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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:
Isthisit22 · 01/06/2026 17:42

He’s highly abusive. Are you going to leave him?

PaterPower · 01/06/2026 17:42

What a charmer. Bin him off; nobody deserves that kind of bullshit.

WaltzingWaters · 01/06/2026 17:42

Please get rid of him. He’s abusive. He’s trying to drive a wedge between you and your family and friends, until you’re completely isolated from them, and he can control you completely. Please leave him before that happens.

you say your Dd is in her first healthy relationship. What would you say to her if she were in the same type of relationship you are currently in. I’m sure you’d be very scared for her and wish for her to leave him.

Horses7 · 01/06/2026 17:42

🚩🚩🚩 run for the hills and don’t look back - he’s a bad one!

AfraidToRun · 01/06/2026 17:43

If the person you love can't be trusted to respect you when you make an honest mistake, What's the point? Trust comes with generosity and the benefit of the doubt.

Get a better man...

TheJuryIsOut · 01/06/2026 17:46

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:36

Sorry that happened to you 💐
He has said similar in the past, about how some woman was coming onto him, when he has gone out. And he has been very moody when I have gone away in the past, with friends. Like I am out on the pull or something when I am not.

I just want to say that I know mine is quite an extreme case and that not every man escalates to this level, but plenty do (more than you would ever realise)....

My ex started his abuse like this, he would accuse me of all sorts, prioritising other people etc and would keep me up all night refusing to let me sleep. Unfortunately I lived with him and had his kids and was essentially trapped. Long story short his abuse got worse and worse (every kind of abuse) and he ended up trying to kill me, and very nearly succeeded. I live with the PTSD every day and if I could go back and leave him when the abuse was how you describe I would do it in a heartbeat. Please PLEASE leave him. Don't put yourself in danger.

Hatty65 · 01/06/2026 17:47

Do not marry this man.

Do not continue to date this man.

Get out now, he's an utter knob. C'mon, you are an adult with a daughter - is this the treatment you would expect her to tolerate from her boyfriend? Get rid of the awful guy you are saying and set her a decent example. He's not worth shedding any tears over.

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:49

TheJuryIsOut · 01/06/2026 17:46

I just want to say that I know mine is quite an extreme case and that not every man escalates to this level, but plenty do (more than you would ever realise)....

My ex started his abuse like this, he would accuse me of all sorts, prioritising other people etc and would keep me up all night refusing to let me sleep. Unfortunately I lived with him and had his kids and was essentially trapped. Long story short his abuse got worse and worse (every kind of abuse) and he ended up trying to kill me, and very nearly succeeded. I live with the PTSD every day and if I could go back and leave him when the abuse was how you describe I would do it in a heartbeat. Please PLEASE leave him. Don't put yourself in danger.

I am very sorry that happened to you.

It has been a slippery slope from feeling a bit too cozy to feeling claustrophobic.

OP posts:
Littlemisssunshine1982 · 01/06/2026 17:50

Wow get out now run as fast as you can over those hills and keep going, you wasn’t prioritising strange men you prioritised you dd and good on you for doing that. This man will only get worse please leave him

AMurderofMurderingCrows · 01/06/2026 17:52

Notsosweetcaroline · 01/06/2026 17:29

Her friends and family have been telling her for a long time.

I appreciate that but when you're in the thick of it you don't always listen.

Having a hundred women tell her that her fiance is abusive might be a bit of a shock.

Youtookyourtime · 01/06/2026 17:52

Blondiebeachbabe · 01/06/2026 15:20

I felt the hairs stand up on my neck reading this. Every fibre in my being is screaming RUN

This is surely almost identical situation that you are in with your DP - given you started a thread yesterday about how your horrible DP is jealous of your adult children and kicked off about fact you want to meet your DD for breakfast? Coincidentally with her husband’s father also attending the breakfast too @Blondiebeachbabe

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:53

And the not letting me sleep is absolutely horrible and in hindsight he has done this before, before I am meant to see friends or family etc. or an important day at work.

OP posts:
MrsOvertonsWindow · 01/06/2026 18:00

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:53

And the not letting me sleep is absolutely horrible and in hindsight he has done this before, before I am meant to see friends or family etc. or an important day at work.

