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Relationships

Just devastated

528 replies

pumpkinmoon1 · 08/02/2016 14:29

I have been with my boyfriend for six months. Minor issues about time spent together and effort (or lack of) seemingly put into the relationship from his side. Major issues being that we wanted different things, I want to get married one day and have a child, he doesn't. Another major issues is him alluding to the fact that he was not over his ex after being apart for over 10 years.

We met and clicked, it was great. He told me that he had 'relationships' in the last 10 years, but kept it casual, was always upfront about lettig them know this and the fact that it wasn't going to go anywhere. I should have ran away then, but I stayed. Why? Because he said I was different and he wanted more. He wanted to be exclusive after 2 weeks or datng and soon after wated to label us as in a proper relationship. He did a good job of making me feel wanted and speicla and 'different'. But time went on and things played on my mind.

At 6 months, I still had not met his family. He neevr really told anyone about me unless they found out of their own accord eg saw us together.

Last weekend was a turning point. We were laying in bed talking on a Sunday morning, and he said that he had to go, he always did this on a Sunday. He said that he had to take a keyboard to his parents for his neice as she was having lessons and wanted to practice. So I was a little dissaponted. Not about the fact that he had to deliver the keyboard, but about the fact that I was just sick and tired of being left alone every Sunday afternoon when we could have been doing things as a couple like most normal people. So he thought that I thought he was making excuses to leave. He asked me if I wanted to go with him. This was a first. I thought that we were actually moving forward. I asked him what he meant and said that I bet his parents didn't even know he had a gf, and he said 'nope', but I could wait in the car. I was gutted. Gutted that after 6 months, I wasn't importaant enough to even be mentioned.

Fast forward to this weekend. Sunday again, we wake up and he says he has to go soon. To pick p a TV with his dad and watched the football and rugby AGAIN. I was calm and said that we need to have a talk about this Sunday afternoon stuff and that it would just be nice to do syuff as a couple on weekends. He mentioned the times he saw me in the week (Tuesday and Thursday evenings for about 4 hours each) and I said I understood that but we can't really do anything in the week as we have work the next day, and weekends are better. He then said that maybe hes just not a good boyfried, and that he isn't relationship material. I told him that he could be if he wanted to be.

He then said that maybe because he has been single so long he is jst stuck in his ways and he's used to doing what he wanted. I really can't remember what was said next but we got to talking about the 'casual' relationships he had in the last 10 years becasue he said that the longest they lasted would be about 3 months. I asked who would end them and he said he would for the most part. I asked why and he said that when he tells me I will probably not want to see him again. What I heard next killed me and I am beginning to shake even as I type this. He said that as he was still living in the past as far as his ex of over 10 years was concerned and always had the hope that they would get back together so when she would contact him out of the blue, he would go meet her and that would be how these relationshps ended. He then went onto say that he should have been more honest with me and that he was still in love with his ex, head over heels in love in fact. So I said that he basically fed me a load of bullshit all these months and despite claiming to 'like' me more than these casuals and that I was different to him, he afforded them more decency as he was up front with them. He said this wasnt the case. I asked if he had been texting her behind my back. He said he hadn't but text her at Christmas and New Year but she didn't reply. I asked him if she was with someone and he said she was. I asked him how he knew but he wouldn't tell me. I asked him if she was married (she's 12 years older than him so 52), he didn't say no, but just repeated she is with someone. SO I think she is married and I think she was when she was with him because he absolutely refuses to talk about it. He said that he wouldn't get into her personal life because she has done nothing wrong, so yes, I definitely think she is married. I asked how they broke up but he wouldn't tell me, he knows my views on people who cheat.

So then he said that I'm sure you have a question in your mind. I asked what he meant by this a little while after. He said I was hoping to avoid that, but went on to say that I probably have the question that if she were to text him now while he's still in a relationship with me, would he go meet her, and then he said he would. As if heaving that he was still head over heels in love with her wasn't enough.

