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Can't stop obsessing over ex BIL

215 replies

ThisMellowFox · 12/11/2024 22:44

Hi.

As title states - I have split with my ex husband ages ago. Looking back, my ex husband was the ugly sibling. Extremely thin lips, sickly pale, his nose was crooked sideways from having it broken. EXTREMELY squared face. Absolutely not a single really good quality physically - to top it off he was extremely abusive, eventually physically abusing me and cheating on me when i was 9 months pregnant.

I want to add for context I spoke to my ex husband online for 4 years from age 16-20 when I flew out to his country, married him and found myself pregnant within 2 weeks. I came back to the UK when I was 6 months pregnant and haven't seen him, or anyone in his family since as they live in the MENA region.

Postpartum was hell. I don't know why... but after birth I ended up obsessing over my ex BIL despite us only interacting once. Physically, he was the complete opposite of my ex - big lips extremely nicely shaped, small perfect nose - the type people get plastic surgery for. High cheekbones. Gorgeous eyes. just male model material.

I ended up beating myself up so severely for having a baby with my ex husband. I have plump lips, medium nose, lightskinned.
She ended up inheriting his almost paper thin lips... I'm scared she will inherit his very manly extremely square face. I keep thinking she looks like him, like I've ruined her, ruined myself, wasted myself on my ex, wasted myself having a baby with my ex.
My cousin had made sure to also point out i wasted my "genes" with my ex and how stupid I was and that made it so much worse. That month I almost crashed mentally.

These thoughts have become so deep and intense in the worst of my postpartum depression I reached a point I wanted to surrender my daughter due to... her resembling my ex so much... especially those lips. I don't even know why I fixated so much on them, but to this day, they bother me. They bother me less than before, but some days, I simply can't stop wishing I hadn't focused on being a "good girl", blindly devoted to my ex. I WISH i cheated on my ex with his brother. I WISH she carried his brothers features. At least if her looks were an upgrade... I'd feel like it was "worth it"... if that makes sense? I can't stop feeling like I wasted myself and was extremely stupid having a child with my ex husband. I don't know how to cope with feeling like my daughter is doomed. I can't stop checking ex BIL's social media pages, feeling awful that when he has a daughter she will be the beauty standard and have an amazing life that my daughter won't because I chose to procreate with his brother. I have spiralled so out of control I am contemplating reaching out to ex-BIL, flying out there, starting a crazy sort of affair, getting pregnant, and coming back to the UK... and that then, somehow me flying out in the first place will have been "worth it" because at least I'd get an extremely good looking child out of it... These thoughts have taken such a strong hold of me I think about them almost every single day for the past 2 years. I feel ashamed, but I can't stop beating myself up and obsessing over this.

I try to talk logic into myself. Even if I go over there and get pregnant with ex-BIL... wont that just make my life worse becoming a single mom of 2? having a pretty child wont make my life less difficult and how can it "pay off" with something as shallow as looks... but I just can't stop looking at pics of ex-BIL and trying to draw comparisons from him and my daughter, even though there are none. I am close to a mental collapse by how much my daughter resembles her dad, and his conventionally unattractive features. I guess its made worse by the fact he was abusive during my pregnancy, and eventually cheated and has never paid a penny towards our daughter.

Help guys. I dont know what to do. My daughter is around 2 and I have had these thoughts almost everyday since she was born and I feel them getting worse. At the worst of it I wanted to give her up so I can "try again"... for another child.... with the features I'd prefer.... or even giving her up, then trying again for another child by flying out to my ex's country to try for a baby with his brother. specifically his brother. it sounds SO shallow and insane and out of touch but I can't help it. In the worst of my postpartum depression it would get so bad I would outright reject her some days and my family stepped in. Those worst days have since passed - but the obsessive thoughts have not because a part of me truly believes them...

At the same time I spoil my daughter non stop, tell her everyday shes pretty, I have bought her more stufff than myself, I always place her first. I never let her know whats going on with me and how I feel about things. Shes extremely developed for a 2 year old, can speak quite a few phrases in full sentences, sing songs, count to 10, i have done my absolute best to pour the most affection into making sure she develops... childrens play groups.. and gues what... in all those childrens play groups i cant help but fixate on other baby girls especially if they have bigger lips than my daughter. and subconsciously automatically compare her to them. but never outloud or in a way to show my daughter... just all in my head...

is it possible for kids to be born with small lips and they grow and become big when the

i am becoming so depressed i can barely function at some times during the day, i dont know what to do and i dont think this will stop unless i either have a baby with my ex-bil or my daughter starts to magically get his features. i dont even know how id convince my ex-bil to have a kid with me unless i bribe him which would mean saving up money for it. but then id just end up a single mom of 2.... my kids would be half siblings half cousins... and the dads nowhere to be seen because theyd be a continent away.. like you see how insane this sounds... why would a sane woman consider this... yet for me im actually considering this some days more and more.

i just dont know what to do. i am feeling extremely insecure, crushed and depressed.

