Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Please please help … messages to another woman

143 replies

alwaysleftoutt · 13/07/2026 02:35

Please help me in spiralling.

I’m in a relationship with someone I’d thought I’d spend the rest of my life with. He proposed to me a year ago. I’ve embraced his kids and his problematic ex and I’ve struggled with insecurity issues from this. I don’t know what to think anymore

My partner has always been vocal about how much he hates cheating. Says it’s abhorrent and if there’s someone else you like you should just end the relationship. His dad had a whole other family with another woman behind his mums back and tore the family apart. I’ve always trusted him 100%.

Last few weeks my minds been screaming at me “he’s cheating”. It came out of nowhere until I noticed he’d followed a random (very pretty) girl on Instagram. Insecurity got the better of me and I asked who she was. He said she was his little sisters friend and he knew her briefly as they’d grown up in the same area when younger. Told myself I was being insecure and moved on.

The thought kept coming but I tried to ignore it. The other day I noticed her story at the top of his instagram page whilst he was showing me reels, again I asked, and he said “oh yeah me and Tina (not real name) are a thing”.

Today again he’s showing me stuff on instagram. He clicks on his messages and I see her name. I asked to see his phone, he grabbed it back off me but eventually gave me it and said I could read it.

They’ve been messaging for 2 weeks ish. Catching up about life. She started it sending him a picture of them from when they were younger (she’s not his little sisters age like he told me). Then she said she’s just ended a 10 year relationship and rediscovering life. Talking about a “group reunion” with the friendship group.

I asked him why he’d told me she was his sisters friend, he said they were in a friendship group but she was younger so assumed he was his sisters age (his sister is 12 years younger than him wtf).

The messages go on and he talks about his kids and his time in the army but there’s zero mention of me.

I asked why? He said “it didn’t come up” and “she can see pictures of you on my page anyway”

She most recently sent voice notes on Friday but he didn’t reply. In them she’s talking about how she nearly came by our city for a trip with her sister and she should have just come because a “reunion is needed”.

I lost my mind and said he was massaging his and her egos and it’s not what people in committed relationships do. This is the man who constantly says men and women can’t be friends as they always end up sleeping together.

He said he didn’t think it was weird but said he did think it got weird when she sent voice notes so didn’t reply.

I asked why I wasn’t mentioned. He said well she’d just told me she’d ended a 10 year relationship so it didn’t feel “kind” to “rub in her face our happiness”

He threw his phones at the wall, grabbed my wrist to get his phone, broke the fan and threw it at the wall leaving a dint.

Am I reading too much into this - is it my insecurity? I would never have expected this from him, I really wouldn’t. I just don’t know what to do.

OP posts:
Forest28 · 13/07/2026 07:50

From experience, cheaters tend to have massive bursts of anger when denying something they absolutely have done.

KaterinaSunrise · 13/07/2026 07:52

DeathNote11 · 13/07/2026 07:43

In my experience, the ones who make the most noise about despising cheating are usually cheats. I don't know the psychology behind it, I just know what's happened to me over the years & it's been a definite pattern.

Yes, I’ve noticed this as well.

Lurkingandlearning · 13/07/2026 07:54

alwaysleftoutt · 13/07/2026 07:21

I know the violence is wrong.

im just trying to work out if i was justified in raising concerns about the messages - and essentially accusing him of loving the attention

Why is the violence of secondary importance to you?

Throwing things and grabbing your wrists tells you he has no respect for you and is abusive. Once someone lays their hands on you, whether to hurt you or restrain you it tells you that they see you as a thing to be man handled and dealt with. It usually gets worse.

Stop and think. How he treats you is far more important than him possibly being attracted to someone else. Reset your self respect and get shot of him.

Snufkin88 · 13/07/2026 07:56

No this is weird sorry . I mean if he is constantly saying men and women can’t be friends and talking about cheating that is a red flag in itself . A secure person doesn’t talk like that . A safe person doesn’t throw phones at walls in anger .

Rachelshair · 13/07/2026 07:57

They are not just innocent friends, because of the over the top way he reacted. He could have said call Tina she'll set you straight, shown you his phone willingly, looked sheepish as he maybe does fancy her but wouldn't progress anything, but no, he grabbed you and threw things.
You have every right to raise concerns in a relationship however silly they might seem to others. I would be worried about the violence.

100pearls · 13/07/2026 07:58

And why do you suppose his ex is “problematic”?

This is a violent, disloyal piece of shit.

get rid

Loubissou · 13/07/2026 08:00

alwaysleftoutt · 13/07/2026 05:05

I can’t excuse the violence. He’s thrown stuff before, he’s never grabbed my wrist or touched me at all in anger before tonight (well last night)

He threw his phones at the wall, grabbed my wrist to get his phone, broke the fan and threw it at the wall leaving a dint.

He has been violent more than once.

I was willing to accept that just maybe you were insecure until this paragraph in your first post and the quoted post.

Again. He has been violent more than once. It won't get any better. You will always be waiting for the next time. You will always have the fear that it will be more than the wall.

His ex is not the problem.

