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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband addicted to hobby - AIBU??

699 replies

Lewem · 27/06/2020 18:57

I have been married just over one year. Not long before our wedding last year, my husband took up a hobby that he used to do long before we met..it was my suggestion to start it up again as I thought it would be good for him. A couple of months after our wedding, he starting becoming OBSESSED with this hobby, to the point I barely saw him. We live quite far away from where I grew up so quite far from all my family and friends, but very close to his, and therefore I ended up feeling incredibly lonely. I told him how I felt and things eased off a bit. However, it's now all started up again.

Despite the fact we recently had counseling and agreed he would only spend 3 days a week doing his hobby, he is constantly making excuses to do it almost every day for 4-5 hours (it involves a particular sport, without being too precise). He's even started making excuses to go on Sundays, which are meant to be our one and only day together. A couple of weeks ago I caught him out lying... he told me he was at work but I found out and had proof that he was actually at his hobby.

Today (Saturday) he went to his hobby first thing this morning, we spent a couple of hours together and he's now upstairs watching his hobby on TV! He said he wanted to go again tomorrow...when I got upset and reminded him we had plans, he got very manipulative and said in a very sarcastic voice, 'ok I'll just stick to the SCHEDULE' then, and that Im trying to control him and stop his hobby altogether. This has infuriated me as it couldn't be further from the truth..I am happy for him to have this hobby, as he says it helps with his mental health, but just to balance things better.

I am constantly feeling bored, lonely and upset. He says I am being unreasonable and that one of the other wives/girlfriends act like this...which makes me even more mad! I don't care about them I only know how I feel. I certainly don't want to be together 24/7 and I actually enjoy a bit of time to myself sometimes, but I feel as tough Im having to beg my husband to want to spend time with me and its really getting me down.

I am questioning whether I am overreacting or if he is indeed being a total selfish prick? Any thoughts? I am currently considering if I want to stay in this marriage :(

OP posts:
Weenurse · 28/06/2020 00:56

Try a game with him and see if you like it.
If not then I would leave, as he is being selfish.
Unless he does as PP DH and be home by 1030 for family time

Weenurse · 28/06/2020 01:14

Just read where he leaves his child as well.
Leave him.

notangelinajolie · 28/06/2020 01:21

It's over and you know it. He doesn't care about you - you are bottom of his list of priorities.
Leave him - this marriage is going nowhere.

AcrossthePond55 · 28/06/2020 01:37

There is a school of thought that would say, if having a baby is very important to you, try and have a baby with him right now, asap, and then if things don't improve you leave

Please don't do this. First off, you'd be tied to him for the rest of your life because you have a child together. 'Co-parenting' doesn't magically stop when they turn 18. Second off, he may be an arsehole but it is wrong to have a child with him when you're already 'half out' of the marriage. Third off, IF you would be getting pregnant without his knowledge, that is just dead, dead WRONG. No one should be made a parent by deception.

shazstanton01 · 28/06/2020 01:57

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

MsDogLady · 28/06/2020 02:03

OP, he has checked out of the marriage.

He is constantly absent, dismisses your feelings, lies, manipulates the counseling sessions, reneges on his agreement, and shifts the blame to you when you challenge him. All to prioritize his obsession.

You have made many reasonable attempts to compromise and work this out. In your shoes, I would walk away now, before you become diminished beyond recognition.

TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 28/06/2020 02:47

@57shazstanton01 you can find and use mumsnet but you can't Google. Very good.

1forAll74 · 28/06/2020 02:48

In the 1950's when I was a girl, nearly every man in our street went fishing all the time, as we lived near a canal and a river. Most of the wives were glad to see the back of the men for hours and hours. And to top it all, some of the men kept their tins of maggots on a cool shelf in the pantry. Not many people had a fridge then.

TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 28/06/2020 02:51

So what if the local men all buggered off to fish in the 1950s. The OP clearly isn't happy with how much time her H is off out jollying it at the golf course.

sanityisamyth · 28/06/2020 03:29

Can you afford to take on the tenancy when it is up for renewal in 3 months? Can you take it on as a sole tenant and then kick him out? He has no right to be there if he's not on the tenancy.

RAOK · 28/06/2020 03:38

What was he like when he couldn’t play golf for all that time due to Covid?

He doesn’t deserve you. You deserve so much better.

lemmathelemmin · 28/06/2020 03:50

I don't agree with the responses.

Reading your OP just made me think that you need to spend more time with friends or pick up your own hobby. You don't have kids, so my response would be different if so.

Alittleshortforaspacepooper · 28/06/2020 04:39

Um... did you marry my ex boyfriend?! Lovely bloke, nice as anything... so long as you do not come between him and his golf. That shit got old quick. It's pretty much the only reason I left him.

vikingwife · 28/06/2020 04:51

Ok got to page 7 & skipped ahead

”all the other golfers’ wives don’t have a problem

Having a wife is not like having a car, yet his attitude is exactly like he is experiencing a bothersome engine issue.

He is comparing people who have owned their cars a long time & enjoy them with his new car he’s just bought

Just because everyone else’s cars are running fine & his is not does not mean that he has bought a lemon

He hasn’t bothered to take care of it & this is why it’s not running well.

While he is hearing bothersome sounds come from the engine, instead of addressing them he ignores them - continuing to rev the engine & driving in a reckless manner, which is causing the engine problems

The problem is HIM - his attitude towards what “having a wife” entails

He has bought a sedan & lamenting it’s not a sports car.

I could keep with this car analogy but you get the drift...

His incredibly selfish, dishonest & disappointing. This is not marriage & you know it!

Natalie Imbruglia apparently recently had a baby via sperm donation as a single woman ! You guys have Nat don’t you? Find an inspirational female role model & let go of the fear

It sounds like you’re projecting your own fears relating to the trauma you experienced as a child going through your parents’ divorce

But the thing is you don’t have a kid...and not all divorce is so traumatising to children - maybe you parents just handle things poorly?

babies are not in the position of experiencing the potentially memorable trauma of a divorce like you did as an older child.

I think you need to put your fear in a virtual box & let it go. Why keep lamenting life didn’t lead you to having a child in your 20s/30s ? You can either live in regret or just accept what your available options are & pick one.

I think everytime you look at this selfish excuse for a new husband, just remember he is cheating you out of the opportunity of experiencing having a child - every day you have to look at his face is one day less to invest in your own goals & dreams. All he cares about is himself & his “par” (golf is so boring am upset have even remembered this terminology, but for Happy Gilmore!)

because you wouldn’t bring a child into this situation & expect him to change. That is a pipe dream. this is who he is & this is how much he respects, or even likes you. That will make it a lot easier if you can embrace your anger & use it to propel yourself out of there.

I bet you could make a happy little home anywhere you go. Let him have it, it’s a rental which is up in 3 months time. This is a perfect time for you to leave now. I would with all seriousness disappear while he is at golf.

I suspect he has never really loved you - you were not “the one” to him, but the one who would have him. Or a trophy wife, or someone submissive who would put up with this, as do sense a certain passivity in your posts...

I identify as childfree myself & 38 we are almost same age? If I were to have a child would 100% pick to do it as a single woman in a tiny little flat on the dodgy side of town than be in your type of position feeling upset, cheated out of life, like an afterthought to my partner... like he just flits in for food, a fuck & a friendly warm, comforting bed each night. Get lost mate!

You’ve been sold up the river ! This is not a happy marriage.

Also don’t get me even started on dog owners who get a dog as a fun “thing to have” but don’t actually want to even take care of it... - WAIT A MINUTE - that’s exactly how he treats you too ! Please take the dog & get the hell out of there ASAP.

vikingwife · 28/06/2020 05:03

Forget car analogy - he treats you like the DOG

Selfish people get a a dog because that seems like a fun thing to have, they like the love & attention they get & have fun playing with them

But they look at everyone else out in the world with their well behaved dogs & complain why theirs is acting up.

Well mate, maybe if you bothered to come home & spend some time with the poor dog, engaging with them, taking care of their needs when they are looking at you with sad broken hearted eyes just begging you to stay for a bit, interact with them, play with them...just love them. And you just walk in, chuck some food in a bowl, complain they have pissed & shat on the floor out of sheer desperation because they’ve waited & been patient for so long...for too damn long

Then you have the audacity to complain the dog is the problem here?

People like this don’t deserve to have a dog & they should never try to own one again. The dog would be better off if it escaped out the back door or open window - at least then the poor thing has a chance at a happier existence - arguably if he’s out in the world again & not locked up in that lonely neglectful environment, then they at least have more choices available & are Free to do what they please.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 28/06/2020 05:09

This is so true...

'Honestly, take a step back.
You are one year in to marriage you have already had counselling(?!)
He doesn't pull his weight at home
He doesn't care about your happiness
He doesn't listen to you
He cares more about golf than you.

It sounds miserable and I would 100% be considering a trial separation to see if it gives him a wake up call.'

I'm not sure I'd make it a trial separation either ....

So he has misled you, manipulated you into thinking he was going to genuinely change...

I think EVEN if he did decrease the golf, which sounds madly obsessive... I don't think it will last.... I'd worry you'd be in the same position in a year/5 years /10 years time...

OP... as you've said upthread, it's feeling you're wasting your life away... You HAVE ONE LIFE!!

YOU HAVE A WINDOW YO HAVE A BABY.... IF THIS IS A PRIORITY - YOU NEED TO GO FOR IT NOW!!

A pal went through this successfully 5 years ago..

