Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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:
hygieneversusplanet · 17/08/2023 11:55

Of course you have a right to be upset. You are not being unreasonable at all. You agreed to let this woman stay with your boyfriend out of kindness and trust, but he has not been respectful of your feelings or boundaries. He has been spending more time and attention on her than on you, and he has not been honest or considerate with you. He should have asked you how you felt about him taking her out to the park, or texting her constantly, or letting her use an ovulation stick in his bathroom. He should have prioritised your relationship and your needs, not hers. You are his girlfriend, not her.

samqueens · 17/08/2023 11:55

OP - you sound very sweet and totally normal and you don’t have to apologise for or justify your feelings, we can none of us help how we feel. A lot of people much older and more experienced than you would be rattled by the situation, and it does seem a bit odd. Main issue is your boyfriend’s response to the whole thing really and I very much second what PP said about walking away…

When he says “I was worried this might happen” in the context I interpret this as: he asked your permission for her to stay as a show of being a great guy and caring about your feelings. But in all likelihood without giving you a clear picture of the intent of the holiday (for her to hang out with him, rather than just providing a crash pad for her). He knew this had the potential to upset you but didn’t really raise that or talk it through. You said yes, so now he feels absolved of responsibility towards you on this issue. When you then get upset his response turns that onto you and makes you feel bad. He could, for instance, have said “I’m sorry you feel anxious about it - you don’t have anything to be concerned about”, or “It’s more intense than I’d anticipated as well, I was worried she might be coming over to see me more than sightsee”. But instead he has purposely made you feel bad about something which he (with more access to the context of their relationship) could have predicted, but chose to ignore because he wanted to do what he wanted while still feeling good about himself. This is 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

Sometimes in relationships and life our feelings change, sometimes something that seems a good idea turns out not to be. When we are able to acknowledge that and discuss it there’s often a solution to be found - perhaps she moves to a hotel, perhaps you all spend some time together so you have a better sense of her and their relationship, perhaps he just reassured you and acknowledges your feelings. All he has done is moved her to a hotel and had a go at you, in a way that is actually quite manipulative.

(All this is regardless of her behaviour - let’s just agree that you and he see her quite differently, and her sudden holiday seems a bit odd for someone with 5 children).

What I’m trying to point out is that the attitude he is displaying is essentially very selfish and this is a MASSIVE red flag. Having spent more years than I care to mention being docked about by men like this - and having discovered to my detriment where this unremarkable but nonetheless selfish attitude can lead when taken to extremes - I can only advise you to follow Maya Angelou’s wise advice:

“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”

ie. Walk away - he isn’t capable of emotional maturity or putting someone else’s needs above his own.

hygieneversusplanet · 17/08/2023 11:57

He is very stubborn, he will absolutely not text or call me if I don't do it first so it has to be me

How about you don't text him either? That's what I would be tempted to do. Just let things drop right there.

xyz111 · 17/08/2023 11:57

Mumof4plusbonus · 17/08/2023 11:50

Why didn’t you meet her?

This!!! I would totally want to meet her. Your spidey sense would tell you if there's anything to worry about.
I have a male friend (I'm female) who I used to work with, and we got on like a house on fire!! We could talk for hours, but we 100% did not fancy each other. A shame really! But man and woman can be good friends and not want to sleep with each other. But the ovulation test thing is just weird. I don't understand why she would need to do it unless she wanted to make sure she wouldn't get pregnant? Or she could have done it out of spite to piss you off as "you" made her go to a hotel?

knobheed99 · 17/08/2023 11:58

He met a woman on Instagram, sparked up a friendship with him, they speak every day and night while I'm at uni. And now she's leaving ovulation sticks in his bin and continuing to text him all day when she knows we are together after not seeing each other all week and trying to sort things out. What is so important that she can't just leave him alone for a day? I just feel like she's taking the piss out of me

They are both taking the piss.
If it quacks like a duck....

littleboymama · 17/08/2023 11:58

OP this happened to me when I was in my early 20’s. I had a boyfriend (25) who used to message a woman the same age as myself despite never meeting her they would message day and night. I trusted him as he never gave me a reason not too.

After being with him for around 6 months I started staying at his some nights and he would drop me off to work in the morning. I started to notice that every single morning I stayed he would message this woman, first thing he did. Literally, even if I was in the bed. Something felt off and when I mentioned it he just said she was going through a rough time and she messages over night when he’s asleep. I felt uncomfortable but he stopped. We had an argument because when he got his new job he wanted, he called her first instead of me.

She came down to visit and stayed at his place, they were going out for meals together, cinema. It just felt really odd to me and I ended things.

A couple of weeks later they got together.

I would say trust your gut really, he did ask if it was OK for her to stay and you said yes so I guess you can’t then turn it around and moan at him but at the same time something just seems so off to me about this whole situation and if it was me I think it would be a bit too weird.

Littlemissalone · 17/08/2023 12:01

I would not be happy about this. I think you can do better, OP. The whole situation is weird.

RaininSummer · 17/08/2023 12:02

My first though that it's odd for her to come to the UK to visit Manchester alone with seemingly no plans and so now your chap is entertaining her. I wouldn't be happy with that.

Moroccanqueen · 17/08/2023 12:02

I mean it does look suspicious but it’s important to look at the bigger picture.

does she know he has a girlfriend? Is he asserting certain boundaries with her to keep it platonic? I mean I think having her stay at his is abit too much unless you were staying there also. For me that would be a line crossed.

is he open with his messages that he sends her or is he quite secretive and dismissive?

Lemondrizzleandacuppa · 17/08/2023 12:03

I think you can do so much better than this arty, stubborn, man-bun idiot. Whether he is cheating with this woman or not, he showed a lack of consideration towards you by spending a whole week with this woman and expecting you to be cool with it. Don’t bother to try to sort things out with him, just tell him the relationship is over.

MarkWithaC · 17/08/2023 12:04

I think this is weird. Been trying to put my finger on why – I have also been on trips alone, stayed with male friends etc with no nefarious intentions or outcomes – and concluded that it's weird because they only 'know' each other online (he could have been catfishing for all she knows), and because surely if you came all the way from the US you'd use the city/friend's flat as a base and go and see all the wonderful things in the area, not just hang out in a park with the person you were staying with.

Zoreos · 17/08/2023 12:04

I would just like to commend you for how mature you are for how young you are, it’s really a breath of fresh air to see. YANBU, as others have said nothing adds up her end and I think your boyfriend is both extremely naive and selfish. Putting aside what others have said and you already know, he’s 28 and won’t call/ text you if you don’t first?! Honestly, that alone would make me bin him off pronto - what an immature idiot. I actually have the ick for you. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It seems like a very one sided relationship from your point of view. I wonder how he would react if the situation was the other way around and you had some random American man come to stay at yours to “sightsee” the four walls of your flat for the duration of his stay? The fact he’s even asked this of you is a complete disregard for your feelings; she’s a complete stranger, they’re not even life long friends or have even met before. She’s also seriously overstepping boundary-wise and that’s a shocking level of disrespect in itself which he is allowing. You’re clearly a nice, considerate individual and you deserve better than to be treated like you are IMO.

Dotjones · 17/08/2023 12:06

Personally I think you're being unfair given that it's his home and you agreed to it. You can feel upset but he asked you if it was ok and you said yes.

Would you feel as uncomfortable if the friend had been male and he'd been showing him around town? Or you'd gone into the bathroom and found the male guest had left a razor covered in pubic hairs in the bin?

The fact that you're so uncomfortable because it's a woman suggests you simply don't trust your boyfriend. So either you should end the relationship or you both need to be open and discuss why you have felt like you do, and why what you felt was different to what you imagined it would be.

While it's a bit grim to put a stick she's pissed on into an open bin some people - a lot of people really - wouldn't see it as particularly unusual. Some people put condoms and tampons in their bathroom bin. Some people don't even flush wetwipes! What I take from this is that you have higher standards than this woman. You see a used ovulation stick as being a very intimate object and she views it as a piece of personal hygiene equipment like a toothbrush that has come to the end of its useful life. Doesn't mean either of you are right or wrong, just different.

It's totally irrelevant and I'm not expecting you to answer this here, but was the ovulation stick actually used? Maybe she took it out and saw it looked like there was damage or something and just tossed it in the bin unused? Then redid it with a fresh one which she discarded properly.

Blanketpolicy · 17/08/2023 12:06

2 years in you either trust him or don't. Her intentions are irrelevant, she can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do.

If your gut is telling you you don't, then 2 years in, it is not worth continuing the relationship.

If you do trust him YABU to expect him not to socialise with a friend visiting from abroad just because they are the opposite sex.

I would be extremely offended if dh told me I couldn't socialise, or he wanted to control how I socialised with my male friends. It would be a deal breaker if he didn't trust me.

Treaclemine · 17/08/2023 12:06

A few years ago, the time of the Atlanta Olympics, there was a rash of American women seeking British men. I know of four. One snared my BiL and was incredibly rude to my sister, which behaviour continues, with her behaving as if she is my grand niece's grandmother, and cutting my sister out. One got my colleague's husband (You're not to sleep with him, he's mine now). One was targeting an ex-colleague's SoniL, I don't know the outcome. One was targeting my best friend, but failed.
I thought they all thought they were getting Hugh Grant. Don't trust her. Intrude on your friend's time with her. Offer her treats and be very nice to her, take her to things that don't include him. He probably got into this by being nice and he's fallen to a predator. If she's like the ones I know of.

Whenthepartysover · 17/08/2023 12:07

I was supposed to meet her! That was part of the plan. When he asked me I agreed to it and said I would like to meet her too though. She was meant to be coming on Friday so that I could see her the weekend before going to uni but she changed her plans and came Sunday night instead.

I could've met her the weekend after but with everything that went on, she went off to a hotel and told my boyfriend she would find something else to do while me and him tried to sort things out and have a nice weekend together (but she proceeded to text him constantly the whole time) now she is leaving on Saturday morning so I won't get a chance as I'm back at uni. In hindsight I really shouldve said let's cancel our plans because I want to meet her, but at the time I was just too upset and confused with the situation and also slightly embarrassed because I didn't know if I was overreacting

OP posts:
Alltheparmesanplease · 17/08/2023 12:07

I may be cynical but this is my two cents...

  1. They have been having an emotional affair. I don't believe that two people texting constantly for 6 months are 'just friends'.
  2. She came to Manchester purely to meet your boyfriend. I can't imagine Manchester is that appealing to Americans. Pp may be correct where they suggested she was 'testing the water' to see what their life would be like together.
  3. The ovulation stick is very weird. I can only assume she's either timing her cycle so that she can have sex with your boyfriend without getting pregnant or the opposite where she could be planning for your boyfriend to impregnate her (perhaps for a Visa). Also, I agree with pp that this may have been planted to cause trouble.
  4. You two not talking at the minute is playing right into both of their hands. They can have a lovely few days together without you hassling them and no doubt he'll come crawling back when she's gone.

P.s. I 100% call bullshit on all the posters saying that they would be totally fine with all of this and accusing you of being overly suspicious.

mymeatballsmymeatballs · 17/08/2023 12:09

Maybe I'm very cynical and untrustworthy but..

She's in an unhappy marriage
They've been talking every day for the last 6 months
She left her 5 kids to come to the UK and "see" Manchester
Tracks her ovulation while staying with your boyfriend
They're texting all day long when you're with him

It's all bullshit. They're shagging and she tracked her ovulation to make sure she wasn't currently ovulating so they could have unprotected sex. He was "confused" when you found it because he obviously doesn't want you to find out he's cheating.

Leave the shithead and get tested for STD's.

Sandra1984 · 17/08/2023 12:11

Sorry for playing detective but this woman sounds like bad news and stuff doesn't add up. She has five young kids but is backpacking alone around Europe? She has befriended your BF on the internet to the point she's staying at his? that's a lot of free time for a mother of five. Why is she using an ovulation stick while at your BF house? and why is she throwing it for "everyone" to see on his waste bin? An ovulation stick is a bit like a pregnancy stick or a tampon, not something you just throw for everyone to see. if she's not fucking your boyfriend but is fucking someone else throwing the stick in a visible rubbish bin is just gross and unhygienic. She already had five children so is she having sex unprotected with someone else while she travels through Europe? Sounds a bit reckless.

I think you're entitled to be very annoyed at the whole thing, I don't blame you as it sounds dodgy, plus your instagram poet BF sounds pretty naive by the way. I would sit with him and have a long chat once all this is over, ask him about her, about their relationship, about the godamn stick and try to get a more accurate picture of the situation before you make decisions about your relationship.

Nandocushion · 17/08/2023 12:12

RoadSignFool · 17/08/2023 10:35

She left her 5 kids and flew to the UK “Just to see Manchester”.

What a load of shite (unless she is America’s Biggest Corrie Fan?).

Sorry OP, it’s possible that your BF is naive or gullible and didn’t realise her intentions but it’s clear as day that she wants to get into his pants.

OP you are NOT in the wrong. This is deeply dodgy. She sounds like a weirdo - many massively online people are, and believe me they take their online infatuations very seriously. I can't say whether your BF is trustworthy or not, but she doesn't have good intentions and you are right to be upset.

cornflower21 · 17/08/2023 12:14

ballsdeep · 17/08/2023 10:53

I would think she tracked her ovulation because she shagged your boyfriend without protection and was worrying about pregnancy!

Ha, ha I think she did track her ovulation, but wasn't scared of unwanted pregnancy but opposite she planned to get pregnant by him asap.
Run over the hills op, don't be a part of this shit show, it won't end up good.

egowise · 17/08/2023 12:14

I wouldn't be happy with this tbh.

The ovulation stick thing is just weird. Have you mentioned this to bf?

OhComeOnFFS · 17/08/2023 12:16

It's totally irrelevant and I'm not expecting you to answer this here, but was the ovulation stick actually used? Maybe she took it out and saw it looked like there was damage or something and just tossed it in the bin unused? Then redid it with a fresh one which she discarded properly.

This doesn't make any sense at all - you have twisted yourself in knots here.

TopOfTheCliff · 17/08/2023 12:17

Lentilweaver · 17/08/2023 11:52

Oh he writes poetry and plays the guitar AND has a man-bun? Does he wear a humonguous fur coat like Ken in Barbie? Bin him. The poetry itself would do it for me.

😂 I’ve got such a great mental picture of him now. Seriously OP you have said you are back at Uni ( already?) having lectures and not concentrating on your course. You said if you don’t contact him he won’t contact you. How about stopping making all the effort in this relationship and concentrating on yourself and your course for a week or two? If he cares about you it will be a wake up call and if he doesn’t then you have your answer. Put yourself first!

OhComeOnFFS · 17/08/2023 12:18

If I wanted to get pregnant by someone within a short space of time, I'd use an ovulation stick.

If I didn't want to get pregnant, I'd make sure a condom was used.

I think this woman is catfishing your boyfriend, OP. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the next news was that she was pregnant. (And didn't have five children.)