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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DP was going to propose but…..

401 replies

Mymindsgoneawol · 12/08/2021 08:32

Hi all,

I’ve name changed for this

So to give a bit of background….. I have been with my DP for nearly three years. We work well together but argue occasionally like most.

My problem is when we argue he says things in anger that hurt me. He doesn’t understand and thinks I should just know he didn’t mean it,

The latest is that he turned round during an argument and said I was going to propose but I’m not now. This is the third time he’s said it. I have said before that it hurts me to hear ‘I was but now I’m not’ anyway we had a row yesterday over something small abs he said he was never going to propose because it wouldn’t be perfect.

I’ve gotten very upset at this as marriage is something we both want and I see as the ultimate commitment.

He tells me I shouldn’t be upset Because he means he won’t propose because it will no longer be perfect due to what was said in anger….. he believes I shouldn’t be upset by this and can’t understand why I’ve been crying or distant

So help me out….

AIBU for being really upset that he’s saying he now will never ask me to marry him!

OP posts:
2andahalfpints · 12/08/2021 11:53

My ex said this a few times, he turned out to be a controlling, manipulative, gaslighting cheating type

cakewench · 12/08/2021 11:58

Sorry OP, he isn't an amazing man. You have every right to be sad that he's using your desire to get married against you. (He doesn't, btw. You say in your OP that 'we both want to be married' but if you both wanted to be married, you would be by now. Instead, you're in the position that he verbally slaps you in the face by mocking your desire to be married every time you argue.)

bigbaggyeyes · 12/08/2021 11:59

I agree with @Drinkingallthewine her post is spot on.

Alonelonelyloner · 12/08/2021 12:00

OP, if you think he is amazing, you are doomed. really. Doomed to waste probably years with an awful dude and then to realise the truth and then walk away. Or waste years with this dude and then realise you are 80 and it's too late.

Monday26July · 12/08/2021 12:00

He has no intention of proposing, but this way he gets to make out like it’s your fault you’re not getting engaged rather than his.

Appalling behaviour tbh and there’s absolutely no fucking way I’d ever accept a proposal from a man like this or remain in a relationship with him. How can you stomach being intimate with such a man?

Eralos · 12/08/2021 12:00

Trust every poster on here when we say it’s not coming from a good place. Why would one argument make a proposal down the line not special? That makes no sense. You know it makes no sense. He said it to hurt you, that’s not amazing, that’s cruel.

MrsMiddleMother · 12/08/2021 12:03

Believe what people say in anger. He's horrible and definitely NOT someone you would want to be married to. Cut your losses and move on now.

Frazzledmummy123 · 12/08/2021 12:04

I am going to throw in another perspective. I think a bit of it depends on the time that has passed between the arguments when he has said this.

If the arguments are close together, and you said "the latest thing is" which could indicate this has all been recent this started? Arguments can get quite vicious and each side looks for something to use as a 'weapon' to hurt other one back and it is usually the biggest thing most important to other person they use (this is by no means a defence, but heated arguments can bring out the worst in people). My husband and I have been quite nasty to each other in arguments.

If the arguments are regular, maybe he feels his plans to propose are ruined by yet another argument and through the red fog, tells you. Still wrong, and has to stop, but not necessarily a deal breaker in the relationship if all this is happening within a short period of time.

If the arguments are quite far apart, in that case, I am sorry, I would be inclined to agree with others that it does sound like manipulation and like he has you dangling like a carrot. He has ample time to propose in between when things are good and would do it if he wanted to.

You need to tell him to stop this either way. Try to talk with him when you both calm down. If he does it again then I think this is a deal breaker.

Good luck Flowers

Ofallthebarsinalltheworld · 12/08/2021 12:07

OP 💐

Please leave this emotionally abusive man. You have already told him you're feelings and yet he ignored them and carried on being abusive to you. If you stay with him it will only get worse. The fact he even says things like that to you is extremely cruel.

FrenchCovidInfo · 12/08/2021 12:14

He really is the most amazing man

He really isn't. He sounds unpleasant and manipulative.

If he wanted to marry you, then he would have asked you. Using your desire to get married for his own little game of clicker training is horrible.

Don't ignore this red flag, OP.

godmum56 · 12/08/2021 12:15

not sure anybody has already asked but does he "say things on anger" to other people eg his boss?

Ellie56 · 12/08/2021 12:16

He is not an amazing man. He sounds like a nasty manipulative knob.

Tell him you don't want to marry him. You can do much better.

TheFoundations · 12/08/2021 12:23

He's using proposing to you as a weapon to hurt you with.

Think hard about that. About what you would like any proposal, or discussion about a proposal, to feel, within your relationship. And how different the actual conversation regarding proposal feels. This would be reflected in the marriage. You would expect it to feel all sorts of good, and then he'll surprise you by using the fact that you chose to marry him as a weapon.

he believes I shouldn’t be upset by this

Nobody, NOBODY gets to tell you that your feelings are wrong.

