I have been with my partner for 7 years. I have one child, he has four, all late teens.
Recently, due to arguments at home my 16 year old son left one night after an argument. I don't want to go into too much detail as friends would recognise me but he has gone from living somewhere totally unsuitable to sofa surfing.
He is refusing to come home as he "hates" my partner. He feels he is always putting him down, too fussy and just does not get along with him.
I have retained links with him and he will meet me two or three times every week away from home.
During the time he moved out he did not attend school for his exams and will have lost his college place due to this. Myself and my parents have been supporting him financially (£50 a week between us).
During this time I had to take four weeks off work with stress. My partner keeps asking "if I feel better" as if all I need is a sticking plaster whereas in reality I feel bereaved, as if I have lost my only son, and knowing deep down he is going to go off the rails, having always been difficult.
My over riding thought is that I want to leave my partner and set up home with my son and try and get him back on track, go to college to get gcses. My partner went mad when I said this, he feels this is giving in to him and if I remain firm he will come home, however my son says he hates my partner and will never come home whilst we live together, but he would live with just me.
My partner is a good man, but yes he is fussy and makes a big thing out of nothing sometimes. He also expects us to live by his rules despite me and my son living alone for 9 years previously, ie tea at the table every night, if my son watch watching something such as family guy late at night my partner would turn over without asking etc.
I currently cannot stand being in the house, I do not feel it is my home, this worsens when my partners children are here as I feel as if I am "playing Happy families" when I need to be with my own child. This is unfair on his children as I do love them, and they have done nothing wrong.
I need courage to leave, I feel bad about hurting my partner but I do not really love him any more. It is more companionship. I just don't know where to start.
I did raise leaving with my partner so that I could go and get my son back on the straight and narrow but he went mad saying I was putting my son before him. To be honest that is what I know I should do. - he is a grown man, my son is only 16 living with people who don't really care about him, my son has no contact with his father so Me and his grandparents are the only family he has.
I guess I wanted to write this down, get other people's opinions and maybe advice on how to break this difficult decision to my partner, he keeps asking if I am feeling better, as if this is an illness I will get over - I feel bereaved and distraught and I feel if I don't do something now and my son ends up on the streets or an addict I will be forever thinking "what if?"