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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

Selfishness!!

50 replies

mich077 · 11/01/2012 16:41

Ok, I'm a 37 year old with two beautiful children and divirced in 2009.Within this time I met a 35 year old male who was also going through divorce at the time we met! However..his circumstances were very different to mine and it wasn't his choice to leave his marriage it was his wife's choice - all because of his behavior and infidelity. My marriage broke down because of my husbands abusive behavior and infidelity. So as you gather I walked away from my ex knowing it was something necer wanted to go back to and i had fallen out of love with him, my partner wasn't over his ex.I understood this at the time (2 years 9 months ago) and was fully aware he still neeeed the time to get over it. So within the first 18 months she was in and out of his life unsure of wether or not she had made the right decision. He then obviously would call time on us and within a few weeks we'd be back on again!! After she finally tOld him it was over and she needed to mOve on as she knew it was never going to work he then decides that he needed more time on his own to process all of this and think about all what had happened. He came back to me telling me he wanted to be with me and the children. So we spend time together involving the children. He tells me in sept he is committed to me. I sensed over the next few months there was still something not right and that he always had a foot out of the door..just through his behavior. So it's been rocky and then BANG!! on 31 Dec 11 I find an email he had sent his ex wife saying he was finding it hard to get over her and move on and that if it was what she wanted they coukd be together anywhere she chose, abroad or the UK. She replies telling him he had treated her so bad in the relationship etc that she couldn't go back to him and that she had net someone and was moving on. She also said she couldn't give him what he was looking for (he is very very needy, very needy!!) She told him to never contact her again and to move on with his life. He replied saying ok I understand and at least now I can move on with my life one way or another. I was heartbroken and obviously went mad at him. His reason was he felt vulnerable at that moment and because she had sent a birthday message to him a few months before it started a thought in his head of 'I wonder if she wants me back' He's had a bad upbringing but feels he is better than most and as his ex was a glamorous trophy wife I just feel that's the life he'd prefer. I'm a genuine person without an ounce of shallowness in me! Anyway since finding the email it's been hard and I asked him a question about who he was emailing a few days ago and he flipped and decided to walk away from our relationship telling me he needs to reflect on all of this. He's apologized for the way he's treated me and apologized for the email etc etc.
He's been good to the children and they love him dearly. His last contact with me said he felt undervalued and that I never show any credit for how he is with my children. we have shared good times together and I still love him.
Ok - hit me with it!!

OP posts:
Thistledew · 11/01/2012 16:47

That is a long post, but one thing leaps out. You say your marriages broke down for completely different reasons, buy reading what you have written, they broke down for exactly the same reason- the husband treating the wife appallingly and being unfaithful to her. It seems to me that you have swapped your husband for a different model made from the same mold.

mich077 · 11/01/2012 16:51

Yeah sorry I mean circumstances as in - I came away from mine through my own choice his wasn't.
Both marriages failed through infidelity. My ex to me - my partner to his ex!!!

OP posts:
izzywhizzyswinterwarmer · 11/01/2012 16:52

It won't be easy to find something to hit you with that you don't already know - so here's a and I'll watch while you beat yourself up for becoming involved with an immature twat to whom you'll always be second best.

After you've given yourself a good scourge, look to find a partner who wont waste your vaulable time.

mich077 · 11/01/2012 16:57

Can people change though, learning from their mistakes! I've always been understanding to the fact that he still had feelings for her when I met him. Hes telling me now that this is it with her - it's over it's completely finished and he knows he can move on!!

OP posts:
izzywhizzyswinterwarmer · 11/01/2012 17:10

Yeah, sure it is and sure he can [yawn] and if you continue to entertain him after his latest walkout, he'll move on from you too in the not too distant future.

I suggest you use his words to tell him 'it's over it's completely finished' so that he can jog on, and you can get down to the serious business of finding yourself a man whose baggage is languishing in a lost property office in Timbuctoo and who'll have no problem putting you first.

kodachrome · 11/01/2012 17:19

Honestly he's messing you around like no-one's busines. He would have walked out in a heartbeat at any time had his ex-wife wanted him back.

You are well rid. Before you start looking for another relationship, you need to work on your battered self-esteem. You've accepted being second-best when you never should have - you need to start believing you deserve more than this from men.

mich077 · 11/01/2012 18:04

That's the point I was trying to make to him. What would he of done if she had of replied saying ok yes it's what I want!!! He's always described her as a trophey wife and a princess! It's very tiring giving to a relationship when you don't get what you need back.

OP posts:
Kayano · 11/01/2012 18:10

I don't want to say this but He's just not that into you...

I think he still hankers after her and uses you so he is not alone for long and you have been letting him

It sounds emotionally draining and
You sound far too good
For him!

Thistledew · 11/01/2012 18:20

Any man who describes his ex partner as a trophy wife or princess would send me running. He quite obviously did not see her as a partner, an equal, and I am afraid he doesn't treat you as an equal either. Sad

mich077 · 11/01/2012 18:23

Emotionally draining!! I'm battered! I've given 110%. It's so sad when someone doesn't give near to that..but I always give the benefit of the doubt cos I knew the way his divorce went ie he didn't chose to end their relationship! No it seems he's really not that into me/us. He's told me he need this time to reflect and he's not expecting me to wait but if I want to talk then just call!!!! Think I'm being a bit think but I just don't get his behavior sometimes!

