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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My wife moved out 6 weeks ago with our kids and I genuinely don't know what she's trying to do

273 replies

henryic · 27/07/2026 09:51

About 6 weeks ago me and my wife had one of the biggest fights we've ever had. It wasn't over one thing. It was months of frustration finally coming out.

I told her I felt like I wasn't a priority anymore. She always seemed to have time for her friends but whenever I wanted us to spend time together there was always something else. I also told her I wasn't comfortable with how close she is to her male best friend. I never accused her of cheating. I just said their closeness made me uncomfortable and asked if she could create some distance.

She told me no. She said her friends are her support system and she isn't going to change those friendships because I'm uncomfortable. She also said I'm only jealous because I don't have friends of my own which isn't even true.

The thing that hurt me before all this was her birthday. I'd been planning something special for months. Then she told me she was going away with her friends instead. I cancelled everything I'd planned and honestly that stayed with me.

After her birthday things just got worse between us. We almost never fought before that. We had disagreements like any couple but never anything major. I love my wife so much and that's probably why this has hit me so hard.

That night our argument got really ugly. We both said things we shouldn't have. Some of the things she said genuinely broke my heart.

I left the house because I just couldn't stay there. She called me three times during the night but I ignored the calls because I needed space. I came home the next morning and she was furious.

She packed some bags, took our three teenage kids and left. She stayed with her sister for about two weeks and then rented an apartment in the same city. Since then I've only been seeing my kids on weekends.

The financial side is another mess. My salary has always gone into her account because she's always managed our finances. We both have well paying jobs and normally we split the mortgage 50/50.

Since she moved out she says she shouldn't have to pay the mortgage because she isn't living here anymore. Instead she's taking what would have been her half of the mortgage from my salary and using it to pay the rent for her apartment because, in her words, she's only renting it because of me.

Sometimes I feel like that's too much. Other times I honestly just laugh because the whole situation feels so unreal.

She is still paying equally towards the kids, insurance and other shared expenses, so she's not refusing to contribute. But if I want my own monthly spending money I actually have to text my own wife and ask her to transfer it to me.

The hardest part though is how she's acting.
She barely speaks to me but she still visits my parents like normal. She checks on them, spends time with them and everything seems completely fine.

At the same time she's constantly posting photos from clubs, restaurants, weekends away and nights out with her friends. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it honestly feels like she's trying to make me jealous or show me she's happy without me while I'm sitting alone in our house missing my family.

It's like she acts married with everyone else but divorced when it comes to me.

I honestly don't know what she wants anymore. If she wants a divorce I'd rather she just tell me instead of leaving me in this weird limbo where we're separated but nobody is saying what the future is supposed to be.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 27/07/2026 11:22

Sprogonthetyne · 27/07/2026 11:16

What stood out for me is that her friends are her support network. That didn't happen overnight, so has she not been feeling suported at home for quite some time. If you weren't giving her the suport she needed but also trying to isolate her from other sources of suport, I can see why that didn't go well.

You say that you both work, but she does all the financial planning. Are there other areas where she also took on the mental or physical load? Did you share household tasks, child care and life planning equally, or did you slip into additional child territory?

Either way, if she's taken the step of renting her own place, it's pretty clear she does not want to live with you, so not sure what the confusion is. If she was already visiting, providing care or checking in on your parents (more of the work load you transferred to her?), then it's likly she has a relationship with them she wants to perseve, and why shouldn't she be friendly with her kids grandparents? Not everything is about you.

You need to sort out your own banking, including paying your own mortgage and either buying her out or selling the martial home and splitting the equity. If her name is on the mortgage, then technically you are both liable for the payments, but as you are the ones living there, it's you who will be evicted if it's not paid. You need to talk to her and work out the split. Maybe once you start paying maintenance for the three teen, she will agree to keep up her half of the mortgage payment for a few months while the house is on the market.

How can the OP do any financial planning if all his salary is in her account? That's total abdication of financial responsibility and management right there. That's a check out. That's deciding not to communicate about finances and manage together, instead dumping it all on her.

I wonder what the OP did actually do WITH his wife on HER terms or whether he was totally divorced to the idea that she's more than his support human who has independent thought, needs and desires and isn't just there for him and to manage the kids and household.

If he really hasn't changed which bank account his salary goes into and she moved out six weeks ago, I think you may find a lot of answers in there.
.

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:23

Thundertoast · 27/07/2026 11:19

What have your teenagers said to you about the fact they've had to move out of their home?
Have you told them they can move back? Have they asked to move back?
What has your wife told other people about why the teenagers have moved out too?

Edited

They were forced to go with her, otherwise mami will be disappointed, papa hurted her and they will happy in new home

Also I'm not allowed to meet them on any other days, there is curfew from my wife

OP posts:
ilovemybluesharpie · 27/07/2026 11:24

As so many PP have said, you need to get your salary paid into your own account that she has no access to.

Look at the CMS calculator and pay the required amount for your teenage DC. She can't expect you to pay a full mortgage and give her half of that same amount as well.

There may be more to all of this, and she may well be having an affair. If it were a woman posting this, it's the first thing she would be told.

She would also be told that her husband is financially controlling if she had to beg him for spending money.

Why is it different when it is a man posting about his wife?

MageKing · 27/07/2026 11:24

t the same time, she could have told me earlier that her friends, including her group of male friends and her male best friend, were planning a birthday dinner for her. I only found out at the last moment.

I think it's pretty clear this relatonship was over long before the big fight. She had checked out. Still not clear if that was fair or not, but it is true.

Happyjoe · 27/07/2026 11:25

No nice way to say this but it sounds like she has finished the relationship and has done for a while, the fight just brought it to a head. I do think it's time for you to start making plans for splitting up, starting with taking control of your wages. I have a feeling you don't want to split, that's fair, but you do need to start protecting yourself. Weirdly, if you start the process it may actually bring her to the table to talk properly and hopefully that may lead to something positive.

Does your wife work?

Skippyasyermuni · 27/07/2026 11:25

MajorProcrastination · 27/07/2026 11:09

"I simply asked her to distance" no way. No way on earth would my husband ever be telling me who I'm allowed to be friends with. No way. That is controlling behaviour and it can get in the bin. I make my choices about my friends. And the same the other way, I've never told him who he's allowed to be friends with. We're both adults and we both need different things from different friends. It's about trust and not wanting to make each others worlds and circles smaller.

"simply" simply?

"I'm a fool to think she was free on at least birthday night" NO SHIT! I don't keep my birthday free just in case my husband wants to surprise me with a dinner I know NOTHING about. We're grown ups so we talk. I plan something with my friends AND we can go for a nice meal with family BUT we have to tell each other WHEN these are so 1. they don't clash and 2. I don't end up doing fuck all on my birthday.

Also, our birthdays are the same week and we have lots of family and friend birthdays that month and we need to make sure that we're all able to be at the things we want to do.

It was my child's 18th recently and I didn't book a meal on the birthday because I knew that day of the week would be better for a party, I checked with my child that they were available on the other day that I wanted to book a restaurant and they kept that date clear. Magically, we all made it. The restaurant and menu were a surprise but my teenager was able to make sure it didn't clash with anything and had plenty of time to spend celebrating with friends. As it should be.

It doesn't matter that you were intending to give a necklace. That's a secret, how does she know? Were you expecting her to cancel a trip for a meal out with you?

There's so much more to all this than you're telling us.

The general consensus on mumsnet is that husbands are not allowed to have close female friends. You do get voices of reasons saying that’s nonsense, but the overall responses on that issue on this forum is that husbands cannot and should not have close female friends.
So, the same has to apply to women. She can’t have a close friendship with a man, especially if it makes her husband uncomfortable.

If the majority of posters don’t agree with that then it’s just double standards. As I said, there are usually some of us being normal and saying friends are fine. But on mumsnet, posters overwhelmingly do not agree with that when it’s a husband with a female friend.

Sidebeforeself · 27/07/2026 11:28

ilovemybluesharpie · 27/07/2026 11:24

As so many PP have said, you need to get your salary paid into your own account that she has no access to.

Look at the CMS calculator and pay the required amount for your teenage DC. She can't expect you to pay a full mortgage and give her half of that same amount as well.

There may be more to all of this, and she may well be having an affair. If it were a woman posting this, it's the first thing she would be told.

She would also be told that her husband is financially controlling if she had to beg him for spending money.

Why is it different when it is a man posting about his wife?

It’s not different but OP has repeatedly ignored comments about why his salary is being paid to her..and now apparently theres a curfew ..yeah okay

Culpeper · 27/07/2026 11:30

If you’re both on the mortgage, you’re both jointly and severally liable for it. She can’t just elect to stop paying her share without agreement.

Aluna · 27/07/2026 11:30

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:23

They were forced to go with her, otherwise mami will be disappointed, papa hurted her and they will happy in new home

Also I'm not allowed to meet them on any other days, there is curfew from my wife

Did papa hurted mami physically or emotionally?

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:30

ilovemybluesharpie · 27/07/2026 11:24

As so many PP have said, you need to get your salary paid into your own account that she has no access to.

Look at the CMS calculator and pay the required amount for your teenage DC. She can't expect you to pay a full mortgage and give her half of that same amount as well.

There may be more to all of this, and she may well be having an affair. If it were a woman posting this, it's the first thing she would be told.

She would also be told that her husband is financially controlling if she had to beg him for spending money.

Why is it different when it is a man posting about his wife?

I'm surprised!! Nobody digged on the fact that her closeness with Best friend, everyone ignored that

It's the correct issue

OP posts:
Oppositesituation · 27/07/2026 11:31

I feel like some posters are unnecessarily harsh on you OP so sending my sympathies.

PensionPTake · 27/07/2026 11:32

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:05

It's on me!! I'm wrong and I agree with that

So tell me, Do you spend your birthday with your friends, i mean all the day? There is no time your spouse or children?

I mean how would be okay to go in a party where your husband isn't invited? Let alone it's your own birthday party/dinner (i don't exactly what they planned)

Do you usually do anything for her birthday? Or are you always passive, don't usually bother, so she's made her won plans because a she got fed up? I had a dp who only ever did anything after I got upset at his lack of effort, which did not help at all. Eventually you give up and move on

disturbia · 27/07/2026 11:35

birdling · 27/07/2026 09:57

Stop your salary going into her account! I can't believe you were letting this happen even when you were happy together.

I agree make sure your salary is going into your account only from today. She sounds quite controlling. She will respect you if you assert yourself more. Sorry you are going through this but don't beg her to return even if you want her back...it never works

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:35

PensionPTake · 27/07/2026 11:32

Do you usually do anything for her birthday? Or are you always passive, don't usually bother, so she's made her won plans because a she got fed up? I had a dp who only ever did anything after I got upset at his lack of effort, which did not help at all. Eventually you give up and move on

Every year on her birthday, I take her out for dinner or sometimes on a short trip

That's why I was so shocked. She left me out completely....... I wasn't invited to anything and neither were our kids On her own birthday, her friends were included but her own family wasn't....

OP posts:
Easilyforgotten · 27/07/2026 11:36

I think this is about degrees. Degrees of friendship, degrees of prioritisation, degrees of communication. OP isn't saying (I think) that his wife shouldn't have a male friend, or socialise with others, or do not do anything autonomously. He's just saying she's gone too far in that direction, to his discomfort and making him feel sidelined. You can have compromise and understanding without either party feeling controlled. Or at least you should be able to, in my opinion.
Also, a lot depends on what you're used to in your relationship. If the usual plan is to have a family meal, why would OP have any clue that this year would be different? Surely the expectation would be that the evening was free?
I think this marriage is dead in the water. OP, you may love your wife, but it doesn't look like she loves you. You should probably make decisions now based on that assumption.

Kimmers4334 · 27/07/2026 11:38

There is something fishy with threads on here recently. The first couple of posts are perfect English, then the rest become broken English. It makes me look at the timestamp to see if they might be drunk. Maybe it’s just that posters use AI to check some of their comments and not others. But I’ve definitely noticed it on several threads

RedToothBrush · 27/07/2026 11:39

Skippyasyermuni · 27/07/2026 11:25

The general consensus on mumsnet is that husbands are not allowed to have close female friends. You do get voices of reasons saying that’s nonsense, but the overall responses on that issue on this forum is that husbands cannot and should not have close female friends.
So, the same has to apply to women. She can’t have a close friendship with a man, especially if it makes her husband uncomfortable.

