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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

it's all such a mess now and I don't know what to do

132 replies

AnAngelWithin · 31/07/2010 09:15

Don't even know why I am posting really. I know there is nothing anyone can do, but I need a rant I suppose.

Anyway, 12 years of marriage, dc5 born 9 weeks ago. Past year has been tough since I was assaulted and put in hospital and with the pregnancy too. DH gradually become more and more distant. Ended up feeling as though he was repulsed by my shape being pregnant. Just got on with it. The past few weeks have been even worse. Then all of a sudden, a few days ago, DH is all over me. Really weird. He had been texting so much the past few months and using up all the credit on his phone that I checked his phone records, and there was one number on there that was text over and over and over. I confronted him and he said it was a mate from work. Gave him the benefit of the doubt. Then when he started trying to be all over me he almost made himself look more suspicious to me.

Anyway yesterday, he left his phone at home. He had a lock on it. So I took the sim out and put it in mine. Wrong I know, and to be honest I wish I hadn't. Messages on the sim showed up on my phone, saying things like 'we couldn't get round that corner quick enough......' and 'how can you still want me after what happened on thursday....' and 'what if we had got caught...' I felt sick and my legs collapsed from under me reading them. So I rang his work and said 'i know whats going on, you've been rumbled'...silence...'don't bother coming home'.... he asked what i meant and I told him what I had found and he said that he would come home and explain. Told him not to bother. 2 hours later (he works 4 miles away) He came back and at first he was just really cross that I had looked at his phone. I told him I only did it cos I had good reason and that I was right. He said did the usual 'it's not what you think' routine. Then he tried to turn it on me saying he's been miserable since I was assaulted cos the woman who did it went to him and said i was having an affair with her husband (which i swear on my kids lives, fathers grave and anything else i cherish that I haven't and wouldn't. He is a slimey b&%$d and I wouldn't even look at him let alone anything else) So in a way I think he was trying to justify his actions. He left after half an hour and went back to work. Came back after work. In the end he said that it was just someone he had met through work and they got chatting and started texting. Then he said it started getting 'silly' (he wouldn't explain what he meant by 'silly') so he stopped it. He ended it last week apparently before it got 'too serious' Yet I have just looked at his phone records again and he was still texting her all day on wednesday when he was off work and supposed to be with me and the kids and while I was in hospital with our baby having her hips scanned.

I asked him what she meant by the things she said in her texts, and he just kept saying 'i don't know I can't remember, my heads messed up and I've got so much going on right now' I said 'how would i know...you don't talk to me, you talk to HER' He said it was just someone to talk to. I asked him so many time to talk to me over the past year and he wouldn't. Obviously didn't need to if he had someone else to talk to. Shes some posh business woman who is a bit older than him. Everything I am not. I don't know what to believe. He asked if he could come back after work today and talk things through which I agreed to cos at the end of the day we have got 5 kids to consider, and even now I still stand by what I have always said in that I would never stop him seeing the kids if anything happened between us (unless it was something totally unforgivable, violence etc) and he knows that.

To me, the things I read aren't the sort of things you just text, it sounds like more happened. He said he hardly sees her cos she lives ages away and she only goes to his work now and again. But he did admit that he felt they were getting closer but he realised he loved me and ended it cos he didn't want it to 'get too far'

I said that he must have been attracted to her in the first place to exchange numbers. He said he wasn't and they were just friends and it looked like it was developing into something else so he stopped it. Apparently he's been texting her for over a year, so basically while we were trying to concieve dd3

I just don't know what to do to be honest. I do love him, and part of me can't imagine a life without him, but there is no way on this planet I will ever trust him again, and I think that once the trust has gone, theres no real base for a relationship. Before we got married he 'kissed' a friend of mine at a party after sending me home in a taxi cos i was a little tipsy. It was 'just a kiss' but the trust started to crumble then really I suppose. Hindsight eh!?

OP posts:
suspiciousandsad · 01/08/2010 11:24

he can do what he likes now. its over.

i wish you the very best of luck.

SassySusan · 01/08/2010 11:35

Message deleted

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 11:51

suspicousandsad i am very sorry for you. Hope you are ok. Daft question I know.

Well I have just text her saying that I know about her and my husbands relationship and would like to hear her side.... awaiting a response...if i get one...

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wouldliketoknow · 01/08/2010 11:56

angel, you could write a letter to the ow, that would clear your thoughts, and then you don't have to mail it, but it might help you feel better,
don't rush into anything.... hope you will be ok
have you tried contacting gingerbread, they are an association for single parents, i bet more than one have been in this position, they'll understand...

SassySusan · 01/08/2010 12:05

Message deleted

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 12:09

oh well too late now. if she doesn't reply then probably guilty as charged. I know I would want to defend myself if i was innocent....

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skidoodly · 01/08/2010 12:55

He's definitely been shagging her and almost certainly still is. He's a shocking liar for someone who has been repeatedly unfaithful.

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 13:06

i have delivery reports on my phone and its not been delivered yet...maybe he's given her my number to block, and that's why he wasn't bothered about me contacting her?....

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suspiciousandsad · 01/08/2010 14:58

she will probably contact him first, before replying to you.

what a shit.

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 15:33

probably. Not heard anything yet. No delivery report...

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WhenwillIfeelnormal · 01/08/2010 16:10

I'm afraid that it's unlikely you'd get the truth from her and a phone conversation is a much better way to confront her. You can still do that you know, but I suspect she will contact him when she gets that text and agree on what she will say.

It is obvious from your update that your H is still lying to you. A text that describes "coming round a corner" quite obviously alludes to a real meeting, otherwise how could they have been "caught"? Of course he remembers what those texts were about. If he has been texting her for a year and prior to that, met her face-to-face, how can he expect you to believe even for a second that they didn't see one another after an emotional affair developed?

I can imagine a large part of you wants to believe this tall tale, but it really does sound like a load of nonsense and he doesn't sound like a very accomplished liar at all. Unless you get to the truth of this, I suspect you will never be able to trust him an inch. Please don't bargain this one away. Your inner voice is telling you these are lies, do listen to it.

Like I said downthread, you can only start to rebuild from a horrible situation like this once all the indisputable facts are known; issues like what happened, how many times, who ended it, who knew etc. You aren't even being given the basic truth courtesies here.

I'm so sorry - what a horrible thing to happen and what a shocking year you've had. I really understand what you meant when you said that his behaviour to you over the past year was deal-breaking enough.

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 16:40

Well I have decided that I have said all that I am going to say to him about it anyway. Anything else I say will just be treading over old ground, and until he actually admits that he has even done anything wrong and broken my heart in the process, he can sod off. I am too tired and feel too ill now. I haven't eaten since I founds out and have now got tonsillitus....

If they contact each other to get their story then so be it. I will probably never know. I suppose if he comes back tonight pissed off that I've contacted her then I will know they have been in contact to get their story straight....

OP posts:
daisystone · 01/08/2010 17:31

Don't let him be pissed off with you, you are the one who should be pissed off. He has absolutely no right to do the pissed off attitude thing.

God, if my DH tried that with me after such bad behaviour I would go at him with a pair of scissors (it's happened before! - and no I'm not particularly proud of that but he deserved it)

AnAngelWithin · 01/08/2010 18:13

it's only just delivered....funnily enough at the same time H usually gets his signal back at work when he moves from one part to the 'clocking off part', and I know there is an event on there today and seeing as he told me she is an events co-ordinator....

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teaandcakeplease · 01/08/2010 20:27

Hello Angel

I separated from my H in October 2009, from that point on he told me he wanted to work things out and I did everything I could to try and be a stepford wife to persuade him we were worth having In March after advice from people on mumsnet I started reading a good book and realised I'd never had any evidence the affair had ended and had some hard questions that needed answering. It turned out after much pressure that the affair had never ended and he was still trying to decide between us In the end I made the decision for him and began the divorce. But I tried to do everything I could to save the marriage until that point So I truly sympathise with your situation.

I believed everything my H said, it turned out that he was very good at lying and I believed them all. Ask for evidence it's over, whether e-mails, texts etc. Try and find ways to validate the facts. The worse thing for me for all those months was the fact he was still leading me a merry dance and I believed we'd work things out and the affair was over.

I'm sorry to go on about my situation as this is your thread but I urge you to do everything you can to find out the truth if possible and do listen to your inner voice.

My H said to me once the divorce had begun that he'd been tempted before to have affairs and begun texting people and calling them etc. And he said I always knew when he was tempted to commence an affair, as I started to get cagey about them and say he was spending too much time with them etc and it wasn't appropriate as a married man, blah blah blah. So my instincts were sadly spot on previously Yours probably are too with what you think and feel in your situation.

teaandcakeplease · 01/08/2010 20:29

Btw he never told me the full truth and admitted the full blown affair even after we separated for a long long time, he kept telling me plausible stories. My thread is here maybe sometime if it helps you, you could read it. It's rather long.

wouldliketoknow · 02/08/2010 07:31

teaandcakeplease, i think you'll thread will really help, i only read the first and last part,you truly understand what angel is going through while the rest of us can only imagine and don't know what feels like, really glad you found each other...

AnAngelWithin · 02/08/2010 09:44

hello.

teaandcake thank you i will read the thread when i get a minute.

Anyway, after my text, in which i put 'i have found out about your realtionship with my husband, and would like to hear your side please' She text back 'just that i am not wanted as a friend or anything else' I put 'what do you mean by that? Did he ever say about being more than friends?' She put 'Ive never been wanted by anyone throughout my life, and I am so sorry that I was probably too keen and i know it was wrongfor me to try and get close to him, but i now obviously know where i stand. I'm gone. I get it. I'm gone and will never be back in your or your husbands life.'