OP posts:
something2say · 11/01/2012 18:28

Hiya, what struck me reading your op was that - he would do xyz and you would just suck it up - all the while having what appears to be quite a level head on your shoulders.

Yes this is selfishness on his part. It doesn't sound to me that he is in a place where he could be committed to you, and also you have laid out a good few negatives about him.

If I were you, and very sadly so, I would begin to let it sink in that he may not be a good bet for you at this time. It may all be about time - you invest it, and maybe all for nothing. Take it from me, I have had the exact same thoughts about some of my partners, and not done what I should have done at the beginning, only for it to work out exactly how I feared it would work out - badly. All I did was waste that time from when I sensed and when I acted.

bangs head on wall

mich077 · 11/01/2012 18:30

@thistledew I just thought he would see that a meaningful life (with us) is far better than having a trophey wife who he could shit on and get away with just buying an expensive watch or handbag. He's never committed and has never experienced comittment through childhood with his parents. I suppose it was all words and no actions with him. Very hard when you love someone and allowed them to be a part of your children's life. I'm sure there'll be a huge gap in his life

OP posts:
Bogeyface · 11/01/2012 18:31

I dont understand why you are trying to make a relationship work with a man who is

Unfaithful
Treated his wife so badly she never wants to hear from him ever again
Has messed you around from day one
Has lied to you
Would drop you in a nano second if she said she wanted him back.

What is in this for you?! He doesnt love you, he doesnt treat you properly and is lying to you.

Ditch the loser and get yourself some counselling to find out why the hell you went from one cheating prick to another one.

mich077 · 11/01/2012 18:32

I have let him get away with all the 'time outs' and just been there like a door mat!! I am level headed and a very honest genuine person - he's taken advantage of my nice nature!

OP posts:
Bogeyface · 11/01/2012 18:34

I just thought he would see that a meaningful life (with us) is far better

Here we go again....

HE IS A WANKER AND YOU CANNOT "FIX HIM"

He CHOSE to cheat on his wife, he CHOSE to lie to her and then you, he CHOSE to mess you about. HE. IS. A. PISSTAKING. LOSER.

Oh, and I would love to know what his wifes version of events is, and her reaction to him calling her a trophy wife etc. and he didnt get away with it by buying her expensive gifts did he? She dumped him. He is stringing you along and you are taking it.

lisaro · 11/01/2012 18:35

I always give the benefit of the doubt cos I knew the way his divorce went ie he didn't chose to end their relationship!
Course he didn't, he wanted to carry on having his cake and shagging it!!! But don't worry, he's got you now to be on stand by. PLEASE wake up! He's a prat and a user, he won't change. Drop him - now! He'll never change, and you've reinforced that he doesn't need to. You don't need this. Nobody does.

SantaIsAnAnagramOfSatan · 11/01/2012 18:37

come on! how have you let this be the standard? how can you think that this is ok? how on earth did you deem him worth it?

he has shitted all over you and gotten away with it - with her he hasn't gotten away with it so your post doesn't make much sense.

you need to get some help working on your self esteem and standards. he has treated you appalling all along and you have just rolled over and asked for more.

how have you spent years with someone who is in love with someone else? you are destroying yourself Sad

KatieScarlett2833 · 11/01/2012 18:39

Please stop referring to his ex as "Trophy Wife"

It is really unpleasant that you judge her when it was him who cheated on her. She has rightly told him to jog on, therefore she is no threat to you.

Why did you put up with this level of fuckwittage?

Put this one down to bad experience and find somebody who really wants to be with you.

SantaIsAnAnagramOfSatan · 11/01/2012 18:41

you're basically just re-enacting your marriage to try and 'win' a better ending. this time the man will choose me/stability/family etc. and you've let another adulterous, uncommitted man into your children's lives. please let this be the last one.

mich077 · 11/01/2012 18:45

@katiescarlett I'm not personally referring to her as a trophey wife I'm clearly stating what he calls her.

OP posts:
something2say · 11/01/2012 18:57

Gosh people are being quite harsh here I think...

mich077 · 11/01/2012 19:06

And I haven't judged her - I've got no right too. I'm just repeating what he's told me.

OP posts:
mich077 · 11/01/2012 19:14

Bogeyface..I'm confused by your comment 'get yourself some counseling to find out why you went from one cheating prick to another..' So is that what a counsellor does these days? Ok it's a choice I made to get into a relationship with him knowing his history, and people CAN change (I know friends who have) My ex-husband there was no history of this behavior. So whats your advice on my next relationship ask the counsellor if he's a 'cheating orick' or not!! This is something you sometimes never know about a person. I've got plenty of friends whose husband/boyfriends and themselves have had a fling/one night stand/affairs but have changed and gone on to live happier lives together!

OP posts:
kodachrome · 11/01/2012 19:19

I think you need counselling for low self-esteem - otherwise why would you accept being second-place, letting him walk in and out as he pleases, knowing he was always after his ex?

fuzzynavel · 11/01/2012 19:21

Blimey op why on earth are you flogging a dead horse. You have always been a rebound and always will be in his eyes.

He's also a lying cheating bastard!

What on earth do you want people to say?

OP, I don't mean to be harsh but the word mug comes to mind here, he's an arse and you're a ...