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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

Is this abuse or just being a prick?

145 replies

NameChangerNYE · 31/12/2014 22:43

I've NC'd because I don't want this following me around.

I am wondering if this behaviour is normal or if it is an abusive thing? I'll try to explain as best I can.

Been with DP for nearly 11 years. We have kids, but no kids together.

We aren't speaking right now, haven't spoken since about 6 pm. He came in from dropping his kids off at the bus station to go back home after stopping with us for 11 days. I hadn't done the drying up from lunch. I was just watching a programme and then was going to do it after that but he got back earlier than I thought so it wasn't done. He said "why hasn't she done it". She being my DD. I said it wasn't fair to walk in and instantly say she should have done something when his son and daughter had been here 11 days and hadn't lifted a finger (literally). He then does this thing, which he often does, where he will shout his mouth off/say his bit and then I try to respond and he will walk off. In this instance, he said what he said, that I was lazy/my DD was lazy, he shouldn't have to walk in after an hours driving, and be expected to dry up. He wasn't expected to dry up I had just got engrossed in a tv programme and he was back earlier. But then he walks off when I try and respond. He says his bit, and then I was trying to reply and he said "oh just shut your mouth, stop going on about it". I tried to speak and say my bit/my response and he kept saying "shut your mouth" and slammed the back door. He went for a fag and then came back in and I sat at the table and tried to say, it isn't fair for you to come in and picking on me or my DD when your kids have been here 11 days and haven't lifted a finger, he wouldn't answer, he kept saying "i dont need this, you're giving me a headache, why do I need to listen to this". Eventually I lost and slapped both hands down on the table. He responded by thumping both his fists on the table, shouting in my face, and it scared me and I cried, it was just that i was scared, he said "oh now you start crying" and then he did it again, so hard that he knocked over his pint glass and all the beer went all over the wall in the kitchen and all over the table. My DD was in the other room and she started crying and I went to her and he said "oh now she's crying, oh yes oh whats wrong with her now, oh make it into a big thing".

He hasn't spoken to me since. He said at the time, "you did this". But I didn't. I did get frustrated because he wouldn't listen to me when I was trying to say that he had been allowed to speak his piece and then I didn't get a chance to respond because he just kept walking off, but I didn't do anything else to wind him up.

I'm really confused.

OP posts:
NameChangerNYE · 01/01/2015 02:04

I do feel conned. I still cannot shake the feeling that if he hadn't ended up with such a messed up woman then he wouldn't behave like this. If I just shut up when he started then he'd have no argument because i'd be quiet. If I hadn't been so bloody lazy then i'd have done the drying up and he wouldn't have had anything to say when he got in. I should have done it. I didn't intend to sit down for so long I had just got interested in the programme and lost track of time.

OP posts:
TheCowThatLaughs · 01/01/2015 02:09

A normal response if you're unhappy with something your partner has done or not done is to discuss it with him/her, not to physically attack them or scream in their face and frighten their children.
It's him not you isn't it?
And to start an argument over some washing up, words fail me. Who wants to live like that?

emotionsecho · 01/01/2015 02:18

You are not messed up, he is. You feel like you do because he has twisted reality to confuse you. He behaves the way he does because he wants to and he can, he enjoys it. He takes pleasure out of seeing you in this hurt and confused state, he is revelling in leaving you dangling waiting for a marriage proposal. Put an end to his sadistic fun, get him out of your and your dd's life.

differentnameforthis · 01/01/2015 02:41

This has nothing to do with who you are op...or how you act etc.

This is all about him, the type of man he is (an abuser) and no amount of beating yourself up or chastising yourself for being 'difficult' etc is going to change that!

You could be perfect, and he would still find fault!

Ohfourfoxache · 01/01/2015 02:55

This is not your fault.

You keep saying, basically, "if I was different then he wouldn't be like this".

You know that's bull shit, don't you?

This is nothing to do with you or your personality or your perceived "failures". This is about him being a violent, abusive cunt who has no respect for anyone but himself. Oh, and possibly his kids - although I think that's a long shot.

You can do so much better than this wank stain. Make 2015 the year that you make happiness a reality - get rid.

GatoradeMeBitch · 01/01/2015 03:01

I had an ex who honestly was not even half this bad but he still made me miserable 6 days out of 7. He would threaten that no-one would want me if he left me, and I would have no man. Well, guess what? I do not have a man - and currently I am so happy about that! There is no-one here to bait me and snipe and try to drag my mood down to match his. My home is my haven.

