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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be rethinking my 3 year relationship as he never told me he had kids.

412 replies

PenelopeDelph · 20/05/2019 01:15

New account for this as v v outing but need to rant. I'm 33 and he's 45. We've been together 2 years. I knew he was married in his 20s and got divorced at 35 but he has never mentioned his kids before now. Both of his parents are dead and he doesn't have anything to do with the rest of his family either. We had our DD 6 months ago and recently moved into a new flat and have been talking about getting engaged.

On Friday I was suspicious as he told me he was at work in another city (he is a self employed handyman) but got a text from my friend who works at a hospital in our city saying she'd bumped into him in the car park and he'd told her he'd just given an elderly woman a lift to A and E after she fell over. I phoned him to ask why he was still in our city when he'd left for work hours ago and he told me he'd explain when he got home (which was 2 hours later). The sod had me worrying for hours thinking he was ill and hadn't told me.

So he gets home and tells me to sit down and I was feeling sick with worry expecting him to say he had cancer or something horrible. He ends up blurting out he has 3 sons from his previous marriage who he didn't see for years because of conflict with his ex wife but has been building bridges with them the past few months ever since he discovered his eldest's girlfriend was having a baby. They are 21, 18, and 16. He said he didn't want to tell me as they resented him for a while over having no contact and weren't happy to hear he'd had a new baby with a younger woman. But said that he'd always intended to tell me soon. Not sure I believe that. Anyway so half the time when he's been at "work" he's actually been spending time at the pub with his sons and even helping his eldest do up his baby's nursery. Which would be lovely if only I had known about it! He says they are all a lot closer now.

On Friday eldest's girlfriend had a baby girl and my partner was at the maternity ward paying them a visit. Apparently his ex wife was there as well and while I don't feel threatened by her I find it disheartening that he'd told me he was at work while he was at the hospital with her meeting their lovely new grandchild. All while I was at home with my daughter. I feel exlcuded and an absolute mug. Me and DD went to stay with my mum after he told me as I was fuming. We came back today and it has been tense to say the least. I lost my shit when I saw he'd packed all of DD's old baby clothes up to pop round to his son as I had intended to give them to my friend. Another huge row happened and I haven't seen him since. I reckon he's at his eldest's house.

I just feel like me and my DD have been so excluded and disregared. It's great that he's trying to make it up to his son's for not being part of their lives but he should have told me, surely? It's like he wants to keep them and us in two separate boxes because they resent us after he didn't see them for years and had a baby with me. Which infuriates me because it's his fucking fault, not mine and DD's. I'm very hurt and angry by it all and I'm not sure what to do next.

OP posts:
Mix56 · 20/05/2019 08:27

Oh, & the "I was going to tell you" , laughably predictable.

& then he takes you for a fool of in front of his brother/friends... he will have said, "don't bring up wife, its a forbidden subject".
Is he even divorced ?
You need some proof now,
I would send the wife a message on fb. & ask to meet her

AlwaysCheddar · 20/05/2019 08:31

Sorry but he would be out of the door. I wouldn't believe him story, the trust is gone, and the fact he doesn't see what the issue is just shows how much of a twat he is. Deal breaker for me. You and your dc deserve better.

adaline · 20/05/2019 08:32

I'm sorry @silvercuckoo but all that means is that your brother behaved absolutely appallingly, just as many men do.

If he wasn't sure about the future, why did he have a child with her? Move in with her? Stay and play happy families with her? He lied to her from day one - omitted an ex wife and three children from his history. That's not one lie - that's a man who has lied consistently for three years - and no doubt he had to tell lies to cover up the other lies to make the whole story seem believable. You can't excuse that kind of behaviour on "maybe he just didn't know".

He knew exactly what he was doing and did it anyway. Lied to his partner, his DD and let OP build up this lovely family picture in her head which he knew all along was bullshit.

My ex did the same. He wasn't unsure or uncertain, he was a liar and a coward and when the truth came out, he lost all his friends and his parents barely speak to him either. He behaved appallingly towards me, his ex's, his kids and everyone else in his life - just like OP's DP has done. Please don't try and excuse his behaviour. He might have reasons for it but that doesn't mean he's not an absolute shit.

TheABC · 20/05/2019 08:35

You can't stay with him, OP. Not after lies of this proportion. You will always be wondering what he has omitted in the future.

The only saving grace is that you are not married.

outvoid · 20/05/2019 08:39

Does he work away a lot? I’d be suspicious that he’s been living a double life the whole time especially given the fact you haven’t met any of his relatives. He’s lied and deceived you so much, it really wouldn’t surprise me if his parents are actually alive and he’s not divorced at all...

What a twat. I can’t even fathom this scenario. He must be a compulsive lie to keep this up for so long.

diddl · 20/05/2019 08:41

I wonder when/if he would have told you if he hadn't been found out?

The suggestion seems to be that he still wouldn't have been seeing his kids if the eldest hadn't been about to become a father.

So who got in touch with whom I wonder?

MissEliza · 20/05/2019 08:42

Op I'm so sorry. I seriously doubt he was ever going to tell you. I couldn't trust anything he said or did after that.

snowdrop6 · 20/05/2019 08:44

I’d be thinking history would repeat it’s self .id be expecting him to do the same to me.

ScruffGin · 20/05/2019 08:47

I'd never be able to trust him again. I'd be tempted to try and find the ex wife and go and talk to her, see if she made it difficult for him or (more likely) he fucked off and left her to bring up the kids alone.