Boundaries 101: You tell the person calmly that when they do x, you feel bad/sad/mad/whatever emotion. Then guage what to do next by their response. If they keep doing it, distance yourself from them, because that behaviour is more important to them than you feeling ok. That's it. Your feelings don't have to be logical or sensible, you don't have to control anybody or talk over and over difficult things.

Think about a really illogical feeling, like being scared of spiders. A respectful partner will get rid of any spider they see in the house, and never mention it, so that you don't get unsettled. An unrespectful partner will see a spider and say 'It can't harm you, you sort it out, you're just being stupid.'

There's no right or wrong with feelings. You just have to get on with having them, choose a mature response to them (and that's not 'trying to silence them') and surround yourself with people who welcome or at least accept your emotional self as is.

This man, however wonderful you think he is, is making you upset repeatedly and knowingly. He is then blaming you for your response to him, which compounds your upset. He knows this, and does it all the same. Unless you want to try to control him so that he doesn't do this any more, distance is your only option.

Loving partners don't say 'You're upset? That's your own fault.' It's very callous. You must be able to see that?

daisychain01 · 12/08/2021 12:23

@Mymindsgoneawol

Thanks all.

Sorry I should say yhis doesn’t happen all the time

He really is the most amazing man.

It’s just when he gets angry, again not all the time. He says things in anger he thinks I should just know are not true.

He is saying he means he just wants to propose when things are perfect so now won’t because he doesn’t think it would be special.

He wants to make it special for me.

He’s actions all come from a good place

But I’m so heartbroken that he’s said he won’t propose to me now.

Hopefully the scales will fall from your eyes. How can you can this abusive, arrogant toe-rag "amazing" - you sadly need to raise the bar, it isn't too late to kick him to the curb.

If he's like this before you've even set a date, imagine him in 5, 10, 20 years.

daisychain01 · 12/08/2021 12:24

can = call

Mama1980 · 12/08/2021 12:24

He sounds awful.
My nan always used to say the sign of a healthy relationship was being able to argue/row without causing actual harm to your partner.
Shout and stamp if you need to but at the end of the day there are some things you just don't do or say because even in anger you should never want to hurt/damage the person you love most in the world.

wewereliars · 12/08/2021 12:25

Throw this one back OP, he is spieful and nasty. A life with him will be miserable.

He is showing you who he is, believe him.

Throckmorton · 12/08/2021 12:30

He's a nasty man - why on earth would you put up with this from someone who is supposed to live you?

Throckmorton · 12/08/2021 12:33

Typo - love you, not live you

lorca · 12/08/2021 12:41

So, OP - you are now tying yourself in Knots, trying to second-guess him and find out what it is he wants so that he'll propose to you? You will change yourself into the woman he wants and in doing so, will change who you are? You will deny yourself a voice in this relationship, NO arguments, no disagreements, no say in anything in case it sets him off....Hmm

JOb done for him, I reckon.

And you want to marry this specimen?

Kick him to kerb, and live with yourself. At least you'll get a say in how your life looks!

wednesdayweather · 12/08/2021 12:46

Good relationships are based on how well disagreements are handled, not on how well you get on when things are good ( I know this from painful experience but relationship research also backs this up)

He has shown you how he handles disagreements. And how he responds when you tell him his behaviour upsets you ( you just shouldn't be upset!)
Don't marry him. It won't end well.

MargosKaftan · 12/08/2021 12:47

@mymindsgoneawol - how long are between these arguments? Why didn't he propose in between, the element of surprise has gone because he has told you he's planning to ask. So if its more than say, a month, why didn't he propose in that time period?

Could it be that your normal relationship isn't perfect enough for him? Can it be without you being miserable? Or could it be because he doesn't want to propose?

If you tell him you are leaving him, he'll probably ask to keep you. But then he'll dangle cancelling the wedding if you dont behave right. Not buying that house or holiday or having a baby or anything else he knows you want.

If your relationship isn't perfect for him in the times between arguments, then you should split up. If it is, why hasn't he asked?

Rannva · 12/08/2021 12:49

@Mymindsgoneawol

Thanks all.

Sorry I should say yhis doesn’t happen all the time

He really is the most amazing man.

It’s just when he gets angry, again not all the time. He says things in anger he thinks I should just know are not true.

He is saying he means he just wants to propose when things are perfect so now won’t because he doesn’t think it would be special.

He wants to make it special for me.

He’s actions all come from a good place

But I’m so heartbroken that he’s said he won’t propose to me now.

He's an angry, vicious, weak scumbag bully and no self-respecting woman would touch him with a bargepole, let alone have any yearning to marry him.
wednesdayweather · 12/08/2021 12:51

He is saying he means he just wants to propose when things are perfect so now won’t because he doesn’t think it would be special. He wants to make it special for me. He’s actions all come from a good place

He's really done a number on you if you really believe this.

If anything, he wants to make it special for HIM by seeing how pathetically grateful and relieved you are that he has finally deigned to propose.

Teaandtoastedbiscuits · 12/08/2021 12:54

Invest in yourself by leaving. He is purposefully hurting you. You probably already know this though. I'm sorry you are in a relationship with someone like him x

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