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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Partner goes to all events without me

266 replies

katyalexandra · 05/12/2021 06:41

Bit of background, we’ve been on and off for 6 years, 2 kids together and live together. He has a large group of friends but every single party/wedding etc he will go without me and he says I’m being unreasonable to want to go. Am I just being too clingy? I’ll add that all his friends partners go with them and a few of his friends are also single so it’s not like he’s the only one there without a partner (even though he has one he chooses not to take).

OP posts:
isthismylifenow · 05/12/2021 13:06

[quote katyalexandra]@Nanny0gg maybe to try and make the situation not feel as bad as it actually is.. lol…

It’s my house, I bought it myself so all in my own name Smile[/quote]
This does make things a little less complicated for you.

He wants to have his cake and eat it. The coupled up life at home, and the single life when out.

toomuchlaundry · 05/12/2021 13:07

As you have been on and off, they must be used to dad not being around sometimes

tallduckandhandsome · 05/12/2021 13:08

@katyalexandra

Please be gentle with me cause I feel very fragile right now lol. I come from a broken family so never wanted that for my own. I know deep down I deserve better but I ‘stay for the kids’. We don’t argue around them and it’s only at times like this we have issues. I guess I’m just very weak as I don’t really want to be a single mum
How do you continue to live with a man who is only using you for a roof over his head and baby maker?

He doesn’t worry about leaving you out whilst he goes to these weddings and after parties, so you really don’t need to give a shit about him.

Allthesefolks · 05/12/2021 13:09

He’s already not there when they wake up as as you don’t even know when he’s coming home or where he is, plus if you’re on/off then he’s not living there half the time anyway. They’d actually have a much more stable home if you were a single parent.

As someone who grew up in a “broken” home it was much less unsettling once my dad left and we knew where we stood.

katyalexandra · 05/12/2021 13:10

@toomuchlaundry yeah our eldest is used to I guess as he’s only been back living here since September. He’s a good dad I’ll give him that and yes he would have them but not over night etc to start with as he would probably move back to his mums house on the sofa.

OP posts:
Nanny0gg · 05/12/2021 13:11

[quote katyalexandra]@toomuchlaundry yeah our eldest is used to I guess as he’s only been back living here since September. He’s a good dad I’ll give him that and yes he would have them but not over night etc to start with as he would probably move back to his mums house on the sofa.[/quote]
NO HE ISN'T!

'Good' dads don't treat the mother of their children like this!

NdujaWannaDance · 05/12/2021 13:12

Okay I think we all know I need to leave. But how am I now supposed to leave.. how do I tell our 5 and 2 year old daughters that daddy isn’t going to there when they wake up.

Well when you posted about this same issue earlier this year you said he didn't live with you. You've been 'on and off' for six years, to the point where you've gone a bought a house on your own without him, so I'm sure that they will be quite accustomed to him being in and out of their daily life and not always sitting at the dinner table or waking up to them finding him in mummy's bed. It's a version of normal for them, by the sounds of things. Don't worry about that. Worry about the fact that he has absolutely no respect for you.

BananaBlue · 05/12/2021 13:12

That’s brilliant that you have independence as you can bin him.

I don’t see how he is a good dad if his DC are being bought up with the instability of an off/on relationship?

Doesn’t he want better for them?

isthismylifenow · 05/12/2021 13:14

[quote katyalexandra]@toomuchlaundry yeah our eldest is used to I guess as he’s only been back living here since September. He’s a good dad I’ll give him that and yes he would have them but not over night etc to start with as he would probably move back to his mums house on the sofa.[/quote]
What does he do that makes him a good dad OP?

NdujaWannaDance · 05/12/2021 13:20

I come from a broken family so never wanted that for my own

You met and 19 and 20 and got pregnant within a few months of being together. Frankly, It would be defying all the odds if you didn't end up as a single mum.

I guess I’m just very weak as I don’t really want to be a single mum

But it sounds as though you already are, in many respects, and have been for the whole of this half-relationship. I am not so sure you'll notice much difference. He's certainly not behaving like a man who has children and a life partner, is he?

girlmom21 · 05/12/2021 13:27

[quote katyalexandra]@toomuchlaundry yeah our eldest is used to I guess as he’s only been back living here since September. He’s a good dad I’ll give him that and yes he would have them but not over night etc to start with as he would probably move back to his mums house on the sofa.[/quote]
He's a good dad who's not a consistent part of his childrens lives? You said you'd have no time to yourself if you split so you can't believe he's a good dad because if he was he'd pull his weight together or separated.

DirtyDancing · 05/12/2021 13:31

OP why are you enduring all your sentences with lol. It's not very funny.

He doesn't take you to anything. How humiliating and disrespectful.

If he was partying until god knows what time and waltzes in, no doubt hungover or on a come down, at 8am. How confusing & useless for his children. Great Father presence he has

With regards to the childcare if you separate. He can support them 50/50 no reason for you to have to do it all. He can get his finger out and be present. If he can't do that, then I'm not entirely sure what use he is in his kids lives anyway. My DH is currently sitting and stoking the head of DD who is unwell. He'll take the day off tomorrow to be with her, because we take it in turns and share parenting responsibilities.

