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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

How to handle this situation.....,

104 replies

another20 · 26/03/2019 13:29

Teenage DS has a long term GF. She is v controlling (he can’t see this yet). He wants her included in every family activity which where we can, we accommodate. However whenever there is an extended family event he also wants her to come along even though she has not been invited, is not liked and is not family. This puts me in a tricky situation - should I call the extended family member and ask that she be included at their expense - or ask him to do that himself - or tell him it is rude to ask if someone has clearly not been invited?

OP posts:
another20 · 26/03/2019 22:53

Yes we know her parents. She has been in therapy since she was 8 - major anxiety. They both have international careers and travel all of the time. She hadnt seen either for 3 weeks recently. I think they see our son as taking the stress/focus off them.

OP posts:
PeachesPlumsPears · 26/03/2019 23:13

I’m sorry but at 18 and a 2 year relationship it’s a bit of a spit in the face to both of them to not be invited as a couple.

I don't agree - you are only thinking of yourself and not the wishes of the celebrant. We had a lunch for my mom's birthday but it was just close immediate family as my dad had passed away. If we had invited bf/gf, it would have been a huge party and neither my mom or I (their carer) would have coped as we still miss my dad and just wanted a quiet family gathering.

Firgoodnesssake · 26/03/2019 23:18

I’ve been there OP, although my son was a couple years younger at the time. Was the most stressful time of my life. The girls family were no help, didn’t seem concerned in any way about the toxicity of the relationship. They talked bad about me to my son and caused a huge rift in my house. It really was horrrednous. By some sort of miracle, It naturally fizzled out after 18 months and my son and I needed help to rebuild our relationship.

You have brought your son up well, he will still have those values but at the moment he is under her spell / control. It sounds like she has huge issues and it’s hugely unfair of fher parents to leave her with your young adult. I think I’d consider having. A discussion with those parents.

In the meantime, stay strong and say no to this event given the circumstances.

GinandGingerBeer · 26/03/2019 23:52

Oh I've been there with my DS, almost word for word (he couldn't even get in the bloody shower without her ringing him 20 times) including suicide threats, which is what stopped him from ending it sooner (I was fucking furious with her, my DF committed suicide so for DS, the threat was real even though I knew it was pure manipulation)
He spoke to a domestic abuse help line in the end and hearing from them that yes, she was abusing him, gave him the courage to end it. It was awful.
Who else is he close to? Sibling? Aunt or uncle? Maybe some gentle coaxing from someone he respects and trusts? ( not saying he doesn't feel the latter about you of course! But you're too close and probably having fantasies about how to get rid of her on a permanent basis ..... )
It's so hard and I feel for you, I really do Thanks
DS said he'd wish he'd told me sooner how bad it had got, seeing my 6ft 4 17 yo sobbing in the kitchen recounting the abuse will never leave me.

another20 · 27/03/2019 04:50

Exactly Peaches it is the decision of the host who is invited and this should be respected whether it is a wild hen weekend for 50 or an intimate lunch to support a grieving relative. We occasionally as middle-aged married siblings have events that don’t include our spouses / partners.

Firgoodenessdake - we did speak to her DF at the beginning around the uni stuff. He was supportive to us initially but admitted he was unable to control her. We haven’t been in touch since and I think that they are relived to have her off their back quite frankly. Also any research I have done on this says that the other teens parent will not be on your side. And yes it continues to cause a lot of grief in our family.

Ginandginger I am so sorry that your son suffered and that you have been through this. I agree that we need someone else to get him to talk as anything from us is seen as hostile to her and the relationship.

OP posts:
another20 · 27/03/2019 04:52

And yes we have the shower thing as well as her on FaceTime constantly watching him for hours as he was trying to do his homework.

OP posts:
CoraPirbright · 27/03/2019 08:02

Sorry to lob another problem into the mix but please do keep an eye on your ds’s mental health also. Trying to support/appease/soothe someone as troubled as this is going to take its toll on him. I watched a child be completely drained in a similar situation and ended up having to have therapy themselves.

Are there any similar age or slightly older cousins who could say “mate, what on earth is going on here?”?

