Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Wants the lifestyle but someone else has to pay for it?

183 replies

cleocleo24 · 01/03/2022 19:43

If you knew someone with this attitude, not benefits related, what would you think of them? Could you be friends?

OP posts:
Tillow4ever · 01/03/2022 23:35

How long exactly have you been sleeping with your friends ex? Or was it just once and you'd like it to happen more? Or perhaps he wasn't ex at the time?

I'm sure you'll tell me you aren't/haven't - but you are definitely coming across as a jealous "other woman"/"new girlfriend".

EuphoriaHigh · 02/03/2022 00:05

So someone with this attitude and fleecing her ex isn't unkind or nasty?

This is highly ironic because you are coming across as unkind and nasty in your posts. Your ‘friend’ might share lots with you but you don’t know every aspect of her life. You sound obsessed.

Kinsters · 02/03/2022 00:51

You're clearly not her friend.

I'd expect the father was doing most of the childcare when you met up. You're her "friend", right? If I'm catching up with a friend DH takes care of the kids and vice versa. I also don't understand the dichotomy between the ultra hard working, doing long hours ex plus the ex doing the majority of the childcare - those two don't really add up ...

OpheliaThrupps · 02/03/2022 01:20

Apparently he's not a man, he's a boy

She's not a woman, she's a dickhead.

CJsGoldfish · 02/03/2022 01:53

You're not her friend OP. Stop pretending you are.

I, too, would like to hear her side. Not your interpretation and judgement of her side.
Sounds like she had it tough for many years doing everything and him not around. Did you feel so upset at HIM during that time?

I'd be checking your moral compass for sure but not in the way you're referring to

1forAll74 · 02/03/2022 02:38

I have known a couple of spikey and grabby women, who were only interested in the money that their Husbands had. They did not work, and a credit card was their only love.

Catflapkitkat · 02/03/2022 02:40

As she does most of the school runs, I am assuming the children are younger. She works part time. She's hardly Tinder Swindler is she?

CrabSnake · 02/03/2022 03:13

I gave up everything for my DH and DC. Mine are younger than your "friends" sound but still, 2+ years of sleepless nights and days filled with the drudgery (and joy) of raising kids and many more years to come. I'd be pretty pissed off if DH turned around once the kids were in school, stopped working such long hours and told me I needed to work full time in some menial job that fits around school (and presumably his job). Do I want to work again when the kids are older? Yes, but I'm very aware that taking this time away from work to raise our children will have set me back.

daisychain01 · 02/03/2022 03:14

@BoredZelda

Anyone else getting new wife v ex wife vibes?
Yup, the OP as the "new wife" knows way too much detail about all the ins and outs of the ex's lifestyle, for it just to be a friendship issue,

I was going to say to the OP that they are over - invested in all the detail and should just step away and not get bogged down, but if they are now involved with the man in this story, that's going to be difficult.

cuno · 02/03/2022 03:22

I don't understand your level of investment in this. I also don't see how he did the majority of the childcare while he was working full time and she was at home with the kids. I think you are coming across as judgemental and rather ignorant about SAHMs. I'd love to hear her side in this. You don't sound like a very good friend, or are you the ex-husband or the ex-husband's new girlfriend? The woman spending child maintenance on herself and not the kids is a classic that men spew about their exes, but I've yet to see this actually happen myself. It sounds like you're presenting the man's side of the story here, as if it was fed to you by him or you are him.

cuno · 02/03/2022 03:26

@Grinling

Honestly, OP, if you depicted her as any more villainous she’d be twirling her moustaches and cackling ‘Hahaha!’ while tying her helpless ex to the railway tracks and escaping with a large sack marked MARITAL SWAG.
Couldn't have said it better myself!
ChocolateMassacre · 02/03/2022 03:46

@Grinling

Honestly, OP, if you depicted her as any more villainous she’d be twirling her moustaches and cackling ‘Hahaha!’ while tying her helpless ex to the railway tracks and escaping with a large sack marked MARITAL SWAG.
Grin. Surely she'd let him live so he could continue to simultaneously work long hours while being responsible for the majority of the childcare and household chores. Being in two places at once must be a very useful skill.
Luckypom · 02/03/2022 03:55

Exactly this.

Short answer - don't be friends with her OP you obviously dislike her.

Now enjoy life with or without the hard done by man that manages to earn / work so much whilst doing the majority of the childcare.

ForeverSingle881 · 02/03/2022 03:58

You clearly don't like her. You're jealous and vicious and frankly pretty nasty. Just leave it. Nothing good will come out of pretending to be friends when you just want her to be poor like you

Luckypom · 02/03/2022 04:00

I certainly would not want to be friends with you 🙄 so best decision is probably to get out of her / theirs / yours (whoever you are in all this) business.

Luckypom · 02/03/2022 04:02

@ChocolateMassacre

Agreed 👍

Chocaholic9 · 02/03/2022 04:02

I think you should move on from this friendship. Friends are supposed to be people we like - I don't think you like this woman or agree with her behaviour. She sounds dreadfully entitled.

