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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To split from 'D' H because

149 replies

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 08:59

He just won't do his share of chores and won't listen to me when I try to talk to him about it?

Eg Asked him to bring the bins in last night (I always put them out and bring them in) and to clean the kitchen bin because it was skanky at the bottom. He said yes but he hasn't done it.

This happens all the time with general chores

OP posts:
GerbilsForever24 · 16/12/2022 10:52

So you basically have 3 children, one of whom also wants to have sex with you. Ick.

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 10:54

GerbilsForever24 · 16/12/2022 10:52

So you basically have 3 children, one of whom also wants to have sex with you. Ick.

Exactly yes

OP posts:
faw2009 · 16/12/2022 10:54

Sit down, make a list of all the things you do (like you did here but include everything.) Tell him you need help and start splitting the list up. Include the kids.
Tell him you feel like his mother and how sexy does that seem?
Make a chores chart with ticklist.

If no improvement > leave

Coffeeandcake15 · 16/12/2022 10:57

It amazes me how so many men don’t pull their weight. My own teenage son offers to help me all the time and will hoover the kitchen floor, clean his room and dry up without me asking. Why can’t fully grown men do this?

GerbilsForever24 · 16/12/2022 10:57

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 10:54

Exactly yes

I would tell him that. And honestly, while I think leaving is an extreme situation, I think if you've been asking him to fix this for years and he's refusing, it's not unreasonable for you to have lost any interest in being married to him.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 16/12/2022 11:01

You need to boot him out. Otherwise your DC will grow up thinking it's normal for Mum to do everything, while Dad sits on his lazy arse.

A friend of mine did similar. She was doing everything anyway (including all household chores, childcare, cooking, cleaning, gardening, decorating etc, while working full time). She said it was a relief to just focus on her two actual children, rather than having a grown one to look after too.

He has zero respect for you. Or his kids.

loislovesstewie · 16/12/2022 11:10

Of course you can! If he can't be bothered to behave like an adult then he can get out and see how much work there is running a home.

loislovesstewie · 16/12/2022 11:15

Or he can leave and live in a pigsty.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 16/12/2022 11:16

It’s laziness. My DB is sort of a house husband (he does work) but does lots of the cleaning of their flat as it’s an easy space to keep clean but also even though it’s relatively new (90s?) mice have got in, so it has to be clean.

I think with some men its laziness and women’s work!

lightand · 16/12/2022 11:17

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 10:50

Yes he did but I never saw him in action, I never went round to his flat.
Big mistake I know

Could his previous mates tell you what it was like?
Might give you a bit of an insight?

lightand · 16/12/2022 11:18

faw2009 · 16/12/2022 10:54

Sit down, make a list of all the things you do (like you did here but include everything.) Tell him you need help and start splitting the list up. Include the kids.
Tell him you feel like his mother and how sexy does that seem?
Make a chores chart with ticklist.

If no improvement > leave

Good idea.

Or show him this thread.

MsMarch · 16/12/2022 11:19

lightand · 16/12/2022 11:17

Could his previous mates tell you what it was like?
Might give you a bit of an insight?

But why is that relevant? She's been with this guy for, one assumes, close to 20 years as she has teenage children. And throughout that time he's been lazy. So not sure how he behaved before they got together is relevant at all.

IncompleteSenten · 16/12/2022 11:21

When you say he doesn't get it, that's like saying he doesn't understand.

He does understand.

He doesn't care.

There's a big difference between not understanding how someone feels and not giving a shit how someone feels.

He knows you do everything and he doesn't give a crap how you feel about it because as far as he's concerned you're supposed to be the universal home appliance.

SapatSea · 16/12/2022 11:21

These have been around for years but you could show/send him these:
english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/
matthewfray.com/2016/01/14/she-divorced-me-because-i-left-dishes-by-the-sink/

I split up with someone because of this sort of thing. He tried to convince me he actually couldn't see the dirt, toilets were self cleaning - that's what the flush was for, I just had different standards and could clean if I wanted it to my standards (which were pretty low, I'd say) but that he wouldn't.

It shows a lack of respect and care/kindness. I did so many things for that guy (e.g. cooked every night, paid all the bills so he could finish his course)and everyone was always telling him he was punching/I was out his league etc... He finally told me not to nag (about cleaning/chores), as he couldn't abide a nag! All my mates loved that guy (many dumped me and kept him in their circle as he was such great craic and a top bloke) but the rot was setting in and he started to get in lilttle digs. I couldn't get that comment on being a nag out of my head and then he asked me if I was getting a tummy/putting on weight - I was a small size 8/10 at the time and had I considered dyeing my hair blonde ( it's black) as he liked blondes. Ha! that was the end. It escalates insidiously - if they get away without cleaning, what is next?

billy1966 · 16/12/2022 11:24

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 10:50

Yes he did but I never saw him in action, I never went round to his flat.
Big mistake I know

You married someone who's flat you never were in?

I've heard it all.

What has taken you so long to come to this point?

He's a lazy loser.

Stop talking about it and focus on getting a move on with planning an exit.

JeanRondeausMadHair · 16/12/2022 11:29

GerbilsForever24 · 16/12/2022 10:52

So you basically have 3 children, one of whom also wants to have sex with you. Ick.

That is such a concise way to put it.

whynotwhatknot · 16/12/2022 11:33

but has he been like this for however long youve been living together-he wont change now if hes never had to

potatoesalad · 16/12/2022 11:33

No words of help but I totally get you OP. I do EVERYTHING at home ,with the exception of cooking for DC because I go out to a second job in the eves at the supermarket, so I am physically not here to do it. I work FT in the day.

I do the online food shop, take delivery of it & put away & clean fridge/cupboards while putting away. I also then go out to the shop to get any missing bits that haven't arrived/were not in stock.
I do all the washing inc DC & bedding. I dont' do DH clothes.
I do all the cleaning
I do the bins
I tidy up after ALL of them - DC & DH
I plan/buy for/suggest every occasion & day/night out
I manage all the finances
I keep the house running. I make sure we never run out of anything. I make sure finances are healthy and we can pay bills. I move debt to take advantage of interest-free options
I get DC up for school and sort all their school stuff. I manage all school admin
I make sure we have enough loo rolls and each bathroom has a loo roll with spares, type-of-thing
I take my car for repairs/MOT
I arrange house/life/travel insurances
I change the beds
I arrange the oven cleaning
I arrange the carpet cleaning

and I am FUCKING sick of it. DH doesn't appreciate any of it.

I bought some de-icer for the cars the other day. I told DH I had brought a large can for us to share and I would leave it by the front door for either of us to use on our cars in the mornings. He said something like 'urgh I wont use THAT'.

I brought him replacement gloves as he lost the first pair (I was accused of moving/hiding them) he said thanks but then was passive aggressive to accuse me of hiding/moving the second pair when I had actually brought them in from my car - after he borrowed my car & knowing he would need them when I was out in the car - and left them in the hallway for him.

I feel for you OP xx

potatoesalad · 16/12/2022 11:34

JeanRondeausMadHair · 16/12/2022 11:29

That is such a concise way to put it.

totally agree with this @GerbilsForever24

Beancounter1 · 16/12/2022 11:36

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 09:40

I have told him this yes and he still does it. He is completely unaware of it all. He truly believes that I am unreasonable and nagging. It's like he doesn't get it.

He does 'get it', and is totally aware - by which I mean he does understand and realise how little he does and how much you do. He just thinks this is the natural order of the world, how it should be, and he doesn't want to change. So he won't change, and you can't make him.

You may have threatened to end the marriage but he doesn't believe you will ever do it - he sees it as an empty threat, just part of the 'nagging'. Was it an empty threat? Did you actually mean it - that you would divorce him? Or was he right in his assessment?

