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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:
ChopstickNovice · 20/05/2025 18:18

I'm exhausted just reading that! So he was unwell but not unwell enough to forgo his hobby or seeing his friends, eh? What a prince. You are well rid of him.

IOSTT · 20/05/2025 18:18

Drowning8453 · 20/05/2025 17:14

Can I also just add that he said that the pressure I have been putting on him over the past few years, and the dynamic in our relationship has likely cause the health scare issue and some of his other health issues.

Throw this manbaby back

TimeForABreak4 · 20/05/2025 18:20

I think your life would be alot more stress free without him in it. I know he says he's struggling but you shouldn't put your own wellbeing at risk for other people and it doesn't sound like he really brings much to your life when he won't even come on days out.

Imbusytodaysorry · 20/05/2025 18:21

@Drowning8453 ge means he hates responsibility and having to step up as a man . It’s depresses him.
It’s a bloody joke .
This kind of person is all me me me .
He will be fine and is fine when he is having days out and meeting with friends .
He doesn’t think he should pay his way or parent or step up as a partner . Shocking he is blaming his health on you .

Hoppinggreen · 20/05/2025 18:22

Butchyrestingface · 20/05/2025 15:55

It’s still your home, right? You haven’t put him on the mortgage or title deeds?

Good-o.

Its a marital asset

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 20/05/2025 18:22

Drowning8453 · 20/05/2025 17:14

Can I also just add that he said that the pressure I have been putting on him over the past few years, and the dynamic in our relationship has likely cause the health scare issue and some of his other health issues.

Very convenient and selfish.

PeapodMcgee · 20/05/2025 18:23

Drowning8453 · 20/05/2025 17:14

Can I also just add that he said that the pressure I have been putting on him over the past few years, and the dynamic in our relationship has likely cause the health scare issue and some of his other health issues.

The fucking little bollix.

Get rid. He sounds repellant.

PeapodMcgee · 20/05/2025 18:24

Hoppinggreen · 20/05/2025 18:22

Its a marital asset

It precedes the marriage and he's not been a sahd.

justasking111 · 20/05/2025 18:24

He won't keep up the SSRIs because the side effects will spiral his health issues.

He's such a fun sponge sucking the joy out of family life.

I'm glad he paid rent and hope you have full records of those payments.

He's better off with his Mam

Heronwatcher · 20/05/2025 18:25

He sounds dreadful. Thank your lucky stars that you haven’t bought an expensive house and focus on building a life for you and your DC.

I’d plan on the basis of no help and I wouldn’t be trying to press for contact time with your DC if he’s that flaky.

housethatbuiltme · 20/05/2025 18:26

Hoppinggreen · 20/05/2025 18:22

Its a marital asset

Not necessarily, she owned it before him as a pre-existing asset, he moved in but has put nothing into it, is not 'titled' on it, shes the employed breadwinner with the full time custody and responsibility of the dependent child who needs the house.

I doubt any court would view him having a claim to it.

Mrsbloggz · 20/05/2025 18:27

Kathbrownlow · 20/05/2025 15:41

You are lucky he went of his own accord. Get rid permanently. And change the locks.

I have to agree with this. As hard as it is for you @Drowning8453 I think your best option is to write him off, try to find a pathway towards accepting that this man is not capable of providing any support for his family.
I am sorry🙏💙

Delphinium20 · 20/05/2025 18:28

We need a bit more info before you can judge him as a bad man, especially given the evident mental health issues. Too often people conflate behaviour with character; if he’s not well he’s going to be causing problems for everyone.

But behavior IS character. How you treat others is a sign of your character. He's already causing problems for everyone, which is his behavior and if he's being bad, well, at this moment, he is being a bad man.

Moveoverdarlin · 20/05/2025 18:31

You’ve got more patience than me OP. I’d change the locks whilst he’s away and serve him with divorce papers. What on earth are you getting out of this relationship? He’s checked out, he contributed nothing.

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 20/05/2025 18:31

justasking111 · 20/05/2025 18:24

He won't keep up the SSRIs because the side effects will spiral his health issues.

He's such a fun sponge sucking the joy out of family life.

I'm glad he paid rent and hope you have full records of those payments.

He's better off with his Mam

Totally agree with this, especially regarding the side-effects of the SSRI.
In fact, I'd be surprised if he even starts taking them.

GingerPaste · 20/05/2025 18:33

Gustavo77 · 20/05/2025 15:49

The man is unwell for goodness sake, give him time and space to get better then you can both see where you are.

