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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To end 10 year relationship over this?

96 replies

101Nutella · 24/02/2024 22:24

This is a case of how bad is too bad and can people really change? On the face of it things aren’t ’that’ bad but it’s really upsetting me day to day.

background: had my first DD (8 months) with DP (34) of 10 years. We own a house together and both work full time (earning similar wage) but I’m currently on maternity leave. We have been renovating a house prior to the birth. DP works remotely 9-5 so has a 1 min commute. No expectation of CPD or overtime.

the daily issues boil down to lack of /different standards in partner and his lack of motivation. He says he would eat beans on toast every day and doesn’t want to do any house or garden maintenance at all. He says he works and there is no other time to do anything outside of loading or unloading the dishwasher at night/eating food. His low standards then lead to damage eg slopping coffee down the walls when carrying it, breaking or losing things but never replacing them, using the last of something without letting me know so when I need it eg bread or milk there is nothing and I have to take baby to shops or go without.

i know things are busy but I don’t agree this is full capacity for him. You can pull 5 minutes here and there to get things done. I feel completely overwhelmed with the life admin, breast feeding, a baby who doesn’t sleep, baby admin, finishing the house, preparing to go back to work and trying to scrape money back after he ran us in to 15k debt during the build with bad/no budgeting. During this time I had HG /was medicated/ was working full time (scraping by) and ordering/sourcing things for build. He said he had it handled- he didn’t.

im dreading going back to work FT on top of all this. I feel cross that he took my option to spend time with DC away with money mismanagement. Further more in day to day he is unreliable- falling asleep in arm chair with baby despite promising not to (suffocation risk ) shoving letters in drawers and missing parking tickets etc, doesn’t look up anything for family/child etc just watches sport, sleeping through baby monitor / ignoring crying if he is ‘giving me a break’ (so I end up staying awake to check on baby), ignoring my things in the calendar and booking things over them leaving me to cancel with no childcare (physio appointments that kind of thing). I keep thinking maybe these aren’t big enough to leave someone.

but I just feel alone every day and so overwhelmed. Unless I do it- it won’t get done and that’s anything from making sure there is toilet roll in the house, to doing a food shop, to DIY, to knowing all toys/ developmental needs for baby, checking we have money for bills. To my absolute shame we haven’t set up DD bedroom yet coz we have some space issues but he doesn’t seem bothered at all/ would never plan to help me. I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want to do this/ feel pride in setting your kid up in a room somehow. The garden is a jungle from moving in and it’s really important for me to have somewhere for DC to play in spring. DP left all garden tools at his parents when we moved in a year ago and hasn’t collected them. He lets dog poo in garden and doesn’t clear it up. I avoid garden as very uneven and have some physical damage as a result of the birth- so I also can’t dig it all up etc. partner would do nothing towards it.

I’ve explicitly expressed my concerns, suggested solutions, cried, said we need to change etc but nothing changes. He is also defensive if I do raise anything and is often evasive about things. I just find it exhausting trying to have a conversation with him as he just wants to argue.

When I suggest something to do he is dismissive and almost mocking eg why would you want to go there? Do people even go there?! And I just feel like he is an energy vampire at times. He doesn’t have alternative suggestions just wants to be a critic!

for our 10 year anniversary he got the date wrong and is still working on the gift 3 months later. He panic bought some perfume I don’t wear. I just like little thoughtful things or a token. I find it really hurtful and disrespectful frankly on top of everything else. He can’t even be pleasant to me eg grunting / looking at phone or TV, no chat or coming to see me before bed, and some days he’s the only person I see all day. I just feel very sad. I don’t understand what is happening?

im trying my best here and on about 3 hrs sleep a night but I just feel sad that my partner doesn’t care if he speaks to me or not on any given day. AIBU to think that sometimes that enough is enough?

OP posts:
HollyGolightly4 · 24/02/2024 22:27

Read what you've written back to yourself and think what your honest response would be if your best friend told you this was the reality of her relationship 💐

LadyMinerva · 24/02/2024 22:29

If he has been like this your entire relationship then he is never going to change. If it's a new development then you need to somehow get him to the GP as it could be a serious mental health issue.

If this isn't new, ask yourself if you would be happy to still be living like that in 1, 5, 10 years? You'll know what has to be done.

