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.

Furious with husband. AIBU?

276 replies

TS45 · 24/08/2023 15:56

I’m so upset.
My husband and I have been TTC for 16 months with no success. After a very late period, I felt so hopeful, but it turned out to just be another negative test. My husband’s brother, who’s 2 years younger, is expecting a baby with his girlfriend, which they have been very open about in how easy they were to convince. I’m absolutely thrilled for them but I can’t help but feel heartbroken that it isn’t me, and it feels so unfair to hear all about an accidental pregnancy when I’m doing everything I can to get pregnant. So many close friends are also pregnant, and last night was a particularly heavy night of hearing, ‘we weren’t even trying, I’m so shocked’, from so many different people. Once home, I broke down. My husband asked what was wrong (he was out with me), and after I explained, he put his arm around me for about 2 minutes then got up and went on his Xbox. I was still crying and asked him if we could do something together, and he responded by saying he wants to play Xbox by himself. I reacted by getting up and telling him I’m going to bed then, and then he got annoyed and said I was ruining his evening by making him feel like he can’t play on his Xbox. I told him he can play on his Xbox, but that I thought he would have wanted to do something together. He said that I shouldn’t use my heartache to guilt him into getting my own way. He then put his Xbox back on and I went upstairs to bed. I sobbed because I just felt like he didn’t care about me and I felt sad because of the complete lack of comfort. He could hear me crying but didn’t come up to bed until 2am (he started his game at 9.30pm).
when he finally came to bed, he asked me why I was upset, so I had to re-explain how down I feel about not being able to get pregnant. I told him I feel so alone when most women in my life are currently pregnant, and I feel like my life is on standstill. He then asked why I’m so upset with him because ‘it’s not my (his) fault you can’t get pregnant’. I explained I’m upset with him because he didn’t comfort me, and chose to sit there and play Xbox knowing his wife was in tears. He said he did comfort me because he put his arm around me. That was for 2 minutes and he stopped doing it to play even though I was still crying. He said he wanted to play Xbox and it’s selfish of me to expect him to not do what he wants to do.
This morning, he got up early to take our puppy out for the toilet. He then got ready and went out with his friends for a few hours. During this time, I watched our puppy, took our older dog out for an hour long walk, then took our puppy out for a 20 minute walk (our older dog pulls so much it’s impossible to walk them together by yourself). I then did work in our garden, cleaned the downstairs of our house, and made us both lunch. He came home and had his lunch then proceeded to lie on the floor with the dogs whilst all the plates, pans, and bowls were in the sink. I asked if he could help me with the dishes which he did. He then followed up by telling me to put all the dishes away because he’s washed them and it’s not fair if he washes and dries. I then pointed out all of the things I’d done whilst he was out and he said, ‘well I got up early with the puppy and you didn’t’. I normally get up early with the puppy. He also said I should have done the dishes because I made the lunch and therefore used the dishes and he didn’t. I’m now sat upstairs really upset whilst he’s sat downstairs. I just feel like he’s been so selfish yesterday and today. But I’m still really sensitive from last night. He also hasn’t asked me once how I am today.

am I being unreasonable or has he been quite selfish?

OP posts:
cinnamonfrenchtoast · 24/08/2023 19:07

ColonelOfTruth · 24/08/2023 19:02

I can’t see anything that makes me think OP has been juvenile here.

The whole thing is just very dysfunctional and full of loads of "tit for tat" type behaviours. If it's this bad before they have a baby, it's only going to get worse.

ihadamarveloustime · 24/08/2023 19:08

Honestly?

He is not life partner material.

DepartureLounge · 24/08/2023 19:10

Janieforever · 24/08/2023 16:09

I’m going to differ a bit, both of you are going through infertility. Both of you have different ways of handling it. If his is to switch off mentally and play Xbox , that’s ok, yours is to cry and want comfort time together, that’s also ok. It’s just incompatible.

you need to listen to each other, and try to compromise. He was telling uou what he wished or needed to do to switch off, he also sat through the chat. You were telling him your needs were more important.

then today you’ve agrued again. You need to learn to respect each others needs during this difficult time, and your differences , as it’s now become a petty war.

Oh, come on. He told her she should have washed the plates instead of him, because it was her who used them to make lunch for them both, not him!

Does that really strike you as the behaviour of a man who isn't having his needs and differences adequately met at this difficult time? Or is it in fact more like the behaviour of an unpleasant, immature asshole, do you think?

Eleganz · 24/08/2023 19:10

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 24/08/2023 19:01

It's just MN snobbery and it happens anytime anyone says their partner plays Xbox. It's just boring stereotyping at this point.

It is one of the four unforgivable male sins on MN:

  1. Gaming
  2. Cycling
  3. Golf
  4. Pub

All a poster needs to do is say that their DH was engaging in one of these activities and horses of the MN faithful will automatically be on her side.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 24/08/2023 19:10

Annonymiss123 · 24/08/2023 16:02

I'm sorry for the difficulty you're having, but I'm afraid I agree with @EVHead .

