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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Think I’ve had enough.

129 replies

Boobiliboobiliboo · 09/02/2019 18:41

DH works from home most of the time for his own business. Sometimes needs to work away. I work full time out of the home in a mentally and emotionally demanding job. We have one 8 year old DD.

I tend to do school drop offs, DH does pick up and after school activities, unless he is away, in which case I manage my diary around pick ups as well. DH will usually get DD ready in the morning, but goes back to bed between stages (eg while DD is eating breakfast, getting dressed etc) so everything takes far longer than it should and we’re usually in a rush.

I cook 99% of meals, sort out food deliveries, washing, ironing, finances, do the books for his company, VAT and tax returns. I make 95% of DD’s packed lunches and deal with all the school stuff like PE kit, reading books, non-uniform days etc.

DH has for several years been a bit of a workaholic. For the past several months he’s barely managed to work 6hours on average per day, despite needing to work late regularly. Turns out he’s been going back to bed once DD and I have left, then getting up around lunchtime and starting work somewhere around 1pm. He says he can’t get going in the mornings, but it has absolutely nothing to do with him staying up online gaming until 3 or 4am. Hmm

On Saturdays DD has either one or 2 activities (one thing is every week, the other is fortnightly). Today it was both things. I was up before 8am to get ready. DD was up at about 8:15am. I had to wake him up at 9:15am and ask him to get DD some breakfast. I had to remind him of what she needed in her bag. He was such a mess that we ended up leaving late, and she was late to her activity. I spent the time she was there going to get things she needs for a show next week. I picked her up, took her to get lunch and then off to her other activity. She usually has a sleepover with grandparents once a fortnight and i meet them with her at a retail park between our homes. (Around 20mile drive.)

DH needs some new shoes, so asked if after DD’s 2nd activity could I detour to pick him up and he could get some shoes at the retail park. I told him what time we’d be there. He wasn’t ready. In the car he tells me that he’s emptied the dishwasher and put out the washing. I am not impressed. He said he has spent the day on his PS4. I say nothing.

When we get to the retail park I get DD’s overnight bag (which I packed with her) out and go to get her activity bag as she has an extra session tomorrow which my way parents are taking her to. It’s not there. He took it out of the car when we went to pick him up. He said he didn’t know about the session tomorrow, but I reminded him that it was him who told me about it last weekend as he found the letter in her bag. I said that I had told him my parents would be taking her to the activity and now he would have to make arrangements to get the stuff to her as he didn’t bother asking before deciding to take the stuff out of the car. He stormed off. I have moved the car and am sitting in the car park. We are meant to be going for food and to the cinema as he complains that I am usually too busy/tired to spend time with him.

I really don’t want to spend another 10 years putting up with this shit. I am so utterly fucked off that everything is down to me whilst he spends hours and hours playing games online, shirking his responsibilities and not even working full days. Any hint of criticism and the blame gets put onto me.

WIBU to go home and take a hammer to the PS4 and pack up his stuff? I feel I’ve lost all rational thought.

OP posts:
SpanielEars070 · 09/02/2019 19:54

Trouble is, he's got no reason to make change when you are enabling this behaviour.

It's really difficult to see your DC suffer as a result, but sometimes you need to step back and let him forget things/balls it up. He's never going to learn any consequences if you're there running up behind him.

DH would happily let me run round after him but I don't and won't. He's an adult man perfectly capable of looking after himself - he just doesn't want to!

GetOffTheTableMabel · 09/02/2019 19:54

Does he bring anything positive to your life (not dd’s, yours)?

If asked what, if anything, would he say you add to his life (as a partner not as a mother)?

NoParticularPattern · 09/02/2019 19:58

Man I’m exhausted just reading all that. I’m not at all surprised that you’ve got to the point where it would clearly be easier to organise use you and DD and not have to worry about the sulky teenager he seems to have regressed into. I mean who the hell goes back to bed in between getting a child ready for school/activity etc? And his attitude that if your birth injury was fixed then it would all go away is blatantly bollocks. I didn’t fancy sulky teenage gamers when I was one, nevermind now I’m a grown up. Birth injury or not he’s still behaving like a child.