Before he left, he started crying and begged me to let him come back later to talk. I couldn't even answer him but hugged him when I could see the tears dripping from his face. He said that he didn't want to lose me but said he knows how stupid that must sound to me. He text me a little later and came back. I couldn't even speak or look at him. He brought cans of alcohol with him which he sometiems does as we usually have a can or two in front of the TV. He asked if I wanted one and I said I didn't, but said he could have one if he wanted, so he did. Then he sat on the sofa next to me put his hand on my leg in an affectionate way and proceeded to make small talk about what was on TV as IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED?

We didn't talk. I was so so upset and we just hugged for hours and cried. He said that I was so beautiful and could have any man I wanted but I ended up with a fucking idiot like him. He said he was so so sorry and that he was a massive dick for all of this and that it is all his fault. I cried that much and got so worked up I made myself sick. We eneded up falling asleep. I was exhausted from crying all day and not being able to eat anything.

We woke up and he had to leave as he had work the next morning. He usually comes over on a Tuesday and before he left he was hugging me and asked to come over Tuesday but he would understand if I didn't want to see him. I couldn't answer. Eventually I said that it's not like I don't want to see him, then he finsihed the sentence and said, but you think might be best not to and I agreed. He told me to think about it and to let him know. He hugged me again by the door before leaving and said that I mean so much to him. It did not help to hear such things, it just hurt more. When he got home he text me as he usually does and said that he was back home,and that he hopes I sleep well an that he wished he could be with me and cuddle me in his arms all night. I replied and told him that I hoped he sleeps well. He then text me this morning saying, 'Morning beautiful girl. Hope you slept well and that you're feeling ok today. I'm still feeling a bit tired and could do with going back to bed'. I haven't answered. I don't know how to respond to that. How a I meant to feel ok today? I have had barely any sleep. I haven't eaten. I am still in my pajamas, I had to take the day off work because I just couldn't face it. How does he expect me to feel ok? Does he not remember what he said to me yesterday? I know he doesn't want this to be over, but how could he think I could possibly stay with him? How could I let him come here Tuesday (like usual) and just be able to carry on? I'll be perfectly honest, I don't want it over either but I really have no choice. Even if he cheated on me, they may somehow be a way around that, but there is no way around the fact that he is still in love with his ex, and after 10 years+ that is never going to change. How can someone still be in love with someone when they broke up that long ago? nd wich someone they haven't seen for over two years.

I don't know how to proceed. I am a total mess.

OP posts:
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ToffeeForEveryone · 08/02/2016 15:33

Run for the hills m'dear Flowers Will be easier to do now after 6 months than after a year or two.

I actually feel quite sorry for your BF because it sounds like a pretty pathetic and desperate situation he's living in, holding a torch for someone who's not interested after 10+ years. He's being a fool and making a mistake - but that's his problem. He's told you the situation and really you can't do anything but move on - you deserve, and will find, something much much better than this Flowers

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HelenJMurphy64 · 08/02/2016 15:35

Cut your losses now please for the sake of your sanity and any future happiness you can have with someone else who can treat you decently. I've been married for 25 years to someone who treats me like shit and has had countless affairs. I really wish I had left when I had the opportunity at the beginning of our relationship when I first had an idea of how fidelity meant so little to him. I hoped and wished he would change and I could make him a better person. That never works :(

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TyrannosaurusBex · 08/02/2016 15:36

OP, the thing about this 'relationship' he had is that it was a fantasy, and it still is. He can project every virtue onto her because he doesn't have to go about the mucky, unglamorous, mundane business of living his life with her - and if she was married at the time, he never has. It's very, very easy to be a woman of divine and tragic mystery if you're only meeting up to have sex and gaze soulfully into each other's eyes, a lot harder when you're insane with exhaustion, coping with night feeds and cracked nipples, or whatever you happen to be dealing with.

Don't see him again. He is using you.

