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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

Partner puts me down, what is wrong with me?

153 replies

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 14:29

Name changed for this, have been a regular poster here for a while.

I'm not sure where to start with this as it's long and I don't want to drip feed so I'll try my best. I have been with my partner since 2010, I have a DS from a previous marriage and am pregnant at the moment, though it is early days.

I'll be honest, I don't have any real hobbies as such but I am happy the way I am before anyone asks, I don't feel down about anything. In my own time especially after work I like to read books, watch the tv, go on mumsnet, I read the papers a lot and like to debate about things, when it's sunny I like to go for walks or take DS to the park and beach but my partner constantly says I am boring and have no hobbies. I get upset at this but he constantly says how much I bore him. He has what he says are "real" hobbies like he enjoys working on cars and gardening but he says mumsnetting, reading papers etc aren't real hobbies and I bore him to death, I've been called a "boring cunt" before. Sometimes I have questioned myself and convinced myself I am not normal and tried to get myself into things like running but I just don't like it, I am happy the way I am but he makes me feel like I am the most dull person on earth. I do have my own friends to, they often come over for drinks or like next week for an example, we take my DS out together for a meal and a shop etc. I don't even always buy anything but I have a keen interest in fashion (again, partner says this isn't a real hobby)

Sometimes he is so nice to me and things will be great for a while then suddenly he just turns on me and insults me about how boring I am and how I don't do anything. The other day he actually had a go at me because apparently I was on the laptop but "didn't look at him when he was talking to me" I knew EXACTLY what he was saying and was doing two things at once (applying for a job) he said I am extremly rude even though I can remember everything he said and my replies. It's just like he loves putting me down.

He is constantly critical of everything I do as well. Like I can't wash up properly apparently, I do things the "wrong way" like I eat with a knife and fork in the opposite hand to most as it's comfortable. If I chop things in a certain way he HAS to show me his way as it's better (and I try just to shut him up but I'm a grown woman for crying out loud, I know what is best for me!) It's like I am not allowed a personality of my own. Like when I am cooking I like to be alone (small kitchen, it's just my preferance) and start to get a a bit stroppy I won't lie if i have people crowding round me, he says I am rude and he "just wants to help" i always say thank you and I appreciate it but I just prefer to do that on my own.

He says I am never allowed to mention the past as it's the past and to be honest, I don't. Sometimes if he has upset me I will mention that he has done it before (like calling me the c word) and asked him to not do it as it upsets me but he does it again. He also had a lot of anger issues for the first while we were together, i.e, smashing things up, sometimes physical towards me, a lot of insults. I stood by him whilst he sought help for his issues and have tried my best to be supportive. But I am not allowed to ever mention it yet he can bring up my past. When I got with him I was honest in the fact I had suffered post natal depression with my son and responded badly, I was still a good mother but I did go out once or twice a week to nightclubs and I had a few one night stands. Well quite a lot. I do hugely regret the way I acted but I suppose I wanted to feel attractive and felt lonely and down about myself after my first marriage broke down. He says I am a slag and often brings this up for doing that even though I can't bring up anything that was even mentioned yesterday.

Also about two years ago he was messaging his childhood sweetheart (he was with her from about age 14 to nearly 16) and in the messages he called her "gorgeous" and they were talking about him picking her up late at night as she was drunk. He says nothing else happened and when I found out he did delete her, block her from all contact but it has stuck in my mind ever since. He says he only called her that as she was feeling down about herself and says I just make a big deal out of it. He had been hiding his phone for a while before that though so part of me wonders if he deleted more. If I say this though he just goes mad and storms off into another room and ignores me all night.

That is also what he does. If we argue he always has to storm off and sulk over night. I hate sleeping on rows, I don't tend to sleep well and just want to get it sorted but he will just sleep in another room huffing himself to sleep.

