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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

how can i make him stay?

134 replies

ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 07:28

dh has been offered an amazing job with a life changing salary. the only thing is that its in malaysia(he worked there before but only for 12 weeks at a time). i don't want to go myself and i cry everytime i think of leaving our lovely home and life here.

he has said he is really considering going. all he keeps on about is being mortgage free in two years and we can go and see him and he will come home every 12 weeks.

i told him we need him here as a family and forbid him to go last night in a big row. he is being really selfish even considering it dc's are little and need their dad around.

what can i do to change his mind for good?

or is it me being selfish?

OP posts:
Mumsyblouse · 08/05/2012 10:09

ExpatAl, have you read the other thread, in which the OP says her husband is a bully, their relationship is twisted and awful although others don't know this, and in which he takes the car keys and her phone away from her, as well as her having no access to money? Now, imagine all of that happening in Malaysia? I don't think it is bringing my own issues to the table to say that this is not an ideal starting point for going abroad together.

BlingBubbles · 08/05/2012 10:09

I would definitely go with, what an amazing opportunity to live in a different country for a couple of years, experience something different and do a bit of travelling on that side of the world. If your DH is going to be earning good money I am sure you can get your parents to come over for a visit and you can pop back to the UK.

If it was me I would be over there in a shot.

BlingBubbles · 08/05/2012 10:11

Ok just read the history, that's a different story. Difficult decision for you to make.

TheCunningStunt · 08/05/2012 10:13

YOur other thread changes my opinion a bit too. Let him go if he wishes. Then he won't have to worry about his "show home"

ExpatAl · 08/05/2012 10:14

Mumsy, yes I read the other thread. We don't know the guy but perhaps he just saw the phone as a huge bill. Maybe they are living beyond their means? Maybe the OP is a profligate spender who can't so no to shiny shoes? (I am). I can't say the dh sounds like a cuddly type but he really seems to me to be full of fears. The OP does too. So discussion in a supportive environment might help both of them. They obviously loved each other once and produced two children. Why can't this make them stronger? It's worth a shot.

ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 10:15

we have been dealing with our issues through counseling and made lots of progress. relate have been amazing. its like we have a new marriage it seemed like he needed a second person to see he was a nob. its only a short time but its not like it was.

we will talk later when he isn't at work,

the job offer wouldn't even be on the table. if it wasn't to our benefit. he gets lots of offers just not in KL

OP posts:
ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 10:18

the other thread is like another life to me now. we ARE working on our marriage.

OP posts:
ExpatAl · 08/05/2012 10:19

Well that's great Scarlett. Maybe Malaysia will be the next step.

LovelyJubilee · 08/05/2012 10:20

I lived in Malaysia for 3 years, my ds was even born there. It's fab, cheap, lots of fun, chance to travel all over asia. You can save a fortune. But and it's a big but only go if you already have a solid relationship.

There is a lot of temptation for the men out there - bars literally full of young, beautiful, thin Malaysian girls looking for a husband. You have to be able to trust him and be there for each other. You have to work to make friends, go out , meet people etc but all the expats are in the same boat so it is easy to meet people.

If he was going somewhere dangerous I could understand staying at home but KL is modern, vibrant, fun and there are loads of 'wives' out there. If you put the effort in it will be an experience you will never forget.

Lueji · 08/05/2012 10:23

Ok, having read the other thread, I might go and keep an open return ticket, or a short initial period of maybe a month...

It is a very short time and bullies can "change" for a while and then return to being abusive a while later.

You may well find yourself trapped in a foreign country, with different laws, so just ensure that you take all steps to make sure you and your children can leave if need be.

CeeBee44 · 08/05/2012 10:27

It is good that things are getting better for you. But it has only been three weeks since your other thread. You really need to give it a lot more time before you can be sure your H isn't going to revert back to his old behaviour.

ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 10:28

it wouldn't be permanent anyway. I'm not scared of him and he is not an ogre either.

please disregard the other thread. as i said we have turned a corner.

OP posts:
AbigailAdams · 08/05/2012 10:29

Hmm. That thread was 3 weeks ago. Anyone can be nice for 3 weeks. I wouldn't be going to Malaysia with this man. I think you'll find him reverting to type out there.

Parts of your OP already rang some alarm bells for me. Making a large compromise for someone like this and forgoing your wants and needs should only be considered if your partner is likely to reciprocate sometime in the future (or has in the past). This man really doesn't sound like he knows what compromise is!

