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AIBU?

To be so ashamed of my husband causing a scene?

588 replies

Vaterinadf · 18/06/2021 19:51

It was so horrendous. We have 2 DC, 4 and 5 months. Yesterday we couldn't be arsed cooking and our 4 year old has never been to a restaraunt so I suggested we go to the local Pizza Express for dinner. 'D'H whinged about money. He is always complaining about money. Yes things are tight but we are able to stretch to the occasional treat as we have around £150 spare each month, but DH always gets in a tiff about it. I'm not regulary hounding him for treats, but the occasional "Ah shall we just get a takeaway for tonight?" will subject me to a half an hour long rant about how hard he works and about how I waste all his money. I work part-time but am on maternity leave. He reluctantly agreed to go.

As soon as we get in and are sat down, the whinging starts. "It's way too expensive, I want to go somewhere else, come on" (I was BFing 5mo at this point and didn't fancy traipsing around town for somewhere else to eat). I firmly said no, and that the DC will need to be in bed as soon as we get home and I'm not spending time wandering around.

Then he's rude and demanding to the waitress who was literally only a teenager. She asks if we're ready to take our order and we say yes. There's a technical issue with the order taking system she's using and she says "One second, sorry." and DH does a loud, extremely obvious tut that he clearly intended for the waitress to hear. The technical issue was sorted in literally seconds and was an absolute non-issue, the tut was just obnoxious and unnessecary. We then noticed her and another waitress kept glancing over our table so we'd clearly been marked as 'problem' customers. I've worked in hospitality previously and I've found myself risk-assessing tables before, so I felt awful. I did not want to be 'that' table.

I take baby to the bathroom to be changed and come back and the food is being served. DH again continues to just be rude and blunt. The waitress doesn't do anything wrong so he doesn't make complaints but I heard him say "No." (without a thank you) when the waitress asked if he'd like anything else. I thought that was rude. He whinges the whole time while we are eating about the food, the service, the decor etc. I didn't get to have a word in edgeways. The idea of a casual chat over a meal seemed to be lost on him. It was tense and I hated it. Even our 4YO could barely say a word over the monologue.

The waitress ends up dropping a fork on the floor when collecting our empty plates and is extremely apologetic and clearly nervous. DH again tuts and says that he's found the service disgraceful and it's horrendous we weren't offered a high chair for baby (Baby is 5 months ffs, the high chair at home is still boxed up so he was just looking for anything to complain about! It was quite obvious that baby was too young for a highchair so of course we weren't asked.). We ask for the bill and I tell him I think he's been absolutely disgusting and I'm ashamed of him and tell him to go and get the car. He then leaves but starts whinging and being sarcastic, saying crap like "Sorry for breathing." He's gone by the time we get the bill, it's a different waitress to the one who served us. I go up to the one who served us, apologise profusely and give her a £10 tip.

We argue about it when we get home and then he started the pity party about how he is depressed. I'm not saying he makes up his depression, but he only talks about it when I'm upset with him for something. "It's my depression that makes me like this!" and yet he never seeks help. I would never, ever say he just uses depression as an excuse but surely it is now his responsibility to seek help? He's a completely unpleasant human being and I dread him coming home from work every day. He is not the man I married, who I loved. He was kind and loving. I mean it, so kind. Everybody told me I'd got a goodun with him. I miss that man so much. He changed after first DC but has been absolutely insufferable since our recent baby. I don't know what to do. I enjoy being at home during the day with my 2 little ones, and then once DH comes through the door suddenly there is an unbearable tension.

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PicsInRed · 18/06/2021 20:11

Oh and he's not depressed if it manifests only as gross disrespect to women. Sex specific depression, that's a new one. Hmm

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WizardOfAus · 18/06/2021 20:12

Well that’s a new one.

“My depression makes me rude to waitresses”

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WizardOfAus · 18/06/2021 20:12

Cross post with @PicsInRed

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DewDropsonKittens · 18/06/2021 20:13

"He only brings up his depression when he's behaved badly and to make you then feel like the bad guy?

That's called gaslighting.

Get your ducks in row, leave him and his self pity, man child abusing ways.

Then get a space on the freedom programme, you deserve so much more than this behaviour.

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Geamhradh · 18/06/2021 20:15

He's an obnoxious bully and uses his depression to do what he wants and treat others how he wants.
You know what the oft quoted benchmark is?
Would you want your daughter to be with a man like this? If not, what does that tell you?

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Trevsadick · 18/06/2021 20:15

I know they would never speak to their work colleagues in this fashion

This is so true. I bet he never accidentally speaks to his colleagues or boss or someone he respects in this way.

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Bluntness100 · 18/06/2021 20:17

I’d also agree this is the real him op. I’m sorry. He’s an obnoxious controlling bully. He just had his guard up before and doesn’t wish to admit it.

But the time will come when he does. He will tell you to accept him as he is. This is him. This is what you’ve got. The question is what fo you wish to do about it.