The thing is sometimes he is so nice, when I am home from work he will be there to cook dinner, he'll have cleaned the house or done things for me (but even then he says I don't show enough appreciation and he says my face says it all!) Sometimes we have these lovely evenings together and I can't deny he is a fantastic Father to my child. He is very attentitve to him and would never hurt him, that I trust, 100%. I don't know why I am writing this really. I just feel like I am the most boring, dull person on earth and feel like my confidence is being chipped away at.

OP posts:
boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:17

ouryve thank you. He is around at home a lot lately as he was made redundant recently so he has been here all the time so i don't ever get the chance to be alone on here. Luckily he is outside at the moment and is pissed off with me again so i have some peace.

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CogitoErgoSometimes · 11/01/2014 16:19

Can't imagine life with someone else he can bully, you mean.... He's doing what I call the 'good cop, bad cop' routine. Insults to bring you down and smash your confidence followed by being nice so that you waste your life in a state of mistaken optimism, hoping the insults will stop and 'good cop', the nice version of him, will shine through. I'm afraid it never will.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:26

I will bet my life now i have mentioned this to him, tomorrow he will be saying he will not insult me anymore and remind me how much he loves my ds. He says the word cunt (i dont even like typing it) is just a word and i need to stop taking it seriously but it's not the word, it's the fact he says it with such venom and disrespect i hate. My dad always hated that word bringing me up and said it was the worst one so i guess that's why i hate hearing it so much.

I feel like a very weak person at the moment, overly critical of myself especially.

OP posts:
wordyBird · 11/01/2014 16:28

Yes indeed...don't assume 'can't imagine life with anyone else' equates with 'cares about you'.

It means he likes you where he's got you: under his control, doing what he wants, sleeping with him when he wants, accepting his insults when he's in a mood, putting up with his violent behaviour if he feels like unleashing it, and obliterating your own lovely personality. It takes time and effort to do that to someone :( effort he doesn't care to repeat.

Please, OP, do change your username, and start to appreciate yourself more. You deserve much more out of life than living with this bully.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 11/01/2014 16:30

It is not his place to tell you what to take seriously. Your opinion and feelings are yours and therefore very important.

You're not weak incidentally. Abusive men often select strong, happy, capable women and take great delight in finding the chink in your armour that they can exploit

If he loved your DS he would treat his mother with respect.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:32

thank you wordy this isn't my usual name, i name changed for the thread as i am a regular on here. I think I don't know any better than to be treated badly. School was a terrible time for me. I was bullied and didn't leave the house for six months at 16 as I had severe anxiety and panic attacks. I didn't get good grades but gained an nvq in health and social care later that got me into nursing. Then my ex (ds father) was not that great. I guess i settled for him as he paid me attention but I don't think I ever was in love. He could have outbursts like throwing things but not as bad as current partner and was just a lazy dosser, i worked full time in the six years of our relatioship he couldn't hold down one. It's like i am automatically drawn to these people.

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CogitoErgoSometimes · 11/01/2014 16:35

You're not drawn to them. You're not a magnet for them. You don't put out signals that say 'bully me'. Please don't think that. You may be settling for something poor at the moment because you fear being alone but you did not set out to deliberately choose or attract an abusive man.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:36

I think i am a good mother, i try my best to do what i can for my ds, i want him to be happy. I also want my partner to be happy as mad as that sounds. I don't wish anything bad to happen to him. Though I wish i could show him how destructive he can be.

Tonight will go one of two ways 1) i am ignored the whole night 2) he comes in ultra night, does dinner, apologizes for his behaviour and promises he will change. I know DS will be upset if i break up with him, he loves him to pieces and i can't blame my ds for that, he doesn't understand what he does to me

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boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:38

ultra nice*

I think i am scared of being alone cogito i get scared my medical issues will crop up and i'll be alone, i'm scared i won't be enough for my kids. I don't want to let them down.

