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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Does anyone else just hate sex ?

231 replies

nc202105 · 04/05/2021 19:33

It makes me feel ill. I hate doing it. Does that change ? I've felt like this for a while, but going through a bad period. Where it's just even worse than normal. I'm married.

OP posts:
nc202105 · 05/05/2021 08:09

@Myhairnightmare

I agree with PP, you don't owe your husband sex. That being said, there are two of you in the relationship and you cannot expect him to sacrifice his sex life for the remainder of his life because you do not enjoy it. It would be very selfish for you to expect him to continue to be faithful to you if you are no longer interested. If that is truly how you feel, you need to either accept an open marriage, or end the marriage. Anything else just isn't fair
I totally underhand this point of view. I can't expect sex to just be off the table forever. That's why I 'give' in and why I take on the burden of the guilt. Like I'm not stepping up to the plate. I'm not sure why I just don't want to do it. I have previously spoken to a therapist about it and it could be a relationship dynamic, which is quite deep. I don't want to get a divorce, but yeah, I can't deny him sex for the rest of his life either. Maybe an open marriage then ? I really don't know. I think getting back to my shape should make it more bearable. Maybe also if I felt a bit more supported at home and like he makes a bit more effort with me generally that would help. I feel like a lot of my time is spent trying to make him happy. I'm not sure on the face of it how much time he spends trying to make me happy. Of course with longer term goals, of course. Working to have a good future / nice house etc. But I also work for that. But he is a nightmare when pitching in at home / with our daughter. It would help if he just did stuff or for once just said, don't worry I'll change the nappy/ make dinner etc. Rather than sulking if I ask him to help.
OP posts:
nc202105 · 05/05/2021 08:16

I just want to add- it's the harsh reality that men often go elsewhere if we don't give them any sex. That doesn't mean I think it's right. But I think it's the way it works very often, unfortunately.

I don't want to protect my husband here at all, I think he has many faults and they very much contribute to the problem. But he must feel very rejected by me. I know I would be pretty devastated if I was constantly being turned down. Things are not perfect, but I do feel bad for him. Something needs to change for sure though.

OP posts:
Anydreamwilldo12 · 05/05/2021 08:31

Talk to him about how YOU feel. It's not all about his wants and needs
Tell him if he done more around the house and with your daughter and made an effort then you might feel less tired and more open to the idea of sex.
You're tired and at the end of the day don't want to spend bloody hours having all kinds of sex, you just want to have a bit of time to yourself.

EmptyOrchestra · 05/05/2021 08:38

@nc202105

I just want to add- it's the harsh reality that men often go elsewhere if we don't give them any sex. That doesn't mean I think it's right. But I think it's the way it works very often, unfortunately.

I don't want to protect my husband here at all, I think he has many faults and they very much contribute to the problem. But he must feel very rejected by me. I know I would be pretty devastated if I was constantly being turned down. Things are not perfect, but I do feel bad for him. Something needs to change for sure though.

Seems to me you’re very aware of how difficult this is for him - does he show any awareness of how difficult things are for you? There’s no mutual consideration here, you’re the one worrying about him and being coerced into sex and carrying the load at home. I think you should be worrying more about yourself as he clearly won’t be!
Beetlewing · 05/05/2021 08:43

I'm just so meh about it. I'm 50 and I've had nearly a lifetime of being available sexually and I'm done with it. I'm with you OP. It's not the be all and end all. Romance is a lovely important thing however, but doesn't have to lead to the sweaty sex act.

Veronika13 · 05/05/2021 08:49

[quote nc202105]@HahaAreyouSerious

I just find the whole thing gross. [/quote]
Does your husband treat it like a "naughty" thing? I've had some sexual partners who just seem a bit.... creepy with it? Sleazy dirty talk during sex, no sensuality, looking at you like a piece of meat rather than treating sex as a close intimate thing. Always bending into super provocative positions where all private bits are on display.

Don't get me wrong sometimes it's nice to have 'horny' sex but it's important to also 'make love' gently, so have that connection with your partner (during sex), for them to look at you like you're the most beautiful thing they've seen.