Honestly I think you need to cut ties. He’s refusing to seek help, blaming you in any way that he can and is making your life a sodding misery. I can’t imagine how much easier your life would become if you were to only have to organise one child each day!

Springwalk · 09/02/2019 20:06

Could he be hiding behind the gaming? Does he feel responsible for your injury?
Maybe the gaming is a shield to avoid facing up to RL.
Can I advise you to consider going back to a good counsellor and telling them what you have told us.

I feel the root cause is the injury, the feelings of guilt and potentially the lack of intimacy. You may not wish to save your marriage, but more counselling, intimacy and communicating could help.

I am sorry this happened to you Flowers Flowers

Springwalk · 09/02/2019 20:08

I think it is sigificant he went from a conmitted workaholic to a gaming addict. This problem runs far deeper than the gaming and lack of engagement.

AlexaAmbidextra · 09/02/2019 20:10

it sounds like he is maybe going through depression 😢

Depression my arse. He’s a lazy, immature shirker who prefers gaming half the night to doing his job or taking any responsibility for his family commitments.

AlexaAmbidextra · 09/02/2019 20:14

I’m a director.

So resign your directorship and let him be responsible for his own fucking paperwork. You have enough to do without running his business for him too. Besides, unless he steps up and gets his arse out of bed and away from his PS he may well not have a business for much longer.

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 09/02/2019 20:15

If there's counselling available through your work, you can access it for yourself, regardless of what he thinks.

Things don't sound sustainable as they are. You can't change another person, or events, but you can change how to react to what happens to you. And you deserve better than this.

bababoom100 · 09/02/2019 20:17

I havent even finished reading this because I don't need to...he needs to change or get his marching orders. Online gaming can turn into a destructive addiction.

bastardkitty · 09/02/2019 20:26

I think he reeks of addiction. I don't mean 'poor bloke, he needs help'. I'm surprised you haven't kicked him out already. He's a nightmare. He has addiction issues and is in denial and blame. Don't try and work anything out with him and don't try and arrive at a mutual separation because he's not going to participate in that. Say nothing, see a solicitor, make a plan and execute it. The only thing that matters is getting away from him.

GabsAlot · 09/02/2019 20:27

like pp im exhausted just reading it let alone living it

think you need to decide long term what u want-if sex is all he wants out of this marriage maybe its come to an end

cuppycakey · 09/02/2019 20:35

Bin him.

Sounds like you have done everything you could and he just wants to act like a child.

I am sure you will be much happier without him.

justthecat · 09/02/2019 20:35

I agree if you don’t benefit personally from being a director - resign. Keep your finances as seperate as possible

Boobiliboobiliboo · 09/02/2019 20:44

It’s the only financial connection we have apart from the mortgage. I receive dividends from the company, but since I work full time elsewhere I just send them to him.

OP posts:
justthecat · 09/02/2019 20:51

Get more finance savvy, why are you giving it to him!
I no way could cope with a man child.
Why did he put you as a director ?

Boobiliboobiliboo · 09/02/2019 20:59

Originally we both consulted via the company. It’s split 50/50. So we have to both take the same out. But with only him putting money in its not fair for me to keep it. The changes to dividend tax have made it not worth doing anymore anyway, so I had already asked our accountant to start moving ownership more into his favour.

OP posts:
justthecat · 09/02/2019 21:15

You’ve said you’re doing the books?
You’re selling yourself short, you’re doing everything and he’s got the luxury staying up like a teenage boy and taking no responsibilities ...🤔

