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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to stop unannounced visits after overhearing cruel comments in my garden?

690 replies

UnflatteringComment · Today 13:04

Dh has 2 dd from his previous marriage. They are 16 and 18. I’ve always thought I got on well with both.
He sees them very regularly and they often just pop round whenever they fancy as well as the arranged times when they stay.

It’s relevant to include that dsd2 is in recovery for an eating disorder.

It’s been hot and I’ve been relaxing in the garden some days in a bikini (recently lost weight in jabs so was feeling quite confident). Yesterday they came over (not planned) and I heard them laughing at me from the kitchen and saying maybe it’s not a good thing I’ve lost weight if I’m going to start dressing differently and showing off loose skin. I don’t think they realised I could hear ?

Anyway I got up and went inside , said nothing and was thinking to myself how funny it’ll be when they are my age and look like this they’ll probably remember making bitchy comments. Dsd2 said hello and I said hi back, she said they were going to sit outside with a drink did I want anything I said no thanks I’m just going to put a dress on , cover up these wobbly bits and loose skin and smirked. She looked a bit shocked probably realising I’d heard her.

Next thing I know as I’m getting changed the door slams , I went down and nobody was there . Half an hour later dh calls me to ask why the hell i was talking about weight and smirking at dsd2 and apparently looking her up and down ???!!!

I told him what had happened and he said he will have to get their side of the story. Well of course I know dsd1 will back up what dsd2 is saying. I’m just really disappointed with them and I didn’t do anything wrong! AIBU to say to dh that there are no more unannounced visits after this - I should be able to sit in my garden in a bikini and not feel laughed at?

OP posts:
Vaxtable · Today 16:50

Aluna · Today 16:48

Maybe they don’t like her that much. If trying to prevent them from hanging out in their father’s home is typical then perhaps they have good reason.

Did you read the post? It was her house until they married and why should they be able to hang out in the house and be rude to the op? They have a house with their mother they can hang out there

they can hang out at ‘dads’ which also includes the op when dad is there

Aluna · Today 16:51

MedlarJelly · Today 16:48

It's the bare faced lie about OP when she realised she'd been overheard that was the worst bit. They are old enough not to make up lies about people

Edited

I doubt DD’s lying - they both agree OP “smirked” and if DD claims OP looked her up and down - well maybe she did - perhaps that was her revenge. Or perhaps OP didn’t mean to but that’s how DD interpreted it.

THisbackwithavengeance · Today 16:51

What?? Have I read something totally different? These teenage girls were being grade A bitches and the OP rightly called them out. They’ve gone running to Daddy to get their story in first as they know they’re in the wrong. Stand up for yourself OP. It would be wrong to ban them but let your DH know that you’re not going to lie down and take insults.

TwinklySquid · Today 16:52

Was your response mature? No . But the kids are old enough to know not to be cruel. The one with the ED should know more than anyone how comments can be viewed.

If they can’t respect you, in your own home, then they loose unrestricted access. I’d be telling DH that they don’t come over on days he isn’t there .

Now he can try and smooth the waters and get them to apologise but if he is still waiting for his daughters side then I’m going to assume he’s like alot of men on here who let their kids treat their partner like rubbish. If that’s the case- stand firm.

Well done on the weight loss.

ThreadGuardDog · Today 16:52

Aluna · Today 16:51

I doubt DD’s lying - they both agree OP “smirked” and if DD claims OP looked her up and down - well maybe she did - perhaps that was her revenge. Or perhaps OP didn’t mean to but that’s how DD interpreted it.

They omitted that they had been talking behind OP’s back and made it look as though her comment had come out of the blue. That’s the same as lying.

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 16:53

justasking111 · Today 15:43

Excuse. Maybe she finds rudeness unacceptable.

But she was rude back 🤣 if you are an adult telling off teenagers then you have to choose the high road or you have no legs to stand on.

Aluna · Today 16:53

Vaxtable · Today 16:50

Did you read the post? It was her house until they married and why should they be able to hang out in the house and be rude to the op? They have a house with their mother they can hang out there

they can hang out at ‘dads’ which also includes the op when dad is there

Because she married their dad and they come as a package. If she didn’t want teens in her house she should have married someone else.

Aluna · Today 16:53

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 16:53

But she was rude back 🤣 if you are an adult telling off teenagers then you have to choose the high road or you have no legs to stand on.

