Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be upset with my husband and his friend

832 replies

Pumpkin108 · 05/04/2020 08:56

Hi everyone,

So I'm 8 weeks pregnant (first baby) and I've been doing OK though for me it's not that easy as I have an underlying health condition and the whole thing makes me feel quite anxious but I've been trying to stay really positive and telling myself I'll be ok. My dh has been pretty supportive. Anyway the other day, he was working from home and left his laptop open when he went to do something... I came in from garden and saw messages he'd been exchanging with a work colleague (and friend) who he's know about 1.5 years which basically entailed her being unpleasant about my pregnancy... One such comment was 'oh she'll need to take laxatives before the birth otherwise she'll shit herself' and my dh replied with the laughing laughing emoji...

There were other comments about how my body will be broken afterwards and I'll have to wear pregnancy nappies etc and how I shouldn't have a homebirth because of my 'disease'

Aibu to be hurt by this? To think it's none of her business and that she was rude and hurtful and my husband didn't really stand up for me either?

OP posts:
daffodil1224 · 06/04/2020 21:21

Op I haven't read the all the replies but I've read all your posts. You own the house??? Tell him to fuck off to his parents. He should be BEGGING for forgiveness. What a spineless little worm he is. I'm sure she will have screenshotted your message to her and they'll be having another good laugh. You are in such a good position in that you own your home. So many women on here are stuck because they have no other option. This piece of shit "partner" of yours needs to go. How dare he?

Mix56 · 06/04/2020 21:21

what is this shit re your phone ???
he has free access to his visibly.
Can you not see how wrong all this is ?

daffodil1224 · 06/04/2020 21:24

You have amazing self control. If I had seen those messages and owned the house he would have been gone within ten minutes

RealLifeHotWaterBottle · 06/04/2020 21:27

It doesn't really matter about the woman, in a few years time it could be a new one, and a new one a few years after that.

OP forgive me if this sounds blunt but I haven't noticed you mention any friends in real life you can speak to. Do you have any? Any colleagues you're perhaps close to, or mates you can confide in?

It sounds to me that you are a long way away from realising this man is not worth your time, and you could really do with some rl support.

peaceanddove · 06/04/2020 21:39

My darling, I suspect your lack of family has made you prepared to accept a shitty half life with your DH because you think it's better than being alone. But you are confusing being alone with being lonely. They are two very different states of being. You can never be more lonely than when married to someone who doesn't respect you or care about your feelings, like your DH doesn't. That is such a horribly lonely existence. Whereas you could be alone in your house which you own and yet have your self respect and peace of mind.

This other woman was never your problem here it's your childish, cruel DH who is your problem and he will always be a problem. He will always be like this because this is precisely who he is. You wouldn't expect his eyes to suddenly change colour would you, so why would you think he will change his personality? In order to change his behaviour you would need a time machine and go back to when he was a very little boy. That's when vital attitudes towards honesty and loyalty and integrity are created. But you don't have a time machine and your DH has grown into an adult who thinks it's okay to make fun of his wife's disability and joke about her behind her back. He won't change and it won't get any better.

copycopypaste · 06/04/2020 21:44

Bloody hell op, why are you setting the bar so low. If anyone spoke about me like she did about you, my dh would have torn strips off them, and probably never spoke to them again.

He deliberately shared personal information with someone who, he says is renowned for being horrid. Then fucking laughed at it.

Start standing up for yourself op.

GilbertMarkham · 06/04/2020 22:01

Op you've had many tough breaks already, lost your Mum very young, Dad an alcoholic whose behaviour is so bad you've had to go NC and presumably grew up with a lot of dysfunction due to him, no siblings or wider family, bowel disease/condition to deal with ....

Have you had any counselling at all?

Could you get some when things settle somewhat or perhaps counsellors are doing Skype etc sessions. A good counsellor could help you with your past and this current relationship/marriage.

This episode (and I doubt this has no background ie that what you saw hasn't been said about other things before) alongside what you say about the dynamic in your relationship, alongside the phone comment ... It really sounds like you should discuss things with a good counsellor, no matter what you decide at this time.

You need a genuinely good partner, he doesn't sound like one.

