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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH ‘sexting’ colleague he only met at work party

382 replies

Jaydee92 · 07/12/2025 18:32

Feeling a bit fragile about this but I feel I need a sanity check. DH started his current job at the beginning of this year, goes into the office twice a week and has a lot of colleague who work remotely and he hasn’t seen before. Christmas party on Friday meant he met most of these in person for the first time as the company paid for them to travel and stay over. He was very drunk and I picked him up at the end of the night from the venue as pre agreed.

He was hungover on Saturday and in bed for most of the morning. Last night sat watching TV I noticed notifications on his phone (instagram messages) from a female name I didn’t recognise. I didn’t say anything but kept noticing it.

We have each others passwords for our phones and when he was in the shower this morning I looked at his messages. The message history only went back to yesterday. But basically the messages were sexual in nature. She posted a photo of her before the party, sat on a sort of sofa/stall. DH said to her he’d seen it and wished he was the stall. She said he was more handsome than he seemed on screen and that she couldn’t stop staring at his ‘bulge’ and suggested his trousers were too tight. DH said he couldn’t stop staring at her ‘tits’ and said sorry if she caught him talking to them.

I confronted DH immediately and he was initially really defensive before apologising, said he still felt drunk the following day and got carried away and had the ‘horn’.

I told him this is cheating and he said that’s nonsense as nothing happened.

My AIBU is whether I’m wrong to consider this cheating.

OP posts:
Justthethingsthatyoudointhisgarden · 07/12/2025 18:36

Blimey, I would be livid. What a fkin idiot.

Arlanymor · 07/12/2025 18:37

It’s not cheating (in my eyes) but it’s not nonsense as he says either - it’s full on flirting. Being drunk or having the horn is no excuse. You don’t talk to anyone in that way if you’re in a committed relationship, full stop. I’d be furious. Really furious.

Officiallythere · 07/12/2025 18:37

If he doesn't believe it's cheating then he wouldn't mind you sexting other men? Yeah, right.

Sorry OP.

Defrostedmariahcarey · 07/12/2025 18:38

A few questions..
how old is he? He has the horn?!
do you have children?
I wojld feel sick to my stomach and I’m sorry that happened.

BeMellowAquaSquid · 07/12/2025 18:39

It’s cheating.

PInkyStarfish · 07/12/2025 18:39

He’s be in the bin if that was my husband. Not just for the disgusting behaviour but the trite way he dismisses you and blames the drink as his get out jail free card!

Truly dreadful man.

Jaydee92 · 07/12/2025 18:40

Defrostedmariahcarey · 07/12/2025 18:38

A few questions..
how old is he? He has the horn?!
do you have children?
I wojld feel sick to my stomach and I’m sorry that happened.

No kids but ttc. He’s 33.

OP posts:
JudgeBread · 07/12/2025 18:42

I'd delightedly tell him that since it's not cheating you'll be setting up a fetlife account to talk to big, burly men about your tits and their vastly superior "bulges" whenever you get "the horn". Fairs fair and all that.

(In all seriousness if this was my husband he'd be out on his arse, not least for describing it as "the horn" which is not an expression I've heard since I was a teenager reading Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging where I believe the phrase makes an appearance!)

Ohnonononotagain · 07/12/2025 18:42

Of course it's cheating.

You are his wife. The woman he made vows to. He shouldn't be talking to any woman like that. Being drunk is no excuse.
He has no respect for you OP and obviously other women are fair game to him.
I'm so sorry but he cannot be trusted.

Showerflowers · 07/12/2025 18:43

Not cheating but he’s massively disrespecting you! My dh would be out on his ear

Therealjudgejudy · 07/12/2025 18:46

Gross. That's cheating in my book.

NewUserName2244 · 07/12/2025 18:46

Given that you only found this by chance, and he doesn’t consider it cheating, I think that you should bear in mind that this is possibly not the first time that he has done this.

Id have another good look through his phone when he has his shower tomorrow.

Im so sorry this has happened ☹️

ample290 · 07/12/2025 18:48

Oh god please don't have kids with him.

What a sleazebag. Of course sexting is cheating, cheating isn't just full sex.

jeaux90 · 07/12/2025 18:50

JFC it would be over. I would definitely not be having kids with him.

BeMellowAquaSquid · 07/12/2025 18:51

Jaydee92 · 07/12/2025 18:40

No kids but ttc. He’s 33.

You need to stop TTC that’s for sure. Personally id also confront the woman let her know she’s playing with a married man, call her out on it. Yes your husband is a total dick but she shouldn’t get off Scott free.

MarymaryquiteC · 07/12/2025 18:51

You really have to ask???

jeaux90 · 07/12/2025 18:51

And he’s gaslighting you BTW to minimise what he has done.

Fdsew · 07/12/2025 18:51

Your husband is cheating scum.
You are out of your mind if you get pregnant by him.
This is who he is, an opportunistic cheater.
I hope you got screenshots to share with family.
You will bitterly regret letting this go.

ArcticBear · 07/12/2025 18:51

So he was obviously flirting with her at the party and then carried on yesterday via Insta messaging?
I’d be pissed off by the drunken party flirting, but I’d be fucking livid by the continuation the next day. Get out now Op before there are kids involved, and it will be far harder to extricate yourself.

MakeMineStrong · 07/12/2025 18:51

Not sure his employer would take kindly to this type of behaviour either!

MarymaryquiteC · 07/12/2025 18:52

Jaydee92 · 07/12/2025 18:40

No kids but ttc. He’s 33.

Jesus....kids with tits guy? Fuck NO.

MarymaryquiteC · 07/12/2025 18:53

BeMellowAquaSquid · 07/12/2025 18:51

You need to stop TTC that’s for sure. Personally id also confront the woman let her know she’s playing with a married man, call her out on it. Yes your husband is a total dick but she shouldn’t get off Scott free.

If she doesn't know he's married she has done nothing wrong

Brightbluesomething · 07/12/2025 18:53

He got ‘the horn’ over a women who clearly fancies him too and started sexting her? Which part of that is not cheating?
Did he not say forsaking all others in his vows?
Trust is broken and if he’s minimising this he’s not likely to have an issue with actual cheating.
He has no respect for you or your marriage. Sorry OP it would be over for me.

If it’s not for you, you’re giving him the green light to continue and do this again.

Jaydee92 · 07/12/2025 18:55

BeMellowAquaSquid · 07/12/2025 18:51

You need to stop TTC that’s for sure. Personally id also confront the woman let her know she’s playing with a married man, call her out on it. Yes your husband is a total dick but she shouldn’t get off Scott free.

I doubt she’ll care, I looked on her page and she’s also in a relationship.

OP posts:
ChristmasinBrighton · 07/12/2025 18:55

You can’t trust this man. Definitely don’t have children with him, you will definitely regret it.