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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

Being married to a 12 year old.....

230 replies

Pinkpeter · 31/05/2015 11:17

Regular but name changed.

This is my second marriage. First was short and I'll advised, no kids. His second marriage too. He has three kids from previous marriage and a relationship before marriage. We have two kids together, 8 and 5.
I am generally quite unhappy. I am very conscious that I don't want another failed marriage but conscious that we have done marriage guidance twice but we still keep on having issues.

His good points: he works hard at work, does overtime, very involved with his other kids and fought for all the contact he has, which is standard now, every other weekend and half the hols. Lots of issues there, but they would be deal able with if we got on better. Lots of the issues there were probably caused by our very argumentative marriage and how he treats me in front of the kids.
He takes the kids out, parks etc, he pays all the bills, apart from food and clothes, shoes, birthdays etc, I pay all those. He moans I don't pay enough but I earn less than a quarter than him.
He used to be funny, kind, loving and pull his weight and be clean.
Bad points: he often shouts at the kids in a very aggressive manner. He can't cope when they are running around just being kids, he has a hobby that dominates a lot of his time and keeps him glued to the PC. He is often unkind, shouty, and makes jokes at my expense . If I do this back, he can't deal with it but thinks as long as he finds something it is ok to hurt my feelings or take the piss out of me.
He has put on a lot of weight and often smells, so much the living room stinks. If I say nicely, please can you have a bath, he makes such a fuss and is offended. He belches constantly, big loud belching, I mean, several every minute. I have asked him to stop but he just ignores me. His default reply to anything I say or ask is in a nasty tone or sarcastic. He speaks to me like dirt a lot of the time, even first thing in the morning when I can't have done anything to upset him. If I do upset him, he can sulk for days and won't speak. Then when he is ready, he can't discuss anything and I am expected to just get on and forget about it and never discuss anything. A big bad point...he never accepts he has done anything wrong. He always has a reason, an excuse, but he never accepts responsibility for anything. The house often has a bad atmosphere when he is around. He shouts at the kids, is unnecessarily mean to them, will not implement any discipline techniques, just shouting. They are not bad kids at all, quite well behaved but naughty sometimes, like all kids.
This morning I couldn't understand why the milk had been decanted into a glass in the fridge. I am never allowed to sleep past 8am or he will come into my bedroom, (we sleep apart as he snores and twitches terribly, plus sometimes he smells) . I ask him why and he said I didn't need to know. Very hypocritical as I have to answer any question he asks me. I then find out he took the bottle to the bedroom so he could wee in at night! And when I ask why, he says so he doesn't wake up our son !!!
I am utterly disgusted with this. He goes to the loo often in the night and I have said he should go to the doctors but he refuses. I just can't believe how disgusting this is and how he thinks it is acceptable behaviour. I already have to deal with his 12 year old sense of humour, typical tits, arse, fanny jokes.
I don't know what to do or what I want to happen. As he never takes responsibility , he never admits anything is his fault. I don't want to break up our family , I want him to just grow up and act like a man. I don't want to be married to a 12 year old, as I tell him frequently. I want adult conversation, he seems incapable of it at home, but can at work. He just gets home, and turns into a 12 year old. He has a responsible job, think accountant etc.

any suggestions cos I don't want to break up our family.

OP posts:
antimatter · 31/05/2015 13:58

He has to realise that he is unwell, perhaps has diabetes (peeing, snoring, bad smell may be sign of something else but he hasn't addressed your concerns).
Get out of the house, to a restaurant or a pub where you can sit undisturbed and tell him what worries you. Pick up 3 things which are most important and talk about it. See what he says and what comes out of it.

Pinkpeter · 31/05/2015 14:05

Thank you for your comments. I do of course worry about my dc. I am very concerned and often have to talk to him about their self esteem. An example, my ds was being naughty at the dinner table, shouting and being silly, I told him to stop it and calm down. My dh shouted at him to shut up, then as he had finished his meal, he wolfs it down then leaves the table which is normal, he says to my ds who has calmed down, You spoil everything, you do. I follow him to his study and say that isn't fair, he has been told off, he didn't need to be told you spoil everything, he doesn't spoil everything, that will damage his self esteem, thinking he can't do anything right, and my dh just shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't have any emotional maturity or insight as to how those kind of comment can stay in a child's psyche but I do, and often have to call him on it, but he still does it. I try and make up for those things and then my dh will come out and either be loving with ds, after a period of time, or will kind of sulk with him and punish him further by giving him mean looks. Which I then have to say that isn't fair, he has been told off, now forgive and let it go and love him.

Man, it sounds so shit written down.

