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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:
Zoec1975 · 02/11/2024 09:04

More important than anything else is what i was trying to say

CleaningAngel · 02/11/2024 09:05

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!

I'd hazard a guess he's told said gf it's all his, and you're been awkward and not moving your stuff out. Hence she's trying to gain brownie points with him doing all the DIY. Wtf is that all about, she must be such a door mat if he's not even paying her

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:06

easier · 02/11/2024 09:01

oh come on op
your thread wasn’t about whether the girlfriend was unreasonable to paint and tidy up in advance of listing photos!

Of course she is helping him prepare the property for sale?

I think she is a mug for donating her labour to paint and plaster the property of her boyfriend and his ex wife, when she and boyfriend don’t even live together but that’s her call.

I think it’s unreasonable to fiddle with the private drawers and wardrobes of said ex wife in said property.

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:07

easier · 02/11/2024 09:04

does your new partner have children? the new girlfriend?

How is that relevant?

OP posts:
easier · 02/11/2024 09:07

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:06

Of course she is helping him prepare the property for sale?

I think she is a mug for donating her labour to paint and plaster the property of her boyfriend and his ex wife, when she and boyfriend don’t even live together but that’s her call.

I think it’s unreasonable to fiddle with the private drawers and wardrobes of said ex wife in said property.

they have been together two years
she loves him
he needs the property sold to buy his own place
She’s helped him paint and tidy up

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:07

Zoec1975 · 02/11/2024 09:04

More important than anything else is what i was trying to say

Agreed

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:08

easier · 02/11/2024 09:07

they have been together two years
she loves him
he needs the property sold to buy his own place
She’s helped him paint and tidy up

They have been together just over one year. We have been split nearly 2 years.
I don’t know how she feels about him 😂

OP posts:
easier · 02/11/2024 09:09

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:07

How is that relevant?

Just wondering if your children also had that to deal with as well

easier · 02/11/2024 09:10

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:08

They have been together just over one year. We have been split nearly 2 years.
I don’t know how she feels about him 😂

they got together a month after you got together with your dp according to your other thread

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:10

easier · 02/11/2024 09:09

Just wondering if your children also had that to deal with as well

They don’t

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:10

easier · 02/11/2024 09:10

they got together a month after you got together with your dp according to your other thread

which was 6 months after I split with exH Inspector Morse

OP posts:
easier · 02/11/2024 09:11

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:10

They don’t

small mercies

easier · 02/11/2024 09:12

so you and your ex have both been in relationships with a year and already both new partners well and truly enmeshed in your children’s lives. Their heads must be spinning.

I’ll leave you to it op

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:12

easier · 02/11/2024 09:12

so you and your ex have both been in relationships with a year and already both new partners well and truly enmeshed in your children’s lives. Their heads must be spinning.

I’ll leave you to it op

No please stay and share some
more insights

OP posts:
easier · 02/11/2024 09:14

you were told repeatedly on your other thread that introducing your new partner so soon after breaking up with the father was a mistake. And the fact that the first time they met your new partner was going away on holiday was a mega mistake.

But you do as you do. It is just odd that you post on mumsnet every step of the way but have no intention of ever following any of the advice given!

easier · 02/11/2024 09:14

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:12

No please stay and share some
more insights

no chance
depressing reading
i’ll hide now

BlackToes · 02/11/2024 09:20

Bless her, she’s likely being used and will likely be helping with a good heart. let her crack on if that’s what she wants to do. Maybe you could swap bedrooms? The property will likely be sold this year so the issue is temporary.

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:25

@easier You mean when I introduced my boyfriend to my kids after we had been together 9 months, as a friend who I went to high school with (which is true), and we went away for a weekend (to another beach house which I rented) with another family who are close friends, and DP slept in a different room from me? That time? In February this year?

Not sure how that was a mistake on any measure given all went well, kids & DP get on well and it will be literally years (from now) before I consider DP moving in. What a shit mum.

OP posts:
Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 09:27

BlackToes · 02/11/2024 09:20

Bless her, she’s likely being used and will likely be helping with a good heart. let her crack on if that’s what she wants to do. Maybe you could swap bedrooms? The property will likely be sold this year so the issue is temporary.

I think you’re right @BlackToes, I think she’s being a bit blind but I think I should proceed in the assumption she means well.

OP posts:
PumpkinPurple · 02/11/2024 09:46

I might be tempted to do something at the beach hut to make it clear that you still own it. For example, decorate your bedroom with pink paint and daisies. Just something that makes her ask your ex why he 'allows' you to choose the decor and paint the bedroom.

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 10:06

PumpkinPurple · 02/11/2024 09:46

I might be tempted to do something at the beach hut to make it clear that you still own it. For example, decorate your bedroom with pink paint and daisies. Just something that makes her ask your ex why he 'allows' you to choose the decor and paint the bedroom.

😂 Plaster the walls with Smash Hits posters

OP posts:
MauveCritic · 02/11/2024 10:12

If he were abusive, I'd care less; I'd just be glad to get rid of him and move on with my life. It wouldn't interest me what he and his new 'victim' girlfriend were up to.

Ohnobackagain · 02/11/2024 10:21

@Endoftheroad12345 have you seen the 1940 Hitchcock version?

Endoftheroad12345 · 02/11/2024 10:24

Ohnobackagain · 02/11/2024 10:21

@Endoftheroad12345 have you seen the 1940 Hitchcock version?

Is that the one with Joan Fontain as Mrs Danvers??? Yes!! So creepy. My best friend and I were obsessed with it at uni. At one point Mrs D literally sniffs Rebecca’s underwear “look how fine the lace is” 😵‍💫

OP posts:
TammyJones · 02/11/2024 11:25

Ohnobackagain · 02/11/2024 10:21

@Endoftheroad12345 have you seen the 1940 Hitchcock version?

By far the best one.