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gunting · 08/02/2016 15:38

LTB, don't look back! ThanksWine

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var123 · 08/02/2016 15:40

Sounds like the Meatloaf song:
www.lyricsfreak.com/m/meat+loaf/two+out+of+three+aint+bad_20091283.html

I can't lie, I can't tell you that I'm something I'm not
No matter how I try
I'll never be able to give you something
Something that I just haven't got
There's only one girl I'll ever love
And that was so many years ago
And though I know I'll never get her out of my heart
She never loved me back
Oh I know


and

But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you
Now don't be sad
'Cause two out of three ain't bad
I want you, I need you
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you
Now don't be sad
'Cause two out of three ain't bad
Baby we can talk all night
But that ain't getting us nowhere


Anyway, you need to move on asap. He is messed up but he's not trying to sort himself out and you can't do it for him.
If you want, tell him you are taking a break until Easter. If he decides that he wants to develop a proper adult going-somewhere relationship with you, then he can get in touch. If you haven't heard from him by Easter, then you don't want to wait any longer. However, if he knows now that he's not willing to put that other woman out of his head, then he should just let you know straightaway as you want nothing further to do with him. (buit good luck and all that).

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caitlinohara · 08/02/2016 15:42

You won't find a single dissenting voice on here, you need to look after yourself now and don't waste your energy feeling sorry for him. It's not too late for you to find someone else who does want to have a family with you, but if you waste any more time on this man it may well be. Don't let that happen to you. Give yourself a bit of grieving time and then get out there and actively look for someone who wants the same things as you, and don't settle for second best. Flowers

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BerylStreep · 08/02/2016 15:44

I agree with Goddess - don't indulge him in any more contact from you. Cut your losses now. He isn't emotionally available and never will be.

I also think there is no point giving a moment's thought to his ex. It's hardly her fault he has idealised her and won't move on.

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pumpkinmoon1 · 08/02/2016 15:45

Gunting - What is LTB?

That song really sums it up. That's another thing I struggled with, whenever there was some sort of love song played on the radio or at a bar, or it there was something on TV about exes, first loves it always made me wonder if hr was thinking about her, and it looks like he was! Id absolutely love to meet her to see what the hell is so good about her.

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Bumpsadaisie · 08/02/2016 15:47

Its painful OP and totally understandable that you're devastated, but at least now you know.

He is 40 for goodness sake. It sounds like he is a twenty something. He is pining for a woman who is 52. He does not want to settle down and have a family. He sounds like he lives in a kind of fantasy land - he isn't interested in engaging with you as a real live other person at all.

Lucky escape.

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crispytruffle · 08/02/2016 15:51

It sounds like he is obsessed with having someone he just can't have. That's probably the thrill for him. If you want to stay with him perhaps you should try this tactic! But truefully I can't see how there can be any future for you both if he is in love with someone else. I'd definitely move on, you should never be someone's second best in life.

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pumpkinmoon1 · 08/02/2016 15:51

He is still texting has if nothing has happened. Is he not right in the head? It's just a mystery to me. If I told someone what he told me, I would not have this nerve, maybe not even the nerve to even contact them at all. I might text to ask if they are ok out of concern, but even then that wopuld be having some gall.

I know it is not her fault. She doesn't even know I exist. I still can't help but feel negatively toward her though, just because of the fact that she could have had him but she didn't want him. How ironic. He wanted her but she didn't want him, I wanted him but he doesn't want me. UGH. I did everything I could for him too. And it still wasn't good enough.

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Livingforlove · 08/02/2016 15:57

It is very weird that he hasn't moved on in ten years. He must have major hang ups about it all. I wouldn't blame her, it's his issue. She might not have a clue and she might be perfectly nice.

Even before his confession though, you knew something wasn't right didn't you? The disappearing on a Sunday and expecting you to sit in the car while he visits his family! What an insult.

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ouryve · 08/02/2016 15:57

I don't know how to proceed.

You write him off as an unfortunate waste of your time and energy and move on.

NOTHING that you can do will give this relationship legs for as long as he is besotted by someone he can't have and nothing you can do will get him out of cloud cuckoo land (and if you could, he'd probably resent you for it).

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Bumpsadaisie · 08/02/2016 15:57

You'll probably find if you too become "unavailable" he gets more interested. Don't go along with it if it happens. You don't want to be a mere actor in his psychological theatre.

Feel sorry for the chap but he has got to sort himself out.

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expatinscotland · 08/02/2016 16:00

You know what? You don't want him, either. He's not a nice person at all. Start doing all you can for you. He's a twat. It's only been 6 months. Now is the time to bin him. Do not invest any more of your time on him.