Don't worry about what he's going to say in the morning. Please start thinking about your future - mainly your living situation. Could you get a smaller place? Would you qualify for any top-up benefits if it was just you and your daughter? Could you ask work for a raise or more hours? Get an escape plan together. Stop letting this prick bully you and your dd, you both deserve better.

Fadingmemory · 01/01/2015 03:05

How draining and frustrating to live with someone such as your P. Worse, though, is the probability of violence. If this is the atmosphere in which you have lived for years, why would you not want it to stop? I would start planning a split because it doesn't sound as though he would be amenable to making changes to his behaviour and attitude.

Romeorodriguez · 01/01/2015 03:12

I absolutely hate threads like this, because if it happened exactly as written then of course it is abusive and you don't need to write it up on mumsnet for validation. Protect yourself and protect your child. What on earth could be making you doubt yourself!

Mom2K · 01/01/2015 04:39

Oh hun, he's done quite a number on you if you really feel as if the reason he is an abusive arse is because you provoked him or you somehow deserve this treatment.

You don't. It has nothing to do with you. He would behave this way in any relationship. You do NOT deserve to be treated this way. Even if you did antagonize him WHICH YOU DON'T, you still wouldn't deserve what he says & does to you. No one has a right to lay a hand on you or speak to you disrespectfully ever under any circumstance. Making you feel as if it is your fault is another form of abuse in addition to the verbal and physical stuff.

Please leave him. It will be his fault the marriage ended due to his poor treatment of you. Not yours. You leaving is the right thing to do.

I'm so sorry you are going through this, but you and your DD do not have to put up with it.

cailindana · 01/01/2015 07:14

Your child saw you being strangled 5 years ago and you're still there? Get a fucking clue. You are that poor girl's mother. Here you are worrying about how you're annoying, how you should have done washing up etc etc. Where's your concern for your daughter? How many more times does she have to cry?
Get off your arse and be a parent to that poor child.

differentnameforthis · 01/01/2015 07:21

OI cailindana ... enough!

This isn't the time or place to speak to the op like that...do you now how hard it is to leave when in this kind of situation? It isn't as simple as that!!

Yes, op needs to protect her daughter, but years go into grooming someone when in a DV situation.

Why the hell do you think op is thinking it is all her fault? Because she has been told that, time & time again! DV isn't just about physical abuse, it's about manipulation...op is at a point where she thinks if she changes, it will all stop. Because that is exactly what her DP has spent 11 yrs telling her.

Please be a bit kinder. OP isn't likely to stick around & get the help she needs if we start bullying her too.

cailindana · 01/01/2015 07:32

I don't buy it different. I get the psychological damage that goes with abuse but it's been 5 years since the strangling and her DD has lived her entire life surrounded by abuse. It's that young girl I'm concerned for.

RonaldMcFartNuggets · 01/01/2015 07:32

Please fucking leave him. Your daughter will learn from all this and it will affect her. I saw my
Mum abused and now I'm in an abusive relationship as I didn't know what a normal one was.

I'm clued up now and getting free in the new year and I have a toddler with the guy. You have no ties. Leave for your daughters sake and future!!

supersop60 · 01/01/2015 07:33

Please leave. It doesn't matter what you call it - being a prick/abuse/whatever - you shouldn't have to live with it. There is no law that says you have to stay. And - IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. Good luck, and may 2015 be a good year for you. Flowers

RonaldMcFartNuggets · 01/01/2015 07:35

Xpost with cailin totally agree. It's so fucking selfish when people stay with nasty fuckers and let their children see and feel horrible shit.

I was that child and have suffered my whole life from it and I hate my mother for not leaving and have not an ounce of respect for her to this day. She had money she could've left easily. She just loved the drama.

I'm sure you're not the same, op but please realise your DD will end up in shitty relationships and with anxiety and needing counselling after all this shit.

New Year, fresh start.

dazedandconfused1980 · 01/01/2015 08:05

OP this man has no respect for you (sorry). Please try and get away from him this year for the sake of your Dd. She will end up thinking this is how men behave and it will happen in her future relationships.

It's like you are in a cult in some way - your reality is skewed and you are in metaphorical chains. You are not free. You need to speak to someone and start building your strength up.

