recently when she has had to organise it. She isn't sure she wants kids at all, wants to foster ASD children.

She was the first person we told I was pregnant. She was excited and happy for us, continued to see her regularly. Then baby came. I had mild postnatal depression, I was struggling with the physical changes to my body, I had a birth injury causing on going issues and my sex life was non-existent which along with my mood was causing issues in my relationship. I confided in her. DS was a velcro baby, bottle refuser and terrible, terrible sleeper. I was miserable, sleep deprived and depressed.

I feel that as a good friend she should have suggested nights in round mine, shopping trips or lunch out, nights round her with DS coming with me, walks in the park etc (which I did suggest to her). I feel she should have hugged me, listened to me, told me to buck up. I did ask about her life and the things important to her etc, it wasn't one sided.

Instead, she went out drinking and dancing with DH, invited him to child-unfriendly things, invited him to lunch, the park, shopping, coffee with DS (under the guise of giving me a break).

We used to all do a hobby together, which I can't do due to my birth injury. She'd invite DH to do that, knowing how upset it made me, she'd invite him to gigs, trips away.

DH would always ask me before saying yes or no, and would sometimes say no anyway as he knew I was struggling, but I felt bad asking him not to go (I know now I should have said when I wasn't happy.

She'd also do things such as when we were round hers, put music on and give DH drinks and start dancing, then say "I really want to go out dancing but I bet froo won't let you" within earshot of me.

It all came to a head when DS was about 8 months when DH and her were going away for an event. DH informed me he'd book a twin room (we're pretty broke) or take an airbed in a cheapo hotel. I found out the night before that he's booked a naice hotel with 4 poster bed (though it was cheap!) we had a massive row and they didn't go.

We discussed it afterwards and DH did admit that he and DF had been getting close, he's been confiding in her and enjoyed spending time with her and could see it wouldn't take much for him to start having inappropriate feelings for her. He admitted his behaviour had been out of order and we discussed the issues in our relationship and are working on those.

DH maintains that DF didn't know about the hotel and I shouldn't blame her. I pointed out all the issues above and told him I felt she had been a poor friend to me, and had been undermining our relationship by listening to me about how I felt and things that were going wrong and then using them to get close to DH. DH admitted that he hadn't seen it that way but could see my point and that that meant she wasn't a good friend to him either.

Unfortunately she is part of a wider close friendship group, making it very hard to cut her off completely. I've seen her maybe 6 times since this incident. I'm polite but cool. The rest of group don't know about any of this. DH is still maintaining a friendship with her, though made the decision himself not to see her alone at all, or without me where possible.

He feels over time I should forgive her and move on. I don't want to. There is history of her doing similar things and this is just the final straw. I don't want her in my life. It's been about 9 months now.

DH and I have been working through things and things have been pretty good. I haven't fully decided if I can get over what he did, I do believe it to be an emotional affair and I'm not sure I can forgive him, but I'm trying.

AIBU to never want too see her again? And certainly not consider her a friend?

I think we're doing well and then I find that last night, when out with work and drunk, he text her. He clearly wanted to see her (I don't know what he text, just her response of "I'm not out tonight" when it flashed up on his phone screen.) and know I'm thinking does he still have feelings for her?

I hate this!

OP posts:
Wedrine4me · 24/04/2017 10:37

What happens when he screws up yet another chance?

Purplepicnic · 24/04/2017 11:06

You sound very sensible to me OP and I think you are right to ignore the posters telling you to wake up or that you're in denial that your marriage is over.

You need to decide if you want to stay with him and if you do, work out together what it's going to take. Non-contact with her for a start. No texts, messages, trips away, nothing one-on-one. Only sees her in a group setting or with you, if you want to maintain the friendship group. Give up the hobby perhaps? Marriage counselling? Have a think about what you might change yourself, so that he doesn't feel like it's all one-sided.

As for your 'friend', say nothing to anyone and have no contact with her other than within the group, where you can be polite but distant.

Or you might decide that you can't trust him, regardless of all that, in which case you sound strong enough to follow that through and leave him.

Good luck.

Foxysoxy01 · 24/04/2017 11:16

OP, You do understand he is still texting her, right?

It doesn't really matter that it was only emotional (I'm not sure I would believe that in your position but you know the people involved) he booked a double room for them so was happy to take it to the next level.

It all sounds very strange almost like he thinks he can keep you on side until he moves on with the friend. He seems to be be quite open about doing this!

I think you want to feel angry about the situation and want it to be the women's fault. It's like a grief response and laying the blame at the woman's door gives you an outlet to be angry but almost makes your husband blameless. It's less painful to focus on the woman.

She was a shit friend but TBH it sounds like she was never really your friend to begin with. I would drop all contact with her and expect your husband to willingly do the same.

It is really shit the position your husband has put you in and the woman is equally as bad! But the only person you can expect better from or expect changed behaviour is your Husband the OW and her behaviour is out of your control so it may be best to direct the hurt and anger towards him.

GabsAlot · 24/04/2017 11:29

eveen if its is *only" emotional does that make it better?

he still wants to be friends with her-it cant work

lelapaletute · 24/04/2017 11:31

It's him. He is the one who betrayed you. Do not let him wiggle out of it by putting you two against each other. Women could be flinging themselves at him all day every day, mutual friends or not - it's his full king duty not to rise to it and to prioritise his wife and small child. He only came clean when he was caught out, and even since he's been sneakily texting. If you let this slide, you will be finding some other woman's pants down the back of the car seat in due course. Either insist on a radical break with her - a move, even - or ditch him. I vote the latter.

lelapaletute · 24/04/2017 11:32

*fucking, not full king Hmm

froofroomcgoo · 24/04/2017 13:10

gabs I never said only and emotional affair. And I don't consider it to be only.

lelapaletute he isn't sneakily texting her, he's doing it openly.

So we talked last night, his explanation for his text on Friday is laughable (the text was "are you out tonight?"), I'm not even going to go in to it, but we dealt with that too.

He told me in full exactly what happened and when, and I am as certain as I can be that it was emotional.

With regards to the double bed, on my original thread I explained that as a group we regularly share rooms/ beds/ tents/ air beds etc so wasn't completely alien or alarming. However since the last thread, that is something that has totally stopped and we have put up (and stuck to) much clearer boundaries with friends, we'd continued to act like teenagers at uni but are now grown ups in our thirties and so that has changed.

He told me that he didn't specifically book a 4 poster room, and on checking with the hotel, 5 out of 7 rooms have 4 posters, but you can't specify to have one. We discussed what he thought her reaction would be when he showed her their 4 poster bed and how he'd feel if it were me and another supposedly platonic man and we also discussed how he would feel if I continued contact with that man. We also discussed the likely events of that night if I hadn't found out. I am satisfied I know everything I am going to know and need to know.

The upshot is that she is the kind of person to take peoples vulnerabilities and use them against them to bolster her own self esteem. At the time she and her DH were going through a rough patch and as she knew I was going through a tough time used that to get close to DH. DH stated last night that he no longer considers her a friend as friends don't do that. That she should have been giving his head a wobble and telling him to get home to me and that he is ashamed that he didn't see this at the time or that that is what he should have been doing. He says he feels ashamed of his actions over the last 18 months.

Plan of action - stop the purchase of our new house and move in to rented, splitting our equity equally for a financial clean break should we separate. marriage counselling. No contact with her outside of the group and no inviting her to group activities we organises and no going to group activities she organises. We've also each agreed to make some personal changes which will benefit the relationship that I'm not prepared to go in to on here. All whilst I work out if I can forgive an emotional affair.

I am satisfied that he no longer has feelings for her.

You may or may not agree with my course action, and frankly I don't care. I am capable of making my own decisions, I am not a doormat and I if I want to leave him I will. I have put things in place to ensure mine and DS financial security and we also have an exit plan. DH wants us to give it another go, and feel our marriage is not something to be thrown away lightly.

Thank you for all the messages on this thread. I have read every response and some have given me things to think about which I hadn't considered, some have been sympathetic and helpful, others not so much. But I do appreciate them all.

