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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

Difficult situation

18 replies

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 11:18

Just after any advice if possible please, will try and keep it short.

In Oct last year dp was made redundant we had just had ds2 who was a month old and dp was working all hours doing extra jobs for more money that we needed, he was never at home and (I should have saw it then but didnt) had no bond with ds2.
In Nov he went to a friends house for a get together to say goodbye to some workmates, he got v v drunk and a girl came onto him, he didnt say no! She gave him oral! (I will add that this girl knew he was engaged and had just had a baby, who does that!)
Anyhow he didnt tell me and the following week went on a huge downward spiral, wouldnt talk to me or the kids completley shut himself out it was awful. Me not knowing packed his bags and told him to leave, he did which shocked me! He didnt bother with the children and just stayed at his mums, it was all v odd, a week later I found out what had happened and was heartbroken but in terrible shock (we have been together 8 years and I just never thought he would have done this) He came round i tried to talk but it was just like he was dead behind the eyes he had no emotions whatsoever, even with the children. A couple of weeks later we had a good talk he was crying alot on the phone to me but wasnt pressuring me to get back with him etc just saying how hes a failure and he hates his life, wanted to do something terrible etc. I managed to get him to go drs where he was diagnosed with severe depression :(
I decided to try again and he has improved alot, he's bonded with ds2 and spends more time with him than i do, hes been the perfect partner and has spoke to someone at hospital and is on anti depressants.
However it's me whose the problem I cannot seem to get it out of my head what he has done to me, I know it's early days and this is normal but I can be fine one day and just think to myself that this wouldnt have happened if he wasnt depressed in the first place and that I should get on with enjoying life etc. But then other days I can be difficult and constantly think about it and I know i deserve better, I want to end it when I feel like this I see no point in us the trust has gone and I feel like the only reason i stayed was because of the children. However I do love him but I also hate him at the same time for putting me through all this weeks after having ds2, I just dont know if Im making a mistake.
I can now see how down he was before this happened he was working long hours and never saw us, he had no bond with ds2 (when he was asked his d.o.b at hosptial he didnt even know and said he broke down) then the redundancy and I think life just got too much for him, he got wasted and made a huge mistake! He's told me it's the biggest mistake in his life and he regrets it everyday and still feels like a failure.
But how do I move on from this, how do I become more positive?
I do love the man he was he was the perfect partner and I dont want to throw away 8 good years for 1 mistake which wouldnt have happened but I cannot seem to move forward?

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 23/01/2013 11:36

Being depressed doesn't mean someone loses their free will. He opted to get drunk and he chose to have sex with someone (don't blame her... it takes two to tango). So now you don't trust him. You're desperately trying to make excuses for him like 'life got too much' and rationalise it that he made a mistake etc ... but many people have tough lives and still manage to be faithful to their partner. Whether you want to stay together or not, you'll always be waiting for it to happen again.

It would not be throwing away 8 good years if you decide this is not how you want to live. He would have driven you away by rejecting you.

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 11:48

I dont blame her, he was in a relationship not her but NO i cannot understand why any woman would go there when she knows he's engaged and has a new baby etc! I certainly would never ever do that!
He didnt reject me??? And I am not making excuses for him, I know thats not how everyone behaves anyway but life was too much for him he had lost his job which was stable up until that day, we never saw each other, he was depressed before this happend but I never saw it. He has problems with emotions, he always has and now he is getting help for it and is showing more emotion than he ever has in his whole life!
Im sorry for arguing what you say as I want to know what others think and I can see why you think that but I suppose it's hard to understand when you dont know them.

OP posts:
porridgeLover · 23/01/2013 11:50

Has it really been 8 good years? The addition of small children into relationships will rock the most steady of them, as love and other resources are diverted to small people who need them most.

I cant tell from your OP whether its one of two scenarios.

  1. Your DP has always been a slight arse, who put you on a pedestal, who you thought of as not perfect but no-one is so you were prepared to take the bad with the good.
A man who wanted to be the ''man'' in the relationship...and wanted you to be the little woman who adored him and met his needs. So when you weren't available as much as previously, he used alcohol to fuel going off the rails so that he could shirk his responsibilities.

When he realised how much he could lose, he pulled himself together, and is trying to get back to how things were.
But if things were never fab (really) to start with, then there will be nothing to stop him repeating this behaviour which has (in truth) served him well.
You, OTOH, are probably only now starting to realise how much you have gone through and are possibly in delayed shock and anger.
New baby, infidelity, DP hospitalised, needy, break-up of your family.
Your anger and hurt is justified and you will need to think through whether the above is really worth fighting for.

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 11:53

And without the excuses, People can make mistakes, Everyone does but it's if we can come back from that?

OP posts:
The3Bears · 23/01/2013 11:55

I dont think he was always a slight arse tbh, he is a good man this shocked EVERYONE! not just me, nobody saw this coming and yes I will never trust him again but I just want to be able to move forward.

OP posts:
porridgeLover · 23/01/2013 11:57

Scenario 2.

You have a good relationship, where you are good together, you love each other, accept that neither of you is perfect. There is good respect on both sides, good communication normally.

Unfortunately life threw a lot of stresses at you in one go.
Redundancy at a time when you have small babies, and DP had his brain full of his responsibility to support you, his DC and under financial pressure.
He made a huge mistake. He knows it. Life piled in on him.
He became severely depressed.

Fast forward to now; having realised his mistake, he is trying to make amends but now that he is here, back and committed, you are having to deal with the fallout for you. You have had an awful time, when your focus should have been on your new DS, instead you were left trying to keep the boat afloat. And while you had no option to get angry or frightened then, it has to come out somewhere like now.
He has to allow you the time to deal with that, and for you to figure out whether what you had is strong enough to keep you going for the future.

dequoisagitil · 23/01/2013 11:59

You haven't had time to actually deal with your feelings about the infidelity, that's why it's coming back at you and biting you in the arse so much. In the all the drama & strenuous activity of getting him help etc, your needs & your hurt got pushed aside.

I suggest you go to relationship counselling together and talk it all through. He needs to take responsibility for what he did and you need to be able to work through your feelings: anger, sadness, betrayal, all those emotions. He needs to see them & have the strength to support you through them, as you supported him in his convenient depressive episode, not have you suppress your emotions for fear of losing him or for fear of his MH.

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 12:00

Yes it's scenario 2, without a doubt. Ive been trying to keep everything together but now i feel as if everythings coming out and I just dont like it.
I do love him, I do want to make it work but I just cannot seem to get passed this.

OP posts:
The3Bears · 23/01/2013 12:02

He has seen them now and he really is trying he says he hates seeing me like this and hates himself for doing this to me. Its just so difficult

OP posts:
porridgeLover · 23/01/2013 12:03

OK. Scenario 2. Have you explained that to him? Does he understand how terrifying it must have been for you to be left with a tiny vulnerable mite, and the one rock you had to lean on, crumbled?

You need the time, support, understanding before you can think of forgiving him. And that understanding may not be from him; it night be too much for him to handle yet. Can you get it from family without them demanding that you LTB?

McBalls · 23/01/2013 12:03

I wouldn't bother tbh.

To me, much worse than the actual infidelity itself is his reaction to it. He did what many men seem to do - had his head turned and found that was enough for him to then treat his family like shit.

Why would you want to make it work with someone who can so easily stop giving a shit about his children? So he'll be nice to them (and you) as long as their is something in it for him, ie he still wants to hang around. For now. Are his feelings for you all that superficial?

Sorry I know it's not what you want to hear but he sounds like a selfish prick.

dequoisagitil · 23/01/2013 12:03

Yes, but it's all about him still - he hates himself, he hates seeing you like this... Can't you see he's putting pressure on you to stfu by saying those things?

hestonbloomingdale · 23/01/2013 12:08

agree with porridgelover.

It's perfectly possible to get over it. Initially it is hard to get past but as long as he is truly showing remorse and doing everything he can to show you it was a mistake and that he loves you then over time you will get past it.

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 12:20

It wasnt like that though, yes he left he ran away, he knew what he did he felt like a failure he said he didnt think he deserved a life anymore.
I dont know, who has a perfect relationship? he isnt a terrible man, hes had a shit time and didnt talk to me he did the wrong thing, he made a mistake.
But whos perfect?
yes I can see that dequoiuagitil but thats not all hes saying, he's doing everything for me, taking care of the children, doing the night feeds, going to work the day after, telling me to go to my friends to talk etc he is genuinely worried for me and trying his best I can see that.

OP posts:
The3Bears · 23/01/2013 12:25

Yes Ive been talking to friends alot and have alot of support it has helped, im just finding it hard to move forward to stop the bad thoughts etc. He does understand how hard that must have been from me, he just didnt deal with everything in the right way, he sees that now.

but mcballs have you ever been in that situation, have you ever had all that pressure on you, I havent, i cannot understand how I would be in that situation for that reason. He said he didnt stop giving a shit about his children and me, he wanted to end his life ffs, he knew he made a mistake and he didnt know what to do?

OP posts:
porridgeLover · 23/01/2013 12:30

Yes he has made a mistake.
As long as he is making every attempt to improve himself, and accepts that he was wrong, that he made a (very bad) choice, then who can judge him . I make mistakes, you do. We hope they're not catastrophic and hope to be forgiven if we own up and try to do better.

Any hint that he was trying to shift the blame to me, making out that I wasn't there for him, that I was paying him no attention (yeah....small baby....no attention for anyone else) , then no. That would be a deal breaker.

There's a hell of a difference between a bad person and a bad choice.

The3Bears · 23/01/2013 12:40

No he has put no blame on me at all, Thats how I know.

OP posts:
Doha · 23/01/2013 12:51

yes I will never trust him again but I just want to be able to move forward.

Relationships have to be worked at and there has to be some element of trust. If you cannot trust him not to stick his dick into some other females mouth when drunk then you have to basis for a future relationship.

He may have been severely depressed etc but didn't spare a thought for you or your DC's it was all about him, what he felt etc

Selfish fucker and for the record l wouldn't trust him either

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