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CogitoErgoSometimes · 11/01/2014 16:41

If you showed him how destructive he was it would make no difference to his behaviour. Because he already knows it's destructive. He can see the effects on you ... hence why he 'apologises' before carrying on exactly the same way. The worst thing you can say to a bully is 'you are hurting me' because that's precisely the intention.

How old is DS? Children are very perceptive and have a strong self-preservation instinct. He may not be old enough to understand what's going on but, like you, he has probably worked out that he has to keep on this man's 'good side' or risk problems.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:43

He is 5 in september, he starts school this year

OP posts:
boringoldc · 11/01/2014 16:47

I will be off for a while as doing dinner for ds, will come on later when partner has his bath. Thank you for all the messages so far, they are helping massively, please feel free to post while i am gone, the messages will only help when i return. Thank you all.

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goodasitgets · 11/01/2014 16:52

It's not very MN but I just want to give you a big hug
He should support you in your own hobbies and be proud of what you do. For example, I have a hobby that my parents and (ex) partners have had no interest in and vice versa. Yet they support me, ask me about it, I ask them "how was football/golf/other hobby?" And show interest, and I'm genuinely happy when they've done well or enjoyed it
I couldn't tolerate someone calling me a cunt, ever. I know it's easy to say but anyone used that word towards me I would walk away and not go back
You sound like he's grinding you down, he's trying to make you feel boring and like nobody else will want you because then you want to stay with him because you don't believe in yourself

wordyBird · 11/01/2014 17:24

To help build up your confidence, why not look into driving lessons again. In an automatic, as you prefer those.

They are cars like any other, and not noticeably or dramatically more expensive than any other sort of car to maintain. So never mind his opinions. Trust yourself. Dip a toe in some time.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 17:24

Thank you good he is back in now. Ds got home to so i made dinner and am in the bath on phone. He hasnt said anything to me apart from have i seen a lighter so have a feeling ill be ignored for the night.

I dont even ask him how his things go now. Im so fed up of being slated i just cant even bring myself to make an effort with him.

Feel incredibly isolated. Cant wait for work tuesday to be honest. Rather work than be with him.

OP posts:
boringoldc · 11/01/2014 17:26

Thanks wordy. Im not spending much money on clothes alcohol etc now im pregnant. Perhaps i could do an hour or so a month and save for a crash course

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boringoldc · 11/01/2014 17:52

He just asked me how i was so i replied i am upset about being insulted. He then said he will just have to deal with me being boring and its subjective anyway?! Wtf???

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NigellasDealer · 11/01/2014 17:55

what is this thing about you being 'boring'.
he sounds like a right tosser, maybe he is 'boring' and projecting it onto you.
if you are wishing away your weekends, op, seriously there is something v wrong

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 18:00

He just said, "you are twisting my words. I said you were boring for not trying anything new" i replied saying no you also called me a boring cunt and also said how boring i sound trying to talk about the news. He again told me im retarded and twisting it. I give up. No point talking to him.

OP posts:
LurkingNineToFive · 11/01/2014 18:00

What's wrong with you? Your taste in men. Why would you even think there's a chance his behaviour is acceptable.
Being boring might be subjective but all the responses here show that his twattness is not!

LurkingNineToFive · 11/01/2014 18:01

Retarded?! God he's a charmer! I totally see what you see in him now!

mablemurple · 11/01/2014 18:04

If your health issues are to do with your mental health, I would imagine they would improve dramatically if you were without this awful man.

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 18:06

I have stopped talking to him. Keeps repeating mine arent real hobbies. The last thing he sent me was fuck off when i replied just because he isnt interested doesnt make it not a hobby.

OP posts:
goodasitgets · 11/01/2014 18:17

He doesn't like being challenged, does he?
He's bringing absolutely nothing to you except abuse and making you feel crappy

boringoldc · 11/01/2014 18:19

No he hates being wrong.

I am going to have a long think tonight but i like the idea of just giving him basic responses as said above. I want to start saving up for a deposit and rent advance to move. My home town is dear so will need around 2k. I just cant live like this anymore.

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