OP posts:
EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 31/05/2015 14:05

Attempted strangulation is one of the highest risk indicators for domestic abuse. You cannot and should not try to make this relationship work, it's dangerous, to you and your children.

twistletonsmythe · 31/05/2015 14:05

talking to him won't stop him being an abuser - gone way past that don't you think?

AnyFucker · 31/05/2015 14:09

that's because it is shit

BabyGanoush · 31/05/2015 14:09

It sounds shit cause it is shit?

As to 12yr olds, the ones I know are much more considerate and kind than him!

He is not acting like a kid, he is acting like a jerk . Maybe because he is a jerk.

category1 · 31/05/2015 14:09

It sounds so shit because it is shit.

He might be nice sometimes but what you just posted about what he says to your ds and the mean looks... Really? It's awful.

ImperialBlether · 31/05/2015 14:11

Christ, OP, I don't want to be rude, but what the hell attracted you to this man? He's absolutely horrible!

nicenewdusters · 31/05/2015 14:16

An elderly friend of mine stuck out her second marriage for almost 20 years. Fairly recently widowed she has been brave enough to admit just how unhappy she was at times. It's quite heart breaking talking to her.

I asked my dp to leave several weeks ago. We had had a great relationship, but after a huge event in our lives he didn't support me, was callous, cold-hearted, dismissive etc. I spent a year feeling undermined, undervalued, disrespected and my feelings were dismissed. All my trust and respect for him was erased, and so my decision was made.

When I told the above friend she was stunned. She couldn't understand how I would know my decision was right, what did I say to him, how could I make that decision when we had children ? I told her that I knew my own worth, I knew what my boundaries were and that I only had one life. That I didn't care what others thought, because only I knew what I was prepared to compromise on.

I have now had two "failed" long term relationships. I don't consider them failures though. People and life are very complex, sometimes it just doesn't work out. Better to be single again now whilst you have a new life to build with your kids, than face a lifetime of regret. What exactly would you miss if you weren't with him now ?

The hands round the throat. He has minimised it to nothing by ignoring it. He knows now that it wasn't a line in the sand for you, you didn't leave. He doesn't need to change or discuss anything with you therefore, because you've shown him what you're willing to put up with. Why are you willing to live with this ?

LumpySpacedPrincess · 31/05/2015 14:18

You need to take action to protect your children from his abuse.

Grumpyoldblonde · 31/05/2015 14:22

OP, Your husband sounds dreadful, I am sorry to say. You say he went to put his hands around your neck in anger, will he never be angry again? This is the action of a man with the potential to be a real danger. He smells, he is disrespectful, he sounds utterly vile and not a good dad at all. Do you thinks he burps and stinks and makes rude jokes at work? in front of his boss? No, because he respects them. We can only respond to what you tell us and based on that I wonder why you would feel a shred of love and not anything but contempt. Good luck OP, whatever you decide.

Pinkpeter · 31/05/2015 14:24

But you would never know it if you were his friends and family, they all adore him, he basks in their compliments that he often asks for! My dad says I tell him what to do too much, but that is because he wouldn't do anything if I didn't ask him. My mother does everything for my father and they are old fashioned in their view point.
His family must know he is difficult to live with, as he has had two serious relationships break up, his ex wife left him one day with the two kids when he was at work and he came home with a bar of chocolate to make up for his behaviour, which he often does with me, and she and the kids were gone.

He is very needy, always wanting praise, but I can't stand the constant neediness and praise when he has just cooked a pasta lunch... I practically have to give him a round of applause!
But the kids love him...I know I keep coming back to that, and although he doesn't get the concept of their long term emotional health or security, he loves them very much too. I just think he hasn't got it in him to analyse his own behaviour and tackle the issues.
The poster who suggested I tackle three things. I have tried to before, but he cannot take any kind of personal critisism (sp?) in any way. He feels utterly crushed if you point out a personal failing in him and then he goes on the attack . Doesn't discuss the issue.

I don't want to leave, I want advise on how to tackle the issues,,,please! Would a list of what is acceptable and what is not be good, then we have something to look at and keep us on topic if he is willing to discuss things? I may try that....

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 31/05/2015 14:27

head/desk

You have to come to your own conclusions, OP. But please don't expose your children to this shit for too much longer.

LumpySpacedPrincess · 31/05/2015 14:34

Of course the kids love him, he is their father. That doesn't take away the damage being inflicted on them. What do you want to do now? Do you have any support in real life, anyone that you could talk to?

Pinkpeter · 31/05/2015 14:34

Anyfucker...you come out with wise stuff all the time...Please! I don't want to leave! I want him to address the issues! We could be a happy family, we were once and he was a nice man once! Why can't he be again?

OP posts:
however · 31/05/2015 14:36

You don't have to leave a marriage for it to be a failed one.

He's a pig. Children default to loving their fathers. It doesn't mean they won't be better off without them.