SparklingGin · 06/04/2020 22:28

You need to cause murder with him, why in gods name are you being so placid. You are setting the tone for the rest of your relationship throw him out, if you really want him make him beg and grovel before you give him another chance. Get a backbone, I am not being cruel but this pattern will continue if you don’t demand to be treated with respect.

happywifi99 · 06/04/2020 22:32

Can you really see a future with a man who treats you so badly? Every post is worse than the one before, and men like this don't really change. Flowers

ISpeakJive · 06/04/2020 22:33

Sorry OP but you are having a baby with the wrong man...

Pumpkin108 · 06/04/2020 23:01

I have a couple of close friends ... I’m self employed and work alone so no work colleagues. I don’t think they have been in contact again... but i can check. @GilbertMarkham had various goes at counselling but nothing has really helped me long term... we’ve had issues before because dh said he couldn’t handle my illness and me sometimes being depressed about it but I’ve tried my hardest to be as happy as possible and not let it bring the mood down. I don’t consider myself to be that a bad, at the moment my condition is relatively well controlled.
It’s just based because i know even if we clear the air re this issue, at some point something else will happen and for me the air isn’t really ever cleared because i dont think he understands the implications of his actions/there’s something wrong with his brain that makes him think he’s never wrong

OP posts:
BenjiB · 06/04/2020 23:06

Forget the woman - but your husband !!!!! Omg I would absolutely hit the roof. That would be it for me I’m afraid. I’m sorry but he does not love you. If anyone said and detrimental about me my husband would be furious.

Noconceptofnormal · 06/04/2020 23:10

I agree that the issue was not with her but your husband breaking your confidence by discussing private things with her then joking about you behind your back. How do you know they're not laughing and joking about you now.

You need to find your anger about this and think about how deeply he's betrayed you. There's a reason this thread has hit 28 pages, because rarely does Mumsnet get this incensed by someone's actions.

Snuggz · 06/04/2020 23:14

You have no trust in your relationship. When the trust is gone, the relationship is dead. What are you going to do if you have complications with the pregnancy/birth etc. in the back of your mind you’ll always be wondering if they’ve been making jokes at your expense behind your back. So what are you gonna do? Try and snoop again? What if he’s changed the passwords/codes?

TealWater · 06/04/2020 23:20

dh said he couldn’t handle my illness

I guess he never meant the words in sickness and in health, if they were exchanged as vows. Hmm

Studies show that women are more likely to stand by and support their husband through illnesses, where as men are far more likely to bail if their wife is sick or becomes incapacitated.

Noshowlomo · 06/04/2020 23:47

He’s an arse

AnnaC2020 · 07/04/2020 00:01

Also pregnant here and I am absolutely livid for you I just want to come give you a hug! :(

AnnaC2020 · 07/04/2020 00:08

Also I just want to say I totally understand you. I’m also pregnant and just finished taking immunosuppressants, and I have no family as my dad is an alcoholic as is my mum. I don’t get on with my partners family too much and I have no family of my own. If you ever need to speak to anyone I’m always here and I totally can sympathise with you! Sending all my love :)

MsDogLady · 07/04/2020 05:59

He is a despicable husband and father. He doesn’t respect you or your pregnancy, and he has actively damaged your marriage.

OP, this man has prioritized this woman at your expense. He sold you out to boost her ego by supplying her with your private, personal information so they could laugh like hyenas and he could agree with her digs.

He is lying that he only told her you were pregnant, as it is obvious that he divulged:
*Your bowel condition
*Your plan to have a home birth
*Your pain from your internal scan
*Your severe cramps
*Other personal details used for mockery-fodder

Now he is minimizing his actions and deflecting blame so he can play the victim. Kick this disloyal, manipulative abuser to the curb and have a wonderful life with your child.

rubberoftheband · 07/04/2020 06:34

@Pumpkin108 did you sleep any better? How are you this morning?

SummerWhisper · 07/04/2020 07:20

If you split, he has so much more to lose than you: his free lifestyle, his control over you and his freedom to do as he pleases. You have everything to gain back: your self-worth, dignity, financial security from your work, a happy, loving, respectful home for your child and your freedom.

Things have changed that cannot be reversed. You have a different life now. Which option will you choose?

WhereYouLeftIt · 07/04/2020 07:44

"he can just be quite childish and act like a spoil brat who wants his own way all the time... he doesn’t like me using my phone..."

I'm so sorry Pumpkin, but you are in an abusive relationship Sad. So much of what you have posted here all but shouts this from the rooftops.