You need to save your own life.

JapaneseMargaret · 01/01/2015 08:05

I don't understand why you think your DD thinks he is great. Confused

JapaneseMargaret · 01/01/2015 08:08

Sorry - posted too soon.

What sort of cognitive dissonance is going on here?

Why on earth would your DD think this man is great?

He's just made her cry. She's witnessed him strangling you. She is terrified of him, surely? She is longing for the day that you finally tell her she no longer has to live under the same roof as this man that she has no blood, or other, ties to.

It's time to sort it out.

Mandatorymongoose · 01/01/2015 08:12

Do you know what a normal response would be to getting home and seeing the drying up hadn't been done?

'Hey #insert pet name here#, I see the drying up hasn't been done - shall I do it?'

Followed by either doing it with no fuss or accepting you saying 'yeah, I'm watching this at the moment, I'll sort it out later' with no fuss.

Or alternatively just doing it and not mentioning it at all.

If he felt your DD wasn't doing her share of chores that would be a discussion you should have calmly as adults when she wasn't around - where you'd both get to talk about your opinions on children doing chores - including his children - and how you'd put a rota in place or not give pocket money until their jobs were completed etc.

He really doesn't give a toss about the drying up, it is yet another stick. I can 100% guarantee that if it had been done when he got home he'd have found something else you or your daughter had done wrong.

It doesn't matter that he's nice sometimes, it's like the coffee analogy. I could make you a cup that would be 90% delicious coffee but you wouldn't want it if I filled the other 10% of the cup with shit.

I think he's probably a very high risk of being violent again so please be careful.

You aren't to blame, I'm sure you're lovely and annoying in varying degrees the same as everyone else. Stop thinking if he were with a normal woman and start thinking 'if I were with a normal man then he wouldn't abuse me, put me down, upset my DD' it's him that's the problem not you.

WannaBe · 01/01/2015 08:16

He strangled you and you went back? (Shock)

If you. Think you're responsible for his reactions ask yourself this, when your dd is being beaten up by a partner in ten years time and saying it's because she annoyed him, who will be responsible for where that came from?

MargoGetYourGun · 01/01/2015 08:36

Op please believe that your daughter is learning from you how it is ok to be treated in an a relationship.
She does not think he is great, she has been conditioned to react well to him because she sees you doing that.
She WILL go on to have damaging relationships as a result.
Please please, for her sake, get out. You have a chance to show her that actually people do not have to put up with being abused.
Imagine how powerful that gift to your daughter is? It will be the difference between her being happy or not.
You've made wrong decisions, forget that now, theyre in the past. Look to the future, get angry. Do it for her. She will be eternally grateful.

MargoGetYourGun · 01/01/2015 08:38

I speak from experience by the way and most of my adult life has been fucked up as a result. Forget him, forget you even. Get out for her.

IUsedToUseMyHands · 01/01/2015 08:39

He will.

There's a lot of victim blaming going on in this thread. OP you have done nothing wrong but give him his apology in order to stay safe. Do not show any outward sign at all that your mindset is changing but do the reading, keep posting on here, speak to Womensaid if you feel able, do the Freedom Programme.

Open your mind to what others are saying to you about the situation. Your reality is skewed. The cognitive dissonance is terrible to deal with but you can overcome it, particularly with a bit of time and distance.

I know it probably feels like you do -but you don't have to make him understand why you have to leave. You don't have to have a reason that he approves of or validates - you just have to have a reason for you. Equally you don't have to explain going NC to him (if you do) so that he understands. You can just go NC. Please speak to people in RL about what he is like and ask for RL help - your GP, family, friends.

Holdthepage · 01/01/2015 08:39

OP you had just spent 11 days looking after his children, cooking, cleaning up after them. He should have come back with flowers to say thanks not looking for something to cause a row over.

He sounds awful. Don't apologise, he needs to apologise for his behaviour. What are you getting out of this relationship?

FunkyBoldRibena · 01/01/2015 08:52

OP, you are more than entitled to be whatever woman you want to be in your own house, without threats of violence.

Thank your lucky stars that you are in a rented house with no wedding ring and kick him out today, start 2015 as you mean to go on.

He is a cunt, and no mistake. You could have been Julie Andews and he would still find fault.

Your daughter does not like him, she is petrified of him but covering because thats what she has learnt to do.