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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Was I at all in the wrong here

244 replies

newlifenewme2020 · 23/12/2019 05:37

Oh god this is so long but I just want to check in all of this if I did anything wrong

DH has had a issue with his temper for a while. I had hoped he was dealing with it until today.
Woke up this morning and DH got up with DS who is 6. Came down to see DH yelling at DS. DS had apparently send a pile of clothes DH had sorted out flying. I ask DH to calm down. DH storms upstairs with the pile of clothes and then gets to the top and throws them down.

I ask him to move them as his parents are due to take DS out and he doesn’t answer me just huffs and goes in the bedroom. At that point I am in tears (this has happened many times before but not for a while and I had hoped it was getting better- stupid me)

The doorbell goes and I am just finishing off making sure Ds has everything. DH walks in and shove DS to the door and yells at his parents “take him for gods sake he is doing my head in” I come up behind him and say “ no it’s you and your temper that are the problem and I am sick of it” (his parents think he can do not wrong but I tired of covering it up)
DH shuts the door goes mad at me and storms upstairs flinging a picture off the wall down the stairs and kicks the wall
After about half an hour I go up and ask him to get up and help me and he says “no” I say please we have so much to do before Christmas and he says “better get on with it then”
At this point I feel broken come downstairs and ring the Samaritans as I just need someone to talk too.

Afterwards I go back up and try to talk to him but he says I am always hen pecking him and I am a huge part of his stress. Again I ask him to help me. He storms out

After about an hour I am not sure when DS is due back so I ring his mum and ask but break down on the phone. MIL said they will be back soon.
By the time they get here DH is back and back in bed upstairs. I say to MiL please talk to him he say I have got to tell everyone he is ill over Christmas, I have so much to do I need his help.

After 20 minutes MIL comes down looks at DS and says “go up and give your dad a cuddle later he needs it”. She then says bye to me sarcastically and her and FIL walks out. FIL said hardly to me the whole time he was here.

After half an hour I go upstairs and again ask for his help. I get told no. When I ask what MIL said he says “unlike you she just asked if I was ok”
I take a deep breath and say please it is Christmas can we just get through it for DS. After 10 minutes of trying to persuade him he comes down.

He goes into the kitchen while I am in the living room and shouts “where is my wedding ring? I said I don’t know. He said he had thrown it down the stairs. I said no I have not seen it but have been tiding up all over. He then says oh it is lost then.

Now I shouldn’t have not done this but I said “oh you don’t sound upset”
There is a huge crash of breaking glass and I just freeze and so does DS. After about 10 seconds I call out “what’s happened”
He comes storming in and again I say “what has happened”
He says “back door window broken”
I walk in the kitchen see one pain of the back door window smashed (luckily double so one paine is still intact)

At this point I grab the phone and ring MiL, DH is trying to stop me but I get through and just say
“He has smashed the back door window, he needs help, he needs help with his temper, I can’t cope with this any more”
DH grabs the phone of me and says “I am coming round mum” he then storms out.

At this point I ring my mum who comes round and she helped me with stuff and we talked things through. She says if I leave I have there full support but if I stay there has got to be a chance for DSs sake and he needs help.

After a few hours she goes and DH comes back and goes straight upstairs. I go up and asked what in-laws had said.

DH says they just want me to be ok and why did you not ask how the window had smashed as it was an accident!!!! I ask how the heck a window ended up smashed by accident but he won’t tell me.

He then said “if I cared I would have called our straight away to see if he was ok”.

As I said earlier in the thread I just froze when it happened and I heard the glass

He then goes on to say again I hen peck him and cause his stress. I get at him and speak to him like a child and I keep pushing until he loses his temper and when he loses it I just keep getting at him.

He then said he wants to drive to the airport and jump on a plane. When I say to him “in that case do you know where your passport is and by the way there is sun cream in the cabinet” he leaps up, packs a bag and says “this was a prime example of me getting at him and hen pecking when he is in a mood”. He then said again the window was an accident and I always think the worse.

I expect I was meant to beg him not to go

And that I were we have left it. I have ended up in bed and him on the sofa. The packed bag ended up just being packed and not going anywhere.

It’s been playing on my mind all night. I think I know what I have to do but I just want to ask for my peace of mind- did I cause any of that?

I though I might get a text for MIL to ask if I am ok but no- nothing.

