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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband and our (f) best friend on holiday

1000 replies

OfMyDog · 06/08/2023 14:10

Sanity check please. Just back from 10 days in Santorini where it was me, DH our DS and also my best friend and her DS of same age. She is on a lower income so we offered for her and her son to join us and we paid for everything. She’s married too but she and her husband aren’t close so he stayed home, so just took her and her son.

She’s mainly my best friend and we’re super close and I trust her implicitly, but my husband also counts her as his best friend. They used to work together years ago. At home they go out alone together all the time, play sport together, meet for coffee and if one is WFH, they meet up at our house or hers for lunch without me. Our sons are in same class at school and it’s all one merged family. Her husband doesn’t seem to care what she does.

In the first week of the holiday they were spending loads of time together and I felt a bit like a spare part sometimes, he chats to her more than me, they joke together, they went to watch the sunset together on the beach alone etc. If we go somewhere, he sits in the middle of us with one of us either side but then he talks to her and ignores me, and if I bring this up he just makes out that it’s his right and that I’m boring him by even mentioning it.

I love her to bits and believe she is fully on my side, but I hate seeing him laughing and joking with her. I trust her and I’ve no physical evidence to doubt that he is doing anything, though he’s alwsys on his phone late at night :/ My family says that I’m being too trusting and that it’s not right. When I’ve tried speaking to him about it and how I feel, he shuts it down and says I’m being ridiculous and turns it into an argument about how it’s my fault and I’m being silly.

One thing that really stood out was a night on holiday where both our DS had fallen asleep in ‘our’ hotel room, so I stayed with them, and DH who’d been texting her all eve went to her hotel room and was gone for ages. When I went over and knocked, they were just sat on sofa and she was in her PJs, I have no reason to think anything happened then or any other time, but maybe I’m also being naiive!?!?

I don’t know what I’m asking other than AINBU to think that they’re just friends and it’s fine? I trust her, and I’ve never seen any evidence of him cheating. It’s just a bit uncomfortable with it sometimes and any of my other friends who hear about it think im a mug. I also hate how he just shuts me down and says I’m being too clingy for even mentioning it. Now we’re back in the UK they’re literally finding every opportunity to go for walks together and again I feel like the spare part, argh!

Please tell me I’m not being ridiculous!

xx

OP posts:
SamW98 · 06/08/2023 18:05

OP please wake up to this woman. She is not your best friend. She’s not a friend in any way shape or form.

No friend would ever behave the way she is.

They are both as bad as each other. Please remove her from your life and speak to a solicitor

krustykittens · 06/08/2023 18:07

The minute someone starts telling you that shitty behaviour IS THEIR FUCKING RIGHT is when you start packing your bags. You are being gaslit, OP, by both of them. Something is going on and in the meantime, you are being treated like the nanny while they enjoy evenings in and sunsets on the beach. Leave them to it and find someone who thinks the world of you.

Mischance · 06/08/2023 18:10

Your family and your friends can see what is afoot - I think you should trust their judgement.

For me, and for many on here, what stands out is your OH's reaction to your concerns. Instead of saying "Oh heck, I can see this does not seem right, I will rein it in. Sorry" he is treating you to the idiot wife response.

The biggest red flag is that your friend's marriage is clearly not in good shape, as her PH's indifference and absence shows.

I am sorry that your OH is being such an idiot.

TeddybearBaby · 06/08/2023 18:11

Sorry, I haven’t read everything, just your replies so this could be a repeat. She’s not your friend imo. I’m putting myself in her shoes and I promise you if my friend came to me upset about her husband and my relationship I’d be backing the f up and making it very clear not pissing off with someone else’s husband to watch the sunset while she babysat my kid. She’s either nasty and a cheater or a narcissist with no empathy whatsoever. You’re being gaslit, sending strength x

Avalokiteśvara · 06/08/2023 18:15

The 'friend's' husband is the key to all of this for me. He probably has the answers that the OP requires.

Silverseas1 · 06/08/2023 18:17

My best friend from school got married and my DH & I remained friends with them both until sadly they divorced. We are still close friends with my school friend, not her ex. I can't imagine my DH meeting her for coffee, chatting on the phone or anything else for that matter. Thankfully my friend has enough respect for me to never contemplate this behaviour.

Annonymiss123 · 06/08/2023 18:17

they went to watch the sunset together on the beach alone

^^This bit really got to me - it just feels so intimate and romantic. If he asked her to go to watch the sunset, she should have said no - as your friend - and stayed behind to mind the kids so you and your husband could spend time together. If it was she asked him, well that shows who’s “friend” she really is - and your DH should have said no.

Comedycook · 06/08/2023 18:18

Avalokiteśvara · 06/08/2023 18:15

The 'friend's' husband is the key to all of this for me. He probably has the answers that the OP requires.

I thought the same. Might not be the wisest move, but I'd be very tempted to talk to him and see what he knows.

Comedycook · 06/08/2023 18:21

And who first suggested she come on this holiday? I agree with a pp, most men wouldn't be thrilled at paying for two extra places on holiday...he obviously didn't mind. Why is that?

MrReflection · 06/08/2023 18:21

To me their apparent openness is just a smoke screen.

I've been through one emotional affair with OH and just gone through a second affair eight years later, which has now pretty much finished us off. I've already discussed divorce and how this will work in practice. The disrespect, hurt, immorality etc etc is just s**t, but it's facing up to it that is so hard.

Both times, it was my gut instinct. When you know somebody so well because you have invested emotional effort into that relationship over many years, you instinctively know when something isn't right.

Your intuition is telling you something is very wrong, which is making you feel uncomfortable. There's your answer. How you deal with it, which you must, is down to you, whatever people say on here.

CandyLeBonBon · 06/08/2023 18:24

Yeah. No. I wouldn't be happy with that either op.

OprahWinfery · 06/08/2023 18:26

How have you let it get this far??

PuffyShirt · 06/08/2023 18:26

I’ll tell you what my best friend would say. She’s a relationship counsellor.

She’d say you’re being absolute mug.

Lweji · 06/08/2023 18:28

"Just to be clear married women aren’t the sole paragons of virtue
most people wouldn’t make a move on their friend partner in plain sight. then obfuscate and gaslight to conceal what’s going on"

Indeed. I meant to say that most married women wouldn´t go off with male friends (married or not) to watch the sunset alone.

Any decent person would insist the married couple did. Or everyone would go.

Janiie · 06/08/2023 18:33

Oh op this is awful to read. You sound so lovely and trusting and the pair of them are just trampling all over you.

I hope you can now see this manipulation is not ok, their behaviour is absolutely shocking and appalling. You and your ds surely deserve so much more, both from your husband and the so called bff . Good luck Flowers.

silverfullmoon · 06/08/2023 18:35

OP, a family friend of ours had a best friend whom she also described in the exact same way as you do, she loved her, was her BFF, she “trusted her implicitly” but she spent increasing amounts of time alone with her husband. Like your family/friends we found this inappropriate and strange but she insisted it was innocent and she trusted her.

Fast forward three years and he left her for this woman. They’d been having an affair for years under the wife’s nose the entire time. Don’t think for one moment she’d never do this to you because that’s also what our family friend thought. She didn’t want to believe her husband and her BFF could betray her in such a way. But they did.

Don’t be her. Open your eyes.

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 06/08/2023 18:35

Spacemoon · 06/08/2023 14:41

Your friend thought it was ok to go and watch the sunset with YOUR husband whilst you stayed and watched her kid, on a holiday you paid for? She's just as bad as he is! Please stop making excuses for her! They are both taking you for a complete mug! Even if there's nothing physical there (doubtful) it sounds very much like they are having an emotional affair, in plain sight and gaslighting you in the process.

Agree with this.

Also "Have I spoken to her about how I feel - yes. She is always respectful to me but I don’t think she gets how much he hurts me. "
Sorry, you've told her exactly how much it he hurts you and instead of shutting it down, like a friend would, she's still continuing to encourage his behaviour. She literally doesn't care about you at all and is now demonstrating this by going out to have walks a deux with him in the UK.
WTF?
No excuse of being on holiday.

He's absolutely gaslighting you. Sorry OP

Jujubes5 · 06/08/2023 18:35

If I was you I'd end the 'friendship' and tell her not to contact you.
Inform DH he is too friendly with her and you are contacting a solicitor. I can't see what else you can do because he thinks you're the bad guy. So how would insisting he didn't see her or similar work, I think he'd ignore it.
My best friends are the people I vent to about DH - do you really vent to her about your DH and his attitude and behaviour towards her?

Lucyintheskywithadiamond · 06/08/2023 18:37

A true friend would not conduct themself in this way. She is a CF, she knows what she is doing. As for you husband, isn’t he the lucky one, having 2 women he can pick and choose from. Your fiends husband might have check out of their relationship because if this and can see the writing on the wall. Bin the pair of them.

Purplecatshopaholic · 06/08/2023 18:38

Hoppinggreen · 06/08/2023 14:22

Wake up woman
Stop trying to be a cool wife and realise that at the very minimum the pair of them are treating you with a total lack of respect

Yup, this. Sorry op. This isn’t right and they both know it. If it’s not actually physical it’s clearly emotional…

Livelovebehappy · 06/08/2023 18:40

Can’t believe you’ve encouraged this. Trust no-one. You’ve been practically pushing them together, and believe me, best friend or not, if she is unhappy at home, and she enjoys spending time with your dh, and if he enjoys her company too, this has the potential to develop into an affair. And you’re enabling it………

RandomForest · 06/08/2023 18:43

Have the children not noticed, they usually are quite perceptive even if they are boys.

porridgeisbae · 06/08/2023 18:50

You're not wrong OP, they shouldn't be doing those things like sunset etc.

And it does seem like something shady might be going on, with how much he's on his phone.

CandyLeBonBon · 06/08/2023 18:51

Livelovebehappy · 06/08/2023 18:40

Can’t believe you’ve encouraged this. Trust no-one. You’ve been practically pushing them together, and believe me, best friend or not, if she is unhappy at home, and she enjoys spending time with your dh, and if he enjoys her company too, this has the potential to develop into an affair. And you’re enabling it………

What? You're actually blaming the op here?

OfMyDog · 06/08/2023 18:52

There’s been so many red flags on his side, so many. And a lot of disrespect. The children haven’t ever mentioned it but we’ve got in a habit of co-parenting between the 3 of us and they just seem to accept it. There’s a lot to think about in this. I don’t have any answers on my way forward yet but it’s given me a lot to consider, and none of it is new. Harem wife, hahaha! Sad but probably true.

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