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pigglepot · 18/06/2021 20:17

His behaviour sounds appalling. It sounds as though he is not able to manage or control his emotions properly. It sounds to me like he is stressed, tired and very worried about money but isn't able to open up to you about that or deal with his emotions properly so he is being a dick instead. If you could bring yourself to talk to him e.g "I noticed you found the dinner out very difficult, I'm guessing you are feeling very stressed about money, what do you need?" You might be able to chip away at the exterior to get some sense out of him. You should also try talking to him about his feelings of depression- telling him you still love him and care about him and it's nothing to be ashamed of but that it is very difficult to live with so he needs to get help.

I don't think leaving him like some of the others have said is the right course of action unless you are certain that's what you want to do and there is no way forward with him. If you think there is a way to work through it then for the sake of the kids if nothing else I would try.

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Figgygal · 18/06/2021 20:17

Your 4yo has never been out to eat Shock
Is that because your husband is a tight fisted arse?
I’d have been fizzing too

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Wombats12 · 18/06/2021 20:17

Jealous of the kids?

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Summerfun54321 · 18/06/2021 20:18

Having young kids can make you grumpy. It doesn’t turn you into complete arsehole though.

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Mollymalone123 · 18/06/2021 20:18

If there somewhere you could go for a few days- he needs a big wake up call! Depression doesn’t mean you have to take your bad mood out on everyone-
Leave for a while and say he needs to start the process of getting help or you might decide never to come home!

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Vaterinadf · 18/06/2021 20:19

He won’t go to the doctor, he ‘can’t be doing with it’. He goes on about how crippling his depression is but simply won’t consider getting help.

Yeah, it absolutely is women who he always happens to get arsey with.

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MrsTerryPratchett · 18/06/2021 20:19

He ruined the meal so you will never ask him to go again.

That's not depression, that manipulation.

Ultimatum or divorce.

And good job making it right with the poor servers.

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SpeculateToAccumulate · 18/06/2021 20:20

I'd have kicked his arse for him.

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StylishMummy · 18/06/2021 20:21

After your last post OP, I think you seriously need to consider your options. Is that the example you want your children to follow? Is that how you want to live you life, stressed and embarrassed by someone who doesn't want to help themselves? I rarely say LTB here, but this case truly warrants it Thanks

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Vaterinadf · 18/06/2021 20:22

@Figgygal.

That and a combination of Covid stopping us. He has never had treats and it makes me sad. I see friends and family with similar age DC going to the zoo, adventure parks etc. These are people who aren’t in that much of a different financial situation to us. I literally cannot think of any days out we’ve had with him except the beach once or twice, and even then DH was just rushing us to go home.

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Vaterinadf · 18/06/2021 20:22

Before the kids we would go out often. It changed after the kids.

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Flobbertybillop · 18/06/2021 20:24

One of the many reasons my ex is now an ex, is because he was so fucking rude to people, and he didn’t even care.
I got so sick of feeling embarrassed and making excuses. I’ve never regretted leaning for one fraction of a second. He also gaslighted, lied etc

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JackieQueen · 18/06/2021 20:24

I'm not sure about depression, this sounds more like "nowthekidsarehereimnotgettingenoughattentionitus!"Confused

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thefirstmrsrochester · 18/06/2021 20:25

Being depressed doesn’t preclude someone being an arsehole. Yet it’s often offered up as an excuse for inexcusable behaviour. The problem here is your husbands general attitude.

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NeverDropYourMoonCup · 18/06/2021 20:25

There no form of depression that is relieved by picking on a young waitress by fabricating complaints, such as failing to offer a highchair for a child that isn't old enough to sit up reliably and safely yet.

He picked on an easy target - well, easier than you at that point. That's a deliberate act - to target the most vulnerable female in the room. That's not depression - that's misogyny in action, with a side of coercion in punishing you by being such an embarrassment in public so you won't refuse to cook his meals for him again.

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Librariesmakeshhhhappen · 18/06/2021 20:26

Would he have done that if the server had been a slightly older man? I dont think so.

He isn't depressed. He's just an arsehole.

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Rosebel · 18/06/2021 20:26

@Southwestrunningmum

It’s brutal having 2 under 4 and when you work and then evenings and weekends don’t seem as relaxing.

He was clearly rude but the root cause is he is probably struggling/sleep deprived etc.

Are you show that finances are not bad at the moment?

Can you try chatting to him?

So what if he's sleep deprived? I expect OP is too but she wasn't an ass hole to the waitress and she didn't ruin the meal for everyone.
Leave him. He sounds absolutely vile. He's clearly not depressed or he'd get help. Lots of people have mental health issues but they don't behave that way.
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JaceLancs · 18/06/2021 20:26

Leave now it won’t improve
Even if he is depressed then he needs to seek help and stop this behaviour
I spent years with exDP trying to get him to deal with his depression
He only agreed to when I called time - it was too late if he’d cared enough he would’ve have got help sooner
It was like a weight lifted from my house, my life, DC’s lives
I’ve never looked back - best decision ever

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