Plenty of women have mental health issues… And just get on with it!

catlover123456789 · 20/05/2025 18:41

Putting aside the MH issues, his lack of commitment in the relationship is concerning. It sounds as if you have been carrying this family for a long time. I think you need to ask yourself if you want this relationship, I expect now he's gone life is easier already.

Thepeopleversuswork · 20/05/2025 18:43

Over40Overdating · 20/05/2025 16:08

So he’s refused to make himself an equal partner in your relationship the whole time you’ve lived together and is too drained to be even a weekend dad because it’s too much pressure because he’d rather sit and pontificate about every ache and pain. But he’s not so drained he can’t do his hobbies and meet friends.

That’s not an unwell man, that’s a lazy, uninterested man.

This.

He's a pathetic, spoiled baby.

He may have mental health issues but he doesn't get to check out of married life or indulge himself in an orgy of paranoia about his health because he can't face being an adult.

I'm so tired of the way people constantly defend appalling behaviour by men on the grounds of poor mental health. Mental illness is a very real problem for which people deserve compassion and consideration. It isn't a get out of jail free card for men who never grew up.

As several PPs have pointed out he's done you a huge favour.

BackGammon3 · 20/05/2025 18:44

Twiglets1 · 20/05/2025 17:54

My sympathy is with OP not him with his "health anxiety".

Exactly, that’s my point?????? You support the OP irrespective of logic.

Riaanna · 20/05/2025 18:44

myrtle70 · 20/05/2025 17:37

with no fault divorce it’s now much easier to get out of the legalities of being financially tied (or responsible) for him. If you have not protected your assets before marrying then the shorter the marriage the better for you financially to extricate yourself. That sounds harsh but the alternative is a longer marriage where he is considered to be disabled and financially dependent on you and ends up walking away with a large share of your house, pension etc as the weaker party. You have to think of yourself and your child too. I financially carried my exH for years and never got any thanks he just got lazier and more entitled. It may seem unsympathetic but a short marriage is treated differently in law and you have a narrow window to walk away with all or most of what you had to start with.

Financial resolution has always been separate.

Morningsleepin · 20/05/2025 18:46

For someone with health anxiety, he certainly took his time about getting treatment

Foodylicious · 20/05/2025 18:46

Swrvere MH problems can make someone self centred/selfish.
But they usually don't.
People usually feel guilty and remorseful and beat them self-esteem up for not being the person/man/husband/father they want to be.
This does not sound the case for him at all.

He sounds like he has been selfish and self centred all along and been very careful about how much of himself he has given to you at any point in this relationship.

What do his family think about it all?
And they (overly) caring for him and supporting him in having so little contact with you and his child, or are they telling him he needs to get himself better quickly and get back to his family?
Does he mention missing you at all?

BackGammon3 · 20/05/2025 18:50

TheFormidableMrsC · 20/05/2025 18:16

He might have health anxiety, but he’s dumped his wife and child yet manages to have an active social life and to feel “pressured” by seeing his child every few weeks. He’s gaslit his wife into
thinking it’s her fault. I’ve got health anxiety. I don’t neglect my kids. He’s a dickhead.

What? If you’re overwhelmed going on a walk with friends may be beneficial. Maybe he doesn’t speak to them that much? Maybe that connection helps his mental health? ‘Active Social life' is a projection you are making.

How is the wife behaving? I know people don’t like to contemplate that angle. I was depressed and when the truth came out for my depression i had to concede that my wife had been hitting me which i hid from everyone. I distanced myself from my wife and her family and i got judged for it, as people assume, as a depressive loser.

Stop making assumptions. I’m not saying OP has done anything wrong - she seems sincere - but i hate when people react to someone who wants sincere help without making sure to explore the facts.

Pembrokecrier · 20/05/2025 18:53

Let him go, start divorce proceedings and move on yourself with your son. Your DH can then hopefully recover as he will be free of the massive burden he clearly feels you put him under.

I would wish him well but that’s no life for you and your son, take the out that you are being given

momtoboys · 20/05/2025 18:54

Gustavo77 · 20/05/2025 15:49

The man is unwell for goodness sake, give him time and space to get better then you can both see where you are.

I can see your point but how long to give him "space"? It appears he isn't even committing to coming back to the family should his issues get better? That isn't fair to the OP/ This sounds like it has been a long time problem. She is better off moving on and making a life for she and her child.

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