OP posts:
TheDeepLemonHelper · 12/11/2024 23:39

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

PinkyFlamingo · 12/11/2024 23:40

You are going to emotionally damage your DD growing because of how you are. You really aren't well at all.

betterangels · 12/11/2024 23:41

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 12/11/2024 22:52

Assuming this is real then you are very very unwell OP. There is no one on here who can help or advise you in any way that will be meaningful. You need to make an appointment to see your GP or your health visitor as soon as you can and explain how you are feeling. You need to do this for your own sake and your DD’s.

Agree. Please go see a medical professional.

Daisybuttercup12345 · 12/11/2024 23:41

Letsgocamping67 · 12/11/2024 22:54

Take a copy of what you have written and show your GP. Good luck

Do this ASAP. You are very ill.

Iamnotalemming · 12/11/2024 23:42

Kindly, this sounds completely bananas.

Please get some mental health treatment for you and your DD.

Oreyt · 12/11/2024 23:47

You need to see your doctor again . Please don't let on to your dd when she's older.

Do you realise this isn't normal?

CheekyHobson · 12/11/2024 23:50

if i bring it up in my therapy itll just be seen maybe as an obsessive aspect of my ocd, but i know its not.

Your illness is what's telling you it's not. It is, and you really need help with this. Please tell all this to your care team so they can give you the help you need.

i sincerely feel like she inherited my exs features, and regret him so much. and that she will be held back by them.

You may feel this way but your feelings are not facts. You have no way of knowing how your daughter's life will be but you will certainly damage her if you allow yourself to continue to indulge these negative perceptions and to engage in nonsensical fantasies like the one about your BIL.

PLEASE SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY, YOU ARE VERY UNWELL.

DamselinDistress24 · 12/11/2024 23:50

It sounds like you were groomed online, from 16? Then you met him, married and got pregnant very quickly in real life after talking online for 4 years?

Yes, the entire story of your relationship with your ex, the marriage and pregnancy is extremely weird.

You chatted (only chatted and never even met up?) for 4 years, then went to his country, got married instantly and didn't use any protection and got pregnant immediately?

I'm just trying to get my head around this

Are you from a particular cultural background?

Why did you marry someone you hadn't spend any time in person with? Was it an arranged marriage?

Did you know about/have access to contraception..why were you not using any so soon (married or not).

The whole thing sounds crazy.

As for his looks and your DD.
Forget about it..She is here, she exists, she deserves to be treated decently, she deserves to be valued for more than her potential looks. You married someone too fast and didnt protect yourself against pregnancy.... That's you (and his) responsibility, nothing to do with her. View her with some respect as a little person in her own right.

You are totally fixated on looks and specifically lips and it's bizarre. It that all that matters? Is that the most important thing? She is healthy - that's all that matters.
Her being happy is the only other thing that matters. If you don't stop this madness, she'll inevitably pick up on your attitudes.

You don't know your brother in law again all.

You wish you'd had a kid with him because then the kid might be conventionally pretty.
Seriously??

For one thing, no guarantee of that - kids can take looks/traits from grandparents etc.

Secondly ..... Being conventionally pretty is far from the most important thing in life. You're supposed to be raising a happy, confident, well rounded, well educated person .... Not a doll! Not someone you look after and think "you're lips aren't big enough, the shape of your face isn't great". How would you like it if your parents thought that about you, and valued you on that?

Or did they? Is that why you have these bizarre attitudes?

Where were they when you were chatting with a man in a foreign country online for ages and running off to marry him extremely quickly and risking pregnancy immediately? What on earth were they doing?

Animatic · 12/11/2024 23:50

I do hope this is a wind-up

Toenailz · 12/11/2024 23:51

There is absolutely nobody here who can help you I'm afraid OP, because you're extremely, severely unwell and need professional medical intervention. The support you currently have in place is not enough. Your fixation firstly with outward appearance is a much worse trait to pass onto an innocent child than conventionally unattractive looks, and you are going to do some serious damage to her by passing this on to her. You are doing your beautiful daughter such an disservice, it's terribly heart breaking. Secondly, your obsession with your BIL and getting revenge of some kind, is extremely troubling.

I'm so deeply concerned for your daughter, in a way I never have been reading a mumsnet thread before. I feel this needs to reported social services and traced or something. I'm sure you love her, but I don't think she should be under your care, just for right now. In your unwell state, I'm actually concerned about you attempting to get 'rid' of her.

This may not be my call to make, and indeed be someone else's, but I cannot in good faith read this and run.

None of this is meant in a harsh way to you OP - I know that you cannot help feeling the way you do, and completely understand you have posted here for help, but you need some serious professional help fast, because the thought of this escalating more than it already has, is frightening, to me.

You need to listen to the users here and contact your GP, and I'd second the poster whom suggested showing them what you've written here.

Enough4me · 12/11/2024 23:54

Is this practice for AI?