Exactly.

KrazyKatty · Today 16:54

YABU and childish too. You should have behaved as the adult in this situation and said nothing. It’s not that hard to play the grown up. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ponderingwindow · Today 16:55

As long as their father lives there, it is their home too and they are free to come and go without restraint.

He needs to actually parent. If they are making rude comments about someone’s body, that should be addressed.

If you are unhappy with his parenting, you don’t ban his children, you ask him to move out.

Dontlletmedownbruce · Today 16:57

SingtotheCat · Today 13:28

I thought your response was fine and quite mild. That’s what you get for being a bitch and they were being bitches in that moment.
tough shit.

Yes I agree. Oh the irony of DSD who has such issues with her body being mean about another persons body, you would think she should be a bit more sensitive. Having an MH problem doesn't give her an excuse to be nasty but no doubt she will try to make this all about her. And her sister should know better than to talk in this way too, again it's ironic Dh says you shouldn't mention this stuff when the sister of the girl with ED is allowed mention it!

It annoys me we are so forgiving of teenage girls. If it were boys taking the piss out of someone in a bikini MN would be calling them all sorts of names

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 16:57

KrazyKatty · Today 16:54

YABU and childish too. You should have behaved as the adult in this situation and said nothing. It’s not that hard to play the grown up. 🤷🏻‍♀️

She didn’t have to say nothing, she could have chosen to say “I heard what you were saying about me, and it wasn’t kind. Please don’t talk about me like that in my own home.” That would have been fair.

KTheGrey · Today 17:00

They turned up and were unnecessarily rude. Having an eating disorder is not going to be helped by criticising other people’s weight - in fact it is symptomatic of the problem. Great opportunity for their father to point out to both daughters that he has chosen you on purpose and changes in your weight do not affect his relationship with you. Equally, changes in their weight do not change how he feels about them.

Being mean for no reason is not acceptable and if they got paid out in kind after doing that, bad luck. That sort of thing can happen if you are unguarded in your personal remarks about other people.

ThreadGuardDog · Today 17:01

sssunday21 · Today 16:37

Bloody hell. This is a depressing thread. No wonder so many young people have a reputation for being self-obsessed and having no resilience given they are being raised by the sort of adults posting on this thread.

I'm in my 50s. I can't even begin to imagine being discombobulated by a comment from a 16 or 18 year old about my sagging or creping skin. It is sagging and creping. But more to the point, I don't really care what a 16 or 18 year old thinks of my aesthetic appearance. And I very much doubt they care what I think of theirs'.

I remember being astonished and appalled when I saw my Mum bending over in her underwear when I was a teenager. My eyes were like saucers. I had no idea that skin went like that. Now my skin is like that. That's life innit.

The point is, you cannot control your insecurities by seeking to control those around you. You have to build your own inner resilience, and acceptance.

Those teenagers had no intention of being cruel or unkind to OP because they did not think she could hear. They were silly comments by immature young adults. They may have been motivated by embarrassment caused by unexpectedly seeing their step mum nearly naked.

OP could have behaved like an adult. Calmly saying, ' I can hear you.' would have done as they would have been mortified and doubtless apologised. You could even follow it up with, 'that wasn't kind and people can be very hurt by such comments.' or similar if you really wanted to drive the point home. But it really didn't need any more than that.

And its simply not believable that the people on here making vicious, spite filled comments about a 16 year old and an 18 year old, including calling them names, are the sort of people who have never made a bitchy comment about someone behind their back. The words pot, kettle and black come to mind.

Adults should behave like adults, especially around young people. Model the behaviour you want them to display.

I was brought up to believe that you don’t say anything behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to their face. I hope I’ve stuck to that, and I hope I’ve imparted that properly to my DD. Those girls absolutely were being cruel and unkind to OP. The fact that they thought she couldn’t hear them is irrelevant. They were being nasty and spiteful about someone who had opened up her home to them, they got more than they bargained for, and like every teenager ever, are trying to wriggle out of the responsibility instead of owning it.

The reason that teens have the reputation of being self centred and have no resilience, is because so many of them don’t. And it’s not as a result of the attitudes of the people supporting OP here. It’s down to them being constantly given the message in various ways that they are the most important thing in the world, and they don’t have to take responsibility for anything. Somebody else is always to blame.

neverbeenskiing · Today 17:03

Hell would freeze over before I let anyone tell me my children aren't welcome in my home whenever they want to be there.