Also, you said she had moved in with him to uni but is she still there? Surely the halls wouldnt be ok with that? Get them to chuck her out!!

another20 · 27/03/2019 11:27

Yes I need to look closely at the erosion of his mood - he doesn’t do any of his sports etc anymore which is a real worry. Don’t think she is at his halls 7 nights - as she comes back to her part time job.

OP posts:
ChuckleBuckles · 27/03/2019 11:43

She has bullied his 8 year old sister - we have had to step in to stop it.

On these grounds alone I would not agree to have her at close family occasions never mind extended family events. It must be awful for your DD to have this young woman in her home and family life after being bullied by her. What did your DS say or do about the bullying, or did he just support the GF?

EnglishRose13 · 27/03/2019 12:10

What was she doing to the 8 year old?!

another20 · 27/03/2019 12:23

It was loads of snipey put down comments as my daughter was so excited to have a teenage girl in the house she would tell her things etc. I told my DD that I saw it happening and that I would intercept next time. My DD unknown to me mentioned it to our DS who came down forcefully on the GF when she did it next time. Now it is “just” eye rolling and sneering which I need to find a way to pull her up on next time. But she is so volatile - I need to do this carefully. His other sister a v shy 17 year ol she just ignores and looks through.

OP posts:
Treaclesweet · 27/03/2019 12:39

What a horrible situation. I have similar with a friend who has completely withdrawn because of his girlfriend's MH/control issues. She has isolated him from friends & family since his mother tried to speak to them both about it.

No real advice for the meal. With friend it has helped to just try and spend any time possible with him on his own or talking to him when he's alone (whenever she's at work). Helping him to think of himself as an individual, reminding him of things which happened prior to the relationship etc etc.
Agree with pp about other family members, does he have any friends that you have been close to?

goodwinter · 27/03/2019 12:46

She spends a lot of time at his uni halls now which we feel is limiting his uni experience.

Not sure if this will help OP, but when I went to uni in 1st year there were tons of couples. All but one of those couples broke up by the end of the year. Relationships that begin before uni rarely survive the distance.

Gomyownway · 27/03/2019 12:52

Op get your son to watch ‘abused by my girlfriend’ on iPlayer. The situation sounds incredibly similar.

another20 · 27/03/2019 13:00

I have watched that and was devastated. The early behaviours and red flags are the same. Pregnancy was used as a trap - this really worries me.

Someone said to me if these behaviours were happening to a teenage girl rather than a teenage boy we would have seen it earlier.

OP posts:
GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 27/03/2019 13:11

How far away are the uni halls from where she lives, is it a significant journey?
Has he made any friends at uni? Will he still be in halls next academic year or a houseshare?

Could you report it to the uni? Surely there's a clause about having live-in "guests". Not sure it wouldn't backfire when your DS received a warning - would they definitely keep your complaint confidential? Not sure how the uni would realistically police it either.

You're being kind enough inviting her to immediate family events. Extended family events is a ridiculous expectation unless the organiser wants to issue a +1.

Does your DS have any summer plans? I'm not usually a fan of voluntourism but it would be a good opportunity to put some distance between them. Sounds like your DS wouldn't be onboard though. That or the gf would organise herself a ticket and a spot on the programme Shock

Is there any kind of course-related placement he could do where it would be inappropriate for partners to join? Do you have any friends or family overseas? 😂

It sounds really difficult especially now he's an adult, easy for him to veto well meaning suggestions.

WonderWorm · 27/03/2019 13:27

She sounds like she's got borderline personality disorder. Have a look into the traits and see if it rings true. If so your son is in for a whole world of trouble. Threats of suicide and controlling behaviour will be the least of his concerns.
She needs strict boundaries. If she'd cone into my home upsetting an 8year old I wouldn't care if she was the queen of bloody Sheba. She'd never return. You have a responsibility to your child to protect her from this person.
If your ds wants to date her let him get on with it but boundaries need to be established.

bringbacksideburns · 27/03/2019 13:30

Someone said to me if these behaviours were happening to a teenage girl rather than a teenage boy we would have seen it earlier.
I agree. How worrying.

The behaviour towards your 8 year old alone would not have endeared her to me full stop. Did you call her out on it at the time?

