Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

What to do about STBXH?

6 replies

ScrollDown · 07/04/2015 21:26

Just by way of background, we were together 12 years and separated after OW contacted me about their year long affair. This was almost 2 years ago. He was and continues to be EA towards me. I've since moved on and I'm currently in a relationship. I have two issue at the moment.

The first involves our eldest DD(6). She recently told my ex that my BF had dragged her upstairs and smacked her. This is completely untrue. Ex has disliked my BF since we got together and both our DC are well aware of this. DD seems to like BF and they get on well so I can only assume that she has said these things because she knows it's what ex wants to hear.

Ex asked me about the allegations and I was honest and said that she must be lying because I am always with BF and DD so I would know if something like that had happened. He should know me well enough to know I wouldn't stand for anything like that myself but of course it suits him to believe it. Ex is adamant that dd would not lie to him even though she has since retracted the part about the smacking still insisting that BF dragged her upstairs. I've asked her why she has lied but she just says she doesn't know.

I'm worried about what Ex will do now. He loves nothing more than a bit of drama and I suspect would like to see my relationship fail. I'm also upset for BF as he's understandably upset that dd would say these things. What can I do to convince Ex that dd is lying and stop dd from making things up to please her dad? I've already tried to explain to Ex that his openly disliking my BF (even though they've never met) is damaging to our DC but he won't listen and I find it impossible to coparent with him.

The second issue relates to ex's new GF. In all honesty, I was looking forward to him moving on as I naively believed it might take his focus off my life and relationship. My DDs told me that daddy had a girlfriend but said they hadn't met her. When they told me her name, I immediately knew it was the OW. He completely denied the affair at the time and she even messaged me months later saying she had made it up. Because he refused to admit to his affair, I agreed to sign divorce papers based on my own infidelity even though morally I feel I've done nothing wrong as if separated from Ex many months before. Now I know that he is in a relationship with her, I feel angry and manipulated all over again.

She is of course welcome to him good luck to her but having googled her 2 years ago when she first got in touch, I found out some rather unsavoury information about her such as her past drug and alcohol problems as well as her violent criminal record. She also admitted to being on drugs at the time she contacted me when she tried to make out that she'd lied to me. I was always of the opinion that Ex could move on with whomever he wished and that I wouldn't interfere when it came to him introducing our DC but I'm not so sure given what I know about her. WWYD given the situation if anything?

Sorry for the length of this but I'd appreciate any insight anyone has. TIA Flowers.

OP posts:
pocketsaviour · 07/04/2015 21:34

He completely denied the affair at the time and she even messaged me months later saying she had made it up.

Interesting. So your ex has a pattern of getting other people to lie for him...

What can I do to convince Ex that dd is lying and stop dd from making things up to please her dad?

Nothing :( But then it's not up to you to convince him of anything, especially since it's probably blatantly obvious that it wasn't true. If he really thought it was he'd be on the blower to social services.

Kids do make stuff up and I wonder if your DD has an idea in her head that if your BF was out of the picture, "mummy and daddy could live together again"?

NYCHIC · 07/04/2015 21:37

How do you know what your ex claims your daughter says is untrue?

ScrollDown · 07/04/2015 21:49

pocket, I feel like telling him to call social services if he really believes it. As far as I'm concerned, he's emotionally abusing our DC because he refers to me as the wicked witch in their presence. I'm not sure if dd does want us to get back together because she knows that he hates me. I'm sure that she feels a pull of loyalty. She likes my BF but has told me she is scared to tell her dad this because he hates mummy's BF. I do wonder what SS would have to say about him having an alcoholic drug user with violent criminal convictions around our DC though.

NY, I know because I am always there, BF and dd are never alone in the house together. I also think she would have told me and come crying to me if it had happened. She's also admitted to me that she lied about it. It's not the first time she's lied to both Ex and me (telling each of us what she thinks we want to hear).

OP posts:
pocketsaviour · 07/04/2015 22:06

She likes my BF but has told me she is scared to tell her dad this because he hates mummy's BF.

Oh gosh, the poor thing :( She sounds very confused.

I would not worry for one minute about your ex and making him "believe" this didn't happen or whatever. I would concentrate on your DD and trying to help her feel emotionally safe. is it worth speaking to school or GP and see if they can recommend anything to help? As he was EA to you I wouldn't suggest mediation as this would just give him further ways to control and abuse you.

You could also go in very gently with her and explain that she doesn't have to make things up in order to be loved or to please the two of you.

You are always going to have your work cut out because he will deliberately use her to fuck with your head Angry The best you can do is to try to give her some defences she can use to keep herself safe.

Regarding the OW - I think you'll just have to leave it for now, especially as your DDs haven't met her. If you say anything, he's going to assume that you're jealous. If she starts to become a regular fixture then maybe time to reassess.

deedee33 · 07/04/2015 22:13

This sounds like it might be too difficult to sort out without professional help. I am absolutely not an expert but I wonder if it is confusing and potentially could be damaging to your dcs to have to have two such contradictory world views about who is 'good' and who is 'bad'.

Others may know who can advise, but if your stbx has any self respect as a parent it would surely be better if you could both agree to take advice on managing all this in the dcs best interests?

appreciate the issues with ow/gf makes it more complicated but really hope someone else can advise as I know so little about these things, sorry..

deedee33 · 07/04/2015 22:16

Sorry x-post, and deferring to Pocket about ea aspect.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread