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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Sexual Stuff

197 replies

mightbealittlebitmad · 26/10/2020 08:12

I've been in a relationship/married for a very long time and throughout have always refused to do certain sex things because we've tried them and I really don't enjoy doing them. He's really unhappy at the minute because I won't do them and says it's making his life miserable and I should want to do things to make him happy. I feel a bit uncomfortable with that kind of attitude but maybe I'm wrong because sometimes in life we do things for other people (watch a film you might not be keen on, visit friends or family when you would prefer to stay at home)

Should I just put up and shut up once in a while or is it ok for me to refuse to do certain things? My drive at the moment is through the floor which isn't helping and I have been having sex even when I don't want to just to keep the peace.

I'm in a really unhappy place at the moment and really not sure how I feel about everything so that's potentially clouding my view.

Help.

OP posts:
mightbealittlebitmad · 26/10/2020 09:37

I mean I could live without giving him oral full stop but I'm happy to do it because he likes it but I just can't do it until the end. He says he would rather I didn't do them at all and just have one proper one a year.

He has no issues doing things for me but he enjoys the things he does. He feels like it's very one sided because I get a better time than he does but he always seemed quite happy with the way things were so it really has come out of the blue.

OP posts:
Ninkanink · 26/10/2020 09:38

It’s not a good relationship. On many levels. You have children; you are modelling for them what a relationship looks like. It would be far better for them and for you to part ways.

LittleTiger007 · 26/10/2020 09:38

I think I’d show him this thread and make him read every single comment. Porn is not real-life! If he wants a loving partner he needs to question why your libido is through the floor.
My libido is through the roof and it’s because I have an amazingly loving and selfless husband who seeks to make me happy ... this in turn makes him happy and fulfilled ... ever increasing circles instead of the spiral of doom he is perpetuating. (We are both middle aged btw)
He needs to be reminded that it’s supposed to be fun and wonderful for the pair of you. The glue to your marriage, something that brings you together, not his own personal fantasydome whilst causing you pain and sadness!! Whilst he’s watching porn his head is in a fantasy world. He is sick and needs help.

madcatladyforever · 26/10/2020 09:40

My ex said if I didn't go along with his BDSM fantasies he'd leave so I let him leave. I won't be coerced to do things Id hate. I won't do anal either.
As far as I'm concerned HE broke the family up. But if you give in the demands will never end.

WhereYouLeftIt · 26/10/2020 09:41

"He's really unhappy at the minute because I won't do them and says it's making his life miserable and I should want to do things to make him happy."
And you're really unhappy at the minute because he won't stop asking you to do things you don't want to do, and it's making your life miserable and he shouldn't want you to do things that make you unhappy.

You are just as important as he is. His behaviour seems to be saying he doesn't think you are important at all, and that you exist only to serve his desires. (Note - desires. Not needs. Desires.)

"My feelings have totally changed and I've tried to explain but I feel like I'm being selfish tearing out family apart when he hasn't actually done anything wrong."
Yes, he has done something wrong. He is coercing you into sex acts you don't want to do. That's wrong. He's emotionally blackmailing you. That's wrong. He's got you believing that you are being selfish when it is he that is the selfish one. That's wrong.

"I just feel so disinterested in him completely, it sounds awful but I feel like we are more like friends than anything else but he doesn't feel the same so it's really difficult."
You are no longer in love with him, and it's not hard to see why. And as for 'he doesn't feel the same' - no, he doesn't. You don't want to have sex with someone you don't care about, whilst he does want to have sex with someone he doesn't care about. I'm sorry Sad, but he doesn't care about you. He just cares about getting his end off. He just wants to ejaculate and use you to do so.

"He thinks I'm on a power trip saying no because I'm the only one who can provide the thing he wants. Everyone else apparantly does it so he says after doing some googling."
This is the exact same as telling you that you are selfish and you are tearing the family apart, when it's the exact opposite. He is selfish, he is tearing the family apart and he is on a power trip. It's even got a name, this behaviour. DARVO. Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. So he Denies (being a selfish prick), Attacks you (with accusations of being a selfish prick), and Reverses the situation so that he's the Victim and you're the Offender. It works quite well, as long as the actual victim can't see what is happening. As you said earlier, "I feel like I'm being selfish tearing out family apart when he hasn't actually done anything wrong." You've been DARVO'ed. Look out for it next time he presses you. And tell him what he's doing. And don't fall for it.

"He's never been like this before, I can only assume he's feeling hurt because of me suggesting I might want to end our marriage and so he's lashing out."
New behaviour? I wouldn't assume he's hurt, I'd assume he's acquired an online porn habit. Because "Everyone else apparantly does it so he says after doing some googling." Well that's what he's been googling. Porn.

