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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be annoyed at my husband (but also sympathetic to his troubles)

111 replies

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 09:36

My husband is driving me mad because he acts like every little task is some major effort. We split the work of doing bills and household admin pretty equally. I do almost all the cooking and housework and he does the garden which is small.

He needs to pay the factors bill for landscaping, you get 14 days to pay, the account is in his name but getting him to just do it is like pulling teeth, it would take 5 minutes to do and then we could file the paperwork away but he will leave it till the last minute because he just wants to relax and not deal with it right now.

He has to write and deliver a card to his aunt for her birthday which is already past. I bought the card and again it is left lying out for ages because it is too much hassle for him to write it out and take it round to her (she lives just a couple of streets away from us and would be happy with a 5 minute chat). I end up having to prompt him repeatedly to do things like this or pay bills, contact the bank, solicitors and so on and in the end I just end up feeling like a nag.

Our house is quite small, it doesn't get really messy but even a little mess looks worse in a small space. I do the housework and the tidying but there are times like very busy weeks where I am not home much or ill where the house gets messy, he then will make a comment about the house needing sorting, which I do (I hate a messy home to) but then he'll get home and just leave his shoes and back in the porch like a school boy, dump his wallet, works pass, keys, phone, watch etc all over various surfaces, opens his mail and leave it lying out and would do for days basically he just doesn't do anything to help maintain the basic tidiness of the home. If I ask him to put his shoes and bag away he moans "But I'm just in and need to relax". He has various drawers downstairs and in the bedroom where his stuff lives and for his post but if I put his stuff away into its designated home next thing he will be moaning that he can't find anything if he looks for something and it doesn't jump right up in his face it isn't there even if it is and I find it in a second.

If he has a job to do in the house say cooking breakfast or doing the garden he still seems to need my assistance most of the time, i.e. to get the cups ready for tea, to hold open the roll while he puts the bacon in them, to fetch and hand him the things he needs. While if I have a job I just have to get on with it myself which I do!

His job is more stressful than mine so I do try to cut him some slack and make it easier for him but he won't look for a new job ( we can afford for him to take a pay cut) with less stress. He does have some issue with his health but he won't go to the doctor, it takes so much prodding and pushing to get him to go. His GP used to let patients spouses make appointments for them but now they say it has to be the patient themselves who call so it is even harder to get him to go now. He does have elderly parents who require more support now and that is fine but sometimes they are getting him round to do jobs just to see him which I totally get but it is an extra strain on him and one he feels he can't say no to, and once you are there his mum really hates to see any visitor go. However he also has brothers and sisters who are either often there or could do a bit more but it is up to him to discuss all this with his siblings and to have some boundaries with his parents if he feels it is too much for him.

He won't make a decision about what to watch, where to go, what to eat so I end up choosing and then if he doesn't like it he complains. I got a big bonus at work this year and wanted to take us on holiday but he kept putting me off and now it will be next year as he just wouldn't commit to anything. He wants to just lie on the sofa after work and at the weekend which I get but at least we could watch something interesting but he seems to just want to watch reruns of old comedy stuff and sport. He spends a lot more time watching TV than I do so he can watch this stuff is he wants when I am not there and I never complain about him watching sporting events that are very important to him.

I just feel so fed up with it at times like he is just sleepwalking though life and I am little more than his keeper as he doesn't show me much affection these days although I try to show it to him. Other times I do feel for him because his job is crap and stressful but only he can make a decision about that. I do love him, we still have a laugh but life also feels very flat these days. Things are worse since he got promoted at work a couple of years ago.

None of this is ruining out marriage, yet but I feel like it is the long term failure to resolve such issues that does end up ruining marriages and lives. We are getting older and I've had relatives die in their 40's and 50's and that slipping into middle aged apathy isn't a given and that we could still be enjoying our lives together.

Am I being unreasonable to be annoyed at him for all the above and for thinking this is a problem that needs fixing?

OP posts:
HerAvatar · 21/08/2023 15:02

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 14:46

@theresastormcoming Yeah I think he just wants to know that for every bit of work he is doing I am working or helping too. I've noticed that if a job falls into my remit then to him it isn't a real job at all while everything he does is a proper job that requires assistance. He can get quite annoyed if he thinks I am shirking on helping him do something if I walk away to try and get on with another job rather than just stand about waiting for him to need me. He always says to finish one job first but that just means I end up still working away at my jobs after he has done all of his

That's awful OP, how/why are you putting up with that?!!

BrainWontWorkAnymore · 21/08/2023 15:06

Put all his stuff that he leaves out into a bin bag. Dump the bin bag in various locations including your bedroom, bathroom floor back door etc. Don't help with anything food related. I'd be tempted to only cook for yourself unless he is at least prepared to say thank you. Have you family or friends you can stay with for a while? Shock him. I'd also leave the article about 'she left me over an empty cup". In other words treat him like a stroppy teenager

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:07

@HerAvatar I don't know because sometimes I think well he probably does need a hand and others because I hate pissing him off because he sulks for so long.

OP posts:
brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:11

@BrainWontWorkAnymore Well it is an idea, he has currently lost something and is going nuts about it but I haven't touched it and he won't put things back where they belong so perhaps that will teach him.

I like to cook for him but it is depressing when he doesn't say thanks. Worst of all is when I take him lunch or a snack in the living room and he just takes it off me, no thanks and not even looking at me his eyes fixed on the TV.

I think when we were first living together he really appreciated what I did but it is like now he can't see it anymore and just takes it all for granted.

OP posts:
OhcantthInkofaname · 21/08/2023 15:11

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:01

@OhcantthInkofaname No he is good at his job.

But he can't make a sandwich at home! Let him be pissed off.

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:13

@BrainWontWorkAnymore I have explained to him that I appreciate a thanks and I always thank him but he says he wasn't brought up like that and he doesn't like how in my family we go around thanking each other for cups of tea and food because it seems to false to him and that we should just be relaxed and not have to worry about all that.

OP posts:
Mojoj · 21/08/2023 15:21

Remind yourself you're his partner, not his mammy or his carer. Women work stressful jobs all the time, bring up kids and run households, without reverting to this infantile behaviour.

PickAChew · 21/08/2023 15:27

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:01

@OhcantthInkofaname No he is good at his job.

So you have a classic case of weaponised incompetence, then.

It absolutely does kill marriages.

PickAChew · 21/08/2023 15:29

The sulking is another symptom of it.

Shortpoet · 21/08/2023 15:29

He uses the word “relax” as a weapon.

Use it right back at him.

Anytime he tries to rope you into doing his jobs you say “ I just want to relax”.

Stop making him tea and snacks. If he asks why you didn’t make him tea tell him “I just want to relax and not worry about things”

Shortpoet · 21/08/2023 15:32

I’ll bet money that relaxing and not worrying about things is fine for him, but he won’t be happy if you take that attitude.

What would happen if he complained about a messy house snd you said “I just want to relax” and went and watched TV?

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:42

@Shortpoet He thinks that my job isn't as stressful and that I enjoy it more which is true. However to some extent you are right that he puts more value on his need to relax than mine. When it comes to going up to bed at night he just gets up and goes up stairs while I am tidying up, rinsing cups, putting the washing machine on timer, then getting myself ready for bed. He is already in bed reading and it feels like by the time I get into bed and lift my book he is saying lights out. I do try and move earlier than him to get my night routine done so I can be in bed earlier but as soon as I move he jumps up stairs because he wants lights out as soon as possible because he is tired as a result I feel I never get to read before bed.

OP posts:
Shortpoet · 21/08/2023 15:52

Switch it up. Try it for a week. Don’t wash up, put the laundry on (please tell me you don’t do all his laundry). Ask him for help tidying up. If he declines as he needs to relax, say good idea and go and and read in bed. If he asks why, you just want to relax.

(I know it’s hard. Just grit your teeth to the mess). Let him complain about it. You’re relaxing.

If he asks why you haven’t done his laundry, shrug. I just want to relax.

Become a broken record about it. Force the conversation that you both need relaxation time, and you both need to contribute.

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:54

@Shortpoet Its an idea! Just need to get my head round it.