At the time
After you're 35 your chances of conception fall. (she was 39 i think)
Getting pregnant by donor is more long winded... You have to take medication too and they time your clinic visits for optimal chance... The clinic said it would be much simpler for her to do it' naturally'...( She didn't want to as a gay woman.)

I think your age is a key fact in the decision to leave.... If you stay it will either mean no kids... Or you'll essentially have a child ignored by their father... (like he already does! Sadly...)

Morninglatte · 28/06/2020 05:10

I found myself in the exact position a few years ago. We had two children under two. He would finish work, be straight on the golf course 4 days out of 5, spend Saturday at the golf course, then a few beers after and then competitions every other Sunday.
In the end I left. It wasn’t much of a marriage.

PinotKaren · 28/06/2020 05:16
Biscuit
BiblioX · 28/06/2020 05:26

Oh lovely, it shouldn’t be this hard! You’ve only been married a year yet already had counselling and feel rejected, and are spoken to meanly. Your feelings matter, if you talk to the person who is meant to care about you most in the world and say you feel lonely and ask nicely if they can do something constructive about it - they should! I don’t know what to suggest but you definitely not being unreasonable.

Lewem · 28/06/2020 06:08

@vikingwife

Forget car analogy - he treats you like the DOG

Selfish people get a a dog because that seems like a fun thing to have, they like the love & attention they get & have fun playing with them

But they look at everyone else out in the world with their well behaved dogs & complain why theirs is acting up.

Well mate, maybe if you bothered to come home & spend some time with the poor dog, engaging with them, taking care of their needs when they are looking at you with sad broken hearted eyes just begging you to stay for a bit, interact with them, play with them...just love them. And you just walk in, chuck some food in a bowl, complain they have pissed & shat on the floor out of sheer desperation because they’ve waited & been patient for so long...for too damn long

Then you have the audacity to complain the dog is the problem here?

People like this don’t deserve to have a dog & they should never try to own one again. The dog would be better off if it escaped out the back door or open window - at least then the poor thing has a chance at a happier existence - arguably if he’s out in the world again & not locked up in that lonely neglectful environment, then they at least have more choices available & are Free to do what they please.

I treat my dog like an absolute queen, but I have all the responsibility. If it was left to him, she would be left alone for hours but i make sure that NEVER happens. That is why it's hard for me to take up my own hobby or go with him to golf as others have suggested, as I always put the dog first and refuse to leave her alone for that length of time. She is a rescue dog and I adore her.
OP posts:
Lewem · 28/06/2020 06:13

Update: Pretty much everyone here confirmed what I already knew.. that I can't go on like this. I went to speak to him about it last night and told him very nicely that I felt it wasn't working and thought we should split up. Basically he got really angry, went in a strop, told me I am just never happy and stormed off. I went after to him and asked if we could just discuss it for 5 mins, very calmly, but he wasn't having it. He said 'I would never end it with you, I cant believe you're doing this'. I tried to explain its due to his actions and he said he will never forgive me for ending our marriage. I briefly mentioned I would like to stay in the house and he just replied that if Im the one who wants to end it I should leave. Then refused to talk to me. I feel like I'm the one being punished now when I've not actually done anything wrong :(

OP posts:
backseatcookers · 28/06/2020 06:14

I treat my dog like an absolute queen, but I have all the responsibility. If it was left to him, she would be left alone for hours but i make sure that NEVER happens. That is why it's hard for me to take up my own hobby or go with him to golf as others have suggested, as I always put the dog first and refuse to leave her alone for that length of time. She is a rescue dog and I adore her.

And yet you are considering bringing a baby into this dynamic, one in which he has unilaterally absolves himself of being responsible, sticking to plans, seeing you as equal partners, having a calm conversation to find a compromise...

Don't you think these things are necessary to coparent healthily with a child's best interests?!

Come on OP, it's time now. Be brave and leave. Don't waste any more precious time on this man and don't bring a baby into this - you'll split anyway at some point and this dickhead will be in your life for decades to come as he'll be the dad of you're child.

nagnagnag · 28/06/2020 06:18

Don't have a baby with him. If you get pregnant, you will either feel obliged to stay and live an unhappy life with him, or you will leave and your child will grow up in a life split between you, spending half their time sitting in his house while he is out at golf.

Rainbowqueeen · 28/06/2020 06:24

Your update shows that you are doing the right thing OP
You have made it clear to him you want to split and he tries to gaslight you into thinking it’s your fault

It is not.

Well done for taking that first step. Now keep going. In 6 months time you will be a thousand times happier than you are now

PossumMagic0 · 28/06/2020 06:29

That must have been incredibly difficult but well done for doing it. I would reinforce the position again today if he is acting like it never happened.

As a side note I have a baby. I would say I do 99% of the baby care, all housework. It's hard but so rewarding as they grow. You can definitely do this on your own 😊 don't live to regret not having a child.