I know you don't want her to isolate him further but I would definitely be trying to talk to him more about it and be more open and honest. Tell him she should have her own life and friends and not be completely dependent on him. That she is affecting his full experience of Uni and he should be making contact occasionally with his own friends.Call her out when she sceams and shouts at him - remind him that it's not healthy. Ultimately he is the one who needs to put down ground rules. Have you a close relationship with him?

My ds is a similar age and last year had a gf with anxiety issues. She was more pleasant than this girl sounds but clingy and cried a lot - made out she had a terrible life despite her very pleasant mother taking her on frequent holidays and buying her a horse etc and quite dramatic. Hower i didnt dislike her and she was a quiet, pleasant enough girl. In the end he had to finish with her but worried himself sick for weeks leading up to it that she would do something silly. Within a month she was involved with a friend of his and still is!

It sounds really stressful. But I suppose you can just be there for him to talk to.

another20 · 27/03/2019 13:32

He had planned to take a year out. She has not. Then she changed her mind to have a year out with him and deferred her place. His year out was to work with a family member in Singapore and then travel. She decided that she doesn’t want to do that so it was restricted back to inter railing summer 2019 whilst working locally for 9 months which we were not happy about.

Then she changed her deferred uni offer to one in the same city he was holding as first choice. We were gutted.

But he messed up - ended up in clearing and going this year somewhere totally different - which we thought might shake it up a bit.

When we dropped him off at uni we asked what were their plans to keep in contact. He said once a month. That didn’t happen. He has made friends and has a house share sorted for next year.

His course has a year abroad - he is looking to not do that.

This summer she plans to take him to one of their homes in the US. We won’t be paying for that.

So every single manoeuvre is challlenging.

OP posts:
Bookworm4 · 27/03/2019 14:17

I would definitely report to halls, if she's limited in staying with him maybe he will get out with friends and realise there's more to life. He needs to break away from her, is there anyone he would listen to? A friend, cousin, uncle? Has his dad tried?

DeRigueurMortis · 27/03/2019 14:35

Sorry to hear this OP.

The whole situation must incredibly stressful and worrying.

Her behaviour definitely seems extreme and most concerning are the elements that result (either by design or as a "byproduct" of her behaviour) in him being alienated socially - especially as the social engagement students experience at Uni is a significant part of the whole experience.

It must be very difficult waters for you to navigate.

Personally with regard to this event I'd be inclined to stand my ground - simply because there are some very solid reasons for doing so.

The recent bereavement means it's especially insensitive to put pressure on the host to include (at their expense) someone they have never met.

Aside from the request being rude, I'd also point out that, in the circumstances it's far from the best opportunity for your DS to introduce her the the wider family.

Does he want her to meet his Uncle under the cloud of him being the pressured to do so at a clearly sensitive time? If he wants her to be accepted by the wider family you can reasonably argue that the timing could not be worse.

Wider issues aside, I'm not sure what else you can do.

My worry about contacting the Uni would be that he (and she) could perceive this as you being interfering and controlling - thus strengthening her position.

Sadly I think the realisation that the relationship is toxic needs to come from your son.

I think all you can do is stand you ground when the situation to do so presents itself (such as this event where that rationale for her not being included is very strong) and where possible encourage him to pursue other interests.

CoraPirbright · 27/03/2019 15:29

His course has a year abroad - he is looking to not do that.

That's worrying. How will that impact on his course going forward? And what an awful waste of an opportunity for the year off! She is really buggering things up for him at every turn.

Asthenia · 27/03/2019 15:34

This seems very unfair to me...in my family all partners have been invited to every event, no matter if they’re popular or not (unless they were to do something heinous!) This doesn’t sound like a very pleasant situation for your son to be in.

Asthenia · 27/03/2019 15:37

Clearly the relationship isn’t great and they are very young but you don’t want to risk alienating him.

Bookworm4 · 27/03/2019 15:37

@asthenia
Have you read properly? This is immediate family due to a bereavement and the gf has never met the Uncle, she should have the decency to step back, it won't be she wants to attend she just doesn't want him attending anything out of her control.

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