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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Am I being unreasonable - he’s playing the victim.

60 replies

Lou1913 · 24/02/2022 11:00

My husband put our then 22yr marriage on the rocks a few years ago and due to deceit there are trust issues. We separated twice but on his last return spoke about a new way forward. It was short lived.

In October he started a new job. Last Wednesday he travelled to Poland. He rang on arrival and said the weather warning may delay his return - he’d keep us posted. We had a text Thursday but it didn’t mention the return flight Friday. At 216am Friday he rang me but hung up. I text by return. At 6am I had a gobbledegook response. Our youngest text him asking about his flight. Nothing.

At 3pm Friday he rang (from his work phone) to say he’d landed but there’d been storm delays. I told him I was pi**ed off at his total silence and he said his personal phone was dead as he’d not plugged it in to charge properly early hours Friday.
He walked in a bit later and went upstairs, showered, unpacked and led down. He spoke a few words to reiterate it was a charging issue and he’s home now. Saturday he was sheepish. Sunday I initiated clearing the air. After being told I’m not moving on and it digressing to historical stuff he told me to sit down and he’d tell me what happened in Poland.

On Thursday evening after food and drinks they went to a lap dancing bar - he told me he’s not done it before. He ‘got separated’ from his colleagues and went into a private room with two women. He said they made him pay for drinks and after lots of hassle with cards working he said he remembers day light and being on a street in Krakow. His boss rang and my husband made it back to the hotel foyer to his packed bags. He said he looked at the cc app and they had charged him £350 more than they asked for but that he’s lucky cos he’s in one piece.

My immediate thought was my worries were founded and also told him to canx the cards. Also said did you have sex? You’ll need to test. He said the cards are fine he’ll monitor it (yes!!!) and he can’t remember anything but he didn’t have sex.

Three days later it flashed up on our joint bank account £2500 withdrawal in Poland. Plus it transpires a further £3,500 was attempted but the bank security declined it due to the pattern of requests.

Although the scenario is different it’s the same behaviour traits being shown again. I am not a prude, the main arena of a lap dancing bar is totally different to choosing to go to a private room. It seems these establishments main industry is the card scamming and not the dancing but he put himself into that environment through macho drinking. He’s not even been employed by them that long. His recount to our children (we have no bank cards currently and it’s half term) has been one of a victim. I am struggling to have any sympathy to these cyclical man made dramas that are just spiralling…..

OP posts:
Aquamarine1029 · 24/02/2022 11:05

I wouldn't trust a single thing he's said. I would be tossing him out the door.

NoodleNuts · 24/02/2022 11:08

Man made dramas? It is more than a drama for me and would be the end of the marriage.

Honeyroar · 24/02/2022 11:09

I would have zero sympathy for him and wouldn’t be able to look at him again without my skin crawlingZ

Gowithme · 24/02/2022 11:13

YABU to stay with this disgusting man. You have no idea what went on, no idea what's true and what's not. You deserve so much better than this, especially after 22 years together, he just sounds gross. I'm so sorry he's putting you through this, what a dick.

Cuddlemuffin · 24/02/2022 11:13

You deserve better.

PinkiOcelot · 24/02/2022 11:13

I wouldn’t believe a word he said. Deal breaker for me.

hellithurt · 24/02/2022 11:15

You've tried, well done! Now it's time to look after you.

Notimeforaname · 24/02/2022 11:25

I hope you dont believe him. That is definitely not the truth

Sparticuscaticus · 24/02/2022 11:28

That's a whole load of dodgy

No man ends up accidentally in a lap dancing bar and then in a private room with two dancers...

He needs to dispute those charges as fraudulent, report the crime to relevant police authorities as it's theft / fraud and let the bank reverse charges. If he doesn't then he's not telling you the whole story. Look, he's not telling you the real story anyway as frankly the rest of us don't have these sort of things "accidentally happen"

He's lying and you're right to react to that.

By the way last week Friday to Saturday, there was storm Eunice so some of the travel difficulties will have been real.

newbiename · 24/02/2022 11:37

I'd Chuck him out. If it's 'fraud' he needs to tell the bank asap.
Also why is he getting your children involved in his sordid stories ?
He'll be lucky to keep his job if he behaves like that on work trips.
Someone I know - her son got sent home and sacked for being hopelessly drunk on a work trip.

Lwren · 24/02/2022 11:41

Hes most likely slept with 2 sex workers, 350, that's a lesbian strip show, anything over that is most likely sex.

You can do better, this is devastating 💔

WifeBroken · 24/02/2022 11:42

Did his boss pack his bags? As in he's in the shit with work?
Yes men are the masters of being a victim aren't they?