Well done for letting yourself speak about what he's doing. That's how you'll realise just how dangerous he is and will find the courage to leave.
Given your family already dislike him, are their people you can turn to for support?

cannynotsay · 01/06/2026 18:02

This is insanity

TheZingyFish · 01/06/2026 18:02

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:53

And the not letting me sleep is absolutely horrible and in hindsight he has done this before, before I am meant to see friends or family etc. or an important day at work.

This is punishment for doing something that doesn’t revolve around him. He isn’t physically stopping you going but he is doing everything he can to ensure you won’t enjoy yourself, either due to being too tired or feeling too guilty. This is abuse.

TonTonMacoute · 01/06/2026 18:02

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:49

I am very sorry that happened to you.

It has been a slippery slope from feeling a bit too cozy to feeling claustrophobic.

This has made awful reading OP, so many stories of similar behaviour, which I hope will give you the courage to make the right decision for you.

Your OP was is this normal?. It does seem to depressingly common, but it is certainly not acceptable. Men who behave like this do not deserve nice women as partners.

LTB

Violetpuffin · 01/06/2026 18:03

Run and run fast from this relationship. End it today. Your future self will thank you.

ParadiseIsNoBunker · 01/06/2026 18:05

I too spent too long with a man like this. You have to leave OP, he will only get worse.

Also, the lunch with ‘a strange man’ is a red herring. His fury stems from you not doing as he wants, as you’re told. The ‘third party’ (daughter, daughter’s FIL etc) is irrelevant and merely sticks to beat you with; if it wasn’t them, it would be someone else. You will never win - he will always find a way to make you feel blame, insecure and on the back foot. The speed at which my ex could turn took my breath away.

Leave.

Justalondongirl · 01/06/2026 18:06

Like many other posters I’ve been in an abusive relationship. I’ve left that now and am in a happy healthy one. In my old relationship I’d be constantly apologizing but not really knowing what for; be in tears; be berated by him for hours.

One thing that helped me see how abnormal it was, was hearing what a normal response would be to a situation. If I was in your current situation re the lunch my partner now would say something like “Wow is that Monday? I’d forgotten that was coming up. I’m so glad you’ll be getting to see your DC and meeting their partner. How are you feeling about it all, are you a bit stressed? So hope it goes well for you”. There would be NO question AT ALL that this was a priority and he’d not be the least bit offended, just supportive of me.

you can have a relationship like that too… your normal has become so distorted you can’t see it… and I understand as it happened to me too.

MiffyPurple · 01/06/2026 18:07

Fiance? You mean you intend to marry this childish controlling imbecile?

Raise your standards. You were putting your child first and he didn't like it. Therein lies the script of how you life will be. You can't change him, much as you would like to. You deserve better.

5128gap · 01/06/2026 18:07

Think about your horrible Sunday and Monday. Think about how the only nice part of that time was the time you spent with people who aren't him. Think about being shouted at, humiliated, accused and bullied. At having your things thrown around, at being embarrassed in front of his friends and that young woman. Think about how upset, anxious, intimidated you felt. The sick disappointment in your stomach.
Then, think whether you want these things in your life. Because men who can give you a few days good company and sight seeing are a dime a dozen. You don't have to have all that awful stuff as well just to get that.

Megifer · 01/06/2026 18:09

I really hope you find the strength to leave him over the coming days, it sounds like the examples you have given of his behaviour are the tip of the iceberg.

When are you supposed to be seeing him again?

Reportingfromwherever · 01/06/2026 18:10

RUN OP, RUN! What would you say to your daughter if this was her relationship? This will only get worse. Get out now.

JoWilkinsonsno1fan · 01/06/2026 18:13

Sunglasses1979 · 01/06/2026 17:53

And the not letting me sleep is absolutely horrible and in hindsight he has done this before, before I am meant to see friends or family etc. or an important day at work.

So what are your next steps?

blackcatlove · 01/06/2026 18:13

Why on earth would be engaged to this nasty man?!

Surely you are not so desperate to be with a man that you’d put up with this abuse. Raise your bar!

So many bloody red flags 🚩 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

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