Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

over reacting?

351 replies

dancingwiththedevilonmyback · 06/09/2012 18:11

so for the last few months my rather antisocial hubby has started going out with a group of mates, im really happy about this as i think friendships outside the marraige are really important and healthy.
his best mate is a girl who is into the stuff he likes, wrestling, computer games ect. he goes out to watch films with her a lot and they socialise with others regualy, i have no issue with this, my best mate is a bloke (although he is gay) she has even kipped on our sofa when they went out so she didnt have to drive home. i have had no suspicions that anything other than friendship has occurred.
she is in a bad relationship, talks about it to him all the time, and seems to say lots of leading things like "my bf doesnt like my breasts, what do you think?" and that suggests to me she may be having thoughts towards him in a romantic way... i have told him that platonic friendships are great but its important not to give the wrong idea...
he assured me she didnt have thoughts like that.
i have become aware that his workmates have been gossiping about them, and that makes me uncomfortable, he assuered me it was one comment from someone really stupid and to take no notice.
well today he left his facebook open and thier messages were there, hundreds of messages, really really flirty.
he calls her sugar tits, says he needs to clear his mind of dirty thoughts of her, many messages of sexual teasing, nothing hardcore, all wink winky, things like, i'll let you dominate me, i'll lie there and take it, he replies i am dripping with antisipation (this is in reference to being beaten in the computer game, but its suggestive and sexual.)
he says, if we carry on going to see films together, people will be even more suspicious, more than normal" which means lots of people at thier work are already suss...
i text him and said, u left your fb open, and i read your msgs, sorry for invading your privacy but i am glad i did,
the level of flirting is unacceptable, and really dismissive of your wife. i feel humiliated after all the bending over backwards i did to accommadate your new mates.
i want this flirting to stop, i am not asking you to end your friendship, or cancel saturday (she is kipping on the sofa again) or to cancel the wrestling (they are going with 2 others to wales to watch the wrestling, him and her are sharing a twin room) i just want you to know the boundries and not overstep them.

he phoned and said nothing was going on, i said it doesnt matter if his penis stayed in his pants, the fact he has been texting her this means he has at least had an emotional or sextual affair. he said nothing had happened, and he was sorry for upsetting me, (sounding irritated now) i said i didnt need him to be sorry for upsetting me, that meant nothing to me, he needs to be sorry for doing it. he doesnt talk to me like that, so he needs to talk like that to someone else.
i said, if you want out of our marraige, tell me, i want to know, dont string me along, and drag it out, if you want out, just go. i wont stop you.
he said he loved being married to me and he loves our children, i said well that wouldnt change would it?
then i said i had to go and get kids ready for bed, and hung up.
was i overreacting?

OP posts:
Inertia · 11/09/2012 13:40

I think you are right, he can't deal with his feelings- because his feelings are telling him that he wants to be with SFT , and he's angry at you because he sees it as your fault that he can't be with her.

You are brave and tenacious in wanting to work this out, but it is going to be incredibly difficult until he acknowledges that everything about his relationship with SFT was unacceptable- and he is showing no sign of facing up to that.

Offred · 11/09/2012 13:41

But all your previous posts what you were saying is that you wanted him to just know what he needed to do and you felt he was trying to push you into being the decision-maker so he could blame you and to be honest this looks like exactly that. It doesn't look like he is trying at all.

MadAboutHotChoc · 11/09/2012 13:46

What exactly is he doing to help?

Look at his ACTIONS - are these backing up what he is saying?

The hateful stares, the aggressive and rude tone of voice, the sulkiness, the wobblies, the shouting, the storming etc.

How are these actions helping?

Offred · 11/09/2012 13:59

You need a partner not another child. He has positioned you as his mother and SFT as his gf you have banned him from seeing...

catfart · 11/09/2012 14:12

Sorry Dancing, but it doesn't seem like he gets it still.......sounds like he's harbouring resentment now for having to not see her outside of work.

SweetSeraphim · 11/09/2012 14:14

The thing is.... he should be completely the opposite. You've told him how you feel, and how suspicious and insecure this is making you - and he is giving you dirty looks and blame???

ParsleyTheLioness · 11/09/2012 14:24

Dancing- the fact that he is 'waiting til you say its ok to be friends' with ST again clearly indicates he is not getting it. You are never going to be ok about ST. He is not accepting this!

Xales · 11/09/2012 14:26

Wow! Could he act any more like a spoilt brat who has had his favourite toy taken away? How is that trying? You must feel really loved and special every time he gives you another filthy look Sad

I hope you are right and he is working on it.

I want to say don't let him start slipping back. That isn't the right thing to say. The right thing to say is if/when he does start slipping back don't accept it for yourself.

Good luck

Xales · 11/09/2012 14:27

Ditto what Parsley says too.

He is basically waiting for the dirt to settle and for you to go back into good little wifey mode.

Offred · 11/09/2012 14:27

That and the fact they'll be sat flirting at work and grumbling like lovesick teenagers about 'er indoors who won't let them play out after school...

CaliforniaLeaving · 11/09/2012 16:03

He is acting like a spolit brat, but if you want to give him the chance to redeem himself and work on it, then good for you for trying everything.
If he is letting you take the lead and make the rules, then you need full access to his phone and computer/facebook passwords for everything. If he whines, tell him you are trying to rebuild the trust, if he can't trust you to follow up/check up when you feel the need, then it makes you feel like he's hiding something all over again. It's his job to make you feel secure, to be where he needs to be and with who he says at all times to prove to you he can be trusted at his word.

AnyFucker · 11/09/2012 16:44

How will it make op feel secure if she has to monitor his every move and communication?

She said upthread all she wants is for him to acknowledge this for himself

Everything in place so far addresses none of that, and in fact simply places op as nagging wife and him as naughty boy

Who could feel secure with that scenario?

CaliforniaLeaving · 11/09/2012 16:59

Being able to see everything out in the open day after day week after week will eventually quell that nagging feeling that something is amiss. You can't just say "OK I trust you at your word now" He has to prove that he can be trusted, she doesn't have to go about it in a vicious way, she may only check once in a blue moon or maybe never, but knowing you can check makes you feel safer.

Offred · 11/09/2012 17:12

I don't see how it would California when they could be sneaking off to the stockroom at work or operating secret accounts/phones. All it does is tell him it is your responsibility and not his to monitor his cheating. It's quite an adversarial move that could encourage one upmanship.

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm · 11/09/2012 17:29

He's cross because you've called him up on his bad behaviour hunni.. glad to see you back btw

My DP added a female to his friend list on xbox shortly after all this stuff blew up and i calmy said i wasn't happy with that given the situation, and he threw a wobbly saying 'its in the past you have to trust me'

Err, no i dont and yesterdays the past, but it doesn't make this shit hurt any less just because a few hours or days have passed
Needless to say he didn't remove her until i ended up in tears and angry

His behaviour following the 'finding out and fallout from it all' period was just as bad as the actual affair for me.

I'm positive the only way these type of selfish bastards realise what they're doing is when its done to them.

I could easily have had any number of my male friends or colleagues from work (all male and i was the only female) flirt with me online and hurt DP to the max by showing him because i am attractive, and know i am, i turned down a phone number and offer of a date when i was 8 1/2 months pregnant fgs lol

Its not about these men not getting what they need to at home, its not doing what they need to. If he was putting all the emotional and physical energy into your relationship he is wasting on her, your relationship would be fantastic.

If she was single with her own place don't kid yourself OP he would probably have walked away without a second glance.
He's not even sorry, he probably says he doesn't even know why you're angry.. ugh.. he is and will continue to twist you, saying until you say its ok he won't be friends with her?
Now i would get mean..(theoretically) send her DP the messages and lets see if he will eventually 'calm down and let them be friends again' would he fuck! He would probably have a complete spitting fit and go batshit crazy.

Tell him loud and clear. Stop ALL and every contact with her. Chuck away your sim, block her on FB, make a new account, whatever it takes. It will never be ok for you to be friends with her again, you have crossed the line. This is the price you pay for being a dopey fucker. If and when you make new female friends everything will be kept open and above board. No secret texts no facebooking.

I guess i really hoped that you would come back angry and say you chucked him but i think you seem resigned to it.

another approach but a dangerous one : Tell him, ok be 'friends with sugartits, we now have an open relationship, i fully expect you to take care of the children while i go out possibly fucking with other men'

See how that goes down. For this you need to be prepared for him to positively respond in which case you should run the fuck away.
i wish i knew what to say :( big unmumsnetty hugs for you though x

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm · 11/09/2012 17:31

And as he fucked up its not your responsibility to check up on him its his to monitor his own behaviour and prove himself trustworthy again.

He's perfectly able to conduct shit behind your back so therefore intelligent enough to put it right.

AnyFucker · 11/09/2012 18:02

How long would you have to carry on checking and micro-managing him?

6 months? 6 years? Forever?

It is ultimately futile if he remains the conniving and disrespectful twat he has shown himself to be so far

gimmecakeandcandy · 11/09/2012 18:52

Sorry op I think you ate fighting a losing battle here. He clearly wantsti be friends with her still and will still be friends with her at work and will probably lie to you about other meet ups. He should be Bering Over backwards not acting like a total tit. Why are you with him?!

izzyizin · 11/09/2012 19:54

Are you sure he's cancelled Wales and ended his friendship with her of the sugary mounds, dancing? Or do you only have his valueless word to go on?

Unfortunately, it seems to me that he's not 'really trying' to be anything but trying to your patience and your nerves which leads me to suspect that he's acting on what he believes is a cunning plan designed to let him do what he wants.

By acting as an irascible child who can't be pacified by anything other its favourite dummy, he's hoping you'll give in and tell him you're happy for him to suck be friends with sugarfuckingtits.

If you don't break under the onslaught of his pathetic tantrums, he'll stage a repeat of his performance on Sunday night before storming out conveniently in time to set off to Wales - having smuggled any clothing he may need out of the house beforehand in the you won't have noticed the absence of a few pairs of his manky underpants and stinky socks.

Should this happen, I further suspect that the absence of his toothbrush, if he has one, will be all the evidence you need of his intention to commit adultery.

What are you doing with this hateful manchild, honey? So many good women sacrificing their lives of the altar of a false god called love. Don't you know it's just as easy to love a good man as a bad one and that if you ditch a bad one, you'll find a far deeper love with a good one?

dancingwiththedevilonmyback · 11/09/2012 20:10

sigh.
i have to try.
i dont want to check up on him, not only will that make him upset and angry like on sunday, but its a can of worms i dont want to open.
if i check, it will make me want to check again, in case i missed something, in case he deleted something, how often would i need to check, every week? every day? every hour?
it would not only cripple the relationship (if it is already not fucked) but i am sure it would cripple my sanity.

OP posts:
dancingwiththedevilonmyback · 11/09/2012 20:17

i dont want a deeper love with a good one.
if my marriage fails, if we absolutely cant fix this, i will never trust a man ever again. and i would never ever allow one to come near my children and risk hurting them.
i like my own company, i like my kids company, if i go it alone, i have friends and i am happy to do so. i definitely would'nt leave to find a new man. bleaugh. hate fucking men.

OP posts:
izzyizin · 11/09/2012 20:31

Honey, the relationship is fucked because after this you'll surely never trust him again - unless your sanity is fucked too.

The only reason I mentioned the 'L' word was because you used it in one of your earlier responses as an excuse a reason why you didn't want to give him the gong he deserves which is the Grand Order of the Boot.

What else has he got to do to persuade you that he's an abusive controlling twunt who is not worthy of your love and is an appalling role model for your dc?

Don't sell your soul down the river like Thing has done self short, dancing; you're worth 10 of him.

clam · 11/09/2012 20:32

Oh.
You said there were good turns and bad. I read the first half of your post earlier on thinking that was the bad bit (e.g. he'd not be friends with her until you said it was OK, you were wrong about her, she only wanted to be friends etc...). I was waiting for the up-turn! But then you started on about the negative bits!!

dancing he just DOES NOT GET IT. STILL!!! Why on earth is he still banging on about trying to get you to change your mind about her? You're never going to and, if he had any emotional intelligence at all, he'd recognise that he should just bin the idea as a no-go and forget about her. The fact that he won't do this proves that either she's very much more than a friend to him or that he is, indeed, on the spectrum with possible Asperger's symptoms.

Midwife99 · 11/09/2012 20:35

I don't think he's saying or doing even 1% of the things he should to put this right dancing. Why should you put up with a shitty attitude from him?!!! Confused

BerylStreep · 11/09/2012 21:00

Hey dancing, sorry to hear he is saying one thing, but acting another way. If you are going to go down this route, I think you will need to stand strong against his tantrums, and if they persist, I would seriously reconsider your stance.

Swipe left for the next trending thread