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My DH pays his parents mortgage while we dont have enough for food

368 replies

thisiswhereidrawtheline · 12/05/2010 16:07

Years before we were married, my DH bought a house, in which his parents and siblings moved in. My DH was the sole payer of the mortgage although his brothers had full time jobs and avergae pay each.

About a year before we married, DH did the house up completely. He did a double extension and spent £60,000 in total on the house. He did this believing that he would live in that house forever, with his wife and his parents. We were in a relationship then although not engaged to be married when he made these choices. He just assumed that I would be OK with this lifestyle when he made such a huge financial committment to this house.

When we married, I moved in there with them, but things did not work out between me and his mother. We had constant ups and down, and finally, we moved out.

It has been a year since the move, yet my DH still pays the mortgage and all the bills are direct debits from his bank account still. His two brothers now help towards the mortgage - although I dont know how regular that is because he is very hush hush about the whole thing. Every time I try to bring up the issue, he gets very defensive and we always end up fighting. We have had many many bitter fights over this in the past year.

We are now at a point where I there is hardly any money for food in our house due to his financial contributions to the other house. It is obvious that with this situation, we have no money whatsoever for going out for a meal, movie or shopping, eveni n the cheapest of stores. So we dont, adn we spend most of our spare time either at his parents house or mine.

I dont work because I have a DD who I look after at home.

I am at breaking point now, as I am so sick and tired of being skint. The worst part of all this is however, not even that.

Its that feeling of worthlessness; because me and my DD must be of less value and worth if he has put all of his extended family before us, and has carried on doing so regardless of the financial crisis that we are in.

OP posts:
Sakura · 18/05/2010 02:20

" Can't they empathise and realise i didn't like my MIL being nasty to me so I will choose to be nice.s"
NO apparently it doesn't work like that. I read up on the psychology of it all when I was in the thick of it. Unless a person is particularly bright or insightful or educated, they tend to repeat the cycle of the way they were treated themselves. They lose their ablity to empathize. In their eyes its their "turn" IYSWIM. By not standing up to their own MIL in order to survive they become convinced that the behaviour is acceptable.

Agree with you though Xenia, that if these MILs had their own lives and work then the problem would not be so severe. They live vicariously through their children and grandchildren. They've got nowhere to channel all their energy, and I do think compared to men, women seem to gain energy as they age.

tillywee · 19/05/2010 20:49

I would never support my parents if my kids would go without...not even an issue.

And I love my mum to bits, but my kids aremy world and come 1st

thisiswhereidrawtheline · 15/06/2012 17:46

Wow - life changes so much, and life changes us so much too.

Well, I want to finish off this story.

My DH decided with his family to sell the house. It was sold in December, and the parents now live with the younger son who is also married now. One son has moved abroad, the third is soon to be married and working and living independently.

We are now living on rent and looking to buy our own home in the near future.

I went back to studying and studied further and gained more qualifications. I absolutely loved my training and cannot wait to do it as a job ...

Little 14 month old DD is now a very chatty and active 3 years old and we are expecting our second dc Smile

We've been through a lot, and a lot of it hasn't been easy - but I think we're safely through to the other side. After reading back all of my old thread, what struck me was the lack of love and understanding I expressed for my DH throughout my post. I also feel sad for that 25 year old me; I sound tired (dd was hard work at that age from what I can remember), I was stuck inside with her all day, and i remember so well that awful feeling of being completely overwhelmed each day. Looking back, I think I was depressed. But I am so glad I stayed and worked it out - I cannot imagine my life without my DH. Now that the house situation is sorted and all parties are happy, i am a little bit older and independent, have my driving licence and my own car, and a little less self-absorbed Blush and more appreciative of my lovely DH, life is so much easier, happier and DH and I have a shared vision of what we want our future to look like. Smile

OP posts:
amothersplaceisinthewrong · 15/06/2012 17:52

How nice to hear of a happy ending. I hope things work out for the younger son and his wife though.....

Elderflowergranita · 15/06/2012 17:54

What a lovely update OP. So glad life has taken a turn for the better for you all. Smile

SecretNutellaFix · 15/06/2012 18:00

I am glad that you have come out of the other end of this happier and long may it continue :D

suzikettles · 15/06/2012 18:40

Thanks for coming back thisis. I'm glad that life is better now Smile

bumpybecky · 15/06/2012 20:36

I started reading this thinking it was a month old rather than 2 years old. How lovely to read a happy ending :) congratulations on your pregnancy and on achieving a resolution that seems to suit everyone :)

fryingpantoface · 15/06/2012 22:11

Thank you for the update, I'm glad things are better now: )

toldmywrath · 15/06/2012 22:28

I started reading thinking it was a month old as well bumpy. Great news about the happy ending.

thisiswhereidrawtheline · 15/06/2012 23:46
Smile

Thank you to all for your lovely replies.

OP posts:
RandomNumbers · 15/06/2012 23:52

awwwwwwwwww and thank you for the update

ChasedByBees · 16/06/2012 01:48

Lovely to see such a nice update!

MrsApplepants · 16/06/2012 01:53

Why aren't the family members that live there paying him rent?

MrsApplepants · 16/06/2012 01:53

Sorry, just read rest of replies!

WhiteWidow · 16/06/2012 10:18

Get them all to pay rent. I can't believe they aren't already

RandomNumbers · 16/06/2012 10:48

Read the thread folks

WhiteWidow · 16/06/2012 10:50

Sorry bloody hell I was late. Happy for you OP, xx

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