Feed in key points and use the replies to build a more realistic emotive response?

Thedogscollar · 12/11/2024 23:55

@ThisMellowFox Hi I think you know deep down that nobody here is going to agree with the thoughts you have about your daughter or the plan to get pregnant by your BIL.
You are having a mental health crisis. Please speak to someone in your mental health team tomorrow. Tell them your thoughts or write them down so they can read them.
Your little daughter needs you well and healthy.

Mumtobabyhavoc · 12/11/2024 23:55

Counselling. FFS get a grip. Your poor daughter.

margegunderson · 12/11/2024 23:57

I'm wondering if you're fixing on the "thin lips" because you were traumatised by someone with thin lips - your ex. Agree you need urgent medical help - none of this is remotely normal and you risk severely damaging your daughter if this is real.

SpiggingBelgium · 12/11/2024 23:57

TerracottaWorrier · 12/11/2024 23:22

Shame on all of you who are being so rough to someone clearly having a MH crisis.

Oh come on - do you REALLY think this is real?!

Teanbiscuits33 · 12/11/2024 23:57

ThisMellowFox · 12/11/2024 23:00

No. this is my first time posting today on mumsnet... I did stalk a different post/thread on here from YEARS ago about a mom talking about her baby's small lips but thats all. I posted today after a really long time as idk, I just need to vent , or see opinions. I don't know what to do or how to handle these feelings and if others have them too. my ex is not from vietnam- he is arab...

I understand your husband was abusive and that’s colouring your judgement of him, but you are EXTREMELY shallow and fixated on looks and it’s not healthy. You will give your daughter a complex. The poor girl didn’t ask to be born. You need to get help for her sake as this attitude is not acceptable. I hate this kind of vanity.

CheekyHobson · 12/11/2024 23:58

In your unwell state, I'm actually concerned about you attempting to get 'rid' of her.

This may not be my call to make, and indeed be someone else's, but I cannot in good faith read this and run.

I agree, sadly. I don't think I have ever seen a post where someone is so clearly in the grip of a severe mental health crisis.

Cherry8809 · 12/11/2024 23:58

If this is real, please get help and never let your daughter hear you speak this way about her.

My mother used to tell me with a sneer on her face at 14 yrs old and 98lbs that I needed to watch what I was eating as I was “getting wide”. That stuck with me every day since, and she probably doesn’t even remember saying it.

Tell your wonderful daughter that she’s smart, kind, funny….please don’t teach her that her worth lies in her appearance.

Ohnobackagain · 13/11/2024 00:01

@ThisMellowFox why would you want anything to do with BIL? If your ex was abusive and they were raised the same he may well be as bad or even worse! Handsome is as handsome does … I really think you are obsessed with a fantasy not reality. Please consider counselling to help you work this out.

Thedogscollar · 13/11/2024 00:02

SpiggingBelgium · 12/11/2024 23:57

Oh come on - do you REALLY think this is real?!

And what exactly are your qualifications to say it isn't real?
Have you ever spoken to someone in the middle of a MH crisis?
Please be mindful when replying to this poster. You have no idea the damage you can do with your flippant comments.

BobbyBiscuits · 13/11/2024 00:03

You don't need your ex or his brother. And your enormous essay is extremely hard to follow.
Please try and sort your life out by focussing on you and your child. Forgot your ex or his brother exist. You are damaging your own life with this obsession.

TerracottaWorrier · 13/11/2024 00:04

SpiggingBelgium · 12/11/2024 23:57

Oh come on - do you REALLY think this is real?!

I'd rather act kindly than cruelly.

DamselinDistress24 · 13/11/2024 00:04

I've now seen that you have OCD, presumably other mental health problems and have therapy.

As others have said, you need therapy about this. You need to show a GP or therapist what you have written.

The fact that you're talking about how you wish you could "undo" your child - because you don't think they are/will be pretty, and replace her with a theoretical child with your bil - because that one would be pretty, like you're talking about dolls or objects ....... In all seriousness, do you have no notion what's wrong with that?

Your poor kid.

She's a person, you know.

Are people only valuable if they are conventionally pretty?

Can they only have a decent life if they are conventionally pretty?

What about all the people who aren't conventionally good looking but who nonetheless value and enjoy their lives, and who are greatly appreciated and admired by other people? For all their qualities, other than just looks.

Are we mannequins

VegTrug · 13/11/2024 00:04

@ThisMellowFoxPlease, please contact social services and tell them what you’ve told us. Seriously please call them first thing

TunipTheVegimal24 · 13/11/2024 00:04

Sorry you have had / are having such a bad time of it OP.

Your daughter will benefit much, much more from having a caring (as it seems you are) and well (which you're clearly not atm) mother, than from having full lips.

She will absolutely not benefit from you getting pregnant again, in bad circumstances.

Full lips are in vogue atm, but it won't always be the case, however this is beside the point - I think you know deep down, that hers looks are not the issue.