He sounds like a shit Dad and partner from where I am sitting.

dreamdoll123 · 05/12/2021 13:32

Can't be bothered to find the @ but to the poster who patronised me and told me my situation wasn't comparable and to wait 10 or 15 years before I can comment or whatever. The OP is literally 3 years older than me. That should teach you not to assume people's ages just because they have a kid or two👍

dreamdoll123 · 05/12/2021 13:32

OP, it's honestly better for your kids to grow up in a 'broken home' as opposed to them growing up seeing an unhealthy relationship where you're not happy, normalised. If you've been on and off for years, surely it's not that difficult to having a conversation stating you'll be permanently off from now on. However you have to think you're doing the best thing. If you're just listening to posters, you'll probably be back together in no time

IncompleteSenten · 05/12/2021 13:32

If your relationship is 6 years of on again off again then you know you can cope alone because you do.

There are several possibilities. They don't invite you because he always says you don't want to and they've given up. They don't like you because he badmouths you to them. He does indeed shag about and because they're his friends not yours, they don't really care. Etc etc.

There is no point being half in and half out of a relationship.

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/12/2021 13:33

[quote katyalexandra]@Nanny0gg maybe to try and make the situation not feel as bad as it actually is.. lol…

It’s my house, I bought it myself so all in my own name Smile[/quote]
Ah, sweetheart, this just confirms what I was thinking of him as I read your postsSad.

Your boyfriend is a fuck-up. he's 25 going on 12, hasn't actually reached adulthood emotionally and is basically a parasite. He lives off of you, and you accept that because you are putting your children's needs before your own - "how do I tell our 5 and 2 year old daughters that daddy isn’t going to there when they wake up".

You also say " I come from a broken family so never wanted that for my own." But you need to consider what your current set-up is giving them. What sort of relationship are you modelling to them? What are they going to consider 'normal' and 'right' to take into their relationships when adult? In short - do you want them to accept and put up with selfish on-off almost-but-not-quite partners? Do you want unhappiness for them, like the unhappiness you're experiencing now? I don't believe you do. You want the best for them, you're putting up with his shit believing it's best for them even though it's bad for you. But it's not the best for them. It's a short-term 'nice to have daddy around' with a long-term 'don't know what a respectful relationship looks like' attached. It's really not best for your girls.

"I guess I’m just very weak as I don’t really want to be a single mum"
You are very, very far from being weak! Here you are at 25, two lovely daughters and owning your own house. You are a marvel! You have the strength to have borne the burden of this on-off relationship for the sake of your daughters. And I believe you have the strength to permanently flick the off switch on this relationship for the sake of your daughters. It is so much better for them to have you all to themselves than for them to have him and a ground-down version of you. You deserve better than him. And they deserve better than him too. They deserve the best version of you, which you cannot be whilst being dragged down by him.

"how do I tell him to leave the house when he’s got no where to go"
Where he goes is not your responsibility. He has parents. He has all these friends, he can sofa-surf with them until he sorts out his own place (if he can be bothered). Not. Your. Problem. He's using you, he's using your house, and he's using your daughters as leverage, to manipulate you into letting him stay. I'd get very angry with him about that. You'd find it very easy to tell him to go if you had anger fuelling you.

"how do I now deal with having the children solely 24/7 on my own which means I won’t be able to do anything for myself"
I'm not convinced you'll find it that much harder than it is now, because I'll bet when you sit down and examine what he adds, it isn't much. And you're only 25. 25 with a big wide beautiful life in front of you once he's no longer there to reduce your horizons. It is tough with little ones, but little ones grow up so fast and it get's easier and easier as they do. You are strong. You will find your way.

Limer · 05/12/2021 13:34

[quote katyalexandra]@toomuchlaundry yeah our eldest is used to I guess as he’s only been back living here since September. He’s a good dad I’ll give him that and yes he would have them but not over night etc to start with as he would probably move back to his mums house on the sofa.[/quote]
"He's a good dad" - WTF????

NO HE ISN'T.

DukkaTheHallsWithBoughsOfHolly · 05/12/2021 13:51

Why does ‘he’s a good Dad’ get trotted out on this threads. We need to stop setting our bar so low when it comes to some men’s behaviour.

1forAll74 · 05/12/2021 13:59

He is selfish,unreliable, immature for his age,and has no repect for you. Does this sound like a whole bunch of qualities for an adult man,? No! You will never know where you are with a man like this. He will keep getting away with all that he does, if you keep putting up with it.

spotcheck · 05/12/2021 14:07

I agree with @WhereYouLeftIt

katyalexandra · 05/12/2021 14:54

@WhereYouLeftIt thank you so much for this comment, it’s probably the only comment that’s actually been very insightful and helpful so thank you.

OP posts:
MollysDolly · 05/12/2021 14:57

@Ponoka7

It's so he goes single and sees were the night will take him. You need to look after your own interests and plan your life according to what you want. Carry on being on and off with him if you feel that you need to. But don't waste your life because of him. He has his cake and is eating it.
This. 100%
Letsallscreamatthesistene · 05/12/2021 15:16

[quote katyalexandra]@WhereYouLeftIt thank you so much for this comment, it’s probably the only comment that’s actually been very insightful and helpful so thank you.[/quote]
Ok. We'll all fuck off shall we?

EmmasMum12 · 05/12/2021 15:38

This made me laugh 🤣

EmmasMum12 · 05/12/2021 15:39

@letsallscream 's post made me laugh. The quote thing didn't work again