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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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.

OP posts:
wewereliars · 18/06/2021 21:21

robin233 it's not rude to say you're opinion is wrong, which it is. The Op's other half has absolutely no problem expressing his emotions, and he is abusing the OP, his children and anyone else unfortunae to be around at the time. he feels like bullying them So telling the OP that leaving will make things worse is wrong.

smallgoon · 18/06/2021 21:22

He's a fucking arsehole OP. An absolute whinging child.

Couchbettato · 18/06/2021 21:23

You, and society in general, deserve better than him. The bar is low if you're willing to rugsweep.

It's easy to minimise his behaviour but he's making his happiness your responsibility so he doesn't have to take ownership.

In fact he was making that waitress responsible for his happiness too.

Except he was actually setting her up to fail as well, and he probably does this to you too without you noticing.

So he can score a point when things go tits up. And when he's all out of excuses why it's every one else's fault, he can always fall back and blame it on his depression.

KurtWilde · 18/06/2021 21:23

Has he been diagnosed with depression by a GP and refused treatment?

SpiderinaWingMirror · 18/06/2021 21:24

I can only actually comment as a child who grew up with a chronically depressed Dad.
I spent my entire childhood walking on eggshells, became a people pleaser and left home as soon as I could to get away from living in that atmosphere.

baldafrique · 18/06/2021 21:24

He will eventually speak to your kids this way. Trust me. Clamp down, and clamp down hard, or your children's upbringing will become hell.

Babygotblueyes · 18/06/2021 21:25

FWIW I work with depressed people in a professional basis - they are almost completely mortified when their depression affects their family, and it is the leading motivation for people to take medication or therapy. Yes, he is undoubtedly suffering. But he can also get help.

AlGorithim · 18/06/2021 21:25

Have you posted before about your DP causing a scene and attention seeking? It’s very familiar.

notsogreenthumb · 18/06/2021 21:25

@AllieBallyBee no I agree 100%. He needs to go to the doctor or speak to a therapist. I would just ask as a partner first what I can do, see if any small changes in the home would help etc. I also think ultimatums work in some cases but so does compassion. Try compassion and if it doesn't work then yes give him an ultimatum. It's just that OP described a very different person pre-children which makes me wonder if it's just the stresses of life making him behave in such extreme ways. And does he know that OP dreads him coming home, that his 4 year old is affected, that his marriage is on very thin ice? Sometimes people are so focussed on what they're 'going through' that they don't realise they're making everyone else's life hell and pushing them away. My point more simply was to have open communication, at a good time (not during an argument), and expressed calmly and matter of fact. If that doesn't work, then perhaps he wasn't the person OP thought.

lunar1 · 18/06/2021 21:26

You know if you leave him you will never have to put up with this behaviour again!

tenlittlecygnets · 18/06/2021 21:27

Depression does not make you an arsehole. He sounds awful, OP. And it's telling that he only mentioned depression when you challenged him. He sounds like a bully. He picked an easy target: a younger waitress. That's pretty shit. Does he also treat more senior men - eg his boss - the same way???

If he has depression, he should seek treatment, but this doesn't sound like depression. More like being an arse.

baldafrique · 18/06/2021 21:27

I feel so so so sad for your children. They have no choice here.

Robin233 · 18/06/2021 21:27

@wewereliars
I see so if op was ti leave the man she loves, who children love , and live on less money , and having less treats she would be better off?
Another broken home.

This can be solved.
But they need to work together , calming and positively. Both of them.

And to be fair if you say to some one ' you are wrong ' it does feel a little rude .....

worriedaboutN · 18/06/2021 21:29

He sounds horrible
You did the right thing apologising to the waitress it wasn’t your fault but it was kind of you to approach her

My teenage dd works in a cafe and honestly every day comes home and tells me how rude people are to her and it really gets to people I think she is often quite sad and deflated at being spoken to like crap it’s a rough sort of job to have

worriedaboutN · 18/06/2021 21:29

*tough not rough

me4real · 18/06/2021 21:29

I work with recovering addicts and there are similarities sometimes with untreated mental health issues. At some point, if you just continue to tip-toe around accepting someone's behaviour while they never address the cause of the problem or seek any help with it you are just enabling them.

@AllieBallyBee Yes and it has a knock-on effect on those around them too of course.

@Vaterinadf Both I and my sister have anxiety disorders etc partly due to a father like this. I've only worked a few weeks in my life and I'm 44. It makes up part of my MH disability.

Your children's brains are being formed in this environment where they aren't getting as much chance to relax as they should. This will get worse as they get older, as they have the pressures of school etc and then have nowhere to fully wind down afterwards as much as is ideal. It can effect their outcomes in every sphere of life, and their lifelong wellbeing.

Dixiechickonhols · 18/06/2021 21:29

You can’t live like this OP. Poor you and DC walking on eggshells.

wewereliars · 18/06/2021 21:30

Robin233 Having left a very similar character to the OPs OH, after far far too long, I know that it takes a lot to even see what's happening to you. Rudeness is not intended, by these abusive horrors all follow a very similar script.

Mulhollandmagoo · 18/06/2021 21:30

Something that is upsetting me the most is that my 4 year old barely said a word the whole time, once DH’s monologue started he just shut down.

This is so sad, tell him this exactly, and you'll soon know if it is depression causing this or not - any decent parent will seek help immediately if their behaviour is impacting their children, if he doesn't really care then he's just a bully. If he won't seek treatment then it's time for you to go

everythingbackbutyou · 18/06/2021 21:31

I'm so sorry to hear this @Vaterinadf. I have lived the same tedious fucking script, right down to exdh saying he is depressed when I called him on any of his shitty behaviour. I'm sure you've received a lot of valuable advice already, I just wanted to let you know you are far from alone in your experience. I will add that I am far happier raising my children almost entirely alone than with that miserable, abusive waste of space.

Vaterinadf · 18/06/2021 21:31

@AlGorithim. No this is my first post regarding DH

OP posts:
baldafrique · 18/06/2021 21:31

Growing up walking on eggshells is SO utterly damaging for children

Inthemuckheap · 18/06/2021 21:33

@Stevearnottsbeard

I would say to him you can't use depression as an excuse unless your willing to except help for it. If not, your just a rude, obnoxious arsehole and me and the kids are leaving
This ^ with bells on.
HandforthParishCouncilClerk · 18/06/2021 21:33

I have depression and anxiety. It doesn’t make me an arsehole to strangers. What do you actually get from being with this man?

Iwonder08 · 18/06/2021 21:34

OP, you need to come back to work sooner rather than later. Either he is truly depressed because of sole financial responsibility or he is just a miserable bastard (more likely) and you really don't want to be financially dependent on him. Get your own money

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