OP posts:
CebelloRojo · 21/08/2023 16:02

How on earth are these tasks split evenly if he just does the garden and you do everything else?
You need to draw some clear boundaries: his family stuff is his to sort out, if you cook he cleans up or vice versa.
You're not his mum, you’re his partner however many men seem to think partners are there to do all the things their mums do but with an added sex life.
What do you want OP? A partner or a dependant?

HerAvatar · 21/08/2023 16:06

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 15:42

@Shortpoet He thinks that my job isn't as stressful and that I enjoy it more which is true. However to some extent you are right that he puts more value on his need to relax than mine. When it comes to going up to bed at night he just gets up and goes up stairs while I am tidying up, rinsing cups, putting the washing machine on timer, then getting myself ready for bed. He is already in bed reading and it feels like by the time I get into bed and lift my book he is saying lights out. I do try and move earlier than him to get my night routine done so I can be in bed earlier but as soon as I move he jumps up stairs because he wants lights out as soon as possible because he is tired as a result I feel I never get to read before bed.

It's a form of control isn't it really? He's controlling your time and behaviour.

QueenBitch666 · 21/08/2023 16:14

He sounds fucking useless. Why are you with him?

MrsMarzetti · 21/08/2023 16:15

Are you married to my SIL ? It is infuriating and totally disrespectful. Sometimes with such people talking gets you nowhere, sometimes to get your point across you have to shock them, absolutely loose it with him, tell him in o uncertain terms that you cannot take anymore disrespect and that you are not his mother. Tell him it stops now. Don't buy cards, don't help him with breakfast etc, if he can cope at work he can bloody well cope at home. Don't lift a finger, just stop enabling him.

RockGirl · 21/08/2023 16:17

You had me at sulking. Do you want a man or a boy?

StripeyDeckchair · 21/08/2023 16:39

You sound like his Mummy not his wife - deeply unpleasant.

Get a single basket & put all the crap he leaves lying around in it- shoes, letters, keys, whatever.
Leave him to do his jobs and take the consequences if he fails to meet deadlines.
Stop doing things for him if he doesn't appreciate them - he wants a snack? He knows where the kitchen is, dinners ready & on the table, if he's late/ doesn't like it then his will be cold, you want to read in bed for 15 mins? Read, if he doesn't like it he should help you clear up so you can go to bed at the same time.

He sounds like a lazy git, who doesn't appreciate or respect you, which is deeply unattractive

brokensignal · 21/08/2023 16:42

CebelloRojo · 21/08/2023 16:02

How on earth are these tasks split evenly if he just does the garden and you do everything else?
You need to draw some clear boundaries: his family stuff is his to sort out, if you cook he cleans up or vice versa.
You're not his mum, you’re his partner however many men seem to think partners are there to do all the things their mums do but with an added sex life.
What do you want OP? A partner or a dependant?

He does work longer hours than me and his job is more work for him. When I say tasks I meant like paying bills, rearranging car insurance, energy suppliers etc. I try to get him to do his share of that stuff. He also does his own ironing. I do all the housework, cooking and washing, he does wash dishes after the meal but again he kind of does the bare minimum so he will just start the dishes and not even collect plates to the sink so I have get them and bring them over then he complains I am not clearing the draining board fast enough. If it were up to me I would gather all the plates and scrape off food waste etc before washing them but he just dumps everything in the sink food and all and then as soon as the last dish is done he walks off and I need to clean out the plug hole, clean the sink, put everything away, wipe the table, hob and work surfaces, sweep the floor and sort the bins if needed. I used to say to him that it was a job half done but if I try and get him to help he says just to leave it all till later / tomorrow but if you do that things soon build up and become problematic, like even after a day or two and he soon complains when the house is messy or the bins smell.

I am not quite sure why I am typing all that, just getting it off my chest!

OP posts:
brokensignal · 21/08/2023 16:44

@StripeyDeckchair I do often feel like I am just something that is supposed to always fit around him and that he doesn't see me like a fully human person, not like he used to.

OP posts:
CebelloRojo · 21/08/2023 16:48

I don’t often say this but if I was you I’d be reconsidering my relationship

Marwoodsbigbreak · 21/08/2023 16:51

He’s treating you like a household appliance.

I couldn’t live like this.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 21/08/2023 17:00

Jesus, why do you put up with this? Dumping food into the sink for you to clear out???

What age is he?