Last night he slept on the sofa. He spend all evening and night crying his eyes out, saying he didn't realise how bad it really looked until he has had time to think about it. That yes, he was just cross to start with, but that if it was the other way around and it was me texting, he would be going mental. Said he didn't realise just how much he was texting her etc. He said we need to spend more time together as a couple and he didn't realise how much he has pushed me away the past year.

So I don't know what to think at the moment. i just text her asking if ANYTHING ever happened between them. Shes just replied that they kissed. Inititate by her and she has never regretted anything in her life so much. That's apparently when he said things were going too far....Fuck I don't know what to think....he is out walking the dog now and be back soon

OP posts:
SassySusan · 02/08/2010 10:11

Message deleted

teaandcakeplease · 02/08/2010 10:11

So he insisted it was only texting and now she says they kissed. This is one murky mess at the moment. A phone call would be better as WWIFN said. A lot better.

If he wants to work on your marriage then full transparency is required and honesty. Right now he's not being straight with you.

I think you should still go away but actually without him would be good, so you can clear your head imo.

teaandcakeplease · 02/08/2010 10:12

X posted with Sassy

suspiciousandsad · 02/08/2010 11:01

Hello Angel, how are you feeling today?

It seems to me that you still have somewhere to go with this. You still have the option of staying married. I would really recommend Relate if there is hope - I found them really helpful last year, not just looking at us as a couple, but to me as an individual. It helped me make my decisions at the time.

I'm having another two sessions this week, but this time the outcome will be different. I wouldnt hesitate in recommending them though.

Good luck. You will make it work if you want it to, and if you choose not to, you will make your familylife work regardless. xx

WhenwillIfeelnormal · 02/08/2010 11:41

God preserve us, we now have the OW going into "victim" mode when confronted by the woman she conspired to hurt.

I don't know if talking to this woman will shed any more light, but it's certainly better than texting, that's for sure. At the very least however, it has managed to confirm that he was indeed lying to you, if she said there was a kiss.

You know that the texts you saw referred to actual physical contact. I can't believe he's still claiming that this was a text relatioonship only. There is just so much more to come out. All the tears are about being caught, not genuine contrition, otherwise he would have come clean instantly. He is admitting to only what you can prove and when faced with explaining why those texts appear to disprove his story, he reverts to the "Oh I don't know, my head is in such a mess" part of the script.

From what you've said, you suspect he was at work alongside her yesterday? Therefore plenty of time to warn her about the story he is weaving. If I've misunderstood this and you don't think he saw her yesterday, then check his online bill which will show up the last couple of days of calls and texts.

I do know it's hard to see someone you love being in such a mess and crying, but keep thinking about the year you have had and how much you would have loved his support when no doubt you cried about being assaulted, how much you hurt when you received no greetings cards. That didn't move him, did it?

If you don't think you can bluff and claim you know more than you do, then I think the approach I'd take is that you tell him you believe he has been physically unfaithful and is lying to you and it's up to him to disprove that - this squarely puts the responsibility on him to prove his innocence, rather than on you to prove his guilt.

PfftTheMagicDragon · 02/08/2010 11:46

I find it incredibly hard to believe that they have been texting for over a year, meet up regularly (at work) admit to a kiss (though he did not, he claimed they were only texting, so you know for a fact that he is lying) - that they have not had sex.

I would place a bet that it will come out at some point that they have had sex.

AnAngelWithin · 02/08/2010 19:53

well last night he came to see the kids and I told him he could have a bath as there is no hot water at his mums cos they are on holiday and have turned it off. We got to talking and crying and he admitted what an arse he had been, that yes, he now sees how bad it really looked. I told him that IF i ever decide to give him another chance he is to have her number barred or change his number, let me check his phone records without complaining, he is never to bring up the thing with my assaulters husband again, and he talks more to ME and not bottle up. Counselling if necessary. He agreed. In the end, I let him sleep on the sofa. It was at 5am I got her reply through. Various messages later and she admitted they kissed and that it was initiated by him. I had let him take the kids and the dog out for a walk as I was feeling really unwell, so when i saw him i said that next time he gets a chance to tell the truth about anything ever, he should take it. He just looked at me. I told him that she had told me what happened. He said that it didn't happen. It nearly did, but he stopped it before it actually happened (oh what a hero eh!?? pfft) I have just spent the whole day crying, mostly in bed as I am too weak to do much else. I haven't eaten since friday and I have got a really bad throat and nose and stomach. My milk supply is fast drying up so now dd3 is pretty much going to end up on bottles.

she wasn't at his work yesterday it was a different event.

what a bloody mess....I am waiting for the kids to go to bed then have it out with him once and for all....

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