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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH has left us on MH grounds

316 replies

Drowning8453 · 20/05/2025 15:37

DH has been having difficulty with his MH, I would say close on a year that I know of, but possibly a lot longer than that, things like anxiety and depressive moments. He gets very fixated on health issues and gets very very down about them. Once one thing is 'fixed' there will be another quite quickly. When he has a cold he gets very very down about it and starts to fixate and stress.

We have a 3 yr DS and we have lived together for around 5 years now in the home that I owned before we got together. I have asked many times for us to move in to own something together, but he has always either shut the conversation down, changed the subject or said no, it wasn't the right time and he would find it too stressful to move. I have found this really anxiety provoking myself, as everything felt so uncertain. So we have carried on as me being responsible for all the house maintenance and upkeep and him paying me rent each month to cover the bills. I do all of the housework and his 'jobs' have been to do the dishes and cook, plus some food shopping and some laundry which I also do. He will not clean and has no interest in any maintenance things, doesn't see them as his responsibility and thinks that it's my house or I won't like what he does so why do it.

I work 3.5 days a week and I do all of the nights with our DS, as DH is in his own room as we keep him awake and he needs his sleep.

Over the past 6 months, DH's MH has been getting progressively worse, he is constantly tired, doesn't enjoys days out or even want to go on them (which I organise) with DS, is miserable quite often or worrying about a health issue. Christmas day was spent worrying that he had something wrong with his neck. It has put a lot of stress and pressure on me as I feel like I have been trying to support him and also trying to keep things normal and nice for our son.

This has escalated in the last month when DH had a health scare. It was very worrying for us, and has since sent him into a complete spiral. He has been off work and I have been trying to be as supportive as I can. He felt that being alone with our son was too much for him and made him feel worse and stressed, but he was well enough to book an afternoon/lunch/walks with his friends and his hobby. So I have had to take on pretty much all childcare, on top of work and struggling to even get out for a walk on my own.

When I raised an issue with this, it was met with you are adding more stress onto me when I don't need it and walked away from the conversation. He has now left the house to go and stay with family, so that he can be as stress free as possible so he can get well, and doesn't know when/whether he will be able to come back saying that I'm putting too much pressure on him at home and his mental health isn't in the right place for any conversations like that. He has come to see DS for a few hours each weekend, but has said that pushed him too far and took it out of him. I'm alone with our DS, doing everything and trying to keep things as stable as possible while I feel he has simply checked out.

OP posts:
allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 22/05/2025 15:02

@Drowning8453 I just can't even fathom me being able to leave like this. Your house! he has left! change the locks now!! you are not leaving!!

BountifulPantry · 22/05/2025 15:16

What a prick. Go and see a solicitor and get your financial settlement sorted immediately.

Your house before marriage - he has left. Change the locks immediately. he doesn’t get to come and go.

Kathbrownlow · 22/05/2025 15:31

Gyozas · 22/05/2025 14:58

Hmm. So he’s fucked off, citing his mental health, and is now now blaming all of that on you, while claiming he wants his child a bit, eventually 50:50 (so he doesn’t have to pay), who leaving you to do literally everything in the meantime while he takes some time for himself to ‘heal’?

Hmm.

Don't forget the bit about being jolly as a jolly thing when making arrangements to meet up and do hobbies with his mates.

FeedingPidgeons · 22/05/2025 15:39

I know this is hard but you need to grieve for the person you hoped he could be, and eventually come to accept the reality of who he is.

I'm sorry OP, but you have dodged a bullet by not having a shared home and him having left.

You need to file for divorce. Rip the plaster off.

Thisisittheapocalypse · 22/05/2025 16:23

Ah, the luxury of the man-child to 'help' with the parenting of their own children once in a long while when they feel like it.

Divorce his sorry arse.

Starlightstarbright4 · 22/05/2025 16:32

Are you married ? You put Dh in your post so it becomes joint property . He has checked out . You need to start divorce proceedings asap to protect your home .

He is also gas lighting you . My mh is through the floor at the minute . As a Lp I have to get up and get on with my day ..

I honestly think you could do with counselling but hard to find the time .

you need to stop trying to fix him . You can’t motivate him or make him . Time to focus on you and Dc 💐

IVbumble · 22/05/2025 17:58

I'd also be wondering if there is another woman in the background. [not his mum]

Pigglingbland · 22/05/2025 18:20

Appreciate you’re all over the place OP atm but you never said what your relationship was like before he became mentally unwell?
Have you always carried him & done the lion’s share? I suspect so it being your own house etc.
While the prospect of ending things is probably overwhelming RN, it is time to give it some proper headspace. He’s an absent parent (& partner) anyway & has been acting in an incredibly selfish & entitled way. I don’t think formally separating will be as awful as you think!

And the consensus on here is that he’s not having a bad mental health episode per se as much as having a personality & bad attitude problem (with poor MH at times that is weaponised to suit him). That won’t get much better even with SSRI’s & talking therapy. I know you want to hope that it will & maybe you need to give him in theory a chance, while mentally getting your ducks in a row & a longer term plan of how to move on from him (maybe with some counselling if this is possible to help you gain the confidence to). Good luck.

FancyBiscuitsLevel · 22/05/2025 18:33

It might not even be as cynical as fear of maintenance payments, but if he’s with his family, he’s feeling the judgement that why isn’t he seeing his child? Why isn’t he upset not to see them regularly? Why isn’t he fighting for them? Etc. IME good parents find it really hard to understand the mindset of someone who doesn’t want to spend time with their kids. (This is why so many people jump to believe the “terrible ex won’t let me see the kids” rather than accept the reality is usually “I’m a shit dad and can’t be arsed”)

I would expect if you do allow your h to have your dc then it’ll be his mum doing the childcare, not him.

see a solicitor. Find out what sort of position you’d be in if you divorce.

BruFord · 22/05/2025 18:48

I would expect if you do allow your h to have your dc then it’ll be his mum doing the childcare, not him.

@FancyBiscuitsLevel Yes and that’s not what parental contact is supposed to be about. Grandparents don’t have parental rights and responsibilities.

RedToothBrush · 22/05/2025 18:49

I'd put money on it actually being about his mum is panicking that she won't be able to see her grandchild and he's been put up to this ...

BruFord · 22/05/2025 18:55

RedToothBrush · 22/05/2025 18:49

I'd put money on it actually being about his mum is panicking that she won't be able to see her grandchild and he's been put up to this ...

@RedToothBrush That could well be, and unfortunately, that can happen when your adult child bails out on your grandchild.

FancyBiscuitsLevel · 22/05/2025 18:59

OP if you need a break, if you need some time to sort out your life / think through what you do next, then if your H /his mum are prepared to do childcare for a night or so, it’s ok to take it.

But do think in terms of planning for a divorce, he’s left you and don’t assume he’ll come back. (You might not want him back).

JasmineTea11 · 22/05/2025 19:07

Obviously you are feeling upset, disappointed and worried right now, but before long you will start to see, feel and believe that your life will be a lot easier and happier without him.
He will drag you down, wear you out and ruin your social life.
You sound together and energetic, you'll be fine.

JasmineTea11 · 22/05/2025 19:14

Also there's no way he's suddenly going to become interested in DIY or maintenance just because his name's on the deeds, he will just leave it all for you because he knows he can, and will tell himself you like doing all that stuff.
If he was into that stuff you'd have already seen that, you are sharing a home.

myrtle70 · 22/05/2025 19:39

Get legal advice about your house. You don’t have to turn your back on him as a friend / coparent but marriage is a financial contract and you are the one with assets to lose.

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