Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Am I being unreasonable to want to hold this woman to account?

209 replies

VickyPollard25 · 14/07/2024 18:45

I met a man on Bumble. He pushed me into a relationship pretty quickly (a matter of weeks and he was wanting to get married). I was mid-divorce and would usually be stronger and have my wits about me, but was quite vulnerable with all that was going on. He ambushed me into meeting his kids - ie. Date at his place and suddenly they turn up unexpectedly to me (they don’t live at his home as they are older - he is much older than me). So many red flags and I felt unsettled. Out of the blue he goes to Hong Kong for work. He messages me a strange message saying he suddenly feels very protective of me. It was odd. He gets back and tells me he caught up with an “old friend” who says she knows me and warned him about me. Apparently she had a lot of terrible things to say, hence him feeling protective. 🙄 He tells me she says I am from the wrong side of the tracks (my parents are dirt poor, I went to the wrong schools and a bad university, etc), I have no friends and my job is a joke. This is a summary - she also commented on things based on personal info you could find out if you internet stalked me. I was actually quite devastated to hear all this. I pushed him for this friend’s details and it turns out that it wasn’t an old friend of his, but another woman he had met online and had been dating. She had never met me and I’d never heard of her. He told me he told her that he couldn’t see her anymore because he had met someone and gave her all my details. They looked up my Linked In profile together… Absolutely appalling behaviour by him.

I’m reeling from the idea that someone would say these things about someone she’s never met. I’ve skimmed over it but they are really hurtful nasty things that she’s invented. I’ve never come across anything like it. He defended her, saying she had was in her 40s and had never had a serious relationship and after several miscarriages was looking for a sperm donor and he had offered.

This was drip fed to me after a lot of lying. Then it turns out this woman has called my work (an international bank) to reach out to former colleagues of hers to pass on terrible things about me.

Clearly he has stirred up a lot of trouble and deserved to be binned. But what about her? Is this crazy behaviour or what? I feel I can’t just leave it.

Am I being unreasonable to want to hold her to account for calling my work and making about blatant lies about me?

OP posts:
SultanOfSwing · 14/07/2024 20:56

This is some sort of weird scam. Pay no attention to any of it. Do you even know for sure that this woman called your work place? Anyone who answered the phone is not likely to pay any attention. Block the man and the woman.

If you behave in a normal professional manner at work, even if they have called, everyone will assume you have a loony stalker.

Eadfrith · 14/07/2024 20:56

Delete your social presence and start again and have tighter security!! Also stay away from Bumble…

If you work for a bank you could possibly report this woman? Although it would be embarrassing explaining the (loose) connection of how you know her.

Ihopeithinkiknow · 14/07/2024 20:56

This woman probably has no bloody idea about any of this and has probably heard a lot of similar things about you. He sounds like a manipulative prick trying to get you in a place where you trust him because he has told you all of this stuff and wants to protect you from the nasty woman.

Andwegoroundagain · 14/07/2024 20:57

Do you know her name ? If so then report to HR that you are being harassed by her in case she calls again and stirs up trouble. Very very wierd behaviour

MounjaroUser · 14/07/2024 20:59

It sounds as though he has serious mental health problems.

BTW do you pay a subscription for LinkedIn? If so you can see who's looking at your profile.

WigglyVonWaggly · 14/07/2024 21:00

Then it turns out this woman has called my work (an international bank) to reach out to former colleagues of hers to pass on terrible things about me.

What evidence do you have of this? Did ‘she’ call for sure? Can your colleagues confirm they spoke to a woman they definitely know?
As I suspect that ‘she’ is him and he’s a nutter. He’s already showing that he lies. Why on earth would he tell her such private things then report these equally private criticisms of hers back to you unless he’s the sort of nasty bastard that delights in making people feel utterly shit? Why would she ring old colleagues to tell them such odd things about a stranger?