If the majority of posters don’t agree with that then it’s just double standards. As I said, there are usually some of us being normal and saying friends are fine. But on mumsnet, posters overwhelmingly do not agree with that when it’s a husband with a female friend.

I don't have a problem with DH having close female friends. He has never had a problem with me having male friends.

So don't tar everyone with this mythical bullshit of what everyone on MN believes as if everyone thinks the same

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:39

Easilyforgotten · 27/07/2026 11:36

I think this is about degrees. Degrees of friendship, degrees of prioritisation, degrees of communication. OP isn't saying (I think) that his wife shouldn't have a male friend, or socialise with others, or do not do anything autonomously. He's just saying she's gone too far in that direction, to his discomfort and making him feel sidelined. You can have compromise and understanding without either party feeling controlled. Or at least you should be able to, in my opinion.
Also, a lot depends on what you're used to in your relationship. If the usual plan is to have a family meal, why would OP have any clue that this year would be different? Surely the expectation would be that the evening was free?
I think this marriage is dead in the water. OP, you may love your wife, but it doesn't look like she loves you. You should probably make decisions now based on that assumption.

If she is going for a divorce...... than I was always been right about her closeness with that her freind

OP posts:
Dillydollydingdong · 27/07/2026 11:40

So organise a bank account of your own and get your money paid in. As far s the mortgage is concerned, you are jointly liable. If it's not paid the house could be repossessed. If you pay half, it will still go into arrears but more slowly. It depends what you want to do and what you can afford. It looks like the marriage has reached the end of the line so face up to it and start creating a life of your own.

Sidebeforeself · 27/07/2026 11:40

This thread has gone weird.

Sprinklesandsprinkles · 27/07/2026 11:40

She sounds like she was already over the marriage, it's normal at all to plan a birthday with your friends and not tell your spouse.

Can you give examples of the over closeness with her male best friend?

I agree stop your salary going to her and do mediation/couples counselling to work through what you both want and logistics

ElectricLegs · 27/07/2026 11:41

Throw this one back. Get a divorce, but get your wage going into your own account first.

StandingDeskDisco · 27/07/2026 11:43

ShetlandishMum · 27/07/2026 10:23

Sort your banking.
Seek legal advice.
Find peace with your children.
Move on.

This.

  1. Contact your employer to get your salary paid into your own bank account
  2. Move out of the house, either into a rented flat or to stay with your family. Tell her to move back into the family house with the children. If she doesn't want to do that, then get an estate agent round and put the house on the market ASAP.
  3. Look up CMS (Child Maintenance Service) to see how much maintenance you should be paying her for the children
  4. See a solicitor about a divorce
HoppityBun · 27/07/2026 11:43

Oppositesituation · 27/07/2026 11:31

I feel like some posters are unnecessarily harsh on you OP so sending my sympathies.

I agree

RedToothBrush · 27/07/2026 11:45

henryic · 27/07/2026 11:35

Every year on her birthday, I take her out for dinner or sometimes on a short trip

That's why I was so shocked. She left me out completely....... I wasn't invited to anything and neither were our kids On her own birthday, her friends were included but her own family wasn't....

"Every year we do the same damn thing. He never bothers to ask if I'd like to do it this year. He just assumes that's what we are doing. It's so dull and I just feel we are stuck in a doom loop of repeat. We'd stay in and watch the TV and never go out if it was up to him. We'd never socialise. Never do anything different or out of the ordinary. It's like we've settled and died inside. I feel like I'm an old lady with no life left in me. There's so much more to life and it would be nice, just for once, if he could think a bit more and actually ask what I'd like to do this year rather than being lazy and just assuming that's what we are going to do because we've always done it. Even asking me would be nice. I feel like he doesn't really know who I am. I'm just a blow up doll who happens to be there when it suits him and to make him feel fulfilled. He just isn't interested in doing anything different. Honestly is this it?"

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