And the reason you're suggesting ending the marriage is his total disrespect for you, his coercing you into sex acts you dislike, and his making your life a misery. All of which have led to your feelings for him having "totally changed".

"Should I just put up and shut up once in a while or is it ok for me to refuse to do certain things? My drive at the moment is through the floor which isn't helping and I have been having sex even when I don't want to just to keep the peace."
No, do not put up and shut up. If you do, your sense of self-worth will take a nosedive and you'll feel even more miserable. Yes, it is OK for you to refuse. Your drive is through the floor because of his demands - it's nigh impossible to feel turned on when your partner insists on something he knows you dislike. And I think you know the word for sex you don't want.

I think it's time you did get out of this marriage. It's dead in the water already, through his behaviour. I think you'll be a lot happier without him.

SunShinesStill · 26/10/2020 09:42

I could never enjoy sex with someone if I knew they were doing something that they didn’t enjoy/was hurting them. That’s all levels of wrong/control and bordering on abuse. So if he wants you to do something you don’t want to just to get off, then he needs to leave and find someone who wants you to enjoy it.

Chocaholic9 · 26/10/2020 09:42

@mightbealittlebitmad

I mean I could live without giving him oral full stop but I'm happy to do it because he likes it but I just can't do it until the end. He says he would rather I didn't do them at all and just have one proper one a year.

He has no issues doing things for me but he enjoys the things he does. He feels like it's very one sided because I get a better time than he does but he always seemed quite happy with the way things were so it really has come out of the blue.

So it's OK if he only coerces you once a year? On a special occasion?

WTF, OP!

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 26/10/2020 09:43

I do some things that I don't particularly enjoy because I know he enjoys it a lot and I like knowing that he is enjoying it but I wouldn't do something that I actively dislike and I don't think he would let me tbh. He wouldn't be able to relax knowing that I wasn't into it. Hold your ground, I highly doubt this is a relationship dealbreaker

C8H10N4O2 · 26/10/2020 09:46

Everything WhereYouLeftIt said.

Plus consider that you are demonstrating and modeling a relationshp to your children where its ok for one partner to coerce the other and play on their vulnerabilities (financial, worries about childrent etc). Don't underestimate the impact of that on them.

Kolsch · 26/10/2020 09:49

[when he hasn't actually done anything wrong.]

But he has op.
By acting like he is because you refused to comply and making you feel like this is wrong, very wrong. It's emotional blackmail.
Never ever comply with a request if it makes you feel anything but comfortable, particularly a sexual request.
He sounds like a toddler in a grown mans body.
Tell him to grow the hell up and ignore him.

Mittens030869 · 26/10/2020 09:51

* "He thinks I'm on a power trip saying no because I'm the only one who can provide the thing he wants. Everyone else apparantly does it so he says after doing some googling."*

No, everyone doesn’t do it. And even if that were true, it wouldn’t mean that you had to. It’s your body, your choice.

He sounds very immature about this.

WhySoSensitive · 26/10/2020 09:54

There’s a very large difference between visiting family when you’d rather be at home, and having something shoved up your arse that you don’t want.

It’s clear from your posts your not compatible in that way, and him emotionally blackmailing mailing you should show you just what type of person he is. I’d be leaving just from your posts.

mightbealittlebitmad · 26/10/2020 09:56

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

I do some things that I don't particularly enjoy because I know he enjoys it a lot and I like knowing that he is enjoying it but I wouldn't do something that I actively dislike and I don't think he would let me tbh. He wouldn't be able to relax knowing that I wasn't into it. Hold your ground, I highly doubt this is a relationship dealbreaker
I wish it were a deal-breaker, he says he won't leave because of it, he will just be miserable. He's refusing to accept the way I feel at the moment, I wish he would just say ok and let me walk away without a fight.
OP posts:
Chocaholic9 · 26/10/2020 09:57

@Mittens030869

* "He thinks I'm on a power trip saying no because I'm the only one who can provide the thing he wants. Everyone else apparantly does it so he says after doing some googling."*

No, everyone doesn’t do it. And even if that were true, it wouldn’t mean that you had to. It’s your body, your choice.

He sounds very immature about this.

Not everyone does anal.

If they do, why do almost all, bar one, of the women friends I've spoken to about sexual stuff over the years, confided they either find it disgusting or painful or both.

Most women don't like having stuff shoved up their arse.

SirVixofVixHall · 26/10/2020 09:57

Rapey, basically. Forcing your sexual partner by coercion to do something she does not want to do.
When did anal sex become this thing that many men see as their right ? I have never done this, DH has never done this. When I was a teenager/early twenties I was a virgin, but my friends who were sexually active were not ever asked for anal sex, yet now it seems to have been normalised.
He is treating you like an object, not a person. Who on earth wants to do something sexually that the other person is not enjoying ? That is painful for the other person ? Massive red flag there about how he sees you and women in general.