Mummadeeze · 10/02/2019 08:10

My relationship and life is a bit similar to this. I do all weekend activities with my daughter (but she does 4 and a half hours of classes on Saturdays and has lots of homework on Sunday) and barely see my partner at all because he sleeps in the day and works at night. On week days, the main difference is that I completely leave him to it to get her up and ready for school and take her there. I leave the house before they have even got up and concentrate on myself. It makes a huge difference to how you feel and how you start your day at work - ie not stressed. I refuse to let her have packed lunches as that is extra work, she has school lunches. He has to be responsible for uniform, things she needs to bring to school etc. In the evenings I pick her up at 6 from after school club and do all the evening routine with her (homework, bath, dinner, story etc) every week night. It gets easier as they get older as they need less supervision. He is either out or playing on the computer in the evenings. Sometimes I find it frustrating that I do everything in the evenings and on weekends but I love spending time with my DD and this is what I signed up for to be honest. I actually feel he is missing out by not spending much time with her. Our relationship (me and him) is rubbish so am not recommending any aspect of it other than switching it so that he does drop offs and you do pick ups as I genuinely feel that makes life less stressful.

Boobiliboobiliboo · 10/02/2019 09:36

switching it so that he does drop offs and you do pick ups as I genuinely feel that makes life less stressful.

It wouldn’t work with timings to do that, unfortunately. I can’t pick DD up at 3:30pm when I’m at work until at least 5pm.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 10/02/2019 09:39

Get him to do both even if it means you take on more at the weekend or some other time.

I too think you will feel a lots better starting the day without that stress. Grab some " me" time in the mornings.

My other thought was change the WiFi password at midnight - very controlling and infantilising but.....

PurpleWithRed · 10/02/2019 09:54

What do you want to happen here?

It sounds as if you both have big issues with each other: he's either a lazy selfish twat or profoundly depressed or resentful over your BI and how you feel about him (probably a combination of all 3); you are furious and frustrated with his selfishness, how he's sabotaging your lives, and his refusal to accept your BI.

I can't see either of you getting over all these issues - you've tried counselling and it clearly hasn't helped. He won't get any counselling or treatment on his own, presumably you've had counselling yourself. What other fixes could there be? I can't see anything you could 'do' that would fix him, other than grow a new vagina and carry him for the rest of his life.

Personally I feel you and DD would be better off if you and DH split. Yes it will be tough at a practical level and a bit of a mess to detangle your business lives, but you cannot carry on like this - just coming here to get a sense check seems like your first exploration of splitting up.

Boobiliboobiliboo · 10/02/2019 09:57

I think we’re passed that. He eventually got home last night at about 10pm. Asked if we could talk. Said he feels that unresolved issues were causing me to attack him and I need counselling. Feeling under constant attack has led to his depression. I asked him to think about the issues which lead to these “attacks”: anything and everything, he replied. So I corrected that for him. Pointed out that I shouldn’t have to direct a grown adult to do basic household tasks, and that his choices were having such a negative impact on my time away from work that it means I can never relax. Asked if he knew of any doctor that would prescribe computer games for depression. He says the only treatment is drugs, which he doesn’t want. I advised him of other things he could research and try. He agreed he would go to counselling to address why he sees everything I do (including waking him up when he has forgotten to set an alarm) as an attack. He was focusing on things that I need to do to improve the relationship, and was a bit taken aback when I pointed out that I don’t actually need him. I choose to have him in my life, but I can change that choice. Suggested that if I am the cause of his misery, perhaps one effective treatment is that I don’t be around him. That shocked him. I think he had forgotten that when we met I had been living alone in my own house for 7 years. I’m no feeble female.

Told him that he needed to realise that I kept myself safe that way. So if he wants the opportunity to stay in my life he needs to actively sort himself out. Not seeing DD as much as he does now is one of his biggest fears, but he can control that with his actions from this point.

I told him that I was serious. That i would be stepping back from the business. That I had worked out what our house is probably worth and how much it would cost me to buy him out. And that he would be able to get a 2-3 bed place within half a mile of here with the proceeds. And that I could make that happen almost overnight. He was shocked.

Tables have turned.

OP posts:
Boobiliboobiliboo · 10/02/2019 09:59

What’s BI?

OP posts:
cuppycakey · 10/02/2019 10:01

Birth Injury?

minkies11 · 10/02/2019 10:11

Keep your name on the books should it come to a divorce......