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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband doesn't love me any more

198 replies

Heartshattered · 30/03/2023 04:05

I'm a long time lurker, but have never posted before. My heart is utterly broken. I am married to a wonderful man. We have been together 18 years and have DD9 amd DS6. We had (I thought) a fantastic relationship with shared values, life outlook, personalities and interests. He couldn't be a better father and we are very good parents together.

Two nights ago he told me he was very unhappy. He feels I control and micromanage him amd make him feel undervalued, that I dismiss him and contradict him and make regular sarcastic comments that have eroded our relationship. I was not aware i was doing this, have had no insight into my behaviour but I believe him. Whether it was intentional or not doesn't matter as the effect is the same. Tonight he told me he does not love me any more, and thinks we should separate. He feels numb and empty. He agrees to try couples counselling first.

I am in complete and utter shock that we have reached this stage without me being aware. Our DD has been very ill the last few months and is now recovering. He said my behaviour towards him at hospital etc demonstrated the sharp end of the way I treat him - dismissing his views, contradicting him etc.

We have had huge strains with significant family caring responsibilities, job losses, house moves, relocations, bereavement and my illnesses over the past number of years, and our daughter's illness has now been added to the list of difficult life events.

I can't believe I have caused all of this. I can't sleep or eat and am working and trying not to burst into tears in front of the kids ll the time. I love my DH so so much amd he has treated with nothing but kindness, love and patience throughout our marriage.

I don't know what I'm asking for....a hand hold I guess.

OP posts:
TheDuck2018 · 30/03/2023 13:13

ForeverTheOptomist · Today 10:14
TheDuck2018 · Today 06:55

Six years he's been telling you. But here you are describing yourself as in shock, having had no insight, you didn't realise it was like this.
*You must have realised? He's told you several times over the course of six years?"
Do you think perhaps you do take him for granted? For you to claim to be blindsided when he's raised it with you before suggests to me you maybe haven't taken him seriously at all in the past.
I really hope the two of you can work on it.

This.
This is despicable. Show some compassion rather than judgement

Maybe read the thread.....just a thought!!

ForeverTheOptomist · 30/03/2023 13:13

Glitteratitar · 30/03/2023 13:10

Makes what ok? There is nothing wrong with the post you complained about, nothing wrong at all!

That is immeasurably sad.

ForeverTheOptomist · 30/03/2023 13:14

I'm switching off now. Don't respond please as it won't be read.

TheDuck2018 · 30/03/2023 13:15

What's immeasurably sad is immediately taking the word of someone who posts a disingenuous op, then drip feeds....

Glitteratitar · 30/03/2023 13:24

ForeverTheOptomist · 30/03/2023 13:14

I'm switching off now. Don't respond please as it won't be read.

I find your posts incredible. You’re criticising a post as despicable, claiming it’s judgmental when it does no such thing. It’s the exact opposite of judgmental, it’s asking OP to open her eyes!

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 13:24

mybeautifuloak · 30/03/2023 13:03

So you think men never leave when they are just plain unhappy? They only leave when they are having affairs? What tosh. People leave unhappy relationships all the time. If a man was micromanaging/controlling, sarcastic, patronising and dismissive of a woman, what would you be advising the woman to do?

In fairness @mybeautifuloak I posted this before the massive drip feed that he has been trying to talk to her about this since 2017! When I posted this it was all out of the blue!

Glitteratitar · 30/03/2023 13:24

ForeverTheOptomist · 30/03/2023 13:13

That is immeasurably sad.

As is your determination to ignore OP‘s later posts and criticise the posts that have clearly taken them into account.

badger2005 · 30/03/2023 13:30

I think there are (at least) 3 theories here:

  1. Husband has been more than pulling his weight, and the OP has been treating him badly over the years in some major or minor ways. Husband has tried to raise it, but it hasn't got through. Now he wants to leave.
  2. Husband has been treated well over the years by the OP, and now has an OW and wants to leave. The husband is (consciously or unconsciously) blaming the wife for treating him badly, when in fact she did not do that.
  3. There is no OW, and the husband has been treated fine over the years, but things have been difficult for them both with lots of caring etc responsibilities. Husband resents his share (whether fairly shared out or not) of these responsibilities, and imagines a better life away from the family.
These are really quite different, and the advice you'd give to the OP would really depend on which of these is right. Personally I could reconcile any of them with what the OP has said. I don't think we've got enough information to know which is right.
Whiteroomjoy · 30/03/2023 14:04

Op, gently, AIBU board is the worst possible place for advice . Stop reading and posting

aibu is the go to place for people making sweeping judgements about poster or posters situation. It is a black and white board with no allowances for grey areas that we humans mostly live in.

you are coming on here have ing been told something that is impacting your self esteem. Whilst some posters will support your esteem and tell you your husband must be cheater, or is the bad one, you will not hear this as loudly as you will hear the critical comments - how you didn’t listen, how it’s not sudden, how your the one at fault . You brain is hardwired to perceive threats more strongly than anything else (to do with the amygdala . You will tune into those criticisms and beat yourself up even more. That is not healthy, and can be extremely damaging to your mental health. So just stop using this board to validate how you are feeling

The law around divorce now recognises that marital breakdown is very, very rarely one persons fault. Hence why they’ve dispensed with fault based divorce. Whilst some of your husbands criticism will be justified, he also has a role in this. But no amount of debate on the board will tell you his role, your role etc. this is extremely complex psychologically and a few posts from you, and even some drip feed, will not allow any real insight form anyone responding here, including trained psychologists or psychiatrists on this board.

You are going to need support from either someone professionally or a good close friend who knows you and your situation, to help you process your thoughts and emotions about what has happened. This “slagging off” will cause you some distress and you need to address that so you have good resilience but also so you can function in your life and deal with fallout of what he has told you

as for your marriage, that sounds like he’s already decided to split and there’s not going to be anything, even counselling, that will alter his mind. People mostly, especially if there isn’t someone else involved, take a very long time to tell their spouse that they want to end the marriage. He has, almost certainly, been thinking about this for a long time already and wouldn’t risk telling you if he just wasn’t sure or not totally made his mind up. He’s been raging since 2017, so clearly unhappy but he is one that has decided to continue to be married despite his unhappiness- that’s his decision. Unless you know that this announcement is now a real threat to get you to change- only you can judge that based on whether he has track record for that sort of thing.

you may find it helpful to look at the grief pathway . Whilst he isn’t dying, your marriage breakdown is a loss, and you will be loosing him. It may help you to understand the emotions you are having right now, and those you will feel. For instances your post is full of statements of denial, shock and bargaining - all very normal in early stage of grief. Just understanding this can help you make a bit more sense of the world.

You mustn’t loose sight that you need to, first , love yourself. And that none of us are perfect. We all have imperfections that are part of our character traits, often these are flip sides of our strengths. We also all screw up occasionally, or do things without realising that with hindsight we are horrified we could do that. Being self aware of our flaws and trying to improve of them is one thing, but that is way different from accepting a character annihilation that blames you entirely and paints a picture of you being intrinsically a “bad” person.

what he has done, is one of the strongest forms of control, which is shaming someone. He has shamed you, and you are responding to that incredibly powerful social outcasting. It has literally stopped you in your tracks and questioning everything about yourself.

If you were everything he is saying you’d be a psychopath/sociopath and wouldn’t be posting here, nearly crucifying yourself. It’d be water of ducks back. The fact you are posting, desperately trying to make sense says everything that you are a good person even if you’ve made some errors - as we all do.

GoodChat · 30/03/2023 14:21

@Whiteroomjoy telling her her husband is a cheat isn't going to help her self esteem 🙄

Blondewithredlips · 30/03/2023 14:23

Rafting2022 · 30/03/2023 04:13

Cherchez la femme.

Absolutely this cherchez la femme.

Heartshattered · 30/03/2023 14:28

Whiteroomjoy · 30/03/2023 14:04

Op, gently, AIBU board is the worst possible place for advice . Stop reading and posting

aibu is the go to place for people making sweeping judgements about poster or posters situation. It is a black and white board with no allowances for grey areas that we humans mostly live in.

you are coming on here have ing been told something that is impacting your self esteem. Whilst some posters will support your esteem and tell you your husband must be cheater, or is the bad one, you will not hear this as loudly as you will hear the critical comments - how you didn’t listen, how it’s not sudden, how your the one at fault . You brain is hardwired to perceive threats more strongly than anything else (to do with the amygdala . You will tune into those criticisms and beat yourself up even more. That is not healthy, and can be extremely damaging to your mental health. So just stop using this board to validate how you are feeling

The law around divorce now recognises that marital breakdown is very, very rarely one persons fault. Hence why they’ve dispensed with fault based divorce. Whilst some of your husbands criticism will be justified, he also has a role in this. But no amount of debate on the board will tell you his role, your role etc. this is extremely complex psychologically and a few posts from you, and even some drip feed, will not allow any real insight form anyone responding here, including trained psychologists or psychiatrists on this board.

You are going to need support from either someone professionally or a good close friend who knows you and your situation, to help you process your thoughts and emotions about what has happened. This “slagging off” will cause you some distress and you need to address that so you have good resilience but also so you can function in your life and deal with fallout of what he has told you

as for your marriage, that sounds like he’s already decided to split and there’s not going to be anything, even counselling, that will alter his mind. People mostly, especially if there isn’t someone else involved, take a very long time to tell their spouse that they want to end the marriage. He has, almost certainly, been thinking about this for a long time already and wouldn’t risk telling you if he just wasn’t sure or not totally made his mind up. He’s been raging since 2017, so clearly unhappy but he is one that has decided to continue to be married despite his unhappiness- that’s his decision. Unless you know that this announcement is now a real threat to get you to change- only you can judge that based on whether he has track record for that sort of thing.

you may find it helpful to look at the grief pathway . Whilst he isn’t dying, your marriage breakdown is a loss, and you will be loosing him. It may help you to understand the emotions you are having right now, and those you will feel. For instances your post is full of statements of denial, shock and bargaining - all very normal in early stage of grief. Just understanding this can help you make a bit more sense of the world.

You mustn’t loose sight that you need to, first , love yourself. And that none of us are perfect. We all have imperfections that are part of our character traits, often these are flip sides of our strengths. We also all screw up occasionally, or do things without realising that with hindsight we are horrified we could do that. Being self aware of our flaws and trying to improve of them is one thing, but that is way different from accepting a character annihilation that blames you entirely and paints a picture of you being intrinsically a “bad” person.

what he has done, is one of the strongest forms of control, which is shaming someone. He has shamed you, and you are responding to that incredibly powerful social outcasting. It has literally stopped you in your tracks and questioning everything about yourself.

If you were everything he is saying you’d be a psychopath/sociopath and wouldn’t be posting here, nearly crucifying yourself. It’d be water of ducks back. The fact you are posting, desperately trying to make sense says everything that you are a good person even if you’ve made some errors - as we all do.

Thank you for this kind and thoughtful message.

Thank you to all posters for taking the time to respond. My brain is exploding. I will bow out gracefully now.

Thank you again.

OP posts:
BellePeppa · 30/03/2023 14:31

ALLIS0N · 30/03/2023 09:19

This.

Not this. He’s told her several times over the years her behaviour towards him has not been great.

ConcordeOoter · 30/03/2023 14:42

A lot of men feel loved and respected when their woman allows them to be needed, to be depended on and of value in that sense, without ever explicitly saying that is what is happening.

For such a man if you spend your time scoffing at the idea of them being necessary, or resenting their attempts to make you necessary, or both, it will chip away over time until it is trivial to walk away. Worse than that he may end up a man with no purpose - which is a dangerous contradiction in terms, a thing that cannot wholly exist.

The good news is that if this is your situation, there is a really, really good chance that you can have some frank heart to hearts and build things back over time. More likely than not.

Just don't mention the 'allow' bit, don't break the fourth wall on that one. They like to convince themselves they are necessary because of their intrinsic value, even when they know full well otherwise.

ConcordeOoter · 30/03/2023 14:49

(I mention the above because a good man who is happy in this sense will not give a monkey's about being taken for granted, indeed will comfortable with it)

Xarrie · 30/03/2023 18:10

I hope we're all wrong about another woman. I'd be searching if I were you.

KatysMumJen · 30/03/2023 18:25

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 04:21

No he’s not a really lovely person. Dropping all this on you. Making it all your fault.

I too would lay money on another woman. Big money.

He sat her down and explained to her how her behaviour towards him made him feel. I can’t see how this makes him not a nice person?

He could’ve just ended it without saying anything.
Perhaps counselling will help them to recognise behaviours that are hurtful to one another.

I’ve seen a few women I know being really out of pocket towards their husband’s just recently in public. I don’t even think the women realised either.
The rest of us were cringing with second hand embarrassment.

Either spouse humiliating the other publicly or privately is unacceptable and shows a lack of respect for the other and will eventually foster resentment, which may in turn lead to falling out of love.
It doesn’t signify cheating.

KatysMumJen · 30/03/2023 18:31

GoodChat · 30/03/2023 05:12

He's been trying to tell you for 6 years OP. I'm sorry but I don't agree with the others. I think he's tried to resolve the issues with you and you haven't listened.

You need to really take on board what he says.

Reflect on your behaviours. Does he have a point?

100% this.

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 18:38

As I have now said, several times @KatysMumJen i made that comment before the massive drip feed.

KatysMumJen · 30/03/2023 19:09

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 18:38

As I have now said, several times @KatysMumJen i made that comment before the massive drip feed.

And wrongly I replied to your comment before I had read the entire thread. No shade.

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 20:56

@KatysMumJen I’m so old and unhip I had to google what no shade meant! 😂

KatysMumJen · 30/03/2023 23:10

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2023 20:56

@KatysMumJen I’m so old and unhip I had to google what no shade meant! 😂

😂🙏🏻😄

FrenchGirl1973 · 02/04/2023 01:38

ConcordeOoter · 30/03/2023 14:42

A lot of men feel loved and respected when their woman allows them to be needed, to be depended on and of value in that sense, without ever explicitly saying that is what is happening.

For such a man if you spend your time scoffing at the idea of them being necessary, or resenting their attempts to make you necessary, or both, it will chip away over time until it is trivial to walk away. Worse than that he may end up a man with no purpose - which is a dangerous contradiction in terms, a thing that cannot wholly exist.

The good news is that if this is your situation, there is a really, really good chance that you can have some frank heart to hearts and build things back over time. More likely than not.

Just don't mention the 'allow' bit, don't break the fourth wall on that one. They like to convince themselves they are necessary because of their intrinsic value, even when they know full well otherwise.

Cringing at this. Irrelevant and so 1950’s.

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