Totally agree with these.

Stravaig · 24/08/2023 19:16

ColonelOfTruth · 24/08/2023 19:02

I can’t see anything that makes me think OP has been juvenile here.

A basic tenet of adulthood is that you take responsibility for regulating your own emotions. You don't sob performatively for hours expecting someone else to come along and make it all better for you. That's what a very young child does. OP seems to lack basic emotion regulation, and seems to think her husband should provide this for her. That is not his job.

BlastedIce · 24/08/2023 19:20

Eleganz · 24/08/2023 19:10

It is one of the four unforgivable male sins on MN:

  1. Gaming
  2. Cycling
  3. Golf
  4. Pub

All a poster needs to do is say that their DH was engaging in one of these activities and horses of the MN faithful will automatically be on her side.

So true!

ChampagneLassie · 24/08/2023 19:26

Don’t often say this but inclined to LTB. Honestly you’ve not said one thing which suggests why you’re with him then that you desperately want a child. He sounds useless and selfish and imagine juggling a baby whilst he’s playing Xbox? Pre baby is honeymoon compared to afterwards and a unhelpful partner will make you hate him

Newmumatlast · 24/08/2023 19:28

TS45 · 24/08/2023 15:56

I’m so upset.
My husband and I have been TTC for 16 months with no success. After a very late period, I felt so hopeful, but it turned out to just be another negative test. My husband’s brother, who’s 2 years younger, is expecting a baby with his girlfriend, which they have been very open about in how easy they were to convince. I’m absolutely thrilled for them but I can’t help but feel heartbroken that it isn’t me, and it feels so unfair to hear all about an accidental pregnancy when I’m doing everything I can to get pregnant. So many close friends are also pregnant, and last night was a particularly heavy night of hearing, ‘we weren’t even trying, I’m so shocked’, from so many different people. Once home, I broke down. My husband asked what was wrong (he was out with me), and after I explained, he put his arm around me for about 2 minutes then got up and went on his Xbox. I was still crying and asked him if we could do something together, and he responded by saying he wants to play Xbox by himself. I reacted by getting up and telling him I’m going to bed then, and then he got annoyed and said I was ruining his evening by making him feel like he can’t play on his Xbox. I told him he can play on his Xbox, but that I thought he would have wanted to do something together. He said that I shouldn’t use my heartache to guilt him into getting my own way. He then put his Xbox back on and I went upstairs to bed. I sobbed because I just felt like he didn’t care about me and I felt sad because of the complete lack of comfort. He could hear me crying but didn’t come up to bed until 2am (he started his game at 9.30pm).
when he finally came to bed, he asked me why I was upset, so I had to re-explain how down I feel about not being able to get pregnant. I told him I feel so alone when most women in my life are currently pregnant, and I feel like my life is on standstill. He then asked why I’m so upset with him because ‘it’s not my (his) fault you can’t get pregnant’. I explained I’m upset with him because he didn’t comfort me, and chose to sit there and play Xbox knowing his wife was in tears. He said he did comfort me because he put his arm around me. That was for 2 minutes and he stopped doing it to play even though I was still crying. He said he wanted to play Xbox and it’s selfish of me to expect him to not do what he wants to do.
This morning, he got up early to take our puppy out for the toilet. He then got ready and went out with his friends for a few hours. During this time, I watched our puppy, took our older dog out for an hour long walk, then took our puppy out for a 20 minute walk (our older dog pulls so much it’s impossible to walk them together by yourself). I then did work in our garden, cleaned the downstairs of our house, and made us both lunch. He came home and had his lunch then proceeded to lie on the floor with the dogs whilst all the plates, pans, and bowls were in the sink. I asked if he could help me with the dishes which he did. He then followed up by telling me to put all the dishes away because he’s washed them and it’s not fair if he washes and dries. I then pointed out all of the things I’d done whilst he was out and he said, ‘well I got up early with the puppy and you didn’t’. I normally get up early with the puppy. He also said I should have done the dishes because I made the lunch and therefore used the dishes and he didn’t. I’m now sat upstairs really upset whilst he’s sat downstairs. I just feel like he’s been so selfish yesterday and today. But I’m still really sensitive from last night. He also hasn’t asked me once how I am today.

am I being unreasonable or has he been quite selfish?

Hate to say it but its probably best not to be having a child with this man. And it may be that he has a part to play in why you're not getting pregnant anyway - turned out that way when my partner and I were having IVF - so may be better in that respect without him too.

Newmumatlast · 24/08/2023 19:29

Stravaig · 24/08/2023 19:16

A basic tenet of adulthood is that you take responsibility for regulating your own emotions. You don't sob performatively for hours expecting someone else to come along and make it all better for you. That's what a very young child does. OP seems to lack basic emotion regulation, and seems to think her husband should provide this for her. That is not his job.

Wow. Performatively? Have you experienced unexplained infertility?