LittleOwl153 · 24/02/2022 11:53

You won't get past the trust issues this time- if you did previously. Get rid of him he is not worth your sympathy.

I assume the bank is sorting the money hence no cards - but he should be dealing with it.

Presenting it to your kids as a victim of card scamming is potentially a useful lesson depending on their ages but it would cover nothing as far as I was concerned. And should now be forgotten as far as the kids go rather than dragging them into it.

FavouritePi · 24/02/2022 12:07

This gets my YABU vote - seems these establishments main industry is the card scamming and not the dancing

Why do you believe anything he says? Even he doesn't believe he's been scammed or else he'd cancel the cards.

Has he now lost his job too?

WhereYouLeftIt · 24/02/2022 12:13

He is still deceitful. You should not trust him.

Googlecanthelpme · 24/02/2022 12:15

Oh no no no OP.

He’s taking the utter piss here.
Your marriage has been on the rocks for similar issues in the recent past, which would indicate he hasn’t changed nor in fact wants to.

If he wanted to then he’d have been committed to curbing any possible stupid behaviour on his part and steered well clear of a lap dancing bar or any situation which could put his marriage at further risk.

But he chose not to and he chose to risk his safety, your money and act completely victimised about it.

He’s pathetic. Not a chance I’d recover from this.

I don’t like lap dancing bars but it wouldn’t be that particular point which ended if for me, it would be the decision making and the disregard for you, the total ambivalence he’s shown your already strained marriage.

Unless you try marriage counselling I would say that this is dead in the water. He doesn’t seem to care enough to keep himself out of bother, so there’s your answer

WheresYourSnickers · 24/02/2022 12:16

Just reiterating what everyone else is saying - You deserve better! Kick his scummy, lying, ass out the door.

WonderfulYou · 24/02/2022 12:42

If this was a one off I’d let it go as it sounds like he got very drunk and stupidly had his credit card details used fraudulently.

However this isn’t a one off.
He’s already done things (more than once I assume) in the past and that’s what you know about - I’m sure there’s more.

Him having money taken from his account affects you and your child too.

I couldn’t be with someone who I couldn’t even trust to go away for a weekend and drink and have a good time without acting like an idiot.

ClawedButler · 24/02/2022 12:50

It seems many men have enough blood to power either the brain or the dick, but not both at the same time.

AT BEST he's a fool and a lech.

Even if you do believe him, and he's telling the gospel, he's still thunderingly stupid and sordid. OOPS I WENT INTO A ROOM WITH TWO LADIES WHOSE CLOTHES FELL OFF HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. Nice one, Pinocchio, at least you didn't have sex with them.

Lou1913 · 24/02/2022 13:40

The storm heightened my worry - he was flying into a red zone. He has contacted the bank and they have investigated - the money was returned yesterday. They have advised he contact the police.

OP posts:
Lou1913 · 24/02/2022 16:43

Since reporting it he says his scant memory of events is due to the fact he was undoubtedly drugged. He has told the children his drink was spiked.

OP posts:
Piffle11 · 24/02/2022 16:48

Oh I’m so sorry, Op.

My ex BIL used to come out with stories of him being in peril, hence the wild and weird spending on his credit card and cash withdrawals … it later transpired he was having an affair and cheating on my sister. Get your ducks in a row and leave the lying fucker.

BloodyForeland · 24/02/2022 16:51

@Lou1913

Since reporting it he says his scant memory of events is due to the fact he was undoubtedly drugged. He has told the children his drink was spiked.
Again, if this was a one-off, you might feel like believing him, but as it isn't, , and you had to do all the work in 'clearing the air'. it sounds like a terribly convenient excuse for hand-waving about not being that sure whether one, or possibly two, naked women accidentally fell onto his penis.

How does he claim he 'got separated' from his colleagues and was magicked into the private room of the club? Presumably everyone's drinks weren't spiked in the public area if his boss was calling him early next morning to find out where he was, and no one else in the group was affected, so he had to actually get up and go into the private room, unspiked and of his own free will, before whatever happened in there.

Personally, I have zero sympathy for the kind of men who patronise these establishments, regardless of whether they ogle dancers or pay for private dances. They regard women's bodies as purchasable commodities either way.

BloodyForeland · 24/02/2022 16:52

And don't even consider having sex with him again without proof he's tested for STDs. I mean, I can't imagine that sex is on the cards, anyway, but no sense in getting an unpleasant dose on top of it all.

newbiename · 24/02/2022 16:54

@Lou1913

Since reporting it he says his scant memory of events is due to the fact he was undoubtedly drugged. He has told the children his drink was spiked.
Why is he telling his kids any of this ????