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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Woman from America staying at my boyfriends place

649 replies

Whenthepartysover · 17/08/2023 10:01

Me and my boyfriend have been together two years. I am 23 and he is 27. I am currently at uni in Leeds but I go to his at the weekends in Manchester.

He is a bit of an artsy type, he is a graphic designer and a freelance photographer. He writes poetry and has an Instagram account where he uploads all of his poems and short videos of spoken word. It's a bit of a community and he speaks to lots of people on the platform. He has been speaking to this woman now for a while. I didn't really have a problem with it because she lives in America and is married with 5 children. Plus I trust my boyfriend and try to be rational about things.

She told him she was taking a trip to the UK alone and he asked me if I would mind if she stayed with him so that she could save on accommodation and also have someone there who she knows and trusts. I said it was ok. I don't know why I said this.. I honestly felt ok about it at the time.

All the plans were made and he picked her up from the airport on a Sunday evening and I went back to uni. On Monday I was sat in my uni room alone studying and I text him to ask what he was up to. He said he had taken 'Claire' to the park and they were lay around on the grass. I immediately felt a rush of emotion imagining him strolling through the park with this woman. I couldn't control it I got very upset. I think it was because I was just sat there alone and he was with another woman. I trusted that he wouldn't do anything bad or disrespectful but I suddenly just felt very uncomfortable and like I was a bit of a mug. I tried not to tell him how I felt because what's done is done, she's here now. Nothing I can do. I just didn't realise that he would be out doing things with her. I thought he was just providing her a spare room to stay.

I did end up telling him how upset I was and he said "I did worry that this would happen". We ended up having an argument and I know that I am the one being unreasonable here. I said something was ok and then changed my mind once it happened. That's not his fault. I said I'd prefer it if he let her get on with things on her own. He was saying that it's unfair as she is in an unfamiliar country on her own and doesn't want to abandon her, and his mum agrees. Anyway she ended up staying in a hotel the next night.

It came to the weekend and I went to his. At this point she was in a hotel. I said I wanted to spend the weekend doing nice things together after our argument and just try to sort it out. I got to his to find an ovulation stick in his bathroom bin. Is it just me or is that weird? I don't know what is happening in her life. She may be struggling with conceiving and is being very strict with tracking. She already has 5 children though but that's none of my business. I just find it a bit rude to take an ovulation test and put it in the bin that's wide open. I would've wrapped it up and chucked it in the outside bin if I was in someone else's house. The bin doesn't have a lid. It's one of those bins you'd have in your bedroom but in the bathroom (he's a guy so never really had anything to put in it). I was a bit annoyed about it because I felt like she was taking the piss. But I tried to move past it and have a nice weekend. However he was just on his phone constantly replying to her texts while we were out. We had another argument and I have gone home to my mum's and we haven't spoken since.

I don't know where to go from here. I know this is my fault. But I really need some outside perspective on this. How would you feel? Do I even have a right to be upset? Do we just wait for her to go back home and then try and move past it or is it the end of the relationship? I'm trying to think logically and rationally without heightened feelings of jealousy in the way. But it's hard.

OP posts:
QueenBitch666 · 17/08/2023 23:46

They're shagging. Get rid of Knob Knot. And get an STI check

oakleaffy · 17/08/2023 23:48

Whenthepartysover · 17/08/2023 11:43

@PaminaMozart he does play guitar as well hahahaha I didn't expect to get a laugh out of posting this but it has made me feel a little bit better. Even though it seems like it's probably the end of the relationship tbh

Not a guitar as well! 🤣
Oh OP you really have landed a twat
He reminds me of this song- in fact, this song could be written by him about himself.

Being a Dickhead's Cool

Written & Created by Reuben Dangoor & Raf RileyVideo produced by Reuben Dangoor @ReubendangermanMusic produced by Raf Riley @TheRealRafRileyfor all your crea...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmmYMwFj1I

GarlicGrace · 17/08/2023 23:50

Have we had the mandatory haiku yet?

^Sunshine warms green grass
Two artists talk, lazily;
Girlfriend forgotten!^

GarlicGrace · 17/08/2023 23:52

@oakleaffy 🤣🤣🤣

MysteryBelle · 18/08/2023 00:19

ConstitutionHill · 17/08/2023 22:01

She thinks she's Sylvia Plath to his Ted Hughes. You've nailed it there.

OP. Your BF is so far up his own arse, it's so disrespectful to you and he's pretending it's all so cool.

Haha this is excellent!

determinedtomakethiswork · 18/08/2023 00:34

Her husband might not care about her, but if she goes away for a week, then surely he is left with those five children, if they even exist.

SquirrelSoShiny · 18/08/2023 01:07

Screamingabdabz · 17/08/2023 10:25

Ahh op. He’s taking the piss. I’d walk away and wish him well. You’re young - don’t waste your life being messed about like this by some man-bun dick.

This x 1000

SquirrelSoShiny · 18/08/2023 01:09

Cantrushart · 17/08/2023 11:48

They've been living a big online fantasy life together and she's coming over to test the waters irl. Either he is complicit or he's totally naive. The fact that he seemed so worried about your reaction and suspected that you wouldn't be OK with it suggests that he is not entirely innocent. I think that the ovulation stick was territory marking, or at least designed to cause trouble. What kind of adult uses his mum's opinion to support his actions? Is he 12?

And this

LuciaPillson · 18/08/2023 01:19

Impressed with how much poetry this thread has spawned - may I?

clears throat

American bird with 5 (spurious?) kids
Avers her relationship is on the skids,
So comes to see ManBunDick in the UK,
"I've purchased my ticket, now where shall I stay?"
Yanketta and ManBun's Mancunian idyll
Has made OP think they are taking the piddle.
They've texted all night and they've texted all day,
So have they or have they not had it away?
She's peed on a stick which she's left in the bin
But has she said "I thought you said she was thin"?*

*Bridget Jones reference 😁

Lucy377 · 18/08/2023 01:20

She lives in the USA, has 5 kids.
It's not easy to get a holiday on your own when you have 5 kids.
She has the opportunity to come on a trip all the way to the UK and chooses to spend 5 days in Manchester of all places.

GarlicGrace · 18/08/2023 01:37

Yanketta and ManBun's Mancunian idyll

@LuciaPillson 🤣🤣👏🏻

PaminaMozart · 18/08/2023 02:38

Amongst all the "did this really happen? 😱" threads on MN, this one does kind of stand out...

AliceOlive · 18/08/2023 02:43

PaminaMozart · 18/08/2023 02:38

Amongst all the "did this really happen? 😱" threads on MN, this one does kind of stand out...

I probably would have thought the same but I know of a very similar situation. It’s just so much easier to meet people online than ever.

StartupRepair · 18/08/2023 03:48

The real unsung hero of the story is Manchester. Woman abandons 5 children and crosses the world for a glimpse of this fabled city.

momonpurpose · 18/08/2023 03:56

GreenIsTheMagicColour · 17/08/2023 10:37

Don't women use ovulation sticks as a method of contraception? I.e. we're fine to shag unprotected because I'm not ovulating.

I doubt she was tracking her cycle for when she gets back to her husband. What would be the point in that?

And, come on, what mother-of-5 would ditch her kids to fly across the world to visit Manchester and meet a "friend" from the internet?!

I'm not buying any of it and think you are right to be suspicious.

This!

readingismycardio · 18/08/2023 04:12

Herejusttocomment · 17/08/2023 10:23

I find it odd that she has 5 children and she's taking a trip to a completely different country, flight that lasts at least 8 hours with no actual plans or purpose.

Maybe other people are different but if I were to leave DC for an international trip it would be for a very good reason like family or trip with a friend, accommodation and itinerary all sorted in advance.

She came to the UK and instead of sightseeing (although not sure how much sightseeing there is to do in Manchester) she's spending her time going to parks with him. This tells me she came over to spend time with him and meet him face to face. There could be nothing wrong with that, could be completely platonic, but it doesn't seem that was made clear to you, which is deceitful. That's what my main issue would be.

Tbh, I don't quite know what to make of the ovulation test, are they planning on making a baby or something? 🤷🏼‍♀️

I came here to say exactly this, but you phrased exactly as it was in my mind! so.. this with bells on!

MsDogLady · 18/08/2023 06:30

@Whenthepartysover, AmericanWoman sees your BF as her Soulmate, and lying in the grass with him must have been her Nirvana.

She flew over specifically to be with him. He knew this and facilitated it, as he is invested in the intense ego massages that she provides him. He duped you by misrepresenting her travel plans and reason for visiting.

They’ve bonded over her worship and their common interests during their constant contact of 6 months, particularly during the ‘long, deep conversations in the night,’ when she shared details of her unhappy marriage and he played her KISA.

So far they’ve been engaged in an emotional affair, but I would assume it’s now become physical. Her planting the ovulation stick speaks volumes.

@Whenthepartysover, his treatment of you has been exceedingly disrespectful and manipulative: building an illicit intimate cyber relationship with AmericanWoman; colluding with her to be together for a week; deceiving you initially; creating distance via his anger and blame-shifting when you voiced your reasonable concerns; and prioritizing AmericanWoman during your weekend. Even before this, his egocentrism and self-absorption have caused you to grieve for the earlier version of your relationship.

Yes, breaking up would be gutting, but the alternative is being reduced by a perpetually self-serving man who seeks and thrives on the adoration of multiple women. Don’t you deserve much, much better?

littlebopeepp234 · 18/08/2023 07:20

Whenthepartysover · 17/08/2023 11:34

Also it's really funny because he does have long hair that he sometimes puts in a bun 😂

Ah the long haired artsy/ poetic bun man who also plays a guitar! Yep many of us have been a victim of these types! Bonus points for if he has a goatee too! 🤣
I see plenty of them on dating apps and always swipe left! 🤣 Not sure what it is about them but the ones I’ve encountered are generally selfish and self centered with narcissistic tendencies! Obviously cannot speak for all of them but I have come across a fair few who have been like this.

CandyLeBonBon · 18/08/2023 07:26

MsDogLady · 18/08/2023 06:30

@Whenthepartysover, AmericanWoman sees your BF as her Soulmate, and lying in the grass with him must have been her Nirvana.

She flew over specifically to be with him. He knew this and facilitated it, as he is invested in the intense ego massages that she provides him. He duped you by misrepresenting her travel plans and reason for visiting.

They’ve bonded over her worship and their common interests during their constant contact of 6 months, particularly during the ‘long, deep conversations in the night,’ when she shared details of her unhappy marriage and he played her KISA.

So far they’ve been engaged in an emotional affair, but I would assume it’s now become physical. Her planting the ovulation stick speaks volumes.

@Whenthepartysover, his treatment of you has been exceedingly disrespectful and manipulative: building an illicit intimate cyber relationship with AmericanWoman; colluding with her to be together for a week; deceiving you initially; creating distance via his anger and blame-shifting when you voiced your reasonable concerns; and prioritizing AmericanWoman during your weekend. Even before this, his egocentrism and self-absorption have caused you to grieve for the earlier version of your relationship.

Yes, breaking up would be gutting, but the alternative is being reduced by a perpetually self-serving man who seeks and thrives on the adoration of multiple women. Don’t you deserve much, much better?

Excellent summary!

determinedtomakethiswork · 18/08/2023 07:58

I've met many men like this as well, and one thing they all have in common is they cannot resist female attention. You deserve so much better. See this as an opportunity to live your life another way rather a loss.

HowlingAtTheM00n · 18/08/2023 11:00

@momonpurpose I've never heard of anyone using an opk to prevent pregnancy. How would that even make sense ? You can get pregnant in the 5 days leading upto it

HowlingAtTheM00n · 18/08/2023 11:03

@determinedtomakethiswork many men like this.. I think you mean men in general. I have a very large circle of male friends and theres a slim minority that would brush off another females advances

MarkWithaC · 18/08/2023 11:05

She 100% thinks she's Sylvia Plath to his Ted Hughes.
And didn't THAT work out well for Sylvia...

applesandmares · 18/08/2023 11:07

@HowlingAtTheM00n if you track your cycles consistently over the months using OPKs and BBT you will get an idea of when you tend to ovulate so from that you can work out your fertile periods (not exactly of course as it can change, but it will give you a general idea!)

HowDoYouSolveAProblemLikeMariaa · 18/08/2023 11:09

applesandmares · 18/08/2023 11:07

@HowlingAtTheM00n if you track your cycles consistently over the months using OPKs and BBT you will get an idea of when you tend to ovulate so from that you can work out your fertile periods (not exactly of course as it can change, but it will give you a general idea!)

Well the five kids aren't a ringing endorsement for this contraception method.
If they exist, obviously.

America is very clearly trying to get pregnant. I wonder if man bun knows, or is he too self absorbed to realise.

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