PaddleBoardingMomma · 02/03/2022 04:35

@Luckypom

I certainly would not want to be friends with you 🙄 so best decision is probably to get out of her / theirs / yours (whoever you are in all this) business.
Yup!
PaddleBoardingMomma · 02/03/2022 04:37

@Grinling

Honestly, OP, if you depicted her as any more villainous she’d be twirling her moustaches and cackling ‘Hahaha!’ while tying her helpless ex to the railway tracks and escaping with a large sack marked MARITAL SWAG.
This is amazing 🤣🤣🤣
cleocleo24 · 02/03/2022 06:40

@Chocaholic9

I think you should move on from this friendship. Friends are supposed to be people we like - I don't think you like this woman or agree with her behaviour. She sounds dreadfully entitled.
I do like her but I don't agree with her recent behaviour. I hadn't realised how into money she is and how much she expects someone else to pay for her. She says to me herself she wants to be looked after by a rich man. Her ex is not that and she's still getting money from him over and above CM when he's left her the house. He's down to the wire. I haven't seen him as we aren't really friends, this is what he's told my DH. She knows he can't afford legal fees but is happy to take £000 from him because she hasn't got her ducks in a row for him leaving her.
OP posts:
MargosKaftan · 02/03/2022 06:52

Wait, she works part time but he does the bulk of the childcare- does he work part time too, or is it her that's looking after thr dcs? Have you fallen for the noticeable dad, invisible mum family labour thing?

If hes paying CM does that mean she has the dcs the bulk of the time ? Is he offering to fund paidhelp to make up the time (nanny/housekeeper), or is she supposed to juggle kids and building a new career ?

If she did nothing wrong and he was his shit behaviour that lead to the split, then yes, I can see why she might be railing against the deal they struck being ended.

I had a career and gave it up because dh couldn't take the next step up in his career with doing 50% of drop offs / pickups and covering half of sick days etc. And my wage would be pretty much eaten up by full time childcare for 2 preschoolers. I do work parttime now, dhs wage covers most family costs, but I still do most of the family crap so he can continue in a stressful job. Id be pissed off if he got to the next easier stage then said "why don't you have the same earning potential as me? I'm doing half of childcare now, you need to pay half the bills" with no acknowledgement he wouldn't be able to get there without me covering the middle bit and high stress early years of parenthood.

DrSbaitso · 02/03/2022 06:54

If you're not the new wife, OP, you may as well be. You couldn't be more obsessed.

Actually, are you the ex husband?

starrynight21 · 02/03/2022 06:59

My DSiS is like that. Two husbands who funded a nice lifestyle, never worked since she was 22, got wonderful divorce settlements. Now in her 60's, crows about how nice life is , " since I'm SOOO rich these days " . If she wasn't my sister I certainly wouldn't be her friend.

Exutant · 02/03/2022 07:07

Him leaving her? First time you have mentioned that bit.

Can you remind yourself the purpose of the thread. Is it for us all too say whether this woman deserves you as a friend or not? Seems ridiculous to think we would be able to do that.

cleocleo24 · 02/03/2022 07:14

@MargosKaftan

Wait, she works part time but he does the bulk of the childcare- does he work part time too, or is it her that's looking after thr dcs? Have you fallen for the noticeable dad, invisible mum family labour thing?

If hes paying CM does that mean she has the dcs the bulk of the time ? Is he offering to fund paidhelp to make up the time (nanny/housekeeper), or is she supposed to juggle kids and building a new career ?

If she did nothing wrong and he was his shit behaviour that lead to the split, then yes, I can see why she might be railing against the deal they struck being ended.

I had a career and gave it up because dh couldn't take the next step up in his career with doing 50% of drop offs / pickups and covering half of sick days etc. And my wage would be pretty much eaten up by full time childcare for 2 preschoolers. I do work parttime now, dhs wage covers most family costs, but I still do most of the family crap so he can continue in a stressful job. Id be pissed off if he got to the next easier stage then said "why don't you have the same earning potential as me? I'm doing half of childcare now, you need to pay half the bills" with no acknowledgement he wouldn't be able to get there without me covering the middle bit and high stress early years of parenthood.

Thanks. I admit I hadn't really thought about it like that. As from that she's said that's not really been the case but maybe she's just not said.

Yes- I ve been in that situation too. A SAHM doing all childcare so DH could build his career. There is no way he could have done school runs. Things are more equal now.

He works full time but self employed so flexible. I think went 1 dc was little she did it all him hindsight. Then as dc went to school he does the two days she works and she does the rest during the weekends. Then he does the weekends I would say. From the way she talks and from what I and others have observed.

She's made it clear she doesn't want a career so hasn't given anything up. She has a lovely job she loves on minimal hours with no intention of increasing hours. She could use extended school hours to cover more work hours if she wanted.

I don't have much to do with her DH no, except in our group of friends. DH is his friend and sees him 1-1 and this is what he's hold him and DH has told me.

My friend was the catalyst for things starting to go wrong, she openly admits that, but he was away a lot and lonely. I can see why it happened. Then it became rather tit or tat of him doing the same. Neither of them really found of exactly what the other did though. I probably am very involved. I have tried not to be but when my friend has messaged me or told me every single detail of the breakup and I have listened to her for hours and hours as it's all she talks about. When you get ranting messages about him whenever it kicks off you do become involved and you do start to form an opinion. And maybe that opinion changes over time the more you see and hear.

Anyway. Away from that individual case. I wanted to know

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread