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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

Ex questioning paternity, even though I'm sure baby isn't his

54 replies

sixtieth · 01/10/2013 22:39

In a horrible lapse of judgement very early in my relationship with DP, I slept with my ex. DP knows and everything was fine, as it was so early. Based on emails sent at the time, I know that at least 3 months passed, but possibly more, between that and me becoming pregnant. The date of conception, confirmed by all my scans and the birth lines up perfectly with one very "active" week, in which DP and I experienced a contraceptive malfunction.

Child is now much older, though I would rather not give too many details. Ex contacted me out of the blue to ask whether there was a chance child is his. I said no, he accused me of lying or at least not knowing for definite. I sent him the email evidence, and haven't heard from him since, though I've been convinced it's not the last I will hear of it.

I was contacted last week by his mum, who has occasionally messaged me since the break up. After a little chat, she mentioned that ex's wife (and mother of his child) is under the impression "he might already have a child with me". His mother things he is using this against his new wife to mess with her mind and says she knows I wouldn't lie about paternity. Nonetheless I explained the situation for clarification and she quickly changed the subject.

It is making me ill too think of ex letting his family and friends and his poorwife think he has child which he knows isn't his. I'm also completely anxious that he will get in touch again, having decided the current evidence isn't enough.

DP said he didn't feel the need to get a paternity test as he fully trusts there's no way. However when ex's mum got in touch, he said maybe we should do we can prove it to them and move on.

I'm devastated we have to pay with anxiety and money for a test neither of us feel is necessary and even though I have nothing to hide, I'm terrified. We decided we would get a test on pay day, and that day is today...

Dp has decided we shouldn't bother but I know I won't be able to put this behind me until I know there's no way anyone can question it again. I also want to make sure his wife is under no illusion about the possibility.

Has anyone experienced similar that can offer any advice or support? I really hate this situation and due to the nature of the problem, can't really talk to anyone but DP about it.

OP posts:
Anniegetyourgun · 02/10/2013 11:46

Unless it was an official test he could claim the results were faked anyway.

passedgo · 02/10/2013 11:47

I think if you choose to show them the proof everyone can move forward, including the ex's new partner. It is understandable that she can't move forward without this being sorted out. Would you have dcs with someone with a paternity doubt hanging over them?

Anniegetyourgun · 02/10/2013 11:48

Why is that the OP's problem, though? Why should she have to pay for it?

You're not the OP's ex's new partner, are you? Hmm

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 11:48

There is no paternity doubt. There is only a manipulative man trying to drive a wedge between the OP and her DP by making ridiculous and very insulting accusations about her DS... and a mother colluding with the bully.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 11:49

Can I ask how old is your child OP?

Rooners · 02/10/2013 11:49

But anyone could claim that they think they have an existing child, knowing the possibility is zero, and demand paternity tests left right and centre.

Enabling this narcissistic git is not going to solve any problems. Putting a drill through his head might. I would not recommend either

Rooners · 02/10/2013 11:50

Sorry, I have had it up to here with exes this morning Blush

Ignore my violent fantasies.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 11:52

And the OP only has the mother's claim that it's the new wife that thinks there is an existing child. She's pulling the 'I know he's nuts but do it for the sake of his new wife...' guilt-trip manipulation and I think she's as bad as he is, frankly

Rooners · 02/10/2013 11:53

His mum is probably a bit scared of him.

mummytime · 02/10/2013 11:54

The Boots one is £30 and £129 for the actual testing. I found another site on the web willing to do it for £150 (half price sale).

But if ex is so keen then he can pay the cost.

passedgo · 02/10/2013 11:57

The truth is that OP had an affair and this is the consequence, whether right or wrong. This is the only way to get him, his mother and his new partner off her back. The sooner the better in this case as this is causing her stress. In theory he should back off, but he isn't normal and if doing this test gets him off her back then that's going to be the most effective route to take.

passedgo · 02/10/2013 11:58

Lol@ special offer paternity testing.

Perhaps they do BOGOFs. Grin

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 11:58

It's not the cost! It's a complete insult & invasion of the OP's privacy to go demanding that just because she slept with him once, she should have to prove that she's telling the truth about her child!! Hmm It's offensive & unreasonable and, if he really wants this to happen, he should try getting a court-order and see how far he gets...

Rooners · 02/10/2013 12:03

'The truth is that OP had an affair and this is the consequence, whether right or wrong. This is the only way to get him, his mother and his new partner off her back. The sooner the better in this case as this is causing her stress. In theory he should back off, but he isn't normal and if doing this test gets him off her back then that's going to be the most effective route to take.'