It's a LTB from me, that's unforgivable

IStillMissBlockbuster · 20/05/2019 08:47

God, it's just so many lies isn't it! He's lied about huge things over and over again! How can he expect you to trust him now? How could you ever trust him again? This is insane. And him taking the clothes is just wrong. What is he thinking? This changes everything and I just don't see how you can come back from it as a couple. His values are shot to pieces.

OpalTree · 20/05/2019 08:49

He probably told his other family that you wouldn't let him see his kids and threatened to stop him seeing your dd or something

SignedUpJust4This · 20/05/2019 08:51

He went through the whole pregnancy and birth pretending it was all new to him when he'd done it all 3 times before (at least!) this is unforgivable. How can you trust someone like that?

vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 20/05/2019 08:52

He's an arse. How devastating for you. Hang on in there, and kick him out.

NauseousMum · 20/05/2019 08:53

You are probably still only getting half a story. You dont need to friend request the ex wife, just send her a message

Keep it factual mostly: you are xs fiance, you have a baby together, a friend saw fiance at the hospital on x date and you realise he lied to you about where he was. Fiance has now admitted that he is divorced, a father to three boys who he abandoned and a grandfather to a new baby. Tell her how angry you at both the deception and that he abandoned his children. Apologise for messaging to say all this but you now don't trust him at all and was hoping to talk to her and check the truth.

You need to do what's best for you but first you need the truth. Perhaps he has abandoned them, maybe that's why his family has nothing to do with him. But you can't believe his truth, you need more information.

TheRedBarrows · 20/05/2019 08:56

Oh goodness.

He sounds emotionally clumsy at best. Either he comes from a dysfunctional (or worse) family or he hasn’t got the emotional pull to stay close to his family. He didn’t deal with the divorce in a way that kept contact with his kids, he seems to have shut things away in his mind.

He didn’t know how to tell you about his kids, didn’t confront his own feelings about lack of contact, and a failure to fill in the gaps snowballed into a full scale deception.

He has no sensitivity or emotional literacy. Packing up the clothes like that knowing you were already upset was truly crass.

But there is nothing to suggest that he is intentionally abusive, or unfaithful etc. Even though if course the impact on you is very great.

It may be that couples counselling would help him see what being a partner actually entails and how a relationship requires openness and constant communication about how you feel.

Chocolate123 · 20/05/2019 08:57

He's been basically living a double life. Regardless of his relationship with his kids he didn't even mention them. His could someone do that? I don't think I could continue with someone like that. What else has he not told you

TheTrollFairy · 20/05/2019 08:58

This is such an odd situation. It’s such a massive part of his life which he lied about completely.
I really feel for you, you have now found out that not only does your DD have 3 siblings but there is also another baby (her niece) in all of this.
I’m not sure I would completely disbelieve that the mum banned him from the children as it does happen regardless of court orders (the mum can simply refuse to let the other person into the house that the kids are in) but I also wouldn’t believe him completely either as he hasn’t even mentioned them which is beyond weird.
How does he expect you to move forwards? How does he think this relationship will work out? You haven’t met these people and they will have known about you for longer than what you have known about them. I can understand why the other children might have resentment towards you although this is misdirected as it should be towards their dad. The issue is, you don’t know what he has told them about you, you don’t know if he has said that you have banned him from seeing them etc.

I’m not sure how you go forwards in this. You need to speak to your DP but I can’t see that it’s going to be easy and I’m not sure if you can get the trust back that there once was

Whatevermission · 20/05/2019 09:00

I would send the FB friend request OP...if for no other reason than your DD has 3 half brothers and I would want communication lines open

silvercuckoo · 20/05/2019 09:03

@adaline
Again, I am not trying to excuse OPs partner or my brother. I just feel that it is such a textbook behaviour and unfortunately very common (and not exclusively with men). From the point of view of the woman in the couple, they are playing happy families and building a future together. From the point of view of the man, he's just trying it out and just being nice and helpful to his partner. This pregnancy was quite early on in the relationship (opening post states 2 year relationship with a 6 months baby), from his perspective he might be just "doing the right thing and being there for the baby". He did not promise anything after all, did he?
All happy and committed couples I know are the ones where the man has explicitly committed very early on (either with a surprise proposal, or introducing his other half to everyone, friends and family, as ... well, his "other half", not a "friend from work" or "it's Jenny, we are currently seeing each other").
I am not trying to preach, it is just something I deduced from my own experience and that of friends and family. I really regret that I pressed and pressed and pushed my ex-partner into marriage after we had children - his heart just was not in it, he did "the right thing" but quickly bailed out, I simply was not the person he saw himself with long term. The divorce was long and very messy.
I wish OP the best no matter what she decides.

Jaxhog · 20/05/2019 09:09

He's clearly a consumate liar. That would be enough of a red flag for me unfortunately. Who knows what else he's lying about?

Notabedofroses · 20/05/2019 09:10

Jeez. I couldn't get past this, at all. All trust would be gone. What an awful thing for you to find out.

SnuggyBuggy · 20/05/2019 09:14

Do you have anywhere you could go OP?

Fiveredbricks · 20/05/2019 09:14

I dint think you're the younger woman, OP. I think you're the 'other' woman...

Skittlesandbeer · 20/05/2019 09:17

Un.Be.Live.Able.

I’m rarely this gobsmacked. Let them have him, let him be the sofa-surfing grandad.

I’d be hard-pressed not to narrow my eyes and say very quietly to him ‘Mate, now you’re going to find out what “banned” from seeing a kid actually looks like. My DD won’t need any role-models like you in her life. I’ll just tell her you died, it’ll be kinder.’

Worst (non-violent) relationship story I’ve ever seen on MN. Feel so bad for you.

Breastfeedingworries · 20/05/2019 09:17

I agree bricks it seems like op is the other woman....

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