Stravaig · 24/08/2023 19:32

Newmumatlast · 24/08/2023 19:29

Wow. Performatively? Have you experienced unexplained infertility?

If you are sobbing, for hours, loudly enough to be heard on another floor of the house, over a computer game or through a gaming headset, then yes, that sounds performative to me. OP wants, expects, feels entitled to her husband staying by her side focusing solely on her until she feels better. That is not balanced or healthy.

MrsMarzetti · 24/08/2023 19:33

Why do you think he will change if you have a baby ? It will all be a hundred times worse. Him sat on his xbox like a teenager while you run the house, look after a bay and work. Run far away from this manchild, no child deserves him as a father.

Duckskitbank · 24/08/2023 19:35

You don’t sound well suited. Are you young enough to start again?

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 24/08/2023 19:37

Newmumatlast · 24/08/2023 19:29

Wow. Performatively? Have you experienced unexplained infertility?

People can be upset and also use that upset to be manipulative.

FWIW I'm not saying OP was being manipulative, but I do see how it could come across that way to other people. Crying so loudly that you can be heard downstairs over a headset and gaming noise is pretty extreme, imo.

Tonightsthenight91 · 24/08/2023 19:39

OP I’ve a feeling you’ll look back on this in years to come when you’re settled with a new partner and a baby and realise that everything happens for a reason 💐

Cas112 · 24/08/2023 19:39

Do you know stress can be a big factor why you can't get pregnant.. maybe your partner is causing more stress than you realise

Valerie23 · 24/08/2023 19:43

What is attractive about a grown man playing on his x box, I wonder?

Personally I find that extremely unappealing, unattractive and immature.

He doesn't seem terribly upset about your not being pregnant and perhaps deep down he doesn't actually want a baby right now.

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 24/08/2023 19:49

Valerie23 · 24/08/2023 19:43

What is attractive about a grown man playing on his x box, I wonder?

Personally I find that extremely unappealing, unattractive and immature.

He doesn't seem terribly upset about your not being pregnant and perhaps deep down he doesn't actually want a baby right now.

And (to play devil's advocate) - what's attractive about a grown woman sobbing for hours - and doing it so loudly that she can be heard down a flight of stairs, through headphones and over someone gaming on an Xbox?

saffronsoup · 24/08/2023 19:50

Seems to be quite a few posts by women recently who are always sobbing and expecting their husbands to be their emotional support animals - staying by them and holding them day and night while they cry.

I can't imagine my husband expecting this of me over whatever he feels upset or stressed about to the point that my evenings need to be all about him and his feelings and that I am responsible for this emotional management. I would feel suffocated.

I think someone comforting for a few minutes is sufficiently. To need them to be by your side and stay with you and focus solely on you and your emotions and your needs for an ongoing situation (you might see a pregnant woman again tomorrow) is over the top.

I wouldn't play x box but I might well go and do my own thing after I offer some comfort. I couldn't be in a marriage where my role was to manage and stay by the side of a sobbing, crying spouse.

Why are there so many posts recently by all these sobbing women who can't self soothe or regulate their emotions? Seems odd. I don't know anyone in real life like this.

saffronsoup · 24/08/2023 19:51

Being on an x box is no different from being on your phone or on mumsnet or on instagram. None of it is intellectual.

Bandyarsia · 24/08/2023 19:54

saffronsoup · 24/08/2023 19:50

Seems to be quite a few posts by women recently who are always sobbing and expecting their husbands to be their emotional support animals - staying by them and holding them day and night while they cry.

I can't imagine my husband expecting this of me over whatever he feels upset or stressed about to the point that my evenings need to be all about him and his feelings and that I am responsible for this emotional management. I would feel suffocated.

I think someone comforting for a few minutes is sufficiently. To need them to be by your side and stay with you and focus solely on you and your emotions and your needs for an ongoing situation (you might see a pregnant woman again tomorrow) is over the top.

I wouldn't play x box but I might well go and do my own thing after I offer some comfort. I couldn't be in a marriage where my role was to manage and stay by the side of a sobbing, crying spouse.

Why are there so many posts recently by all these sobbing women who can't self soothe or regulate their emotions? Seems odd. I don't know anyone in real life like this.

Exactly

Lostinplaces · 24/08/2023 19:55

Please don’t have a baby with him you will be doing everything on top of what you already are and he’ll be sitting on his Xbox because he ‘helped’ by feeding the dogs or some such shit.

Winnipeggy · 24/08/2023 19:59

Don't have a baby with this man, it will be unbearable

saffronsoup · 24/08/2023 19:59

Lostinplaces · 24/08/2023 19:55

Please don’t have a baby with him you will be doing everything on top of what you already are and he’ll be sitting on his Xbox because he ‘helped’ by feeding the dogs or some such shit.

And Op will be sitting on mumset because she helped by walking the dog and making lunch.

justasking111 · 24/08/2023 20:00

@TS45 how old are you and how old is he?

If he's infertile you will never get pregnant. You both need non invasive tests before you go down the invasive tests route

Swipe left for the next trending thread