'I've been thinking about all this. This relationship isn't working for me anymore. I want and need different things so it's time I moved on. Wish you the best.x-pumpkin'

And that's all you need to say.

He's an idiot.

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ouryve · 08/02/2016 16:07

Perhaps there's a good reason why she didn't want him. He seems a little obsessive, no? What you're seeing in his unhealthy infatation with her could be the tip of the iceberg in terms of something she wanted to get away from him for.

(And 52 is still a bit off pension age, by the way Wink )

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/02/2016 16:09

Way off pension age - they keep moving it further away.

Cry a lot then forget him.

I had a similar thing with a bloke years ago. We had a very on/off relationship and he eventually confessed that he was in love with a girl who was going out with one his friends. It was a really mixed up situation and I considered myself to be well out of it.

Find someone else.

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FluffyPersian · 08/02/2016 16:14

I think he's in love with the 'thought' of his ex, not his actual ex, as if she was perfect and life was perfect and there were bluebirds singing every morning etc... Then they would still be together.

His comment about how he'd go back to her if she wanted him was exceptionally cruel, however I hope that in time, you see this as a positive thing as he is telling you want he wants and you aren't the priority.

I imagine he was potentially crying as he wants someone 'there' when his ex isn't around and by telling you, he's jeopardised that. Nothing about you, no care about how you feel, but it's all about him, now he's going to go and have to find another woman to sit happily in the background until potentially, his ex might want him back.

It seems that sometimes, a person tells you what they're like, and you ignore it. In this case, he's told you that despite being in a relationship with you for 6 months, he doesn't love you, isn’t proud of you (hence why he hasn't told anyone he's with you) and would go back to his ex if she asked.

You are worth more than this.

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whatevva · 08/02/2016 16:23

(way off pension age - it will be at least 67 for her)

Just tell him it isn't working for you and that is that.

You could tell him that he is wasting his time, and you don't want to do that too. But I think he is too far gone to listen.

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expatinscotland · 08/02/2016 16:28

Yep, keep it short and on point. This doesn't work for me anymore. I want and need different things so it's time for me to move on. Bye.

And you need to delete him out of your life. He is an utter waste of your time.

I'd look into becoming a parent on my own, tbh, rather than waiting for a man to make it all happen.

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ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 08/02/2016 16:44

You are worth much more than being someone's second choice. You will never have priority in his life as he is hanging on to the ghost of his old relationship.

Move on. Just tell him that you cannot see a long term future for the relationship.

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lavenderhoney · 08/02/2016 16:50

He's told you you are a casual gf and I think that's all you need to know. He's told you how it will be if you carry on. But I think you knew that anyway as he had no intention, and still doesn't of dating you properly.

Don't compare yourself to the woman he is in love with. That way madness lies and you'll be playing the pick me dance for ever. And she might be really lovely anyway, despite being older- and have her own reasons for not being with him. Age is just a number.

It's only 6 months in, and you've invested a lot- even though the signs were there he didn't want to progress, ie not introducing you etc- so you ignored the reality of his actions. He has told you now- it doesn't really matter why- it's over - he's not going to be the one for you. Don't fall for it again, even if he comes back. She'll always be a ghost in your relationship.

You'll meet someone nice, and if they remind you of him, get rid faster.

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228agreenend · 08/02/2016 16:53

Dfinitely ltb ( leave the b'stard).

The first red flag to me was when you mentioned his parents not knowing about you, especially as he goes from yours to their house, and then that time when you were told to wait in the car. How rude!

You definitely better off without him.

Those verses above sum up the situation beautifully

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whatevva · 08/02/2016 16:59

I did everything I could for him too. And it still wasn't good enough.

You are too good for him. He does not have the wherewithal to see it. The others were probably too good too.

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Viviennemary · 08/02/2016 17:02

Why should you settle for this type of relationship. And if anyone's pathetic, he is. He sounds a manipulator and a total waste of effort. It will be hard but you must move on and meet new people. All this time and angst on this man just isn't worth it in the end.

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