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Ex Husband gone AWOL

17 replies

Divorceemumof1 · 07/01/2022 16:38

I have some issues with my ex Husbands behaviour, we have been separated for 3 years and officially divorced for 18 months. The split was pretty nasty, he had an affair and moved straight in with his new woman. He then decided to not communicate with my son for 4 and a half months. Only getting into contact again when divorce proceedings started and we had to go to mediation. Slowly they rebuilt and things were going well until his relationship with the other woman started to fail and money discussion re divorce started. He started to disclose all financial info to my son and would regularly say things like mummy has more money than me so she needs to give me more. And mummy gets £xxx from me a month so she can afford to buy you nice things. My son would suck it all up and come home and ask me to give him money etc etc. When hsi relationship was failing he hit the bottle and was drinking daily while sleeping on a futon bed in the house they shared. My son and him would have to share a bed when he stayed there every other weekend and he would tell me he was living like a trap and drinking lots. His partner would not allow them to sit in the lounge or watch the TV as she owned them so they were confined to a room, where they would eat the food and stay all day. As he doesn't drive he would ride his motorbike to the town I live in, lock it up and then get a bus back home, then would jump on the bus with my son and bring him home, pick the bike up and drive back. He lived 1 mile from the bus stop which he reckoned he could walk in 5 mins (Ussain Bolt) and the bus ride was 15 mins, then he would walk back home. All the time leaving my son on his own, I believe he left him for more than an hour each time. When I found out I put a stop to it, his response was that he was fine and nothing could happen to him......until one day he left him on his own to go food shopping and my son was calling him as he seemed to be taking a long time. He was not answering and my son panicked and called me crying that he thought his dad had been beaten up or had a bike accident. From then on my son has had nightmares, can't be left, all doors need locking and checking and noises outside freak him out. Anyway fast forward to last xmas, my ex moved to the town I live in to be closer to his son and sort some issues with not having a car. All was ok, he moved in a week before Xmas. He would not allow me to have him at Xmas as I had him the year before (he made no effort to have hime even when offered). I saw him for an hour xmas morning at his house and gave him his presents and then I travelled in the covid 1 day allowed to see family scenario to see my parents (who lost their son and daughter earlier in the year). Agreement was that this Xmas would be mine so my son and I went skiing which we have done at xmas every year for the last 6 years (prior to covid). I told my ex our plans and he kicked off big time, screaming and shouting at me. When my son was due to visit tha weekend my ex decided to get blind drunk and I had texts from 4pm from my son saying he's drinking.....then it turned to video calls of my son crying saying he was scared and needed rescuing. My partner and I were out and had already had a couple of drinks so couldn't drive to pick him up, by this time it was nearly 9pm and he was telling us he had drank a full bottle of Captain Morgans Rum (he knew this from when he was drinking at his ex partners house as described the bottle as the one with the pirate on it). I asked him if he was pouring the drink into a glass with anything and he said he was not mixing it. He said he had had beer too but the bottle of Rum was full when he came home from school and was now empty. My son locked himself in the bathroom for 2 hours and we kept him on the phone. He can be a violent man so we didn't want to turn up and get hurt or for my son to get hurt in a scuffle. We also didn't want to involve the police which is something I now regret. We managed to get my son to go to bed without issue and told him his dad wouldn't bother him if he was asleep (I don't think he would ever hurt his son). We picked him up the next morning, he was hanging, he threw his son onto the street with his bags, wouldn't even allow him to get his shoes on. They have not spoken since mid October, he has tried to message my son, no apology, no promise of it will never happen again.........nothing !!!! He's been having nightmares that he will hurt us, turn up at the house etc. He doesn't want anything to do with him, he is scared of people drinking and worries 1 glass of wine might turn me into a nutter.....I have almost gone T Total because of this, I have to have a glass with a meal in a pub etc but nothing in the house. I have tried to get them to reconcile, my ex doesn't understand that hes the adult and he has to speak with our son and apologies, promise that it was a mistake and unacceptable etc. But he wont do it. I have text him, called him and popped to see him to see how I can help get them back on talking terms but he just blames me for everything. Apparently I am the reason he got drunk and acted the way he did and therefore my fault my son is scared of him. He text me tonight after I popped there one last time to try and his view is when his son wants to speak with him he is there but he wont make any effort until then as he thinks I am trying to turn him against him. Its just not true and to be honest other than the nightmares and worries about alcohol my son is doing so much better, his behaviour has improved, his school work has improved and he's generally a nicer boy all round. We have an amazing bond, I just feel terrible he will miss out on a dad in his life.

OP posts:
unicornsarereal72 · 07/01/2022 17:34

Why do you want your son to have a relationship with his father. He clearly can't priorities his needs above his own.

How old is your son? Does he has support to counselling to deal with his relationship with his father. What has happened is unforgivable. But your son will be holding feelings of guilt and responsibility.

Stop trying to make your ex step up. Send him an email. When he is ready to see his son he can discuss how that will look going forward the door is open but until then you will not be facilitating this relationship any further.

femfemlicious · 07/01/2022 17:54

WOW! why are you trying to make your son see this man...this is crazy!

Internetio · 07/01/2022 18:20

Umm, yeah, why????

This man clearly can’t prioritise his son over alcohol.

Your son seems the most sensible one in all of this and hats off the the young man- he has his head screwed on.

Dillydollydingdong · 07/01/2022 18:30

Your ex is jealous and resentful. He doesn't deserve a child. Just go lc and don't try to make your son see him . Explain that daddy's not well.

Lulu1919 · 07/01/2022 18:38

Good grief....how old is your son ?

cherryonthecakes · 07/01/2022 18:48

Why are you encouraging this toxic man? Imho it's better not to see a deadbeat than have him in your sons life and being inconsistently scary.

My ex had alcohol issues but he decided not to drink around the kids and it's worked well. They used to beg him not to buy alcohol at the supermarket which was a massive wake up call for him. There are bottles of alcohol in his recycling (according to the kids) but he doesn't drink at all when they visit which massively helped. The problem with this is that the drinker needs to be motivated and it sounds like your ex is not. It's easier for him to blame you rather than himself for his mistakes

GettingItOutThere · 08/01/2022 22:19

why on earth would you inflict this man on your child?!

do him a favour and be the adult and stop this relationship now.

I am all for having relationships with both parents but absolutely not on this occasion. Stop pushing this on your son. he will not thank you

Divorceemumof1 · 10/01/2022 08:15

Everything everyone has said is right, I shouldn't encourage it, however I am scared it will back fire when my son is older so have been hanging in there hoping that my ex will see the light and sort himself out. I think that I have learnt that 'The Penny Won't Drop'. In terms of court orders etc we don't have any, and I don't really want to get something drawn up as drags my son through it again. My son is worried to death of bumping into him and him coming to the house. The anxiety he feels is worrying me and I am not sure how to help him. Any suggestions? We have camera's on the house (previously advised by the police following another incident). Just want my boy to feel safe and now that my partner is here he does feel better but I think he is worried his dad is going to ruin this nice family unit we now have. My boy is 10 and going to secondary school in September, he has been through a lot in the last 18 months.....dad leaving, disappearing, all this agro and also losing his uncle and aunty within 6 months of each other. Seeing me not at my best (upset due to the grief) but we are coming out of the other side.

OP posts:
gamerchick · 10/01/2022 08:27

Your bairn was ringing you distressed, locking himself on the bathroom but you didn't go and get him?

And you're still trying to make this relationship happen?

No wonder he's anxious OP. Let it go man, poor little bugger

Divorceemumof1 · 10/01/2022 08:57

I didn’t go because he is a loose cannon, I didn’t want to cause him more stress hind sight is a wonderful thing but I did what was best at the time

OP posts:
Theunamedcat · 10/01/2022 09:01

But you didn't do what's best you should have called the police 🤷

Divorceemumof1 · 10/01/2022 14:40

I agree I should of done that now, I am kick myself for not doing it. I haven't had to do any of this before so I was in a bit of a predicament at the time and did what I thought was best at the time. I now know more in terms of what that would of meant and also what evidence I would of had on file. My son witnessing a horrible situation with police involvement was what made me think twice. I should of gone with my gut but like I say it was a joint decision between my partner and I and we risk assessed the situation at the time.

OP posts:
Hotpinkangel19 · 10/01/2022 14:42

I can't believe you didn't go and get him. That's heartbreaking. I've been there as a child and it's stuck with me.

Divorceemumof1 · 10/01/2022 14:43

Comments are helpful and sometimes an eye opener, I am not upset for frustrated by the less positive ones on here. I am looking for advice on the next steps forward. My ex will not communicate with me and he only wants to communicate through my son who is not old enough to make decisions or have these stresses put on him. He is the child so how do I get my ex to either stop putting pressure on him or communicate to me if he wants to salvage the relationship? I am not supporting him in any way he needs to change and as mentioned previously he doesn't look like he will. How do I safeguard my son from this stress without going to court.

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 10/01/2022 14:51

I think you need to wake up to what this man is like. He will not change so you need to do something
He is very bad news for your son so stop encouraging them to have a relationship. I am not saying prevent one but don’t facilitate it and yes you may need to go to court to protect your son.
You sound a bit passive to be honest but maybe you are understandably scared of your ex. If my child was locked in a bathroom scared nothing could have stopped me from going to rescue him

unicornsarereal72 · 10/01/2022 15:41

Block his contact with your son. Send him an email. When he is ready is discuss how he is prepared to build a relationship with your son the door is open until then you will not be contacting him further.

Stop trying to absorb blame for his shit parenting. It's on him. He is the adult. You have no influence over him and his decisions.

Then block him except for e mail.

Get your son some professional counselling so he can work through his feelings and come to terms with his shit dad.

Starlightstarbright1 · 11/01/2022 15:18

You need to not contact ex., ensure he us blocked on any of your ds's devices. Your ds nees counselling.

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