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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think my fiance overreacted by getting a younger woman's number because I double booked by accident, and threw my belongings about?

1000 replies

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 12:52

I am trying to work out whether I am being unfair or whether my fiancé genuinely overreacts to situations.
I was spending a long weekend with him and we had plans for Monday. Friday to Sunday eve were lovely and we did sightseeing etc. then went to his and were planning to stay there for a few nights.

However, I realised I had accidentally double-booked the Monday because my adult DD had arranged for me to meet her new boyfriend and his father over lunch. It was important to her and had been organised for a while. DD has is ND and has severe MH issues; this is the first "normal" relationship she has had and it's a huge deal for her.

I told my fiancé on Sunday afternoon that I would go to the lunch for a few hours and then come back afterwards so we could still spend the Monday evening together and the following days.

He was furious. He said I was choosing other people over him and repeatedly referred to my daughter's boyfriend and his father as "strange men". He seemed particularly upset that I would be spending time with another man, even though it was DD's BF's dad not just a random stranger.

After I had told him I had double booked and would need to go for a few hours we were arguing about it non-stop for hours. I was crying at one point and I kept saying I was sorry, it was human error, not deliberate. After all this arguing I was tired and wanted to stay in, but at around 11pm he insisted we go out. While we were out he deliberately started talking to a much younger woman, introduced himself to her, claimed he got her Instagram and then repeatedly talked about how he was meeting her for dinner the next day. His argument was that if I was going for lunch with strange men the next day, then why couldn't he meet up with a new person too? Even though it was not the same at all, obviously. The young woman must have been about 20 and we are both in our 40's so it just felt really weird and "off".

The argument continued after we got back to his for most of the night and I got very little sleep. The next morning I had to get an extremely expensive Uber to make sure I did not let my daughter down and miss the lunch. He had said not to come back to his after lunch but then called me when I was in the Uber and asked me to come back to his after all.

The lunch itself was lovely. Afterwards, I travelled back to his. However, when I arrived we had another argument. During it, he picked up my bags and threw them across the room in anger, they went everywhere as he threw them so hard.

He later continued to use the lunch as an example of me not caring about him enough and prioritising other people over our relationship, and how I like "strange men".

From my point of view, I attended an important family event for a few hours and still made the effort to return afterwards. From his point of view, I had disrespected him and chosen other people over him.

When I told him how much the Uber cost he took offence because I have never gotten an Uber to his even if I am running late; he said he didn't realise I have money in this way.

When I went back to his after the lunch I had to get a standing room only train in the middle of the heatwave; I don't like public transport at the best of times and he kept asking when I arrived what did I want to do; meet his friends in the pub or go straight to his. I said I don't care and was almost in tears as I was finding the journey so stressful. I didn't realise but he had me on loud speaker so all his friends heard me when I said "I don't care" and now he's saying his friends all think I am horrible and rude to him. When it was taken out of context and they didn't know we had been arguing all night and that he'd got a much younger woman's contact details the night before.

Am I missing something or was he overreacting?

OP posts:
Mrswang · 01/06/2026 14:58

He's abusive I would get rid of him you are worth so much more than to be treated like that.

Crudd99 · 01/06/2026 14:59

He's abusive and will only get worse. Get rid of him .

summitfever · 01/06/2026 15:00

Only here to reiterate what everyone else has said. Classic abuse tactics, this will only get worse when you get married. Throw this one back op and save yourself a decade of heartache! Best analogy is if you were eating a bowl of soup and there was a ball of shit floating in it, would you continue to eat around it? No. Chuck out the bowl. Vile asshole he is 🤬 Your poor daughter having to compete with this scumbag

Pipsquiggle · 01/06/2026 15:01

He sounds absolutely awful @Sunglasses1979

This is nowhere close to a loving, equal partnership.

His paranoia & jealousy are off the charts.

Please leave him. I bet your family & friends will be cheering when you tell them the news.

When you leave him, he will no doubt love-bomb you and try to win you back - please don't fall for it. He is a nasty man

Sasha07 · 01/06/2026 15:01

Remember how he's made you feel over this situation and the others, about your family being uncharacteristically off with him.

Remember how he sabotaged your day and the day after, making you so distressed you weren't enjoying yourself.

Remember how he puts himself above your daughter and her safety. You were surely meeting her bfs dad as a way of looking after the couple and forging some kind of civil relationship with them two in mind.

Remember how you felt when he threw your bag with such anger and bitterness that your clothes fell out.