FortunesFave · 26/10/2020 10:00

Tell him fine but you're going to do him up his arse first...and if he likes it then you will give it a try.

Quartz2208 · 26/10/2020 10:01

then let him be miserable - he is asking you to be miserable to make him happy

He has a choice to walk away

Cheeseandwin5 · 26/10/2020 10:01

Sorry I agree with others. You tried and didn't like it
That should be the end of it.
I think you both want different things and I would end it too, if he is pressuring you into stuff he knows you don't enjoy.
Sex should be for both of you and not just him.

thepeopleversuswork · 26/10/2020 10:03

OP as others have said the acts themselves are irrelevant. What matters is that he is trying to pressure and guilt you into doing something which you've made clear you don't enjoy.

My exH used to do this: he would constantly tell me that he knew I enjoyed certain sexual acts when I'd told him clearly that I didn't... he concluded from the fact that I'd previously agreed to them that this meant I was giving lifetime consent.

For me it wasn't so much the acts themselves, it was the fact that he insisted he had better insight into my sexual desires than I did: I just couldn't square this circle and it was one of the main reasons we split.

If someone can't respect that you know your own body better than they do and that you have the final say in what happens to it they won't respect you in a wide range of other ways.

You are not "tearing the family apart" here, he's the one who is doing this by refusing to respect your views and your boundaries. No-one has an automatic entitlement to any kind of sexual activity, let alone one their partner clearly doesn't enjoy.

Wishihadanalgorithm · 26/10/2020 10:05

He sounds manipulative. I think Op, now is the time to get ducks in a row. This relationship seems wrong on several levels and TBH how can you want to stay with this man who is trying to coerce you into something you really don’t want to do?

Newwayofthinking · 26/10/2020 10:06

You don't need to him to walk away, you can leave him. You have the power to do that.

My partner asked if we could try anal, he could see it hurt, stopped straight away and we haven't tried again. No big deal.

It doesn't make his life miserable, because sex is a joint and if either of us don't enjoy certain things we don't do them.

He is horrible, controlling and coercive.

Leave

SoulofanAggron · 26/10/2020 10:06

I've been in a relationship/married for a very long time and throughout have always refused to do certain sex things because we've tried them and I really don't enjoy doing them. He's really unhappy at the minute because I won't do them and says it's making his life miserable and I should want to do things to make him happy. I feel a bit uncomfortable with that kind of attitude but maybe I'm wrong because sometimes in life we do things for other people (watch a film you might not be keen on, visit friends or family when you would prefer to stay at home)

@mightbealittlebitmad YANBU. I don't think sex is really the same as going out when you don't feel like it. Doing sexual stuff that you don't want/when you don't want it is awful.

I feel like I'm being selfish tearing out family apart when he hasn't actually done anything wrong.

He has though, he's trying to sexually manipulate/coerce you. That's not ok, it's hideous.

Everyone else apparantly does it so he says after doing some googling.

All sexually manipulative types say that. It's a lie. And even if everyone else in the world was prepared to do the thing, it would be your perfect right not to do a sexual thing you don't want to.

As a PP implied, him trying to help your marriage by attempting to manipulate you into doing sexual stuff you don't want to do is bizarre.

It's not unusual for people to not want to do the things you don't want to do, by the way. xxx

I wish it were a deal-breaker, he says he won't leave because of it, he will just be miserable. He's refusing to accept the way I feel at the moment, I wish he would just say ok and let me walk away without a fight.

You don't have to have his permission to end the relationship.

HumousWhereTheHeartIs · 26/10/2020 10:10

You deserve better than this, OP. Sex is not a one way act.

Lovemusic33 · 26/10/2020 10:10

He sounds like an abusive twat. If he loved you he wouldn’t ask you to do things you are not comfortable with. He’s trying to make you feel guilty for not providing him with what he wants by saying these are things that he “needs. I would kick him out and wish him luck finding a woman that will do everything he asks.

mightbealittlebitmad · 26/10/2020 10:16

I don't really know where to go from here. My heart has wanted to end things for a while but I have nowhere to go. I work evenings and weekends so I need him to be around to look after the kids whilst I'm at work. To do that would mean living together whilst apart until I find somewhere to go. I need benefits in order to top up my wage and I can't claim anywhere near enough if I have a mortgage and am living in the house so it needs to be me that goes. Finding somewhere affordable and close enough for school is proving tough, private landlords won't touch me because I work in hospitality which is at risk of being closed down.

I feel totally stuck.

OP posts: