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Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

How on earth do I do this?

15 replies

yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 09:57

Just submitted divorce application, absolutely committed to my decision to get rid of someone who has lied and cheated for 20+ years. BUT he is still in the house and can't/won't move out until he has found another job. I am repulsed by him and on edge constantly. I WFH, have 2 teen DCs that we can't tell until after GCSEs. But I feel like I am going to lose my mind. I know lots have had to put up with this scenario in the first year or so - so any advice would be so helpful!

OP posts:
DustyLee123 · 21/04/2024 10:53

Are you in separate bedrooms?

yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 11:22

Yes, have been for a few years

OP posts:
heldinadream · 21/04/2024 12:03

Could you afford to run the household as it stands, mortgage and bills, on your own OP?

yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 12:21

For a while, until he had a job and could pay some child support to help with bills. My plan is sell the house in 2 years and have a clean break then so that I can in the meantime increase income (I'm self employed) and be in a better position to get a mortgage. Rent where I live its double may mortgage costs. I just need him out, for the sake of my mental health more than anything. If I go down the whole thing falls apart

OP posts:
yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 12:21

*if I go down

OP posts:
yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 12:22

Plus youngest will be entering sixth form in Sept 2026

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CinderellaMum · 21/04/2024 12:29

My honest advice (as someone who was the child in this situation when I was younger) leave now.

You deserve happiness & your children will know more than you think about your situation. It is far more toxic for them to grow up in this environment than it is for you to split now.

The temporary heartache for them will be easier in the long run than the long lasting damage of watching your parents relationship crumble in front of your eyes & feeling responsible for them putting on “the act” to protect you.

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 21/04/2024 14:16

Interact the least you can. When you need to talk be factual, non emotive and share the least information you need to. Focus on the goal. Remind yourself this time is fullfiling a purpose and its a step towards being free of him. Get out the house often or focus on a hobby or something else that keeps you distracted. Try to be somewhere else in the house than where he is when you're both home. Make a place you can retreat to privately if you can. XH decided to move out after 6 months and they were a pretty bad 6 months, but it was easier than what came before. I didn't have an option to move out, if i could have moved out straight after telling him I would have.

Babyroobs · 21/04/2024 14:21

Could you rent somewhere by yourself. Sounds like the kids are at an age where they could stay with him for now?

Imgoingtobefree · 21/04/2024 14:53

I was in this position for 8 months and it was awful. Child is adult and has own home.

I had a separate bedroom and en-suite. I also had another room I could make use of that my husband didn’t use. I just kept to these two rooms as much as I could. I used to nip to the kitchen when I thought he wasn’t in. I ate a lot of omelettes because I could be in and out of the kitchen very quickly.

At his suggestion, we did our own washing and cooked our own meals. He pretty much lived as before and had the run of the rest of the house, (minus me washing, cleaning and cooking for him). He held bbq’s, and had people back from the pub for impromptu parties, and had friends come and stay. Many of these people were our mutual friends, but I just kept out of sight.

The worst was that he would just come into my ‘sitting room’ and berate and harangue me for wanting a divorce. It was fucking awful and I couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Unfortunately, I could not answer back - he would then just rage at me. He was emotionally abusive and was used to me doing as he wanted. By the time I left I was both mentally and emotionally broken.

I was advised by my therapist to put a lock on the door, but I never did as I was scared of his reaction to this.

If neither of you can/will move out then @EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness has pretty much said it all. Get a friend/therapist lined up so you have someone to talk to. Gather up all your existing friends even just for fun and socialising. I didn’t and withdrew so I felt very isolated.

If you can, agree that you will tell each other when you will be away/out of the house. Then you at least can have a few hours of peace if he’s out say, job hunting.

I actually spent six days dog sitting for a friend in her lovely cottage in the country during a hot spell. That memory is a beautiful oasis during an incredibly hard time.

Im not sure if you can protect your mental health and not tell the children without giving the game away. You may have to think hard about this.

yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 22:03

@Imgoingtobefree Oh god, that sounds awful for you, I'm so sorry. What do you mean by "Im not sure if you can protect your mental health and not tell the children without giving the game away. You may have to think hard about this."? That it is too difficult to try to keep it from them?

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yawnanotherone · 21/04/2024 22:05

Thanks to all of you for the advice. I can't move out right now as DS has SEN and I am supporting his revision (not something his dad would do). I also work from home so I am in the house most of every day. It's almost impossible to see how I can keep my calm and not make myself ill with stress

OP posts:
Imgoingtobefree · 22/04/2024 00:04

I was thinking that when you said ‘I feel like I am going to lose my mind’, then the only way to bear the situation is to be as separate as possible from him and have as little interaction with him as possible.

But if you do this, then surely the children will notice? And they will start asking questions or put 2 and 2 together.

You are between a rock and a hard place with this one.

yawnanotherone · 22/04/2024 22:34

It's just not working, you were right. My DD cried tonight and asked were we not together any more. I am in a panic now that her brother has noticed too (he isn't the most curious of children) and that his GCSEs will be ruined. My god what a mess. And all for me to deal with

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looper26April · 01/05/2024 01:29

I think that if the kids are starting to get suspicious then it would be fairer on them to sit them down together and tell them. Otherwise you'll have to start outright lying to them which would be very hard and they will probably find out the truth at some point and then know you've lied.

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