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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

Help me stop destroying my marriage please.

9 replies

paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife · 15/04/2011 13:11

Regular but name changed, sorry gonna be a long one. Back story, before I met DH I was in an awful relationship, exP cheated on me constantly. Always lying, always making me feel like I was unreasonable and going crazy for thinking these things. It got so bad i ended up in hospital and my 2 DC's nearly ended up with no mum.

Fast forward to now, DH and been married over 10 years, he's a good man and a great father to the older Dc's and our younger ones. We had a slight blip about 7 years ago when a girl rang me who DH had recently let go from work. She said DH had sacked her because she wouldn't have sex with him anymore and now he was sleeping with another member of his staff. It shocked me to the core and we had long talks about everything, but my initial reaction was to laugh at her and trust my DH. He'd already talked about how he'd let her go and she wasn't right for the job, she was escorting in the evenings which he said was grim.
I'd been on and off antidepressants for years, and was definitely back on them by them, and to be honest have stayed on them since as I don't want to be on a rollercoaster of my own nutty emotions all the time. Had a tough year with birth trauma issues and a refluxy baby who still doesn't sleep well, (almost 1) and I know I'm stressy and hard to live with, often withdrawn or grumpy.
I think DH is having a mid life crisis, he even thinks he might be, he's become obsessed with keeping fit, jogging (with DS riding along next to him) and weights etc. I can't cope with the weights, it's caused loads of arguements but I feel physically sick when I even think of him doing them. ExP and DF both used to do weights and work out lots whenever they were cheating, often in both cases. The jogging I can cope with as it's good to keep fit, but he doesn't need it, far lovlier than me, I've aged 15 years in the last 12m I think!

I've become obsessed with the thought he's having some sort of affair with someone at his work. He's a very good looking man and admits (under pressure from me) that most women working with him like him, but he has a great working realationship with all his staff and they are all very loyal, a key to his sucess he says. I know his asst manager likes him a lot and he knows to try keep certain boundaries as she's going through a rough time with her DH cheating. But I'm also concerned about a girl 12 yrs younger than him (has a 1yr old and a partner) who recently sent him a drunken text saying he should go out more with them.
He never goes out apart from the pub round the corner with DBiL and his best friend from school. He doesn't really socialise with any of them outside work apart from team meetings etc, recently bought them all a drink at a local pub to say thanks for support during company restructuring.
He's admitted to deleting texts of drunken gobledygook from her on occasions. Our youngest Dc was chewing on his iPhone yesterday and set of the music, dialled a random nonsense number so i took it off her. There were a few unread texts on there, 1 was from her asking about what time to meet tomorrow, I didn't open it and read the whole thing, wish I had though, some meeting with a new area manager apparently, all staff had to come in and meet him today. I did try to read it late last night but he's deleted it, again he said it didn't mean anything, just wants to not have things that will wind me up. We had a big blow up when he came to bed. I have stupid visions of him cheating with her, in the office before others turn up, meeting in the the car early mornings etc. Just can't shake them, The feelings are killing me, I feel like I did many years ago, he said he's not my ex and behaving like this will kill our relationship. He can't stand be accused all the time. What the hell can I do to snap out of this?

OP posts:
zikes · 15/04/2011 13:48

I don't know really what to say to you, but didn't like to see the thread unanswered.

It seems a number of things have started your alarm bells ringing, but it's hard to know whether it's because of your past experiences or your dh's behaviour.

I hope this bumps it back up so someone wiser than me can offer some advice.

Diggs · 15/04/2011 14:23

If you are not a jealous irrational person usually i would listen to your gut .

Sureley all the staff knew what time they were to be going in ? Sureley he doesnt leave it till the night before an important meeting to let all the staff know what time they need to meet and communicate that via text in the evenings ?

It would bother me a lot that he deleted this text , even more so that he knows you are feeling suspicious . He could have said " Look , Zikes , heres my phone , have a read through the messages and you will see that it is entireley innocent ".

He could also state clearly to this woman that it isnt apropriate to send him drunken texts so to please stop. Im a big beleiver in listening to your gut , i would keep your eyes peeled and have a serious chat about boundarys and how drunken texts from this colleauge are making you feel uncomfortable and you want it to stop.

garlicbutter · 15/04/2011 14:36

I would feel like you do. I honestly don't know if he's cheating, or nearly cheating, but there's no way I'm going to tell you're irrational or paranoid. It's great to be a popular boss - and relatively normal to be mildly stalked by a smitten staffer - but there are too many things going on at once imo.

There is one clear point I'd like to make: if he knows you have what amounts to a phobia about men doing weights, why does he? Wouldn't a caring partner have that much respect for your anxiety? It's not as if he can't do anything else to keep in trim.

FabbyChic · 15/04/2011 14:43

Sounds to me like you are sufferning from paranoia, you can take anti-psychotics for that they work too. It could also be that your anti-depressants are no longer working a peak because you have been taking them so long, sometimes it is good to change them.

If you keep accusing him he may well end up doing it, that does sometimes happen. He isn't your ex, you have been with him ten years, it is time to let the past go.

paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife · 15/04/2011 14:56

Thanks everyone. Garlic, he didn't realise how strongly I felt about the weights issue untill I flipped, I just couldn't contain it any longer. He just thought I was being negative as usual.
I know we've been drifting recently but he says he's felt unloved by me for years. I've tried really hard the last few days after a big blow up about all of this, but as soon as I knew there was another text I could feel the feelings coming back. I feel shaky and anxious, tearful all the time. I really hate feeling like this.

OP posts:
Diggs · 15/04/2011 14:58

he says he's felt unloved by me for years

Has he ever spoken to you about this , or is it something hes mentioned in defence to your upset about the texts / weights ect.

paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife · 15/04/2011 15:19

To be honest yes, he has spoken about this before. I'm not necesarrily a person who's very demonstrative. He says i won't just go up and give him a hug, and he's probably right. I'm sitting here realising that everything he's said is true, I am difficult to live with. i'm grumpy with the kids. He's like a big kid and loves to play and mess around, I just get so stressed all the time.
I really do love him, but am also petrified of getiing hurt again. Up untill a few weeks ago i never felt so insecure, but I really have issues about his work now.
During the recent restructuring, he could have been moved to a different location. Slightly nearer to us, not much though and traffic would have actually made his commute longer. Currently he is always off on a sunday so we have that family day at least, a new location would have meant he might have to start working sundays and have another day off instead. He does have a very loyal team which allows him to finish early some days or start late to watch DS play football sometimes. However I'm now worried that he wanted to stay in his current location more because of the women there. I know I'm going nuts but can't help it.

OP posts:
garlicbutter · 15/04/2011 15:27

God, that's a body blow isn't it? :(

I do empathise with your anxieties and your very obvious self-doubt. That's a horrid way to feel and makes you query yourself to the point where you don't trust your own feelings.

I'm afraid I don't like his attitude, OP. He's telling you your love isn't good enough for hime - wtf? You are not "wrong" to be less demonstrative than he is! He knew you before you got married, I presume? I'm a touchy-huggy sort of person and accept that most time, if I want a hug, I'll have to start it. I don't criticise the huggee for not being the same as me.

He actually doesn't sound all that engaged in your marriage. He shouldn't be deleting texts that might worry you, he should be stopping them at source. He shouldn't be painting you as some sort of neurotic halfwit, he should be taking your entirely rational fears on board.

It could be time for Relate.

zikes · 15/04/2011 16:09

I don't think I agree with the idea that he shouldn't do weights cos of your fears around it, because it is his fitness, his hobby and his choice and of itself doesn't cause infidelity.

I do agree with people that say he should help you out by letting you look at his phone whenever - and he should have a stern word with this woman not to send drunken texts anymore, as it's inappropriate, even if there's nothing in it. That makes sense to me.

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