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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want him present at the birth

111 replies

1950s1 · 18/01/2021 20:35

The father of our children and I keep rebounding. He loves me and knows that I have emotionally disconnected from him which he says he is desperate to fix. He is the childrens bestfriend and we want to stay together to conveniently remain as a family unit which I don't have an issue with. He came back to live with us today, because it makes things more convenient. Everyone I've spoken to about this says they would leave, but I'm not asking for advice on that, I really don't want to leave. My partner has a close female best-friend, they've known eachother for aproximetly four years, but my partner and I have known eachother much longer. He swears they just have a
brother-sister bond. Admittedly though I don't understand what one of those is. I'm uncomfortable with their relationship, There are no boundaries when they have conversations, she says they don't keep anything from eachother, and presses him when he has tried to keep my information away from her. He says he doesn't see anything wrong with this, they are friends, he should be able to trust her. She is obssesed with him, and knows all the details about his entire life. He has revealed too much to her, their conversations can be personal and deep. She passive aggresively said she was happy for him if I was what he wanted. It made me assume that she fancied him. I confronted them both, they swore they didn't feel that way towards eachother. Ever since knowing about me, she has asked for my
personal information, has spoken off-the-scales unnaceptably about me, gotten the wrong end of the stick when our relationship issues arise in their conversations and has painted me as a toxic monster and has labeled me controlling for not wanting her in his life anymore. She has used what she knows about him to her advantage, convinced him that I am no good for him and somehow manipulated him into leaving me. On top of that, she hacked into his phone and
social medias by bypassing the google security questions linked to his accounts from knowing him so well, accessed my personal information and revealed it to her friends in a groupchat. I lost my shit, told her I wish for her to get very hurt and die for all I care. she said if she knew where I lived (we were living seperately at this time) she'd have the police at my door and make me loose my job and any chance of getting a better one in the future. Eventually he came back, I was very hurt still, he said he missed me, and he said if we were to
be together I had to allow them to stay friends and talk. I said no, layed it all out, to try and get him to see her for what she is, He said he doesnt see it but realised what he was losing and agreed not to talk to her to be with me, but said that he still wanted her as his friend. He swore two different times they weren't talking anymore, he was each time behind my back. The first time, he could feel me getting emotionally distant, the second time, I had almost completely emotionally disconnected. I wasn't being nearly as affectionate as usual, he doubted that I even loved him anymore, and honestly, I was doubting that I loved him anymore. He has sworn a 3rd time he has removed her from his life to stand a chance at making things normal again. I don't believe that he has, he doesn't let me have his passwords or access to his social medias or phone, and he still wants her (has openly admitted to it) and talks fondly of her when we try and talk about why I'm disconnected from him. I've felt angry and sick for a long time, but I've sort of accepted that this is the situation that I'm in and don't feel such heated overwhelming emotions. If I do start to feel like that again I remind myself of how ill it makes me and start to find ways to calm down. Then I feel numb towards him again.
I feel as though, so long as he still wants her, I'm not safe to allow myself feel anything towards him. He said he doesn't see what's wrong with their relationship, and said he doesn't know right from wrong because of his bad upbringing. It's important to him that he has a close relationship with his children, he has said that when our other child is born he wants to be present at the birth or the child would grow up thinking that their father didn't want them if he wasn't
there when they were born. I resent him on a deep level, If I try to connect to him on an intimate level it makes me feel sick so I don't bother putting myself through that anymore. I would feel too vulnerable to have him there but I don't want him to resent me for it which he would, it would make our situation overall worse. So I'm not sure what I'm asking, I feel torn.

OP posts:
tara66 · 19/01/2021 18:29

Why did you not use contraception? i think this is a wind up.

1950s1 · 19/01/2021 18:35

@tara66 we did

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 19/01/2021 18:44

Don’t have sex with someone you don’t care enough about to have at the birth.
It’s better for your kids for you to be apart than have them in the middle of this epic mindfuck. They will be affected.

Joinedjustforthispost · 19/01/2021 18:56

Op I’m sorry you are getting a tough time but I can see why, if it was my sister or friend I’d say the same I’d be so mad and upset on her behalf we just want you to help yourself and get out of this crazy situation! I’ve been in a triangle years ago when I was younger and had no self esteem. Other women was batshit and hated me plus my ex was loving playing us off against each other, he claimed they were just best friends and she simply spent evenings at his to have a drink and play cards! Yes and the sex he forgot to mention it, he refused to give up his ( freind) fk buddy and tried twisting it on me etc so eventually after seeing the light I walked away and met my now husband and I look back with horror and anger at myself for being such a door mat and naive. Do you want your most intimate moments of having your baby discussed with her his future step mum? It’s the truth, he doesn’t have to be at the birth to be a good dad or have a bond op and this current pandemic has proven it, I’ve recently given birth without my husband due to child care and he has a great bond op. All the best op we aren’t attacking you .

TedMullins · 19/01/2021 19:20

Okay, let me try and explain it from the point of view of someone who was a kid in a dysfunctional household. Not the same situation, but my dad is a depressive, bone-idle perpetual victim who does nothing to help himself, and my mum enabled him. As a child I didn’t look at their relationship and have the insight and words to describe it as dysfunctional or toxic, but I just instinctively knew it was wrong. Something didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like my friends’ parents dynamic when I went to their houses. I started looking forward to the times my dad was out and it was just me and my mum. As a child and teenager I didn’t know anything about boundaries, psychology or attachment theory. I just knew that something was happening that wasn’t beneficial to my mum, and my dad didn’t fit into the family in the way a dad should.

So, to adulthood. How am I now? Well, I’ve never had a successful relationship. When I first started dating as a young adult I was so anxious and paranoid, but I couldn’t explain why. Dating or having feelings for someone made me a monster, constantly overthinking and bending over backwards to accommodate other people. I had no boundaries and allowed myself to be emotionally abused in various ways, because I was desperate for the validation of being loved. Of course, it didn’t work. I’m now 32, I’ve been on antidepressants since I was 16 and I’m now on antipsychotics too since being diagnosed with a personality disorder. I love my mum but I don’t respect her, I think she’s a weak enabler and I consider her and my dad responsible for how I turned out. I WISH she’d left him. Everyone’s life would be so much better. I have a good job and good friends but I’ve never known what a happy, fulfilling, respectful and mutually beneficial relationship feels like and I’m unsure I ever will despite all the therapy I’m investing in. You need to leave.

WednesdayWoohan · 19/01/2021 20:05

@TedMullins

Flowers

Very insightful.

OldLang · 19/01/2021 22:53

Sorry to hear you've had such a hard time @TedMullins
Good luck in your mental health recovery. You can go on to have healthy, fulfilling relationships. You're already putting the work in Flowers

Mintyt · 20/01/2021 05:22

I think you need help and need SS involved and I don't say this lightly, your children need protection

Plasticfish · 20/01/2021 06:48

OP I think you need to read and digest what @tedmullins has said. This is what people are trying to explain to you.

It might be worth considering some sort of therapy for yourself to find out why you don't recognise that this situation is unhealthy and why it took hundreds of strangers all saying the same thing for you to even begin to understand it. I'm not being derogatory here but normal people all recognise this is bad.

Gingerkittykat · 20/01/2021 07:07

It sounds like he is pulling your strings here. Why would you believe he doesn't know right from wrong because he had a bad childhood? Loads of us have had bad childhoods and know how to behave.

Why would you want to spend your life with someone you don't feel safe enough with for them to be at the birth of your baby?

You deserve better. The kids can understand that you don't live together but that they see daddy at X time.

Oreservoir · 20/01/2021 08:00

@TedMullins absolutely.
My parents over reacted to everything when I was a dc, still do.
Mum especially would get hysterical. My dm’s father was an alcoholic, hence dm’s behaviour.
As an adult when I’m under pressure I tend to do the same. Over the years I’ve learned to be more measured and calm. But sometimes my behaviour is ridiculous. I have tried very hard to curb this trait.
My adult dd is a little of an over reactor. She is much , much better than me. But it’s certainly learned behaviour.
You can see op how this affects not just your dc but their dc too.
Hopefully future dg of mine will not be affected.

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