You say it was your home first, but ultimately when you married a man with children you agreed to open your home to those children. As your DH's children they should feel that they have two homes, not that they are guests in their Dad's home.

Their comments were unkind and hurtful, and that should be addressed directly with them. But banning them from turning up unannounced isn't relevant or proportionate.

RanyaJerodung · Today 17:04

Aluna · Today 16:53

Because she married their dad and they come as a package. If she didn’t want teens in her house she should have married someone else.

It sounds as if she's always been happy to have them in the house.
Just not slagging her off.

ThreadGuardDog · Today 17:04

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 16:57

She didn’t have to say nothing, she could have chosen to say “I heard what you were saying about me, and it wasn’t kind. Please don’t talk about me like that in my own home.” That would have been fair.

And it would probably have been met with the usual teen eye roll. This way, they’ve learned a lesson - not that they’ve taken responsibility for it if the half story they’ve told their dad is anything to go by.

Anarchy99 · Today 17:05

ThreadGuardDog · Today 17:01

I was brought up to believe that you don’t say anything behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to their face. I hope I’ve stuck to that, and I hope I’ve imparted that properly to my DD. Those girls absolutely were being cruel and unkind to OP. The fact that they thought she couldn’t hear them is irrelevant. They were being nasty and spiteful about someone who had opened up her home to them, they got more than they bargained for, and like every teenager ever, are trying to wriggle out of the responsibility instead of owning it.

The reason that teens have the reputation of being self centred and have no resilience, is because so many of them don’t. And it’s not as a result of the attitudes of the people supporting OP here. It’s down to them being constantly given the message in various ways that they are the most important thing in the world, and they don’t have to take responsibility for anything. Somebody else is always to blame.

So you have never spoken badly about someone outside of their presence? I don’t believe that. It’s human nature

KTheGrey · Today 17:06

neverbeenskiing · Today 17:03

Hell would freeze over before I let anyone tell me my children aren't welcome in my home whenever they want to be there.

You say it was your home first, but ultimately when you married a man with children you agreed to open your home to those children. As your DH's children they should feel that they have two homes, not that they are guests in their Dad's home.

Their comments were unkind and hurtful, and that should be addressed directly with them. But banning them from turning up unannounced isn't relevant or proportionate.

Meh. She is talking about them not coming round unannounced when she’s home and not their dad. I don’t see how that would impact their relationship with him.

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 17:06

ThreadGuardDog · Today 17:04

And it would probably have been met with the usual teen eye roll. This way, they’ve learned a lesson - not that they’ve taken responsibility for it if the half story they’ve told their dad is anything to go by.

They’ve learned that passive aggressive behaviour is acceptable. I’d rather them see a good example of communication. You have no idea how they would have reacted.

Blackbird2409 · Today 17:07

I wouldn’t pussyfoot around the eating disorder. She didn’t think that you might develop one yourself after such bitchy comments from them. I don’t think you said anything wrong at all. I couldn’t trust the pair of them again and would remember it for future. Sound an awful pair.

MaryBeardsShoes · Today 17:07

Also, I don’t think it matters how someone else reacts. What matters is that your behaviour is something that you can be proud of. If I’d behaved like the OP I’d feel more ashamed of myself.

Gettingbysomehow · Today 17:09

AlwaysExtraHot · Today 13:14

You shouldn’t have retaliated like that. Better to either ignore or speak to her about it calmly and say she might like to think about whether it’s a good/nice thing to judge other people’s bodies . Or at least not to do so unless she’s sure they can’t hear her!

Id have kicked the pair of them out. Nobody has the right to speak to me like that in my own home.

MedlarJelly · Today 17:13

UnflatteringComment · Today 14:22

Apparently dsd2 is still too upset to talk about it so he hasn’t even been able to find out her side. He said he knows I’m not lying but he wants to give them the opportunity to give their side before he decides how to approach it.

It's probably too much to hope she's upset because she's ashamed about lying about what happened to make you look bad. She bitched about your body but lied you insulted hers. 🙄

Pinkbasketcase · Today 17:14

Why would you stop them coming to their home cause your feelings were hurt? Surely it's there dads home also which means their home?

Deal with your hurt feelings and move on...

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