Laaaayla · 05/05/2021 08:55

My youngest is nearly 4. In all honesty we are just starting to “rediscover” our sex life now. It took a massive hit. We used to have amazing sex as students and when we first got married. After DD1 I just went right off it. Too tired. Too fat. Too touched out. DH was more up for it than I was but his sex drive took a hit as well, which was perhaps fortunate for us.

We struggled in our marriage as well. Went through a hard time, I nearly walked but didn’t (my mum basically told me to give it time, it’s hard with small kids etc). We lost the intimacy though, that’s what I struggled with. Not the sex. There was no affection.

I did wonder at times if I still fancied him but I did find as soon as anything started up (on the rare occasions we were up for it) it was very much still there.

I am glad that we stuck with it.

Veronika13 · 05/05/2021 08:56

@nc202105
It's like you've given so much all day to your children / child and your work and house etc and then suddenly your husband also wants something. I can't deal. Most days I just want to be alone. I don't want to hang out with anyone after my baby girl is asleep. It's too much. I used to spend so much time alone before. I loved it so much. I had so much peace. Now the only peace I get, I'm expected to spread my legs. ( sorry to be crude ).

That above is not fair on the husband either. Imagine choosing someone to share your life with and they've no time for you and brush you aside.

nonaomi · 05/05/2021 08:59

@Veronika13 a bit like that yeah. And especially when you feel a bit fat, you don't want to be twisted in all sorts of degrading positions. I just feel so self conscious. And when I protest, sometimes he also gets angry and huffs and puffs. It doesn't help.

He can also never just give me a hug without getting a boner and wanting more from me. So I actually avoid touching him at all costs, as it always has to lead somewhere ! I hate it ! It's so contrived. He hates that it's not an organic process but that he has to schedule in sex with me.

nonaomi · 05/05/2021 09:03

[quote Veronika13]@nc202105
It's like you've given so much all day to your children / child and your work and house etc and then suddenly your husband also wants something. I can't deal. Most days I just want to be alone. I don't want to hang out with anyone after my baby girl is asleep. It's too much. I used to spend so much time alone before. I loved it so much. I had so much peace. Now the only peace I get, I'm expected to spread my legs. ( sorry to be crude ).

That above is not fair on the husband either. Imagine choosing someone to share your life with and they've no time for you and brush you aside. [/quote]
I know it's not fair.

Booboobadoo · 05/05/2021 09:06

Maybe also if I felt a bit more supported at home and like he makes a bit more effort with me generally that would help. I feel like a lot of my time is spent trying to make him happy. I'm not sure on the face of it how much time he spends trying to make me happy. Of course with longer term goals, of course. Working to have a good future / nice house etc. But I also work for that. But he is a nightmare when pitching in at home / with our daughter. It would help if he just did stuff or for once just said, don't worry I'll change the nappy/ make dinner etc. Rather than sulking if I ask him to help.
This sounds awful. You prioritise him and your daughter, he just prioritises himself. No-one looks out for you.

Beautiful3 · 05/05/2021 09:30

When I piled on 3 stone, I started hating sex as I felt gross. Since I've lost it, I've gone back to enjoying it again. Could it be a weight and self esteem issue? Intermittent fasting worked for me. Fast twice a week. It all came off.

Melitza · 05/05/2021 09:35

I can’t believe how many women in 2021 are being coerced into sex by their partners.
Why are some men so entitled.

After my uncle was born in the 1930’s my dgm was very ill and the gp said another pregnancy would endanger her health.
My dgf ‘left her alone’ after that.’ He was mid thirties.

Msanthrop1st · 05/05/2021 09:40

Frustrated is understandable. Taking it out on you and coercing you unto it through stroppy and manipulative behaviour is not. This could have been resolved way earlier if he had been understanding and actually cared about your feelings.

TrueRefuge · 05/05/2021 09:57

OP, it sounds like you have good insight but are a bit afraid of accepting the reality here. Sorry if that sounds harsh, I don't mean it to. I understand exactly where you're at.