I will now be hiding this thread and not coming back to it. If it goes tits up in a few months/ weeks/ years. I'll give you a follow up!

OP posts:
Janeinthemiddle · 24/04/2017 14:43

Well done, froo. I do truly believe the approach you've taken is truly sensible. Good luck and I hope you find your happiness Smile

Foxysoxy01 · 24/04/2017 15:40

Good luck and I hope it all works out for you whichever way you decide.

bettytaghetti · 24/04/2017 16:06

Froo I hope I can be like you when I grow up! You seem to have taken an eminently sensible approach to this shitty situation & I wish you and your DH best of luck for the future. Most marriages are never smooth sailing 100% of the time and it's the ability to work through sticky patches like this that can make it last long term. I hope that things start to get easier for you with your DS too.

Bluntness100 · 24/04/2017 16:18

Op, part of me says I understand your desire to believe him and blame her, the other part of me says, cmon, you can't be that daft, really he didn't know it was a double bed in the room he booked he's just that thick, she led him astray and he was helpless and just needed to give his head a wobble which it was her job to tell him, he booked a double room for them unknowingly and he wasn't doing it because he was shagging her or wanted to shag her, he's just really stupid and trusting and behaving like he was at uni.

Anyways, I hope it works out for you. I really do. 😔

RainbowPastel · 24/04/2017 16:29

OP I hope everything works out for you and your DS. It sounds like your DH has told you what you wanted to hear. Still blaming your friend rather than himself. Would he honestly have told you if you hadn't found the text?

babyinarms · 24/04/2017 16:34

Good luck and here's hoping ye can move on and put this behind ye. Definitely sounds like a good plan of action and glad he's going to stay away from her too. Hoping it all works out Smile

Mummyoflittledragon · 24/04/2017 17:24

I wish you well sounds like a plan.

Mermaidinthesea123 · 24/04/2017 17:31

Does he have feelings for her? Don't be so naive, he's probably been shagging her for months. You do not book a four poster bed to sleep in it yourself. Get that bitch right out of your life, she has her claws into your husband and he needs a kick in the bollocks too. What a pair of utter shits.

Mermaidinthesea123 · 24/04/2017 17:33

Just read your plan, very sensible and well thought out.

DontPullThatTubeOut · 24/04/2017 17:37

I haven't read the full thread. What I would like to ask is this, he is also her best friend right? So why is it ok for the op to turn to her friend but when her husband did exactly the same he is in the wrong? Yes I know things went further emotionally, although he said he hadn't fully reached that stage yet (I can also see why he got that way) he obviously gets on better and the ol didn't say no to nights out even though he asked every time and also said no a few times of his own accord, how is he then still in the wrong? The friend hasn't done anything wrong I don't think, if you expect more support then you will be let down if you don't get it but that doesn't really make her a bad friend. She probably clung to her other best friend more as he was going out with her. I admittedly haven't read many replies from the op yet but I can't actually see an issue except you got really unwell after having a baby and it took its toll on everyone except you don't believe your OH should have someone close to let out his feelings to just like you were doing.

Epipgab · 24/04/2017 19:08

Good luck froo Flowers

lelapaletute · 24/04/2017 20:34

Good luck. I think you are letting him off too lightly and blaming the 'friend' too much, but you know the folks involved and of course you have a vested interest in making your marriage work, you have a young son. I really hope you can recover trust and he does nothing like it again.

Laurendisorder · 24/04/2017 21:22

Good luck - and just to say it is tough when a baby comes along for both I think - it is easy to have a moment of madness - stick with your plan and I hope it all works out. Our plan after kids was you can leave at any time - but whoever leaves takes the kids!

EatSpamAmandaLamb · 24/04/2017 21:29

All the best, I hope it turns out for the best for you.
One piece of advice - talk to someone in your friendship circle about this. You might find it isn't the first time she has pulled similar move when someone was vulnerable.

LH92 · 24/04/2017 22:36

Are you sure nothing has happened between them?
As your husband his loyalty should lie with you and you both should cut ties with her.
Give him an ultimatum, you or her.

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