As for strategic incompetence, yes it is very real, and a surprisingly large number of men do this. They joke about it together, and swap tips about 'managing the missus', in men's spaces when there are no women around (except the ones behind the bar or trade counter serving them, who don't count.)

Don't underestimate the extent and pervasiveness of misogyny. Germaine Greer famously said "Women have very little idea of how much men hate them." Whilst hate is a rather strong word, you can substitute words like 'disrespect', 'despise', etc. Such men fundamentally and truly believe that women are not their equals, that women's natural place is to serve and look after men, and that good women actually like doing this.

Leave before your DC start important exams, or leave straight after the last one has finished exams.

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 11:38

potatoesalad · 16/12/2022 11:33

No words of help but I totally get you OP. I do EVERYTHING at home ,with the exception of cooking for DC because I go out to a second job in the eves at the supermarket, so I am physically not here to do it. I work FT in the day.

I do the online food shop, take delivery of it & put away & clean fridge/cupboards while putting away. I also then go out to the shop to get any missing bits that haven't arrived/were not in stock.
I do all the washing inc DC & bedding. I dont' do DH clothes.
I do all the cleaning
I do the bins
I tidy up after ALL of them - DC & DH
I plan/buy for/suggest every occasion & day/night out
I manage all the finances
I keep the house running. I make sure we never run out of anything. I make sure finances are healthy and we can pay bills. I move debt to take advantage of interest-free options
I get DC up for school and sort all their school stuff. I manage all school admin
I make sure we have enough loo rolls and each bathroom has a loo roll with spares, type-of-thing
I take my car for repairs/MOT
I arrange house/life/travel insurances
I change the beds
I arrange the oven cleaning
I arrange the carpet cleaning

and I am FUCKING sick of it. DH doesn't appreciate any of it.

I bought some de-icer for the cars the other day. I told DH I had brought a large can for us to share and I would leave it by the front door for either of us to use on our cars in the mornings. He said something like 'urgh I wont use THAT'.

I brought him replacement gloves as he lost the first pair (I was accused of moving/hiding them) he said thanks but then was passive aggressive to accuse me of hiding/moving the second pair when I had actually brought them in from my car - after he borrowed my car & knowing he would need them when I was out in the car - and left them in the hallway for him.

I feel for you OP xx

You sound like me. God it's shite isn't it?

OP posts:
anotherdayanotheralias · 16/12/2022 11:46

So many men like this. They don't pull their weight or think like a team but want a domestic skivvy and life admin manager who also provides sex. It's a complete passion killer. He is unlikely to change. These men need 'reprogramming'!

SapatSea · 16/12/2022 11:47

When you have DC it becomes so complicated - you can't go on a cleaning strike as you want a clean house, especially a bathroom for the DC, you don't want them to be hear arguments or feel tension in the home.

Whoputtheramintheramalamadingdong · 16/12/2022 11:48

Livingwithcrap · 16/12/2022 09:40

I have told him this yes and he still does it. He is completely unaware of it all. He truly believes that I am unreasonable and nagging. It's like he doesn't get it.

It's called strategic incompetence- he "gets" it, he just pretends not to.

Easier to just call you a nagging cow than actually get off his last arse and DO something about it.

holrosea · 16/12/2022 11:51

I've given a bit of a glowing review, they are exes with good reason 😂, but they were still rather well domesticated.

The second would let clean washing pile up as he had a spare room to dry it in so we'd arrive at a situation where the room was chock full of clean, unironed clothes, but that's not end of the world stuff & organising is something I actually enjoy so it worked for us.

As for weaponised incompetence, yes absolutely. Luckily not my case but a friend's DH hoovers so poorly she always re does it. Or he only does the downstairs & "forgets" there's an upstairs. He "forgets" to buy presents or cards for birthdays and new babies (he was "so embarrassed" to go empty handed to meet his best mate's new baby, but not so embarrassed he actually picked anything up). He does the shop but needs a list, couldn't possibly look in the cupboards or at last week's receipt or just use his brain. Funnily enough he's fine at work 🧐