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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Partners STBXW irritating me and I don't know how to deal with it

128 replies

yetanothermanicmonday · 20/11/2019 15:04

Been with my boyfriend for about 14 months. Great relationship, truly. He is my best friend and all the boxes are ticked. The only thing that annoys me about our relationship is his ex. They were married for about 12 months, they were together for about 4 in total. No DC together.

I met him on around 6 months post-separation. I didn't know he existed until we had our first date. I was not the OW, there was no OW, they split because they both made each other miserable (I've seen her messages confirming this, I'm not being naïve). Divorce proceedings have started although is a slow process. After we had been dating for around 3 months and had the "exclusive chat" etc I posted a photo of us together on social media, and since then she just will not go away. The night I posted the pic she sent him an insane rant, posted about us both publicly on FB calling us for everything. She had obviously been watching my social media for some time before this event - how she even knew I existed is a mystery, but anyway....

She still clearly stalks my social media even now and is frequently messaging him about anything I post. Sly digs, claiming that places we go that she also visited with him was "their place" and he's an awful person for ruining the memories. We are talking about entire countries here, btw. She thinks she can actually call dibs on entire countries! She calls me fat/ugly etc, calls him names and implies we are terrible people basically.

I have really tried to remain the bigger person and just alter SM privacy setting etc, however she always seems to still find access. I don't see why I should be changing my routines to counteract the ravings of a mad woman. Boyfriend does not want to engage with her as she does have some MH issues and we all know how it can be trying to argue with someone who just doesn't see logic. But it's really beginning to cause me anxiety. I feel like I'm planning my life around what will be acceptable to her i.e. not posting pics of days out with us all. I feel like he filters his posts also which although I understand, it also irks me because I suspect he just does so to not antagonise her (so is she winning?). I know SM is the devil and all that, but I find it entertaining and again, I don't see why I should have to change things I have always done or enjoyed just because of her unreasonable behaviour. He ignores her messages 99% of the time, but I feel like he should be...I dunno, defending my honour here, or some shit! I wouldn't let someone call him names, for instance. If he visits his dads house she appears at the door within 10 minutes always wanting something, using him as her sounding board for how terrible life is etc. I feel like her feelings are being put before my own at times and that doesn't sit well with me at all.

So, AIBU in getting annoyed/anxious about this? I don't know the logical way I should be perceiving this. I don't know how to discuss it with my boyfriend as "please tell her to fuck right off" doesn't seem very reasonable. I'm prepared to be told that she is technically still his wife and he needs to communicate with her (even though its all vitriol?) Like I say, he usually just ignores her but I feel that by just remaining passive it is almost inviting her to continue in this way. I would 100% appreciate some of your insights and suggestions on how to deal with this.

LTB is not a realistic suggestion. I do genuinely love him and I wouldn't let her push us apart so permanently. I suspect that is her main goal here. But I do feel like I need to communicate how this is affecting me, in a calm rational way.

OP posts:
MrsAgassi · 20/11/2019 16:11

You could stop this by curtailing your SM use for a time but you’ve been clear you aren’t prepared to do that.

I agree you shouldn’t have to, but your refusal suggests you enjoy the drama more than you dislike it.

pipnchops · 20/11/2019 16:13

If posting on social media is worth all this angst then knock yourself out and carry on. But it might be worth just considering not posting anything, just for a while, and seeing if it helps.

yetanothermanicmonday · 20/11/2019 16:14

@ThatsMeInTheSpotlight I've been out with BF and spontaneously decided to visit, his phone in my handbag. I'll be sat in the kitchen when she turns up. He's deffos not giving her a heads up.

OP posts:
IWorkAtTheCheescakeFactory · 20/11/2019 16:14

OP forget about how she is seeing your SM. The problem is how you are seeing her reaction to it. How do you know about her rants online? How are you receiving messages from her?

Beau2019 · 20/11/2019 16:17

Hi OP. This is very common. I had a similar issue with my OH's ex when we got together. She was a crazy psycho bitch who would stalk me and post vile things about me publicly on SM (without mentioning my name) but it was obvious to everyone. I used to live IN FEAR of ever seeing her in town (we live in a small city) or if we ever saw someone who was close to her. It was awful. People she knew used to talk bout me, spread stuff around to people who didn't even know me. It was totally crazy.

I never blocked her but in this situation I would. I don't agree with the above saying you are rubbing it in her face posting on SM - you wouldn't say that about any other couple posting photos of their life together. You should live YOUR life exactly how you want to as if she didn't exist. Yes she is hurt, but they don't have kids together and sadly this is life! People move on!

I don't suggest your OH blocks her as this will antagonise her and is childish, he needs to deal with her/this divorce like an adult. Then when it is all sorted he can block her by all means. But you, you don't have any loyalties to her so block away AND DO NOT WORRY ABOUT HER!

The situation with my OH's ex went on for a good 2-3 years, after about a year and how embarrassing it got, it got to the point where I took pleasure in my posts annoying the stupid girl (she had another BF well before me and my OH got together and was still with him so why was she so bothered). Eventually it stopped, so I believe. And now when we bump into someone she knows, I act as if I know nothing!

Good luck. It WILL get better I promise you.

yetanothermanicmonday · 20/11/2019 16:17

@MrsAgassi if it was ALL SM based, and I hadn't already blocked etc I would agree. But she shows up at his parents house, she stalks HIS Social media too, she apparently sees us in town (we've never seen her so dunno if it's true or word of mouth). She seems to have many avenues of information. So, I could stop SM and she would still have means of annoying me. Which begs the question of why if that's the case, I should employ more ways of pandering to her obvious goals.

OP posts:
Annaminna · 20/11/2019 16:19

Don't post public, post friends only.
Don't add everyone in your SM accounts, add only people you know.
and how she can send messages to your BF if he blocked her?
Something don't add up here.

yetanothermanicmonday · 20/11/2019 16:20

@IWorkAtTheCheescakeFactory My BF shows me her messages. Usually every so often he will get a particularly vicious one and will show me, and I can see the others that have come through and been ignored. And he is clearly ignoring her because she is commenting things like "oh so you're just going to ignore me?!" x 15 etc

She has no means of contacting me directly. She did originally on SM hence how I knew what accounts to block. Have never had any further direct contact from her since then.

OP posts:
MustardScreams · 20/11/2019 16:20

How old are you all? It just seems all so dramatic for something that is quite easily sold.

MustardScreams · 20/11/2019 16:21

Solved

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 20/11/2019 16:22

Not sure what SM you use but on fb, insta etc my accounts are private unless I allow them to be seen. So creating fake profiles would get access either.

TheMerryWidow1 · 20/11/2019 16:24

BF hasn't blocked her then? there's your answer.

Beau2019 · 20/11/2019 16:24

@MustardScreams I can assure you age means nothing! I am aware of this exact situation happening from ages 20-40+ trust me!

Not all women I hasten to add but a good chunk of them carry on being crazy and immature well into their late 40's with regards to ex partners

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 20/11/2019 16:26

So why hasn't your partner blocked her? And why on earth is their divorce taking so long considering they were only married for a year and have no children? This all seems weirdly fishy...

Veterinari · 20/11/2019 16:27

If she’s already blocked then tighten your security settings to ‘friends only’. Then it doesn't Matter how many fake profiles she sets up - she can’t access your info unless you let her.
Stop engaging and tell your boyfriend to block her messages

MustardScreams · 20/11/2019 16:27

@Beau2019 oh god! I was hoping that kind of crap would be relegated to people’s 20s Grin

Frenchw1fe · 20/11/2019 16:27

I'd deliberately tag her in all your nice dates and put a laughing emoji!

MustardScreams · 20/11/2019 16:28

Mmmm good point. What’s the delay on the divorce?

IWorkAtTheCheescakeFactory · 20/11/2019 16:29

My BF shows me her messages.

Right so he hasn’t blocked her. He needs to. And tell him to no longer tell you about any messages she sends. You don’t need to know about them. You don’t need to take any action as a result of her messages. They are doing one thing only and that is upsetting you which is exactly what they are designed to do- so who wins by him telling you about the messages? Certainly not you. So cut off that source of upset.

ColaFreezePop · 20/11/2019 16:29

@TheHodgeoftheHedge they may be doing 2 years separation so if they haven't been separated for 2 years they have to wait.

yetanothermanicmonday · 20/11/2019 16:30

He has her blocked on SM, not her phone number. He just ignores her so I assume he feels that he is acting appropriately whilst she acts a bit mental, frankly. As mentioned in my post, I would like opinions on if I should be asking him to block her or tell her to just F Off!

@TheHodgeoftheHedge Ive already commented on why the divorce is taking so long. You cannot proceed for 2 years without consent where we are.

OP posts:
HaveIgoneMad · 20/11/2019 16:30

YANBU. I don't think you should have to censor what you want to post on your own account (as long as it's nothing aimed at her and therefore adding fuel to the fire - but nothing you've written here suggests that at all). It is your account that you've had since before all this drama and changing your behaviour to appease someone you've done nothing to isn't fair on you. It is odd that she still has access to the posts, have you checked your settings? Mine have reset themselves before, or maybe she has old passwords as others have suggested.
As for your OH perhaps he's hoping if he ignores she will get bored eventually? Or as others have suggested is just trying to avoid escalating the situation. She does need to be told to stop harassing you however and I think he needs to send her a message telling her any further communication needs to be via solicitors only and any further vitriol aimed at either of you will be treated as harassment and reported.

IWorkAtTheCheescakeFactory · 20/11/2019 16:31

Right well you have two options.

  1. he blocks her
  2. he doesn’t block her but doesn’t mention her or any of her contact with him again.

Which would you prefer he does?

Clearnightsky · 20/11/2019 16:32

I think the only way to deal with this is to make it clear to your BF that you have lines not to be crossed. He’s the weak link for whatever reason.

My DP that I’m separating from also has an Ex who is awful to and about me - however I’ve since realized that he was quite content to ‘keep her into him’ by occasionally giving her encouragement - very subtle but that is all she needed. If he’d actually stuck up for me and been boundaried the ‘crazy ex’ would not have crossed the line. In some ways he liked the heat being on me. She was like plan B.

Lolacat1234 · 20/11/2019 16:33

YANBU - really they have no reason to even be talking since there are no kids. The extent of their communication should be limited to legal stuff about the divorce. I'd be annoyed if my partner was responding to anything she says apart from divorce stuff. Literally, he needs to pretend she doesn't exist! Doesn't even need to defend your honour really, just ignore ignore ignore until she goes away.