Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be this pissed off about DH wiping my hands on my pyjamas

114 replies

disneybee · 09/01/2021 00:26

DH put a bit of sudocrem on his lip, as it was a bit cracked - possible cold sore starting? I asked him if we should think about getting him a covid test as he's been quite run down recently (and I am cautious because we are in minimal contact with my elderly mother) and he complained about my insinuation about him being run-down. I pointed out he has been complaining about how tired he is, his usually poor sense of smell seems worse than usual, he had a random nap this afternoon and it looks like he's getting a cold sore.

While we have a conversation about whether he is run-down or I am being overly anxious, HE PICKS UP MY PYJAMAS OFF OUR BED AND WIPES THE EXCESS SUDOCREM OFF HIS HANDS ONTO THEM.

AIBU for finding that completely disgusting? Unhygeinic and unsafe? Lockdown with young children for nearly a year has our marriage on the rocks enough, I keep trying to tell myself to be less critical and less arsey, then he does something like this and all I want to do is take my stuff, my bed, my body and my pyjamas and have them in a separate room away from him!

He has since apologised for wiping his hands on my pyjamas as he could tell he really pissed me off, but it's just the kind of thing he is CONSTANTLY DOING!!!!!!!

Is this just lockdown fever or is this really disgusting??? LTB or AIBU??!

OP posts:
SpudulikaSlob · 09/01/2021 09:43

Just murder him. No jury in world would convict you.

Meowchickameowmeow · 09/01/2021 09:44

If he's wiping his mouth on the kitchen dishcloth then I'm not surprised he's got a manky lip.

lottiegarbanzo · 09/01/2021 09:47

He treated your clothing as a dirty towel, or a bit of kitchen paper. That shows complete disrespect for you, everything you own and that matters to you.

Either he's a dirty, uncivilised slob who treats his own stuff like that, or he has a very obvious condition that precludes empathy, or he doesn't see you and your things as mattering, because they don't matter to him and he does not see or value you as a real person.

GeordieGreigsButtButtZoom · 09/01/2021 09:51

Yeah, but, you know, you can wash the kitchen dish cloth, and the pyjamas. You can run around after this pig to clean up after him and the trail of dirt he leaves in his wake for you, the walking domestic appliance, to work on, so what's the problem?

I get dirty at work, so why would anyone object to cleaning up after a grown man wiping his hands and mouth all over everyone's clothes and cleaning clothes? GENUINE QUESTION.

CandidaAlbicans2 · 09/01/2021 10:00

Seriously, wiping greasy hands on someone else's clothes is toddler behaviour, something that a child would be chastised for, not something you'd expect from a grown man.

He treated your clothing as a dirty towel, or a bit of kitchen paper
Exactly. The bloody cheek of it! Plus greasy creams on fabric could stain so I'd be really cross.

Does he absentmindedly wipe his cock on the curtains after sex too? Shouldn't be a big deal to some posters, just chuck the spunky curtains in the wash eh?

boxingdayclearout · 09/01/2021 10:02

I think you are being completely over the top. Sometimes in life the people we live with do annoying things. It's hardly a massive crime

SchadenfreudePersonified · 09/01/2021 10:02

@MrsTerryPratchett

It isn't 'no big deal'. It's disrespectful. And that lack of respect sounds like it is replicated throughout your life. I mean if he's gross, why not wipe his hands on his own clothes, or wipe his mouth on his sleeve? Because he knows the substance isn't nice and he doesn't want it on him.
All of the above.

I think that was an absolutely FILTHY thing to do and I would have gone crackers!

(On a slightly unrelated note, I have found geranium oil to be effective for cold sores. I put a few drops into some moisturising cream - anything will do, or something like coconut oil - mix it well in and then apply as often as you like to the affected area. It's the only thing that has ever worked for me and I've tried loads of remedies.)

Fruitsaladjelly · 09/01/2021 10:07

He was 100% wrong for using your clothing as a hand towel. I don’t think he needs a covid test just because he is run down though. I think it might be worth him taking a good quality multivitamin. A lot of people are run down right now, we are just beginning to emerge from the darkest part of the year and vitamin d levels if not supplemented will likely not be great. This will effect the cold sore and definitely make him more vulnerable to covid.

BorisHasStolenXmas · 09/01/2021 10:08

It’s a bit grim and I wouldn’t be overly happy about it but I really don’t get why someone would leave their husband and split up their family over this.