DontTellMama · 13/07/2026 08:01

You are focusing on the wrong thing here. Paragraphs with details of who said what to who, and then you casually throw in a comment about him being violent at the end.

Who cares whether or not he mentions that he has a partner. The level of violence is the reason you need to leave this relationship. Now.

LuckyCharmz · 13/07/2026 08:02

So many red flags in your op from start to finish, would have had most of us running to start with.

itsgettingweird · 13/07/2026 08:04

The messages - who knows if it was you being insecure?

But the violence - that’s all on him and that’s why you should leave.

KaterinaSunrise · 13/07/2026 08:04

Forest28 · 13/07/2026 07:50

From experience, cheaters tend to have massive bursts of anger when denying something they absolutely have done.

Same, they hate being found out. I’d let him go after Tina. And warn Tina.

TubeScreamer · 13/07/2026 08:05

run for the hills today!

The violence is the big red flag and will only get worse.

Lumpycat · 13/07/2026 08:06

Men with dependent children have to be a massive boost to your life to make up for the difficulties that brings.
You seem low in self esteem. You need to work on that. And he needs to do better at controlling his emotions. You are not over reacting. He should have immediately discussed you in his chat and made it clear he is happily with someone and any meet up would include you.
The number of men who would cheat if they could get away with it and enjoy attention of other women may not be 100% but it’s not far off.

something2say · 13/07/2026 08:12

The violence is enough.

BUT if you are still wondering about the messages - behaviour like that is not 'ten out of ten' partner behaviour is it? What decent partner messages other people back and forth, flirting?

The thing is, he will not admit this to you. He will try to twist it round and blame you. This is why you are here, wondering if it IS you.

If he can get away with that, you will be the one twisting in the wind while he gets to flirt while being engaged.

It is not 'ten out of ten' partner behaviour.

Gemilo · 13/07/2026 08:12

I would be out if there. Let this new woman deal with his kids and his difficult ex.

Wheresthebeach · 13/07/2026 08:15

Leave. The violence will get worse.

MsPavlichenko · 13/07/2026 08:16

alwaysleftoutt · 13/07/2026 07:21

I know the violence is wrong.

im just trying to work out if i was justified in raising concerns about the messages - and essentially accusing him of loving the attention

No. You weren’t in the wrong . But even if you had been that’s no excuse for the violence, or his gaslighting. Throwing things is common amongst abusers, and is recognised as violence against women.

Please contact WA or similar and look at the Freedom Programme online. You need to get out of the relationship. He will get worse not better.

GoodbyeZebedee · 13/07/2026 08:19

alwaysleftoutt · 13/07/2026 07:21

I know the violence is wrong.

im just trying to work out if i was justified in raising concerns about the messages - and essentially accusing him of loving the attention

You were absolutely justified in raising your concerns. I hope you are not going to ever worried about raising concerns or doing or saying anything for fear of his reaction. You don’t need to know if you were justified, it doesn’t matter. He should not react like that. It’s abuse plain and simple.

EwwStew · 13/07/2026 08:21

In my experience the absolute worst cheaters are the ones who bang on all day about how bad cheating is, how they would never do it, and how disgusting you would be if you did it.

Now, these are all things a normal decent person thinks, but they don't go on about it all the time, because it is just assumed to be common knowledge. Cheating = Bad.

The reason he is telling you the obvious over and over again, is because to him it is not inherently bad. He feels the need to persuade you, and convince you not to cheat, because he himself knows he would jump at the chance.

BerryTwister · 13/07/2026 08:22

OP you need to shift your focus away from the messages, and think about the violence. It doesn’t matter if the messages were innocent or not. It doesn’t matter if you overreacted or not. His violence is the only thing that matters here.

KaterinaSunrise · 13/07/2026 08:23

I bet my house that his ex was “tapped” as well.

StormGazing · 13/07/2026 08:23

I also agree the violence here is wrong, and he’s flared up why? Because he’s guilty and caught out! I’d certainly be walking away

JulietOscarBoring · 13/07/2026 08:24

It reads like he wants you insecure. Showing you things on Instagram, so you see her at the top. describing them as "a thing" then clicking on his messages so you see them. Why would he do that? I'm not sure what is going on between them but I do think he wants you feeling jealous and insecure. The violence is clearly completely unacceptable as well.

sesquipedalian · 13/07/2026 08:25

OP, before I was married, my ex once threw a mug at a wall. We were arguing, and he was angry. I thought well, OK, he hasn’t done anything to me: life moved on, we got married….eventually I left him for DV, in what the judge described as “a serious attack” - he threw me on the floor and tried to strangle me. Don’t minimise his throwing phones at the wall, or grabbing your wrist. This is how it starts.

Inmyuggs · 13/07/2026 08:26

Why is a man isn not allowed to talk, message, habe female friends from a childhood is beyond jelous.
Wow. So sad.
Voice messages...easy convienent and my child sends them to me in a rush or to save spelling it out.
My theory is if he wants to leave he will.
I wold love to hear a therapists on such thouhhts of anti women friendships.