CeeBee44 · 08/05/2012 10:29

I wish you the best of luck Scarlett and hope everything works out for you.

travelcot · 08/05/2012 10:32

I haven't commented on your thread but, having read the thread linked to, I would think very hard about moving out to Malaysia with this man. At least here you can turn to your family if he gets nasty out there you will be very vulnerable. Think about it, you will be a very long way away,in a strange place with a very different culture and he will be controlling all the money. In addition, you will be away from all the support of your family and friends and he might make it difficult for you to return here with the children if that's what you want to do.

Can I ask because it's not clear from your post , are you married to this man? Or is you his partner. If the former, then at least you will have some legal protection if you go your separate ways.

ExpatAl · 08/05/2012 10:44

What on earth do you mean by 'revert to type'? What a terrible thing to say about someone else. Scarlett has said that they are both going to relate and benefitting.

AbigailAdams · 08/05/2012 11:04

Hmm ExpatAl I've said something terrible? I'm not the one who has bullied and controlled his wife and is expecting her to uproot her life for 2 years with no support network because he's been nice for a few days. Three weeks is a very short time to have a massive permanent character change. However going through "nice" patches is something that abusive men do well. I think a certain amount of cynicism is called for, given the small timescales and the massive change he wants the OP to undergo.

But maybe you are right, he is one of those very few controlling men who have seen the light.

Bucharest · 08/05/2012 11:08

Ah. Skirting board man.

Okaaaaaay.

Scarlett- has there been any time in your relationship when you have actually lived together, properly, 24/7? Or has he always worked away? You say it was Mon-Fri and is now (IIRC) Mon-Thurs? Because if not, then moving with him to furrin parts, where every tiny thing is amplified a million times, will potentially be a powder keg.

Does he actually want you to go? Did he present it as a "here,wifey,we are off to Malaysia for 2 yrs" or was it "I am being offered the chance of a lifetime" and you (quite rightly) assumed he meant all of you?

Because even though you tell us to disregard the other thread, that's one hell of a seachange in less than a month and a bit of chit chat with relate.

ExpatAl · 08/05/2012 11:10

Sorry, I shouldn't have called it terrible, but I do think it's incredibly inflexible and unrealistic to say that someone can't change. We adapt all the time and we flourish when we are supported and feel that we are being listened to.

I have incidentally been in a very abusive relationship. I don't think this sounds like it.

Mumsyblouse · 08/05/2012 11:13

Scarlett, I hear what you are saying, you are going to Relate and in that short time frame, things are definitely looking more positive, which is good.

However, I would be very reluctant to take a decision about moving for these reasons:

a) If someone had a long history of being controlling and not very nice and then they got help, I would want to see evidence of their long-term change, over weeks, months indeed years before I moved my entire life for them, not three weeks

b) In that three weeks, your husband announced he was going for a new job in Malaysia even though you desperately don't want him to, including suggesting he come back every three months. I don't really see this as taking account of your needs or your family's needs at this time-point.

c) You are crying all the time at the thought of leaving, and feel hysterical at the thought, I think that deep down you know that all is not quite well in your marriage and are scared at living a long way from home with just him as your support

d) The behaviours you mention are quite worrying, not having access to the phone, or the car keys being taken off you, these are not 'communication difficulties' of the type Relate deal with, they are controlling and scary, and I wouldn't personally allow myself to be totally in the power (i.e. he will control if you have money and a car and where you live) of a man with power issues myself.

Of course it is up to you. Personally, I'd let him go first, see how the marriage is going, go to visit and take it from there if you are committed to being with him.

LoopyLoopsTootTootToots · 08/05/2012 11:29

OP, my family (very similar aged children) are moving to KL in July, if you want to talk through the possibility of going and family implications. :)

AThingInYourLife · 08/05/2012 11:30

Your other thread makes sense of your fears of going.

You are right to be fearful.

Don't ignore what your instinct is telling you.

ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 11:32

the job ha sbeen bubbling under the surface since he took the work two years ago. its not like it had been sprung on me.

it just that the money has not been enough before. i would lethim go firstthen i may ornate not join him i haven't decided yet.

i am married and lived together for three years before he started working away. infact our relationship was muchbetter when we where together full time.

OP posts:
ScarlettAlexandra · 08/05/2012 11:34

he would love me to go with him. but i have never wanted to live anywhere other than the uk.
hasn't made any choice because of my reaction.

OP posts:
devilinside · 08/05/2012 11:37

Malaysia is fantastic, I lived there for a year. The food is 'out of this world', never had better in any other country. Amazing beaches, fantasic tropical rainforest, fab cities (lovely old Chinese buildings) Thailand, Vietnam and other fabulous places just a short hop away. It will be the experience of a life time