Your husband is contributing a lot to this problem. So are you. Doing it to just do it is terrible for you (the anger, the aversion, the disgust is your body screaming at you to stop giving away your power). You have the right to say no, this isn't working, even if it has negative consequences for your relationship.

You say your husband doesn't pull his weight at home, is always at work, doesn't do anything to make you feel loved or valued.... Even in an asexual relationship, these would be problems. You mention he's not putting much effort in with your little one; that must make you furious! You've probably lost a tonne of respect for him. I would bet THIS is why you're so angry. You feel totally neglected by him, and resent him for turning into what sounds like a shoddy excuse for a partner and parent ...

You are giving too much of yourself.

Have you sat him down and told him "you need to do more, I feel unloved/neglected, and your daughter needs more than you're giving her"?

Another important question, which I'm not sure if you've mentioned. Imagine you could rewind 5 years, be single. You're happy and healthy. Do you have an active sexuality? Are a sexual person? The question I'm asking is, is there a part of you that would like to reclaim your sexuality for YOU (not to save your relationship)? This is a really important one to figure out. If no, then you owe it to your husband to inform him of that and work through the ramifications. If yes, then that's a great start and there's loads to explore.

To add, I have a whole load of empathy for your situation. I've been in a very similar place. I started going off sex for no real reason, though deep down I knew I had trauma I just wasn't dealing with. I'm not saying that's you. But I was also with my partner who I felt was emotionally distant, and didn't seem particularly interested in showing me love. I felt taken for granted and unloved. On top of the trauma, why would I want sex? But I did what you're doing, doing it anyway, it was awful. For a good three years, I could have told you and believed "I'd be happy never to have sex again". However, after some proper serious conversations with my partner about the state and dynamic of our relationship, and starting couples therapy so that my needs are met as well as his, we have so much more emotional and physical intimacy, and sex is no longer something that just has to be tolerated. When I don't want it, I say no. Always. I want to be sexual for me, and it's such a weight to be lifted. (It's complicated because of my trauma, so it's a slow journey but I'm getting there). So will you.

I must add, my partner never pestered. I couldn't stand that. He was always so respectful, he understands I'm not a sex-tap he can switch on whenever he feels like it. I asked for a 6 month sex break while I was doing my therapy and he understood and we made it work. He realises were in this for the long-term, and 6 months in a 10 year relationship, plus wherever we get to in the future, is worth it to build a safer and happier sexual and emotional life.

I'm not ruling out you may be on the asexual spectrum, but I think the way you feel treated by your partner - plus your own overriding of your rightful anger/upset at that by having sex anyway - is what's causing these feelings. And you owe it to yourself to resolve this stuff, regardless of the outcome in your relationship. I think you're angry at your H for a lot of reasons, but one because you want him to recognise you mean no when you say yes. That's not reasonable; there's only one person on this earth who can honour and listen to your intuition and that's you. You need to respect your inner voice, even when it's difficult!

I don't think this is about your weight, or hormones (though they may be exacerbating the situation). This is about putting your foot down in your relationship and asking for what you want and deserve: a mutually respectful and loving dynamic where you give your sexuality freely and happily because you feel loved, supported and cherished as a person, not as a mother and a sex-robot. And where you honour your own feelings, and stop having sex until you feel safer to have it, and say no when you mean no, even if your husband strops for 6 months, or goes off with someone else. His other option is to do the adult thing and work through this with you as a team. I'd arguing getting back to therapy could be really good for you.

I'm so sorry for what you're going through; I really understand how horrible this situation is, and I just hope any little bit of what I wrote might be helpful to you.

Adelais · 05/05/2021 10:10

I’m not surprised you don’t want sex - the combo of having a baby, body changes and a nagging unsupportive partner would put most people off sex. There’s nothing wrong with you.

Countrygirl2021 · 05/05/2021 10:16

*Ginuwine

@Myhairnightmare you're going to get flamed for what you just posted - but from where I'm sitting you're just speaking about the harsh reality.