_

Eh? It's totally irrelevant that she had a one night stand with her ex at a point where it would have been impossible for this child to have been conceived.
Unless you consider that her ex is allowed to 'punish' her in this manner?
He's causing her stress - not the idea that a paternity test is needed.
He isn't normal - quite right, so whatever she does, he will still use anything at all to harrass the women in his life.

Except if she consents to a test he hasn't even asked for, since she supplied evidence it was pointless, she will give him the idea that he HAS got the power to disrupt her life and he is more likely to keep on doing it.

You're essentially saying, give the bully your tuck money and he will leave you alone. We all know it doesn't work like that.

Mabelface · 02/10/2013 12:03

Well, I wouldn't do the test. If he contacts you again, just state "Well, if pregnancies were 12 months long you may have a point, but as I'm a human being, mine was only 9 months, so complete and utter end of discussion."

Nolikeythespookey · 02/10/2013 13:24

I'm wondering just how sure you are about the paternity. I'd hazard a guess that there are nagging doubts if you would even consider doing the test.

Cos if some ex dickhead of mine came along and said that he thought my kids were his, I would tell him to fuck off to the other side of fuck, and then fuck off some more. I wouldn't entertain the idea of a test, or show e-mails or anything for the sort. If you know who the child's father is, you know. So, do you?

I would cut all contact with the mother, too, she sounds manipulative. If he really thinks he has a child with you then he can come after you and pursue it with a DNA test that he pays for. If he doesn't, and is just a manipulative game player, as he has been in the past, then it doesn't matter what he's saying to his wife or anybody else - it's nothing to do with you.

I'd be concerned that my DP wanted me to do the test, though. Perhaps he has worries of his own.

passedgo · 02/10/2013 14:59

You're essentially saying, give the bully your tuck money and he will leave you alone. We all know it doesn't work like that.

Well yes I am, simply because in this case, he will leave her alone. He is being egged on by his mother because his mother wants grandchildren. Once she knows that she hasn't got any she will move on with her life and focus on the new woman, who will probably leave anyway because she will realise that her lovely boyfriend has shown himself to be the twat that he is.

And OP is stressed and if it were me, I wouldn't want to be fighting legal battles with arsewipes when a £130 test will get rid of the lot of them in an instant.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 15:40

A test might stop this particular conversation but, emboldened by the victory (which is to make the OP anxious) who knows what this manipulative man would want next? Never negotiate with a terrorist.... basic stuff.

passedgo · 02/10/2013 15:45

I guess it depends whether he is a terrorist or a Mummy's boy trying to act the big man. We really should get some kind of Mumsnet vigilante group started for cases like this. It could be a viable alternative to Cafcass and far more entertaining than Jeremy Kyle.

sixtieth · 02/10/2013 17:08

Hi, I'm quite overwhelmed with the amount of replies. Thank you for all the advice! I tried to reply on my phone but knew I'd miss something. So I thought I'd wait til I got back home to the laptop. Sorry for long incoming post. I don't want to leave anything unanswered.

When we looked into it, we found it would cost at least £150 to get the test done, but maybe a bit more. I think it depends on how many samples you're testing. It would need to be at least 3 - me, DP, DS. But we would want to find a very trustworthy, regularly reviewed test, as it's such a sensitive thing.

At first we decided we would take the test and then contact them with it straight away so they would back off. Then we decided we would take it and have it stored ready to give them if they ever ask again. More recently, we've not known what to do. Now, DP doesn't want to do the test at all. I only want to do it just so that I know "it's done" and I don't have to worry about it anymore. DP has insisted the entire time that he knows from the emails and dates that he's definitely DS's dad.

There are no nagging doubts, at least not rational ones. At most, I have thought "it's only possible if 12 month pregnancies are possible". You hear about all sorts of weird medical things happening so I googled it, and they aren't, so that doubt is gone, unless I'm feeling particularly panicky and the thought reoccurs, which is obviously the case with anxiety disorders, that the anxieties are very rarely rational and return with a vengeance whenever I'm feeling edgy or vulnerable.

There's no doubt that the dates don't add up the way the ex wants them to. Essentially, in the October, ex found out DP and I had moved in together (it all happened very quickly) and sent DP an email to tell him about the one night stand, with a "You deserve to know what she's really like" kind of tone. The email says "a month ago", which would suggest September at the earliest, but then he also references my grandad's funeral as happening after the one night stand. Well obviously I know when my grandad died, it was the end of July. The funeral was about a week later, start of August. We've double checked this against things that were said on Facebook and emails at the time with other people.

DS was born the following August, 3 days overdue, normal sized baby. All the due date calculators say I had to have conceived mid-Nov. This date is confirmed in my first and second scans, and of course, the day he was born. November is also the month where we went on a bit of a boozy holiday and had a lot of sex.

If it wasn't for the emails, I might be able to be a bit confused about it all, as it was so long ago now (DS is almost 6) and a lot of big things were happening in my life at the time that make it all quite hazy.

6 years is a long time to have such a grudge for someone that he's still trying to play games. But I know it damaged his pride a lot that I refused to get back together after he ended the relationship and later regretted it. And I know that if he is playing the same kind of games with his wife that he used to play with me when we were together, that this is something I wouldn't put past him.

DS looks like DP and everyone comments on it. There's just no way at all. It's not possible.

I know something has to be done. If I didn't have the anxiety problems, maybe I could just ignore it. The reason I haven't been able to is because for my own piece of mind and being able to avoid that extra bit of panic, it felt better to resolve the situation in everyone's minds officially.

But I feel the same as most of the comments here, in that I shouldn't have to do it. I feel like it's unfair as even though it will get him out of our lives, it will also give him some smug satisfaction that he has managed to convince DP to not trust me (which isn't the case, but I can't exactly say as much without looking like someone protesting too much). It's our money and our emotional investment, while he just sits around with his new little family making them feel uncomfortable that he might have another child who will suddenly need his money and attention at some point.

I have never initiated contact with ex MIL. She has always been the one to contact me. Sometimes, I have been irritated, as it's seemed like she's messaging to show off about how well ex's life is going. Other times, it's like she needs to vent and knows I'm the only one who understands how hard ex is to deal with. She even said as much, that she doesn't know how to talk to his wife about "the way he is". I reply politely through the conversations but I find it a bit uncomfortable most of the time. I really say as little as possible.

I don't like confrontation though, so I usually get stuck in conversations with people. I'm going to work on that.

I know she can be just as manipulative as her son though. Once she backed up a lie I eventually discovered to be false about the ex, when he suddenly got a "potentially fatal illness" weeks after we first split, amongst other things. I've never confronted her about these things.

I think my current feeling is to change email addresses completely to my new one and stop even checking the old, block them all on facebook, even cut contact with the friends we shared when we were together. Luckily none have my new number or address. I just worry about my own state of mind and worrying about them finding some other way to contact me or whatever. I dwell and panic way too much.

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 17:18

Your DS is six and he's chosen now to do this? Has something good happened in your life recently, because this sounds like sour grapes every step of the way? I think your final paragraph is absolutely the right thing to do. Cut them off so that they can't keep getting at you, relax, and have a lovely life with your DP (who I think sounds like a total ROCK) and DS instead.

sixtieth · 02/10/2013 17:35

DP is indeed fantastic :) I feel very lucky to have found him. And we love our family life.

But no, nothing new has happened, especially not anything that he would know about. We're all very happy and life is exactly how we want it right now insofar that we have our DS, a house we love and so on, but nothing new and exciting as such. But I don't usually make a public display about it so I don't know how he would know we're happy.

When DS was first born, he contacted me and said he was sorry for his behaviour, and asked if we could be on good terms, I said "yes" but a few weeks later he drunkenly sent me a very abusive email, criticising everything about my life, my appearance, DP, even DS, and so I cut off all contact with him.

When he got in touch earlier this year, it was quite unexpected and out of the blue. We haven't stayed in touch. He started the conversation by asking a bit about how I was getting on, to which I didn't really give much response, and then talking at length about how happy he is with his life now, and then he asked the question and it became heated, I sent him the evidence, he said he was relieved and quickly ended the conversation on quite a hostile note.

The most important thing really is that the ex never questioned the paternity before. When I was pregnant, when DS was born, he never asked. In fact, he insulted DS, said he was an ugly baby in the email I mentioned. When he contacted earlier this year, it was the first time he's made any claims about his concerns over DS's paternity.

The only thing I can possibly imagine having got back to him about my life in the past year is that I announced a pregnancy (which I now regret), only to miscarry a few weeks later. Apart from that, nothing "big" has happened to us in quite some time.

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 17:51

OK... here's my take then. He is an inadequate bully.. that's been established. He gets news about you from his mother and you seem a bit too content. So he rang you out of the blue to crow about his happy new life hoping that this would provoke a reaction in you... I dunno... jealousy? regret? sadness? When you were perfectly OK with it and didn't seem bothered, he went for the thing you love most in the world... DS and DP... and stuck his knife in there instead. Bingo... you're upset, sending e-mails and justifying your own son's paternity to this worthless scumbag.

Cut contact. He's poison.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 02/10/2013 17:54

BTW.... I'm very impressed that your DP hasn't offered to go around and inflict harm on this idiot. Huge self-restraint.

Mabelface · 02/10/2013 18:30

"I think my current feeling is to change email addresses completely to my new one and stop even checking the old, block them all on facebook, even cut contact with the friends we shared when we were together. Luckily none have my new number or address."

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