Just feel numb. Christmas is ruined. I turned to in-laws for help and it has just made things worse

OP posts:
Lougle · 23/12/2019 09:28

And that I were we have left it. I have ended up in bed and him on the sofa. The packed bag ended up just being packed and not going anywhere.

Where is your DS? Your DH has been violent and abusive and you have gone to bed, leaving (I presume) your DS to deal with your DH's mood.

It's your DS who will suffer most. Neither of his parents are thinking of him through all this because they're so consumed with their relationship. Sad

thepeopleversuswork · 23/12/2019 09:41

Fuck my some of you abuse appeasers really need to give your heads a wobble.

newlifenewme2020 · 23/12/2019 09:41

Did you see the time I posted this? Ds was in bed and I put him there

OP posts:
Henrysmycat · 23/12/2019 09:43

@Sofast leave it. You dig yourself in a deeper and uglier hole. They have a child, just because her asshole Husband doesn’t want to rise up to being a father and a husband, doesn’t mean that Christmas should be cancelled for the child.
You’re excusing horrifying behaviour. Violence has absolutely no excuses.

Henrysmycat · 23/12/2019 09:44

@thepeopleversuswork absolutely. every single word.

CakeandCustard28 · 23/12/2019 09:52

Oh poppet. What a vile abusive piece of sh^t! There’s no excuse in the world that will make his behaviour of breaking windows etc acceptable. Least your family will support you. Get rid and enjoy the rest of your life without having to tip toe around someone like that.

Thethiniceofanewday · 23/12/2019 09:55

Just wanted to say this line was perfect ‘When I say to him “in that case do you know where your passport is and by the way there is sun cream in the cabinet”

He wanted you to beg him to stay and you called his bluff.

As others have said - take your son and stay with your mum if you can. Just for Christmas. Take some space for yourself.

koshkat · 23/12/2019 09:55

Fuck my some of you abuse appeasers really need to give your heads a wobble.

It is truly shocking. I might expect to see this from other abusive men but to see it from women on a site supposed to be supportive to other women is just horrible.

OP this is NOT your fault. Get away as soon as you can.

ACouchOfOnesOwn · 23/12/2019 10:02

The only way you were wrong was to expect him to act like a kind, caring partner when he obviously has a pattern of being angry and abusive. Abusers often try to ruin celebrations like birthdays, Christmas.

BarbedBloom · 23/12/2019 10:04

This could have been my father. I remember hearing things breaking and thinking, here we bloody go again. It ruined my childhood.

His parents clearly are on his side. You need to separate. As a child I just wanted one calm place to live where I didn't have to dread a key in the door. All the people excusing this disgust me. There is no excuse for his behavior.

Work is stressful too but if you stormed around and 'accidentally' broke a window they would likely call the police. Angry men always blame everyone else for their anger, but it is them who have the responsibility for managing it

drinkygin · 23/12/2019 10:14

He is abusive and vile and his parents are vile too. He was verbally abusive to your son and they tell your son to go and give HIM a hug? Disgusting. I hope you find he strength to leave.

Pippa12 · 23/12/2019 10:14

I definitely know that when my DH is frustrated he needs space, time to calm down, reflection, like we all do. We have both recognised that we BOTH need that as shock horror... I loose my temper too.

My DH had mental health problems, as does OP- he’s had a previous breakdown! We worked through it and we are in a good place. Just because I’m not screaming LTB doesn’t mean I’m a abused wife. It means that thank god we got back on track and love each other, warts and all, and yes when he’s in a stinker I go out with friends and leave him to stew!

It’s so sad that when a positive story is shared it’s met with derogatory comments like ‘are you patted on the head’.

If your in danger, leave. If you think he’s struggling with an acute mental health episode- leave and support from a distance, if he’s just a grumpy tosser then leave and don’t go back. Only you know.

FFSFFSFFS · 23/12/2019 10:17

Ugh. Sounds like every single Christmas of my childhood. Go to your mums NOW. Have a lovely restful peaceful Christmas day there.

Then I think theres some sort of support called the Freedom Programme that can help?

But basically you without a single doubt need to leave him. And his odious parents.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 23/12/2019 10:19

Everyone loses their temper at times.

I've never punched a wall, broke a window or shoved my child in temper though. That's not normal. And mental health is not an excuse.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 23/12/2019 10:21

It's funny as well, these men never seem to lose their temper at their work colleagues or friends. It's always at their wife and children.

Notsure94 · 23/12/2019 10:21

He's not able to control himself which puts you and your son at risk. Also your son will be seeing this as the way to treat you and others. An awful example.

Straycatblue · 23/12/2019 10:23

It’s so hard because in between all this he is great. We laugh and get on so well. In so many ways he is fantastic (ok I know you won’t believe me). He has come through a break down and I was so proud of him for that. He can still make my tummy flip by smiling at me and he is always saying I am beautiful

But don't you understand, this is exactly how abusers work.
One of the reasons women stay in abusive relationships is because that when hes not being abusive, he's lovely and there is a disconnect in your head that the lovely person is the real person and if you could just behave in the correct way to get him to stay being the nice person. But very sadly the truth is the lovely person and the abusive person are one and the same and cannot be separated or compartmentalised.
He may indeed be blissfully unaware that he is being abusive, perhaps he saw this behaviour from his father growing up , perhaps he thinks its normal, who knows, who cares, the truth is that he is being abusive to you and your son.

You must also stop looking from validation from his parents, they either dont like you or their son is telling them a completly different version of events , but they have seen some of it with their own eyes. Maybe thats how their own relationship is behind doors, again who cares, protect yourself by stopping going to them. They are NOT your allies.

The truth is you are a victim of domestic abuse. Your husband is an abuser and your son is suffering domestic abuse because you will not leave or change the situation.

Its scary and its a hard truth to accept and of course its easier to pretend its not really happening, even today you are already doubting how bad it was and maybe you've over dramatised things and want to minimise it because, the truth is horrifying. The man you love is abusing you.

You may not leave as a result of last nights events or as a result of people on this thread telling you but something inside of you is waking up, you know deep down that this behaviour is wrong. This isnt what a loving relationship looks like and you have to protect your son. If you don't have the strength to save yourself from this situation, you have to find the strength to be your son's hero because he is absolutely suffering because of it.

Ask yourself, what kind of person did i think i would be when i was younger, did i want to be a women who was too scared to protect herself and her son from an abusive relationship . Trust me you can find the strength to do it, many women have gone before you and can help you to find the way.

koshkat · 23/12/2019 10:24

It's funny as well, these men never seem to lose their temper at their work colleagues or friends. It's always at their wife and children.

So much this.

And agreed to those who say that poor mh is not an excuse for this. I have mh problems and would NEVER behave in such an abusive and controlling way.

DowntonCrabby · 23/12/2019 10:30

Please please have the strength to leave him.

None of his behaviour is normal, he is possibly very mentally unwell leading to the abuse. But it is still abuse. It sounds like you’ve been conditioned to accept so much which is making you question what’s normal and what’s not. None of it is.

Your name and story (he seizures/fibro) ring a bell, have you posted before about this OP?

FlowersFlowers

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 23/12/2019 10:31

Please get your son out of this toxic atmosphere. Poor kid will grow up traumatised.

Give yourself the best possible Christmas present: freedom.

Wereallsquare · 23/12/2019 10:36

It’s so hard because in between all this he is great.

This should be the title of a permanent thread. Hmm

tensmum1964 · 23/12/2019 10:37

You have disabilities and work a 55 hr week and he works a 24 hr week term time. What about that is ok? He is abusive and manipulative and sounds frightening to be around. He is vile and abusive to your son ie shoving him out the door whilst shouting horrible things about him. No amount of being told I am beautiful would let me live like that. He is vile, his parents are vile. For Gods sake run for the hills and get this piece of crap out of your life. Protect your son and protect him from becoming like his Dad. Nothing good will come from staying with him. Sorry to be so blunt but hearing scenarios like this make my blood boil.

ScatteredMama82 · 23/12/2019 10:41

This makes me so sad, your poor DS having to witness this behaviour from his father. Being shoved out the door and spoken to like that. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for him. Go to your mums and put the wheels in motion.

Slightly different, but I grew up with an alcoholic mum and a dad who enabled it. I spent my entire childhood with a knot in my stomach, waiting for the next thing that would set her off. Even now, in my 40s I am scarred by it and have real issues with self esteem and trying to please and appease everyone all the time. Don't let your son grow up feeling like this.

Alexandra80 · 23/12/2019 10:42

He's going to be great some of the time or you wouldn't stay. The same is true for almost all abusive partners.

Towrl · 23/12/2019 10:46

Was your son witnessing all this? His world must be so scared. Please leave and go to your parents.