Remember how he tried to manipulate his friends in to thinking you didn't care whether you met up with them or not, twisting the context and he didn't explain to them the true situation.

Remember how he's trying to isolate you to keep you closer under his control.

I'm sure the good times have been great, but remember this side of him is also who is he is. You deserve so much better. You're worth so much more. You should be happy and relaxed in his company. You should have a high degree of unconditional love and safety, space to be yourself and make your own choices. You should be with someone who looks forward to having you back after you've done your own thing, asks how your day went and celebrates the good and commiserates with the bad. He will never change his tune, he's shown you who is and what he's capable of. Get rid of the emotional parasite.

GrumpyButOk · 01/06/2026 15:02

andweallsingalong · 01/06/2026 13:36

And get a Claire's Law disclosure from the police.

You are not the first woman he has been abusive to and this will escalate. If it's clear, it just means no one has reported him.

This. He isn't just "over reacting", his behaviour is very concerning indeed. I think you already know that. You not only need to run from this man, you also need to protect yourself while running. I'd bet any money he is capable of escalating this way beyond throwing your belongings around.

OhGoshNotAgain · 01/06/2026 15:03

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 14:31

I think this is why I posted; I do know on some level this isn't normal or acceptable but due to the way my friends dislike him and siblings as well, we have ended up in a weird little cocoon where it is just the two of us and I am starting to forget what normal is like.

I think keeping me awake for so long, arguing over the same thing was especially awful as I was then tired the next day and as such I was tired before I went to the meal (and ended up getting a very expensive Uber to arrive on time).

This is his precise aim. Please don’t close off your contact with the people who genuinely care about you. They are right, and he is wrong.

Ponderingwindow · 01/06/2026 15:03

What you describe isn’t a bad day. It isn’t a disagreement. It is abuse.

There are also signs he is going to escalate to hitting you. Throwing your belongings around is a huge warning sign.

You need to end this relationship.

Imanautumn · 01/06/2026 15:04

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 12:58

Didn't realise how long my post was đź« 

I didn't feel very respected at all, it was horrible going out so late to what is essentially a student bar just to watch him show me how easily he can pick up other, much younger, women. I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

You are being abused please, please, please get out now.

Krevlornswath · 01/06/2026 15:04

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 13:30

Family not keen on him and he thinks I have no friends because they don't want to see him.

I think whoever said that he is putting a wedge between me and my family might be right. He has tried to separate me from family saying "they were rude to me" when we have all gone out together when I know that they wouldn't be rude to him even if they do not like him as that isn't in their nature. He has said my DSis was really horrible to him but I know her well enough to know that the things he described are not how she would behave. We bumped into my other DSis friend a few months ago when we were out and she was going to talk to my sister because she didn't like how he was treating me.

Yes, I think that is exactly what he's doing and it's a good thing that you're noticing the reality of it.

Listen to your friends and family, reach out to them and talk to them about this, tell them you think you might need help. Google 'signs of emotional abuse' and take some time to understand all of the ways he fits this profile.

It is difficult when you are very enmeshed with someone who is abusing you emotionally OP, their actions and behaviour are designed to reduce your confidence and your ability to make sense of your own feelings so that they can control your life and keep you from leaving. You can see this in how he reacted when he didn't like you seeing male family members and you didn't comply with his wishes not to (which were completely batshit of him by the way), he has escalated his behaviour and succeeded in leaving you confused and upset, worrying about what you have done

You've done absolutely nothing wrong, he is extremely abusive and the relationship is deeply unhealthy. It will not improve, but likely will get much worse for you if you stay.

Appledrop · 01/06/2026 15:04

Oh, darling, please read back what you have just written. Read it as if your daughter, or your best friend, was telling you this story. What would you tell her to do? You would tell her to run for the hills, block his number, and never look back.
You made a completely normal, honest human error by double-booking. You apologised, and you created a perfectly reasonable compromise to ensure you didn’t let your vulnerable daughter down on a massive milestone day, while still ensuring you spent the evening and the rest of the week with him.
His reaction to a minor schedule slip was to subject you to hours of screaming, psychological warfare, and retaliatory cheating behaviour (flirting with a 20-year-old to intentionally break your spirit while you were already crying). He then escalated to physical intimidation by throwing your belongings across the room, followed by public humiliation by putting you on speakerphone to turn his friends against you.
This isn't an "overreaction." This is textbook coercive control, isolation tactics, and emotional abuse.
He is jealous of the time you spend with your own child. He refers to a father of a boyfriend as "strange men" because he wants to twist a family lunch into something sordid to justify his own disgusting behaviour. He threw your bags because next time, it won't be the bags he throws. He put you on speakerphone to isolate you and make you feel like you are the problem.
You are walking on eggshells around a monster. He is a dangerous, insecure, manipulative bully.
You do not marry this man. You thank your lucky stars you found out who he truly was before you signed a marriage certificate. Pick up your thrown bags, go back to your daughter, who actually loves and needs you, and leave this pathetic man to take his 20-year-old Instagram match to dinner.
Do not pack a bag to go back. Do not text him. Change your locks if he has a key. You deserve infinitely better than this. Run.