Also I wouldn’t be having a COVID test just because I was a bit tired and possibly had a cold sore! I think that would be a total overreaction and would be saying so if anyone asked me to do so.

coldwaterfeed · 09/01/2021 10:12

@BorisHasStolenXmas

It’s a bit grim and I wouldn’t be overly happy about it but I really don’t get why someone would leave their husband and split up their family over this.

Also I wouldn’t be having a COVID test just because I was a bit tired and possibly had a cold sore! I think that would be a total overreaction and would be saying so if anyone asked me to do so.

Did you not understand from the OP that this wasn’t a one off? Op sounds at the end of her tether.
FippertyGibbett · 09/01/2021 10:12

Those jokes that he told to ‘get you’ become very boring and make you want to punch him in the throat 30 years later.
I actually got asked the other day why I didn’t laugh at those same old jokes anymore 🙄

C8H10N4O2 · 09/01/2021 10:13

It’s a bit grim and I wouldn’t be overly happy about it but I really don’t get why someone would leave their husband and split up their family over this

People don't. It's not about the pyjamas or the dishcloth or any one small thing which nitpickers can dismiss. Its the pattern of behaviour described here:

mustbethistalltoride.com/2016/01/14/she-divorced-me-because-i-left-dishes-by-the-sink/

As PP said upthread - intelligent man supposedly unable to load the dishwasher/sort the washing whilst holding down the big career might be funny before kids but its bloody pathetic after kids.

lottiegarbanzo · 09/01/2021 10:15

Having read all your posts, what I see here is two people who would be happier co-parenting from different households.

That is, you would be much happier. He'd be ok and live in his own filth but no-one would care, him included, so he'd be fine too. He'd probably be a bit whiney and very self-pitying but, as you'd be able to close the door on him, that would be ok too. You would have to be prepared for him to swooped upon by some self-sacrificing, rescuing angel, consumed with a desire to mother grown-ups, far sooner than you'd find someone else. If you were confident in your decision that you were happier without him, that would be ok.

He is plainly, as you say, an immature man-child but you, you're a bit of a martyr and marching determinedly down the path of adopting martyrdom as a full-on lifestyle. You also have a lot of internalised misogyny, which you are already passing on to your tiny children. Stop using the word 'nag' for one. It's a vicious word used only against women. Teach your DC about doing the right thing, making good choices and telling the truth, (taking responsibility for their actions, when older). All the beautifully neutral, positive, non-judgemental, child-appropriate terms that are widely used in childcare and school settings, children's books etc.

You portray yourself as thoughtful and accommodating, as quoted below. My question to you - and you to him - is what thought and accommodation has he put into surviving lockdown as a family? (Not 'with a family', 'as a family'). Where do you work together on this? Where do you and he compromise?:

I keep trying to tell myself to be less critical and less arsey

My poor children.... do I want to teach them resiliance and kindness to family members? Or do I want to teach them to be brave in the face of difficulty when it comes to putting yourself first and allowing yourself peace and happiness?

The passage below just makes me cringe. You're mistaking normal, genderless, pre-schooler behaviour, for some sort of adult flirtation and teaching that to your little boy. Yuck.

(And yes, people with similar attitudes, raise their little girls to be needy, manipulative princesses, by encouraging them to trade on their looks and cuteness).

And this is what my toddler DS is already doing to me... he's only little, but he already winds me right up then wins me over with a little twinkle in his eye!

I lectured 3yo DS the other day when he was deliberately making it difficult for me to put his shoes on him, "Stop being such a wee chav, because you'll end up marrying someone like me and they will find you really funny until they don't and then they will nag your head off for the rest of your adult life". DH overheard me and burst out laughing. Oh they both know what they are doing, the 3yo and the 35yo.

You (and your DH) have a choice about whether to raise the next generation of dependent, disrespectful, slobby man-children - or not. The power is in your hands.

Onlinedilema · 09/01/2021 10:19

Pyong is so right. My ex h was great to start with, we were very compatible. We then had children and even though we agreed on ideas and principles he just didn't mature like I did. In many ways he was still the adorable 21 year old. It just didn't cut it. I eventually told him I needed a mature husband ,not another fun loving child. I could no longer cope with being the only sensible one and turning into a nag was draining. We had great times together but like so many other posters that was simply not enough. After leaving I was amazed at how much less housework I had to do, I no longer had an extra man child to look after.
Op, I would have gone spare. How would your dh feel if you used his shirt to wipe your hands on, gobsmacked probably.