Cnidarian · 14/07/2024 21:01

Whether she exists or not, this man is very dangerous and will decimate your mental health. Run, don't embroil any more in this, it won't bring you any solace to punish her even if you could it will just entangle you further with this headfuck of an excuse for a man. Disengage, disentangle.

Sillystrumpet · 14/07/2024 21:01

Don’t stoke the fires. Back away fast. From both. I hope you’ve already ended it with him. And he’s offered to be a sperm donor, serously?

newbeggins · 14/07/2024 21:03

I don't see how you can hold her to account, only him. As already recommended, clean up your social media, explain to line manager that someone has a vendetta against you.

It's up to you if you want to continue being in contact with this man. It sounds like (if his story is true) he already has a woman in his life.

Irridescantshimmmer · 14/07/2024 21:08

Cut off all contact with him as he's batshit and tighten your social media privacy settings.

That is one trap you don't want to get stuck in.

CrazyChefDoDoDoDoDoDo · 14/07/2024 21:09

Let your manager know. Tighten up your online presence and cut all contact with this man.

WiddlinDiddlin · 14/07/2024 21:12

Ditto the thoughts that this 'woman' is not real, does not exist. She is a construct, created by him to fuck with your head.

Don't play his games, block, delete, move on.

BeeCucumber · 14/07/2024 21:15

Lies. Lies. Lies.

FOJN · 14/07/2024 21:17

Cut contact with him, block him everywhere.

If this woman is real I think it would be a very bad idea to have any contact with her at all.

Bluebirdover · 14/07/2024 21:20

You think this "woman" is real?

Karmaisagod · 14/07/2024 21:26

OP, there is something so wrong and dodgy about this whole thing that it is really giving me the creeps. Please be very careful and look after yourself. I think there may well be something VERY wrong about this man.

BeckiWithAnI · 14/07/2024 21:28

She hasn’t said a damn thing, if she’s even real anyway. This is all him orchestrating some scenario where you are a poor, defenseless woman and he swoops in as your hero to defend your honour.
He probably sensed you were cooling off to his love bombing so needed to make a play to make you insecure again.
Contacting this woman who may or may not exist is a bit weird to be honest. Even if she is real and did say those things, so what? She doesn’t know you and was just making a play for him. It’s very much about HIM, not you and she’s bloody welcome to this crazy misogynist.
But as I say, I doubt very much that if she’s even real she said anything of the sort. He’s just playing you.

Clueless2024 · 14/07/2024 21:29

They both sound batshit crazy. Almost bordering on harassment.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 14/07/2024 21:33

If the woman exists, he's probably made all of this up about her as payback for her dumping him.

But she probably doesn't.

ileftmypotatointheovenallnight · 14/07/2024 21:48

F* knows. Get rid of the whole thing. Just be relieved if it's true that you are not deranged like this woman. And if it's lies well you are still better off. Maybe have some counselling, that whole thing would slightly shake my trust in people.

Slugsandsnailsresidehere · 14/07/2024 21:51

More red flags than a communist parade.
Block and run for the hills

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 14/07/2024 21:57

I don't think she exists

5128gap · 14/07/2024 22:03

He's blatantly invented this OP. It's a big lie that does double duty, aims to make you insecure that you're not good enough for him and makes him look like the white Knight defending you. Please don't fall for it.

Qwerty111 · 14/07/2024 22:08

As a rule of thumb, it’s usually the case that when “someone else” said awful things about you… the “someone else” doesn’t exist. The opinions are those of the speaker.

The source of my great wisdom in this matter is my MIL . She likes to quote other people who are shocked and disgusted that her sons’ wives don’t do more for her.

Cosmosforbreakfast · 14/07/2024 22:15

I doubt this woman even exists and he's making it all up so you see him as some sort of saviour, someone to depend on, he's trying to get control of you. Do you know for sure someone contacted anyone in your workplace? Has anyone in your workplace confirmed this to you? Block him, have nothing more to do with him, move on. Secure your social media accounts. He preyed on you, knowing you were vulnerable going through a divorce.

Swipe left for the next trending thread