ThePM · 01/06/2026 15:05

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 14:50

Yes absolutely. I think writing down what has happened that weekend and the thing with the Airbnb too has helped me see clearly.

I was hesitant to post as the whole thing sounds so crazy and ridiculous, of course he was being unreasonable, and so on. Took me a good few days to get round to posting because of the element of shame / embarrassment and I knew people would be thinking I am a total fool for letting it get to this stage.

You aren’t a fool that it has got to this stage. But he is an extremely abusive man, and you need to be very careful when leaving him.

I have been in your position and I cannot tell you how much I regret marrying a bad tempered man, who acted jealous after he had deliberately escalated nothing into some big thing.

Please please break off this engagement and get your life back.

EnjoyingTheArmoire · 01/06/2026 15:06

You should leave your abusive "fiancee"

He has picked you because of your vulnerabilities. I would recommend investigating whether assessments for ADHD/ASD would be appropriate for you.

I'm sorry OP. He is a shit of the highest order. You will find someone who treats you in the loving and respectful way you deserve (and who would make a nice step Grandpa to any grandkids you eventually may end up with).

Best of luck.

Namechangeforthisdilemma1 · 01/06/2026 15:06

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 14:50

Yes absolutely. I think writing down what has happened that weekend and the thing with the Airbnb too has helped me see clearly.

I was hesitant to post as the whole thing sounds so crazy and ridiculous, of course he was being unreasonable, and so on. Took me a good few days to get round to posting because of the element of shame / embarrassment and I knew people would be thinking I am a total fool for letting it get to this stage.

So are you going to do anything about it OP? I’ve read all your replies and it’s terrifying because it seems like you just want to vent but aren’t actually going to leave the b*std.

LakieLady · 01/06/2026 15:06

This man has more red flags than a Beijing military parade.

Please don't waste any more time and energy on him.

AlgaeDreams · 01/06/2026 15:07

I have adult children and am relieved that I no interest in this shit. My time is my time.

Jealousy, coercive control, violent outbursts, damage to property...

Jog on mate.

Imagine if your kids knew.

Hornswaddler · 01/06/2026 15:08

Be careful while leaving him too OP. I'd be willing to bet all I had on that he will ramp up the abuse. I hope I am wrong.

Thecomedyclub · 01/06/2026 15:08

Leave right now.

Jamlighter · 01/06/2026 15:09

Get rid he is a twat

Kokonimater · 01/06/2026 15:09

What a truly horrible man. He should’ve been kind and supportive and understand how important it was for you to be there for your daughter. He will continue to be like this.
he is not a good person to be in a relationship with.
he wanted to punish you for seeing your daughter. So unhealthy. Please please take care of yourself. He is not for you. He really is not.

Tabarnak · 01/06/2026 15:09

I do know on some level this isn't normal or acceptable but due to the way my friends dislike him and siblings as well, we have ended up in a weird little cocoon where it is just the two of us and I am starting to forget what normal is like.

This is Page One of the abusers handbook.

Well done for starting this thread and giving yourself a sense check before it is too late.

We do not think you are a fool.

We think you are woman being abused.

You will find so much support here to leave him.

As your friends and family dislike him, is there once you can turn to and say yes, they were right and you now need support while you leave him?

What is your living situation? It doesn't sound as if you live together because you talk about 'his' place? So you have somewhere to live? Great start!!

NotSorry · 01/06/2026 15:10

You're not a fool, you've been slowly drawn in by an abusive man

I hope you make the right decision for you

Jane143 · 01/06/2026 15:10

Terrible man! I would never see him again. Imagine being married to him! Hope you had a nice time with your daughter despite all this and I’m usually very tolerant but in this case I would absolutely finish it forever. No going back. He’s a control freak

CaesarAugusta · 01/06/2026 15:12

Please tell us he's an ex fiancé?

If your friends and siblings didn't like him, it sounds like they have good judgment and have your interests at heart. Next time, maybe listen to them?

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