I've seen posts on here where folk say "I'd rather have a cup of tea, read my book, watch a box set." Then when challenged about the DH they confidently state "no - my DH doesn't care about sex anymore either."

Are these the same people who end up somehow, inexplicably flabbergasted when their husband is found cheating?

Cheating is wrong. Having sex when you don't want to have it, is wrong.

But I think you're onto something here when there are dozens and dozens of posters who say they go off sex completely years after childbirth, as in "I'm never ever going back to sex", and then expect that everything will somehow work out and it's normal for both parties to get onto that same page.*

I agree. When you get married and promise to be with someone at the exclusion of everyone else you can't then cut off something fundamental to marriage. You need couples sex counselling.

janeapple111 · 05/05/2021 10:22

@TomPinch

You just quoted me by writing "a history website online".

Eh? So , so weird. Can You explain? Are you laughing at the fact that there are history websites online? Because there are many excellent ones to browse.

EmptyOrchestra · 05/05/2021 10:24

That above is not fair on the husband either. Imagine choosing someone to share your life with and they've no time for you and brush you aside.

Are you actually joking? Perhaps if he pulled his own weight around the house and with the kids, and didn’t spend any alone time coercing his partner into sex she doesn’t want, she would be less inclined to “brush him aside”.

Jesus Christ. These men are creating this problem, why are you feeling sorry for them?

EmptyOrchestra · 05/05/2021 10:26

Yikes.

I would never wish illness on people, but some people in here really need to experience the sort of things that lead to destroyed libido.

I am so thankful that I’m married to a decent man who didn’t drop me or run off to someone else when I got ill and experienced treatment side effects that did this to me, just like I would stand by him. Some people have a very screwed up idea that marriage means entitlement to your partner’s body.

If they want to leave then they can leave. What they can’t do is demand access to someone else’s body, married or not.

janeapple111 · 05/05/2021 10:28

@TomPinch

Tbh, whether humans are naturally monogonous or not has no relevance and is of no help to the OP.
You are totally incorrect, and rude and nasty, but I guess that is just your awful personality.

Monogamy not being natural, has everything to do with what the OP is. saying.

I know of lots of women who do not want sex anymore with their long-term partners. They start to hate it, and not want it at all.

BECAUSE MONOGAMY IS NOT NATURAL!! We naturally start to be less attracted to some one that we have been around for a long time, and we want something new. Trying to force yourself to feel sexual desire for one man only for forty years, is not going to work.

If you ask these women, would they like to have sex with another man, they usually say yes.

Booboobadoo · 05/05/2021 10:30

@TrueRefuge what a fabulous post

EmptyOrchestra · 05/05/2021 10:30

@janeapple111 you seem very eager for others to agree with you and validate your choices. If you’re happy with your choices, why do you need that?

Many people are very happy in a longterm monogamous relationship. Personally I would hate to be single or have multiple partners, it’s not what I want for my life. Clearly it suits you, so no judgement from me, but that just means it’s right for you, not for everyone.

Ocean456 · 05/05/2021 10:31

When I am overweight it really puts me off having sex, it makes me feel unattractive and so I can’t bring myself to feel sexy, I think fitness and getting back on track for me is essential. Right now I’m trying to lose a stone before I can feel like me again...I totally understand how you feel OP

poppycat10 · 05/05/2021 10:38

And if he cared about you, he would leave you alone.

However I’m not sure many men, under a certain age, are gonna want to spend the rest of their lives in a sexless marriage

Then there is a choice to make. It isn't a harsh reality that the man will cheat, he should find a new partner who wants as much sex as he does. Or indeed vice versa if it's the man who doesn't want it and the woman does.

Personally I think sex is massively overrated and other things are much more important. Not much point having a man who's amazing in bed if he won't take the bins out or change the baby's nappies, for example. Some people place a massive importance on sex, which is fine. Others don't and that's fine. What isn't fine is the notion that anyone owes anyone else sex and you deserve for them to cheat on you if you don't want to do it. Under any circumstances.

I think in some cases women are just turned off by their partner and they'd be ok with someone different. But in other cases it's just their sex drive and it would not matter who they're with.

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