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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My boyfriends ex is insisting i met her and his child

123 replies

Shayne45 · 01/01/2020 20:33

I have met my lovely boyfriend been together 8 months and his ex and him have a lovely girl together shes 4 years old.
His ex insists that i meet her and their daughter together for the first time do I have to legally do this or can my boyfriend and I meet his daughter without her knowing
My boyfriend is worried that if we just meet his daughter and not her he thinks he will access
His ex is already slagging me off and i wont be a good person etc she’s very controlling and very manipulative what do I do?

OP posts:
progesterworry · 01/01/2020 22:51

Meet up with her, be pleasant, try to find some common ground.

She probably just needs reassurance that her dd will be spending time with someone nice. If your relationship goes long term this woman will always be in your life in some form as the mother of your partners child the 3 of you need to find a way to keep the child at the centre of everything and make all decisions in her best interests

DecemberSnow · 01/01/2020 22:52

Please do not meet this child after you have been together just 8 months.
There is no need to meet her for ages yet

Ellisandra · 01/01/2020 22:56

@Honeyroar has anyone said he’s weak?

I’m one of the posters who has said he should sort out boundaries with her (not listening her call OP for a start!) but I’ve acknowledged that’s not easy.

I’m not saying don’t move to the level of introducing kids because he’s weak.
I’m saying, don’t move to that level because she’s got too much work to do on those boundaries, and that needs to be his priority BEFORE introducing children.

How much might the vitriol step up by if her daughter says OP is nice? That she loves having a new sister?

This man sounds like he was made zero effort to work on how he manages his ex. They are both running before they can walk here. And it’s sad if it’s all the ex’s fault - but it doesn’t change the fact that this boyfriend needs to do a lot more to deal with it.

NigesFakeWalkingStick · 01/01/2020 23:00

There isn't anything illegal about meeting DD against her mother's wishes, but if she is truly already causing problems (and who's said this btw, or do you have first hand knowledge) it might be a sort of olive branch to meet somewhere public to put her mind at rest.

Tbh, when my ex meets someone new I'd be asking the same - my DS is only 3 and I'd want to meet the new girlfriend before I allow my son to spend time. Me and my ex have both agreed we'd stick to that on both sides. When I first met my ex he had an elder son from previous relationship and DSS (as he came to be) mum asked to meet me first (DSS was 4 at the time) and I fully respected and admired her request. We've ended up being great friends Grin

Gingerkittykat · 01/01/2020 23:02

Does the ex let the child's father come along any time she takes her DD to see anyone new?

I mean she could be letting the girl have playdates with unsuitable friends or her relatives might not meet the dad's high standards.

Graphista · 02/01/2020 00:47

“Basically if you're not mature enough to put your own feelings if discomfort to one side and meet his ex, then I'm not sure you're mature enough to be in a relationship with a man who has a child.”

This!

What evidence do you have that she’s “already slagging me off and i wont be a good person etc she’s very controlling and very manipulative”?? Considering you’ve never even met her!

I was thankfully spared this nonsense as my ex’s ow/2nd wife is someone who was supposedly a friend of mine too so dd and I knew her already and to be fair other than the affair she’s always treated dd well. She even instigated my meeting her parents (I’d not met them when we were friends as they didn’t live nearby) as she wanted me to feel completely comfortable about dd being around her family when staying at theirs too - they too are lovely and have treated dd very well.

Be aware that some men set new partner v exp to suit them! As per several examples from pps:

To get time to suit themselves
To get out of seeing their child
For the ego boost
To control
To create drama

My ex (initially unbeknown to me) was telling ow I was the one dragging heels on divorce - I wasn’t he was. I’d started the divorce and he sat on various papers for several months because he was avoiding marrying again, she was pregnant and wanted to be married before baby born which would have been possible if he’d not faffed about!

He also was massively unreliable with contact with dd from the beginning, even though ow was pregnant he was wanting to act the single guy and suit himself. She was actually very much encouraging of his seeing dd so when she was asking him why he ‘didn’t have dd AGAIN this weekend’ he was blaming me - eventually despite him asking her not to (for obvious reasons) she contacted me basically to have a go, and I put her straight - that blew up in his face too!

So actually it can be really beneficial to you and ex to have a good co-operative relationship as it prevents him from being able to disseminate misinformation for his own ends.

Frankly that he allowed a situation to emerge where you heard her being derogatory on the phone smacks of HIM Being the manipulative controlling one! Who’s to say he hasn’t wound her up about you?

“There is a reason why she is so angry, and he doesn't have to say nasty stuff or shout to still of done something wrong.” Exactly what I’m thinking

Almost everything op “knows” about this woman is what bf has told her

And the rest could have been manipulated by him too - he may have implied op was ow even if she weren’t

I could be wrong but I don’t think being cautious and considering all possibilities is wrong

stilldoesntknowwhatshappening · 02/01/2020 00:50

I'd say No.
You don't have to have anything for do with her.
You can have a relationship with him and his child independent of her.

candycane22 · 02/01/2020 00:57

Ýou are making this woman part of your family by pursuing a relationship with this man. Of course you should meet both.

blubelle7 · 02/01/2020 01:59

YABVU for suggesting you meet her 4 yo child in secret without mum knowing. I suppose this would also be a secret the DD must keep from her mum to stop BF losing access. Meet mum and DD or DD on her own but be transparent. That you are even considering meeting a young child in secret is enough to raise red flags about you OP

mathanxiety · 02/01/2020 04:59

What Graphista said.

Chongadong · 02/01/2020 07:21

Don't do it. I don't mean don't meet her. I mean don't start a relationship with a man with children. Trust me.

SandyY2K · 02/01/2020 08:17

I agree with a pp...don't meet until your BF can put her right when she slags you off.

I don't suppose your BF insisted on meeting her new men did he?

Also...if this is who she is...do you want thus nonsense for the rest of your relationship with him? Her thinking she can call the shots.

She has no right to make these demands...there are other ppl our children interact with that we as parents do not meet in advance.

Unless she has genuine reason to believe the OP is potentially unsuitable to be around her child.... it is somewhat unreasonable.

Myheadisamess31 · 02/01/2020 08:49

Similar happened to me a long while ago. I was getting slagged off and being told i needed to meet the ex. I had done absolutely nothing wrong but fall in love with her ex i had nothing to hide so i went ahead and met her. She soon realised i wasn't a monster she instantly stopped slagging me off and for the last 12 years we've got on fine

Skyejuly · 02/01/2020 09:02

He can do what he likes really. I requested my children didnt stay at DH new partner house for a while and if they did I asked him to inform me first...but I had no legal standing over it.

Ellisandra · 02/01/2020 09:41

It is worth remember that there is no point in wasting any time getting upset about the actual words she is using. She does not actually think you are a whore. She is hitting out at her ex, trying to get a ride out of him - not actually giving a genuine appraisal of you!

That doesn’t make it OK - but what I mean is, there’s just no point in getting aggrieved about her not even knowing you and saying it.

Focus on why he’s listening to it.

IdiotInDisguise · 02/01/2020 11:05

I wouldn’t have any problem in meeting an exW, it is good for the children and it is good for the relationship.

But meeting an abusive controlling ex is a no go for me, you will not reassure her on any way, you are just giving her ammunition.

I would say however, that there is no point in hiding behind a weak man, she will still control your life, so if you are not up for this, bin him. You don’t want a nasty woman calling the shots in your relationship permanently.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 02/01/2020 11:09

This is nothing to do with losing access and everything to do with having civilised relationships for the sake of the child. I would never want a woman I had never met involved with my child. She is a mother and the child is 4. Meet all together in a cafe or public place and let the child see you getting on fine. That way both mother and child will be happier. You and the father should be too. It seems very petulant not to

ChewChewIsMySpiritAnimal · 02/01/2020 11:14

Unless you want this woman controlling your life for the next 14 years, walk away now.

SandyY2K · 02/01/2020 12:32

Unless you want this woman controlling your life for the next 14 years, walk away now.
^^
This. There are plenty similar stories on the steparents board.

Tyersal · 02/01/2020 12:53

No no legal reason to do so and I chose not to because his ex is such a bitch. I think much of it depends on that her and your bf relationship is like

Tyersal · 02/01/2020 13:04

My OHs ex was similar to the one OP describes. Those of you saying they should meet why do you think that should happen after such behaviour?

Also as a mum if you have behaved like this what do you hope to get out of a meeting?

SirChing · 02/01/2020 13:24

OP I wouldn't let my DD meet your new fella until he has done the following:

Got a court order for access to his DD so that he can put down firm boundaries with his ex regarding how she talks about you, without fear of losing contact.

The ex sounds hugely immature, and as if her poor DD will end up stuck in the middle between you all.

I would meet a new partners ex if she wanted me to, for the sake of the DD and the moral high ground of knowing I had done all I could to smooth things along.

I wouldn't demand to meet my ex's new girlfriend, because I trust his judgement. Wouldn't mind doing so as she sounds lovely, but that's mostly because I am a nosy cow and she sounds a right laugh Grin

Aaarrgghhh · 02/01/2020 20:28

She sounds crazy and I would choose to meet with a crazy person. She’s a hypocrite and you don’t need to waste your time. If she wasn’t so nasty then yeah I’d probably meet up, even if just to reassure or put a face to the new person in their child’s life but not this woman going by what you’ve posted. Too much drama. If he can’t stand up to his controlling ex then I’d question what else he would be a push over about. If he can’t sort things out maturely then I’d probably leave, it sounds like a lot.

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