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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

ExH, his new girlfriend and the family beach house

305 replies

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 00:52

ExH and I split in late 2022. I left him
after years of abuse, including physical abuse. Haven’t regretted it for a second. I have a new partner who I am very very happy with, exH has a new girlfriend, I have as little to do with exH as possible. He has our two children every other weekend. He pays bare minimum child support, won’t buy clothes for them to keep at his house, is generally a shit dad and human being. My 9 year old son came home with a bruise on his arm a couple of weeks ago from Dad pinching him. Not the first time my son has been hurt by his father. This has been logged with the police.

I bought exH out of the family home last year. It’s nearly killed me with massive mortgage + peak interest rates, but I am lucky enough to have a great job and have been able to manage. We also co-own a beach house. This is about to be listed for sale - for various logistical reasons it was financially advantageous to delay the sale. (Had we sold a year ago we would have paid circa $150K in extra tax and the market was v v depressed).

When I bought the family home the (substantial) beach house mortgage was paid off from my mortgage to save us from usurious interest rates. Both of us have good jobs - exH earns slightly more than me. He rents a property for about half what I pay in mortgage. ExH is waiting for the beach house to be sold before he buys a house. I gave exH the option of buying me out of my interest in the beach house so he was the sole owner. He refused - he doesn’t want to be “left with it”.

I have never taken my boyfriend to the beach house - in fact have gone to considerable expense booking airbnbs when we have gone away together. My view that when we split was that the beach house was a family home, it was special to our kids and what was once our family and taking new partners there would be disrespectful of that.

Despite this, exH nagged to take his girlfriend there. I said I wasn’t comfortable but I am used to him disregarding my wishes on everything so I said not with the kids there and not sleeping in my bed.

A month later (at Easter) he took the kids away as his sister was visiting from the UK for a family long weekend. Unbeknownst to me (or the kids), the girlfriend was invited. When he was told, my eldest son (9) cried and asked t go home (he told me later). ExH then refused to allow the kids to call me for 48 hours to make sure I didn’t find out.

Since then, exH takes his girlfriend regularly and I can tell they have been sleeping in my bedroom. I have tried to be grey rock about it all tbh as he’s such a lying cunt I can’t be bothered engaging with him.

Over the last month, exH has got very busy preparing the house for sale and announced he was going to plaster and paint the interior walls. This is a man who, in the 21 years we were together, couldn’t paint a doorknob. It transpired that New Gf is quite a dab hand at renovations and plastered and painted 3 bedrooms over the course of a week. For free.

I said to exH that was weird and he could afford to pay someone and I hoped that at least he was paying her… his first reaction was to say “she wants to help!” and the second was to ask me to chip in for half of it. That would be a no.

This weekend just been was a long weekend here and I took the kids to the bach. New Gf has been very busy, reorganising the linen cupboard (I can tell as the towels are folded into thirds, something exH never mastered in 20 years). My wardrobe… with all of my clothes hanging in it … has been tidied up and reorganised.

The house is far from Manderly but at this point the Rebecca vibes are off the chart. My tampons are literally in the bathroom drawer.

My strong suspicion is that exH has told New Gf it’s his house (“I let her have the family home for the kids… I took the beach house in the separation … but I still let her take the kids there on holiday because I’m Such a Great Dad”).

Whether she knows or not, AIBU to find it massively creepy and intrusive and go full Mrs Danvers on both of them?

OP posts:
Bansheed · 31/10/2024 00:59

Until it is sold, you should just grit your teeth. Your bigger problem is how he treats the children. I would.focus on that and get proper legal advice.

MartinCrieffsLemon · 31/10/2024 01:05

Why didn't you move all your stuff out immediently if you were splitting it?

He owns half, he can do what he likes there tbh

BruFord · 31/10/2024 01:06

I agree that reorganizing the linen cupboard is OTT, but if the work that she’s done has increased the property’s value, it’ll benefit you and your children, so that’s a win!

She sounds like a mug, tbh, your ex has got her doing painting and plastering for free…how romantic, not.

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:12

Bansheed · 31/10/2024 00:59

Until it is sold, you should just grit your teeth. Your bigger problem is how he treats the children. I would.focus on that and get proper legal advice.

Edited

I have. Lawyers, police, you name it. DV does not prevent a father from having access to his kids. If I went to Court it’s likely he’d get more than every other weekend (if he sought it). He could get up to 50:50. I’m a lawyer as is he.

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:13

MartinCrieffsLemon · 31/10/2024 01:05

Why didn't you move all your stuff out immediently if you were splitting it?

He owns half, he can do what he likes there tbh

Because it’s still my house? Neither of us live there. I agree he can do what he likes… that wasn’t the question

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:14

BruFord · 31/10/2024 01:06

I agree that reorganizing the linen cupboard is OTT, but if the work that she’s done has increased the property’s value, it’ll benefit you and your children, so that’s a win!

She sounds like a mug, tbh, your ex has got her doing painting and plastering for free…how romantic, not.

You are right and I am trying to focus on this but wtf … I’m judging her harder than him at this point 😵‍💫

OP posts:
TheMadGardener · 31/10/2024 01:14

I'm sure Ex-H is a rubbish dad and despicable human so you can count getting rid of him as a win.

However, you have a new partner so he's entitled to have one too. Have you introduced your children to your new partner? You have to accept you can't control who they meet when they're with Ex-H.

I think you really need to distance yourself from checking out how new GF folds the towels. Why is the beach house still full of your clothes and personal possessions? Empty your stuff out, make sure the place is sold, look forward to your share of the cash and stop thinking about Ex-H and his GF so much.

MartinCrieffsLemon · 31/10/2024 01:15

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:13

Because it’s still my house? Neither of us live there. I agree he can do what he likes… that wasn’t the question

But you're selling it... and you don't want to use it anyway?

And you are complaining about him using the way he wants

mitogoshigg · 31/10/2024 01:46

It's half his, just because you aren't comfortable, it doesn't mean that he needs to feel the same. It seems odd to book Airbnbs if you own a beach house

hellywelly3 · 31/10/2024 01:47

I can’t understand you not using it right up until it’s sold.

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:52

MartinCrieffsLemon · 31/10/2024 01:15

But you're selling it... and you don't want to use it anyway?

And you are complaining about him using the way he wants

I am still using it - I just haven’t taken my partner there and he hasn’t taken it upon himself to tidy exH’s undie drawer.

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:56

hellywelly3 · 31/10/2024 01:47

I can’t understand you not using it right up until it’s sold.

I am. I’m taking the kids there for the summer holidays.

We had a mutual agreement that partners wouldn’t be taken there (initiated by me), and then that they could be, but not while the kids were there (initiated by him). This was almost immediately broken by him. I’ve ignored him taking the gf there for the better part of the last year - as acknowledged, it’s his house too, I can’t stop him.

My AIBU is that it’s deeply weird for her to paint and plaster a house owned by her boyfriend’s exW and to rearrange exW’s cupboards and clothing. I’m surprised that other people would be ok with that!

OP posts:
Lostsadandconfused · 31/10/2024 01:56

It’s your choice not to take your partner there, your ex has made a different choice how he uses a property he still co owns.

My ex and I still co own our country property, it’s rented on air BnB and is listed for sale. In the meantime I go there with my new partner and he makes himself quite at home, using the pizza oven my ex lovingly built, and cutting wood with his chainsaws 😂

It sounds like the new gf is helping prepare the place for sale so you’ll benefit from her work.

GrumpyPanda · 31/10/2024 01:57

Put a lock on your personal possessions?

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:58

Lostsadandconfused · 31/10/2024 01:56

It’s your choice not to take your partner there, your ex has made a different choice how he uses a property he still co owns.

My ex and I still co own our country property, it’s rented on air BnB and is listed for sale. In the meantime I go there with my new partner and he makes himself quite at home, using the pizza oven my ex lovingly built, and cutting wood with his chainsaws 😂

It sounds like the new gf is helping prepare the place for sale so you’ll benefit from her work.

I have decided I’ve taken the high road long enough and DP will be coming for summer hols!!!!

OP posts:
Lostsadandconfused · 31/10/2024 02:01

You both go and enjoy it!!

Going to our country place with my bf has helped me make new memories there, that aren’t painful reminders of my marriage and what used to be.

MiddleClassProblem · 31/10/2024 02:08

He was/is abusive but you seem quite controlling. New GF is seemingly a better person to co own the house with than ex. I understand that her rearranging your stuff is uncomfortable.

It’s difficult as you seem to want to cut ties with this man but also have an input on things. I understand it’s a shared space and you still use the same bed when you are there but you need to think of that bed as a holiday bed rather than your bed. Personally I would find it very difficult to go to a place that, even if he wasn’t there at the time, was a shared space with an abusive ex. So I feel like you might have strong emotional attachment to the house that is making it hard and you are slightly using the kids’ memories as a cover.

I as pp said I would be moving stuff out in prep to sell anyway. I think if you can treat it as a place to go to rather than a second home it might help.

Also why are you saying about going next summer when you are prepping to sell? Surely the hope is it’s gone by then?

Mummyoflittledragon · 31/10/2024 02:11

MiddleClassProblem · 31/10/2024 02:08

He was/is abusive but you seem quite controlling. New GF is seemingly a better person to co own the house with than ex. I understand that her rearranging your stuff is uncomfortable.

It’s difficult as you seem to want to cut ties with this man but also have an input on things. I understand it’s a shared space and you still use the same bed when you are there but you need to think of that bed as a holiday bed rather than your bed. Personally I would find it very difficult to go to a place that, even if he wasn’t there at the time, was a shared space with an abusive ex. So I feel like you might have strong emotional attachment to the house that is making it hard and you are slightly using the kids’ memories as a cover.

I as pp said I would be moving stuff out in prep to sell anyway. I think if you can treat it as a place to go to rather than a second home it might help.

Also why are you saying about going next summer when you are prepping to sell? Surely the hope is it’s gone by then?

Op is talking in dollars. I’m presuming she’s in Aus so summer is just around the corner.

I hope you and the dcs have fun there this summer with your new partner. Is your ex’s new partner at least kind to them?

MiddleClassProblem · 31/10/2024 02:12

Mummyoflittledragon · 31/10/2024 02:11

Op is talking in dollars. I’m presuming she’s in Aus so summer is just around the corner.

I hope you and the dcs have fun there this summer with your new partner. Is your ex’s new partner at least kind to them?

Ah sorry assumed US

beenwhereyouare · 31/10/2024 02:36

MiddleClassProblem · 31/10/2024 02:08

He was/is abusive but you seem quite controlling. New GF is seemingly a better person to co own the house with than ex. I understand that her rearranging your stuff is uncomfortable.

It’s difficult as you seem to want to cut ties with this man but also have an input on things. I understand it’s a shared space and you still use the same bed when you are there but you need to think of that bed as a holiday bed rather than your bed. Personally I would find it very difficult to go to a place that, even if he wasn’t there at the time, was a shared space with an abusive ex. So I feel like you might have strong emotional attachment to the house that is making it hard and you are slightly using the kids’ memories as a cover.

I as pp said I would be moving stuff out in prep to sell anyway. I think if you can treat it as a place to go to rather than a second home it might help.

Also why are you saying about going next summer when you are prepping to sell? Surely the hope is it’s gone by then?

I disagree. No one should have touched her things. It's overly familiar and unsettling. Are you saying you'd be okay with the GF handling your underwear and rearranging your tampons? If so, you're a lot more easygoing than I could be.

femfemlicious · 31/10/2024 02:39

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 01:56

I am. I’m taking the kids there for the summer holidays.

We had a mutual agreement that partners wouldn’t be taken there (initiated by me), and then that they could be, but not while the kids were there (initiated by him). This was almost immediately broken by him. I’ve ignored him taking the gf there for the better part of the last year - as acknowledged, it’s his house too, I can’t stop him.

My AIBU is that it’s deeply weird for her to paint and plaster a house owned by her boyfriend’s exW and to rearrange exW’s cupboards and clothing. I’m surprised that other people would be ok with that!

Whether it's OK or not, what can you do about it?. Just work on selling it ASAP. Don't torture yourself mentally.

Lostsadandconfused · 31/10/2024 02:39

OP used the term Bach, which could be a typo but is a NZ term for a beach house, so NZ?

Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 02:41

Lostsadandconfused · 31/10/2024 02:39

OP used the term Bach, which could be a typo but is a NZ term for a beach house, so NZ?

Yes it’s NZ. I’d be happy to sell it now but the kids are very attached to it and want to have one last summer holiday there. Even if we sell it won’t settle until end of January as it would be impossible to find somewhere to rent at such short notice. (Another way in which I am being controlling!)

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 02:41

femfemlicious · 31/10/2024 02:39

Whether it's OK or not, what can you do about it?. Just work on selling it ASAP. Don't torture yourself mentally.

Nothing! I am just venting 😂

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 31/10/2024 02:43

Mummyoflittledragon · 31/10/2024 02:11

Op is talking in dollars. I’m presuming she’s in Aus so summer is just around the corner.

I hope you and the dcs have fun there this summer with your new partner. Is your ex’s new partner at least kind to them?

Yes she is - I actually know her slightly as we worked for the same company years ago and have lots of mutual friends. She seems fine, obviously terrible taste in men but who am I to judge, at least she didn’t spend 20 years with him 🤪

OP posts:
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