Haydenn · 24/02/2024 22:30

Oh darling. You are not being unreasonable. He sounds like an exhausting pig. I can guarantee if you took him at his word and served him up beans on toast every day he would soon have something to say about it.

What he means is he is happy to see you do all of these things for him. I was in this situation, the only way I found to deal with it was to end it. I don’t want to dive into the typical mumsnet LTB. I don’t have a solution, I just wanted to say you are not unreasonable 💐💐💐💐

determinedtomakethiswork · 24/02/2024 22:34

You would feel like you were on holiday if you lived without him. He sounds an absolute nightmare.

Cicciabella · 24/02/2024 22:36

Omg what a nightmare for you. What's the point of him you might as well be alone.

redalex261 · 24/02/2024 22:40

You are not unreasonable. This is very unlikely to get better. People don’t miraculously stop being lazy and selfish. Frankly, you would have much less to do if you didn’t have to deal with the work he generates due to indolence and inefficiency.

The soul-sucking stress of handling him, bottling up your rage and unhappiness will exhaust you further. You need to make a radical change of some sort so you are able to gain some control over your own life.

Yolo12345 · 24/02/2024 22:42

Can you move back to your parents for a break from this man?

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 24/02/2024 22:42

and you have allowed this for 8 months - too long
or for 10 years ? well !

leave just leave, get back to work asap, find a nice little flat to rent, start divorce proceedings, instigate cms payments, expect the house to take ages to sell in that condition coz of the work being done / needing doing / the garden but it will one day.

you and baby deserve better.

101Nutella · 24/02/2024 22:43

@LadyMinerva i think it’s never been quite this bad to be honest. That’s why I’ve been so confused coz I’m so upset / hurt and I don’t remember ever feeling like this so often with him.

He’s never been nasty and now I think he is in the arguments- nothing red flag like but just an edge to them. I was so confused I’ve started keeping a little note of issues after they happen so I know I’m not going mad- plus he would be demanding evidence when being defensive and I just felt like there is so much but didn’t know what to say on the spot.

I don’t have much experience with MH issues- I thought he might be depressed. So encouraged him to go to doctors and he is on a lowest dose of something but it’s not changing things (has been over a couple of months) plus I assume u need to do more than take a pill and it all goes away.

so I’m trapped thinking I don’t want to push him but equally I can’t live like this for my child. Nothing seems to be spurring him to action. He can be pleasant enough at work to people - chatting away on meetings/ jokey etc but then no interest in same energy for me.

what kind of thing do you think might be going on?

OP posts:
blacksax · 24/02/2024 22:44

What a useless fucking waste of space he is.

AutumnFroglets · 24/02/2024 22:44

He won't change OP. Not even with counselling. So what do you want to do with your life for the next ten, twenty years? Continue living with the same resentment or enjoy life?

Personally i recommend that if you can, run. If you can't, start planning.

DancesWithBadgers · 24/02/2024 22:47

Sounds really stressful. Charitably it sounds like he is not adjusting well to parenthood. You say things were not as bad before you had your baby, how was he around the house then? Did he pull his weight or did you do more?

Niknakk · 24/02/2024 22:48

I feel like I'm reading this about my (female) friend with ADHD, but her marriage has failed because her DH can no longer cope with how she is. He has tried for 24 years. He's walked away in the end.

Lyra87 · 24/02/2024 22:50

@101Nutella you deserve better. I hope you find someone who treats you with love and respect because your DP doesn't.

BobbyBiscuits · 24/02/2024 22:50

He sounds depressing, never mind depressed. Does he posses any redeeming features?

Mumsanetta · 24/02/2024 22:51

It sounds like there is nothing worth holding on to in your relationship and your life will be so much easier without him.

It doesn’t sound like you’re married so separating should be much easier. What would he say/do if you told him it was over and asked him to leave?

101Nutella · 24/02/2024 22:54

@Niknakk thats interesting and it’s something the doctor mentioned as a consideration. but due to the nature of that he has been unable to phone people, get a diagnosis etc coz he forgets to! But now he’s decided he does have it so uses it as a get out of jail free card eg well you should know this is hard for me coz I have adhd. I said no it might be harder but it doesn’t mean you’re never going to do it again - u find coping mechanisms and improvements etc. reasonable adjustments.