A list of what is acceptable:

Treating you and your children with respect
Being kind
Pulling his weight around the house
Adhering to basic standards of personal care and hygiene

^ that. Like, all of the time.

AnyFucker · 31/05/2015 14:36

Because he doesn't want to, and he doesn't value you enough to try and change.

he would have done it by now if he did Sad

twistletonsmythe · 31/05/2015 14:37

nobody is going to advise you on how to manage an abuser. Lots of children love abusive parents - it doesn't make them a good parent.

You cannot fix him, you cannot change him nor can you manage him. I cannot for the life of me work out why you would want to. Do you have such low self esteem that you think this is all you deserve?

AnyFucker · 31/05/2015 14:38

Sweetheart, if you have to give your husband and father of your children (someone who is supposed to love and value you) a "list" of behaviours that are unacceptable, then the writing is on the wall. What you need to decide now is how much more of the same behaviours you are prepared to tolerate.

You can't change him.

AnyFucker · 31/05/2015 14:40

i am really sorry, Pink. You sound really upset and like you are clutching for any sign that an anonymous poster could give you that your husband is capable of change.

of course he is, anyone can be....he simply does not want to

this must be so hard for you to read xxx Thanks

nicenewdusters · 31/05/2015 14:49

Kids love their dads because they're their dads - smelly/clean, lazy/tidy,nice/horrible, they don't run a check list. So the fact they love him isn't a tick on his side of the page, it's biology ! They'll still love him when they grow up to think his behaviour towards you and them is the norm. But how much will they have been damaged by then ?

He sounds truly pathetic, needing an olympic medal for cooking a pasta dish !! Really, what he was like before and what you hope/think he can be like in the future are irrelevant. Look what he's like NOW !

Just imagine in Make Believe Land that you have a chat, with a list, and he agrees to change, completely. How will you feel ? Resentful that he could and should have done it before ? That he shouldn't have needed to be told and asked ? How will he undo the damage he's done to you and the kids ? Can you ever really trust and respect him again ?

As Anyfucker says, he's making a choice, it's all conscious. If he can be nice to work colleagues and family he can be nice to you - but he isn't - what does that tell you ?

ImperialBlether · 31/05/2015 14:53

I remember hearing about a child that was being taken into care after being burned (deliberately) by her father. The social worker was in the back of the car with her and she was almost pushing herself out of the back window to be with her dad.

Just because a child loves his/her father it doesn't mean that father can give them a good life. A father who doesn't understand his child's emotional needs is not a good father. That's without the frankly disgusting way that he lives - you say he's like a 12 year old? He isn't. There are hardly any 12 year old boys like that; those that are are from homes where there the parents either don't care about standards or are unwilling or unable to implement them.

jellyrolly · 31/05/2015 14:54

I agree with everyone else that he doesn't sound worth staying with, you know that but you also want some practical advice.

Start keeping a diary, write down every time you feel bad/disrespected/undermined/angry, every time he is verbally abusive to you or the children, keep dates and write how you felt as well as what he did.

If you are still with him in a few months, make a definitive list from this diary and decide what for you are the dealbreakers. I can see that everyone else considers what he already does as dealbreakers but you don't.

Then consider leaving him the list, taking the kids again and asking him to change these behaviours, give him a set time - a month, whatever you think is long enough. Hopefully in that time you will see you are stronger and happier without him but at least you can believe you gave him the chance to change too.

You are in a horrible position but it isn't your doing, his choices, his behaviour is the cause.

Pinkpeter · 31/05/2015 14:55

Thank you. my mother says that every marriage goes through tough times and I just need to ride it out. She says she nearly left sometimes but now she is glad she didn't.
I don't know what to do. I know that you are right and that he has to want to change. He obviously doesn't take anything I say or think on board because he thinks he knows better. He often tells me what I think about something and I say, you don't actually know what I think, you may think you do, but you don't.
I am no wallflower, I give as good as I get, but my aim is not to be nasty...his is, often. I am thought now often very dismissive of him as I can't be nice to him as it is thrown back in my face. I often say to him I have spoken to you nicely, why do you reply like that? There is no answer to it.
I do have friends I can speak to, but it is my decision, I know. I don't want to look back and think I should have ridden it out and maybe it would have got better.

OP posts:
mrstweefromtweesville · 31/05/2015 14:57

I read the opening post. I felt disgusted. Really sickened. And I'm a fairly 'earthy' person, I don't make a fuss and I'm not actually 'twee' at all.
But this man sounds revolting. He isn't doing this by accident. He wants you to feel revolted, disgusted and demeaned by his presence.

So get rid of him. See a solicitor tomorrow, and start arranging a clean, orderly life for your family.

Have you posted about him before? The peeing in bottles sounds familiar.