TrailingLobelias · 09/01/2021 10:19

Wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't think about it for more than a second.

If your husband likes to wipe his mouth after eating you should get napkins or keep a box of tissues on the table.

Carysmatthews · 09/01/2021 10:21

If he’s coming down with a cold sore he should t be touching anything and should be washing his hands in hot soapy water.

I wonder whether this lockdown has brought out many niggling issues that may have stayed dormant otherwise.

Ninkanink · 09/01/2021 10:35

Ugh that’s nasty and would really piss me off too! It’s disrespectful - your pyjamas are not rags!

Sudocrem is greasy and could easily leave a stain as well. My pyjamas are evening and morning lounge wear and not particularly cheap either and I’d be upset if they were ruined by deliberate actions like that.

WTF144 · 09/01/2021 10:38

Disrespectful. Selfish. Passive aggressive 'I don't give a fuck about you' behaviour (who rubs sudocreme potentially laced with herpes on someones clothing??)

My manchild ex always ignored my pleas to be a little more hygienic...using the kitchen cloth to wipe over the cat bowl, handling raw meat and not washing his hands, not washing hands after using the loo...I could go on. He always retorted that he'd managed to live this long so what was my problem.

I promise I didn't secretly laugh when he suffered tummy upset after tummy upset after we split up and he lived alone Grin

Dickhead.

oakleaffy · 09/01/2021 10:39

@Carysmatthews

If he’s coming down with a cold sore he should t be touching anything and should be washing his hands in hot soapy water.

I wonder whether this lockdown has brought out many niggling issues that may have stayed dormant otherwise.

My first thought too...And use an antiviral cream.

As for wiping mouth on dishcloth {Boak} Tissues would be a far more hygienic option.

Lockdown has put a strain on practically everyone's relationships though.

Next door's DC, normally pretty good , in First Lockdown heard the Mum shout for first time ever...and one of their DC shouted:
'' And you're a horrible parent!! ''

BlueJag · 09/01/2021 10:42

Sounds like he is vitamin D deficient. I know you may not feel like helping him but do encourage him to take it.
Many marriages are suffering because we are in confinement and it's almost cruel. It's a pressure cooker.

mummysmummy · 09/01/2021 10:43

While wiping his hands on your PJ's “absent-mindedly” is one thing, I would be more concerned with what he does or does not do when you aren't there to to see it!

BertramLacey · 09/01/2021 10:50

I see your sudicremed pyjamas and raise you dh licking all his fingers after eating a slice of gooey cake, and leaving toenail clippings on the bedroom floor!

IMO there's nothing wrong with licking your fingers, assuming they were clean enough to handle the cake in the first place. Not licking them is a waste of cake.

Toenail clippings and greasy PJs are a no-no though. I've worked full time as a carer and as a groom. I'm used to mess and shit. I can be pretty lax but you have to recognise that other people will find your nail clippings grim, and dispose of them accordingly. And if you don't mind sudocreme on clothes, then wipe it on your own clothes, not someone else's.

justilou1 · 09/01/2021 10:53

@disneybee - is the sudocrem that you use on your baby’s bum? I’d be very concerned about the virus being in the pot of sudocrem from his fecky paws, quite frankly!

Nanny0gg · 09/01/2021 10:56

@disneybee

Wow I'm in awe of how conflicting the responses are to this...

Some people telling me my life is "pristine" to be upset about this, (its not pristine, trust me @1forAll74 and thank you for pointing out the danger of spreading the herpes virus @MrsTerryPratchett - it's a lifelong misery and not something to be careless or complacent about)

And others pointing out the general lack of respect.

Just puts me in a quandary....what do you do when you are not sure whether to stick out a marriage or make an escape despite the emotional fallout?

It's not like he is a terrible person, he's just a man child who might be ready for the next chapter in his life and possibly that means he needs to go it alone for a while?

What would his reaction be if you told him how you truly feel and that it's heading to deal breaker territory?

Would he listen? Would he change?

SunshineCake · 09/01/2021 11:00

Probably closest thing to hand. Does seem an over reaction so there must be more bad behaviour previously. Not sure what DHs done to all the posters going mad though.