@DancesWithBadgers we have lived together for years and owned a house previously. It was never this bad. I definitely did the organisation type stuff but he was happy to chip in/ infact he used to do most cooking of evening meals coz my job was longer hours. He was quite messy and disorganised though eg shoving things in drawers or letting the shed become a disgusting mess where you can’t get anything out. But now I don’t have time to keep sorting out things I’ve previously tidied.

OP posts:
PussInBin20 · 24/02/2024 22:54

Sounds like a lazy manchild.

StormKevin · 24/02/2024 22:58

Well who can say if there is some armchair diagnosis that might help explain things, but even if that is the case it’s still doubtful anything would change. There’s a sunk cost fallacy here - you have been together 10 years, but it doesn’t not seem possible or worth saving tbh.

you ask whether you would end the relationship over ‘this’. It’s not just this. It’s many this’s! What really is the point of him? You would surely be happier without this waste of space dragging you down.

You sound great by the way, just get the confidence to bin this loser

101Nutella · 24/02/2024 22:58

@Mumsanetta ive told him this can’t go on. He just says because of the child we have to stay together. I don’t agree.

ive got myself a separate bank account and put a bit of cash in there. I’m preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. I have no idea how I could do the childcare 24/7 as DC really doesn’t sleep.

he is a good parent to her in terms of kind/ loving but I don’t think he would remember routine for her if he was parenting alone eg keep her up to long, not recognise hunger cues, not remember to apply medication or clean teeth. That kind of thing. I find it stressful to be someone’s safety net when I don’t have one of my own.

we have no nearby family so I can’t go anywhere.

OP posts:
WhereYouLeftIt · 24/02/2024 23:08

8 month old baby. Hmm.

Time and again on Mumsnet threads point to there being two main times when an abusive man will let his mask slip and start being visibly abusive - on marriage, and on birth of a baby. These events are major commitments, tying a couple together, making it more difficult to just walk away from a relationship.

It frankly sounds to me as if, now there's a baby tying you to him, he considers you 'trapped'. And since he's got you trapped, he doesn't feel he has to meet even the most basic of standards. In his mind, you can't leave. (Nonsense of course, you can always leave.)

Another thought that occurred is - is he 'punishing' you? Not for anything real, but for some imagined slight, or as a tactic to keep you off-balance and therefore easier for him to control you?

I could be way off beam here; the new baby could be coincidence, or the baby taking up so much of your headspace and energy that you don't have anything left to make up his shortfall, as it were. Because it does sound ("messy", "disorganised") as if there has long been a significant shortfall on his domestic input.

WhereYouLeftIt · 24/02/2024 23:09

Cross-posted!

"He just says because of the child we have to stay together. "
Bingo!

Niknakk · 24/02/2024 23:10

I have ADHD and I don't treat my DH like a tit. We do 50/50 everything.

hellsBells246 · 24/02/2024 23:16

WhereYouLeftIt · 24/02/2024 23:08

8 month old baby. Hmm.

Time and again on Mumsnet threads point to there being two main times when an abusive man will let his mask slip and start being visibly abusive - on marriage, and on birth of a baby. These events are major commitments, tying a couple together, making it more difficult to just walk away from a relationship.

It frankly sounds to me as if, now there's a baby tying you to him, he considers you 'trapped'. And since he's got you trapped, he doesn't feel he has to meet even the most basic of standards. In his mind, you can't leave. (Nonsense of course, you can always leave.)

Another thought that occurred is - is he 'punishing' you? Not for anything real, but for some imagined slight, or as a tactic to keep you off-balance and therefore easier for him to control you?

I could be way off beam here; the new baby could be coincidence, or the baby taking up so much of your headspace and energy that you don't have anything left to make up his shortfall, as it were. Because it does sound ("messy", "disorganised") as if there has long been a significant shortfall on his domestic input.

This.

Op, please read your post back. What would you say to a friend in the same situation? To your daughter?

He doesn't even TALK to you...

RamaSita · 24/02/2024 23:21

Oh OP Flowers I’m sorry you don’t have a partner who is sharing the burden of life admin, helping in keeping the home and garden safe and usable, thinking proactively about the baby’s needs, taking care of you after what sounds like a difficult pregnancy and birth. It’s deeply disappointing and of course you feel lonely. As pp mention, it’s probably harder for you ‘carrying’ him than would be without. Also perhaps lonelier living with a man who is not really present? What a difficult position to be in, I hope you get some clarity and feel able to take action in one way or another. You sound strong and highly capable.