"I just want things to be ok... yes there’s been issues in the past but I thought recently things had improved and that finding out he was going to be a dad had made him grow up a bit...clearly I was wrong"

I think it's time to accept that things will NEVER be OK as long as you are with this man. Time to stop concentrating on what he has done (which is appalling) but instead to focus on WHY he has done this. And there's no getting away from the conclusion that he has done it because of the type of person he is - and that he is not going to change - ever. He has absolutely no reason to change.

His family reinforce to him that his behaviour is fine with them. Even you reinforce him, by bending yourself out of shape to give him what he wants ("dh said he couldn’t handle my illness and me sometimes being depressed about it but I’ve tried my hardest to be as happy as possible and not let it bring the mood down.") So why would he change? Life is just peachy as it is, in his opinion.

"I’ve been through so much in my life already and I don’t have the strength to walk away at least not right now..."
Yes, you have been through a lot (hug). And he is putting you through even more. He's a bully who never apologises; doesn't see anything wrong with what he's done; makes you think you're in the wrong for being aware of his behaviour; treats you with a total lack of respect. And I'm sure he's perfectly aware that you feel you lack the strength to leave him. After all, he's spent the three years of your marriage sucking that strength away from you with his lack of respect.

And as for "He wanted a baby more than me" - that goes back to the type of person he is again. Someone mentioned upthread about this type seem to work from a script. And sadly, part of the script is "knock her up, because then she's tied to me through the child forever ". Abusive men like to lock you in, emotionally and practically - having their children does both. His wanting you to have his baby is sadly on a par with not knowing why you could possibly be upset at him sharing your intimate health details so cavalierly.

Which brings me back to when you posted "he doesn’t like me using my phone" . Straight out of the script. Abusive men like to isolate their prey - makes it so much harder for them to get help, to object to the abuse, and even to see that they are being abused. Because isolation means the prey have nobody else's experiences to compare their own and no-one to point out that their experience at the hands of their abuser is so different from what it should be.

You are already pretty isolated; no family and no work colleagues. And now he doesn't like you using your phone - well, that's got to make being in contact with your friends a bit more difficult, doesn't it? Make you less likely to ring for a casual chat, start just phoning them about specific things, then only important things, and then - lose touch a little?

I was so happy when you said the house is yours, not shared. You have no need to go anywhere. He can be asked to leave, and he does have somewhere he can go. He can return to the warm embrace of his poisonous family. Where I'm sure they will reassure him that he's done nothing wrong.

I really do think it would be better for your mental and physical health if he were to move out. Maybe present it to him as temporary, maybe use vague phrases like you want a little space to consider things and the lockdown is making that difficult so he should move to his parents for a bit. But really, best if you plan to remove him from your home altogether.

2littleguineas · 07/04/2020 10:14

Oh OP you poor thing, the more you say about your relationship the more I feel for you?
Are you even happy been with this man? Married 3 years and numerous counselling attempts? That sounds heavy going.
What do you mean he doesn't like you using your phone?

Pumpkin108 · 07/04/2020 10:50

Morning everyone. Thanks for all your messages. Haven't had a chance to reply individually yet. Slept better but this morning feel very low again. So managed to check his Facebook messages with this woman and basically she sent a message to him as soon as I messaged her last night and actually she was apologising and saying she was really sorry etc... And I thought OK but then my dh writes 'oh man. Did she say something? Yeah somehow she went through and read our messages and saw your comments regarding pregnancy and birth... Obviously I didn't think anything of it but now she's seen it....' Angry I don't know how I can deal with this. I can't confront him again. And if I do hell just say it was to get her off his back... No. When I messaged her I wasn't rude or unpleasant... All he needed to say was' yeah actually they were hurtful and unpleasant and my wife was very upset... But no couldn't even do that. Honestly feel like he cares about her more than me.

OP posts:
Pumpkin108 · 07/04/2020 10:57

He also said 'try not to worry about it. I know you didn't mean anything bad by it. Speak tomorrow my friend. Take care' Hmm
I'm now 100% thinking of telling him to go to his parents and to only come back if he has changed his mind about where his loyalty lies...
But then I think if I do that, he will spin a yarn to his parents and they'll all just blame silly me for overreacting, my hormones, my illness, my anxiety etc.

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread