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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

parents in law advice

234 replies

cookies92 · 02/03/2016 07:39

I have been with my partner for 4 years and we have a 1.5 year old together.

To put a long story short his parents are heavily involved in our relationship and have been since day 1, although now it's causing major problems. When I fell pregnant we stil lived at home, they suggested they buy a house and we would pay them 'rent'. At first I went with the idea but after seeing their behaviour I felt it wasn't something I wasnt comfortable with so we decided to rent and do it ourselves. We rented a small flat and for the first while it was fine, until we had our little boy it became far too cramped. We found the heating didn't work well and was constantly getting damp as it was an old property. We became pretty miserable in there tbh. His parents then resurfaced with an idea that they could buy a house jointly with my partner, I wasn't keen for this because we had agreed when the time came myself and my partner would buy ourselves. After some discussion they assured me that after a year they would come off the mortgage and I would go on it, I felt a bit funny about it but went ahead nonetheless. Now the whole time since we moved out (May 2014) they really started to show their colours. I thought us moving in together would make them back off but it became worse. Even worse once our son was born. His mother would make comments about our house how it wasn't clean enough constantly. She would clean it and I mean clean the shower, toilets etc if we went our and left her with the baby. This caused friction and on numerous occasions we fell out. Things came to a head when we moved into our new property and we had a big falling out, but it was put right quickly and I felt it had done some good. Anyway as time went on she started to slip back into her old ways. It came to a year since the purchase of the house and thats when I found out the hard way I would be nothing to do with the house ever. This angered me so much because they had lied to me, I also felt stupid I had believed them and not looked into anything and had been so naive. Anyway again this ended in a huge argument between me and his parents to the point I threw them out the house. Their involvement in our relationship has become unbearable. They constantly put things into my partners head and as he has always heavily relied on them throughout his life he still seems to do so now even tho he has been moved out near 2 years. They have stopped us getting joint bank accounts, stopped us from speaking to certain people they see as 'nasty' his mother constantly undermines me in my house takes over the cleaning as if she is a cleaner and undermines my parenting. Now I'm not an ungrateful person but this is crossing a line. They constantly make digs at the house, how we live, what we spend our money on. She will open my partners mail and feel the need to deal with it herself. They have told me I will never stop them seeing their son (I never said that!) this has caused a major issue in our relationship, I can't stand to be around his parents. He won't fall out with them (not what I'm asking anyway) and for our sons sake I need to tolerate them being round. I need him to stand up for himself and tell them to back off but he won't do it. It's going to split us up. It has gotten to the point my family are now involved in this too. Any advice? Thanks.

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 03/03/2016 22:10

Does it matter?

cookies92 · 03/03/2016 22:20

Does what matter?

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 03/03/2016 22:23

All that crap his mother says about his childhood. What he did and didn't do. Why he did it.

None of it matters. He's in denial, he refuses to acknowledge that his parents are toxic, he will never get help or stand up to them.

He chooses them over you every single day.

So why waste your mental energy analysing him?

Get the hell out of there.

Analysing him would be his therapist's job, if he ever got one.

rumbleinthrjungle · 03/03/2016 22:25

You might find it interesting to look up 'infantisiling' and 'engulfing parents' and see what looks familiar.

www.reddit.com/r/raisedbynarcissists/comments/2jfa81/23_going_on_13_the_effects_of_infantilization_and/

narcissisticmil.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/infantilization/

lem73 · 03/03/2016 22:27

Yes I agree he has been infantilised. It's clear he lets his parents run his life for him. Question is: how does he feel about that? Dh was too ambitious and stubborn to live like that but his lazy brother doesn't mind.

cookies92 · 03/03/2016 22:33

Not really over analysing anything. It is quite clear to me the situation in regards to his parents, they run his life,he let's them and is happy to do so.

I might not leave tomorrow, or next week or even next month, but I can tell you if there aren't some serious changes I will be leaving. He knows this,but I suspect is hanging onto the hope that I won't.

OP posts:
lem73 · 03/03/2016 22:42

I get where you're coming from Op. I'm not saying walk out tomorrow but have an exit strategy (eg build up your savings).

figureofspeech · 04/03/2016 05:22

I would marry & then divorce him atleast that way I will have legal protection. Currently you are entitled to zero and his parents don't want you to get married so that you aren't entitled to anything. It doesn't have to be a fancy wedding, a quiet register office ceremony will do.

MoominPie22 · 04/03/2016 06:01

I hear your rationale but I think it´s a crying shame to go and get married solely with a view to getting divorced after a year. It just sounds wrong morally and in every way really.

Personal decision of course but I couldn´t do it. Plus, could the OP stick it out that long and possibly end up with her OH hating her for it afterwards? Just sounds like a right palarver tbh.

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 06:23

No i definitely couldn't go ahead with getting married under these circumstances. I want to get married out of love and commitment to a person for the rest of my life, not with some ulterior motive for half a house. I get I'm entitled to sweet F A but really this is my own fault. If i hadn't been so naive, and asked to see all the paperwork and had a better understanding I would of realised what they were saying would be impossible but unfortunately I just trusted and went with it. I do have our wedding fund I can use if I did leave, I think it would be enough to get me on my feet anyway, it's a few thousand. At the end of the day if we do sort of this mess out and still come out loving each other at the end we can have a small wedding.

OP posts:
Berthatydfil · 04/03/2016 07:39

Ask him if it's just a piece of paper whist would happen if he stopped paying the mortgage ?
The building society wouldn't come for you they would come for your Pil to pay the arrears.
Ask him if he could sell this house if you needed to move -no Pil would have to agree.
Ask him what would he like to happen to you and dc if he was to die - would he see you and dc turfed out and the house sold from under you? Because that is what could happen as they own the house,
So no it's not a "piece of paper " far from it.

Chocolatteaddict1 · 04/03/2016 07:42

cookie what responsibility are you going your dp in all this?

Your treating him like a child that needs protecting and his parents are too.

It's mental that this bloke is in the thick of it and you refuse to believe it.

Does not even a tiny part of you think he full well knows what the situation is but is just saying X,y,z to get you to STFU? He really doesn't have to do much to convince you everything is hunky dorey does he?

Either that or he is incredibly stupid.

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 07:53

Exactly bertha, exactly.

Chocolate, I know him and know what he's like. As I said if I did find out he was in on it I wouldn't need anymore time to think things through, I'd be gone because that's a betrayal from him. I seriously doubt he knew because he knows nothing about the house anyway, how long the mortgage is for etc.

Sorry, looks like hes just stupid.

OP posts:
ricketytickety · 04/03/2016 08:14

There is no way he could not know they own half his house. He just isn't bothered by it. Or doesn't want to upset his mum, because that might cause him problems or perhaps he feels unable to do something about so is sticking his head in the sand.

What options is he giving you to stay? What do you want to happen? Is there a way that you can make your contributions matter? Go and talk to a solicitor - they may have some advice. Can you not pay in to the mortgage from a certain date and have that money back if the house is sold? Like a deed of trust sort of thing? Then split the bills between you. You should also sort it so that you have the same amount of free money left after bills/shopping/etc etc come out.

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 08:19

Yes he knows they are on the mortgage obviously. What im saying is he didn't know they would do this to me.

I cant afford a solicitor. I'd rather go to cab. There's nothing I can do about the house. It any of you own your own home then please let me know if I am wrong.

OP posts:
Chocolatteaddict1 · 04/03/2016 08:55

Why did he even do it in the first place?

I'm sorry op but if your dp is this wet and stupid nothing is ever going to change.

Shame on his parents for taking advantage of some one with such low I.Q

Good luck!

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 09:08

Because we have a brand new 3 bedroom house in a lovely area with lovely neighbours and plenty to offer our son. He paid the deposit and his name is on it. Going from a damp cramped small flat this is paradise, and as his parents said if he had my attitude we wouldn't be living anywhere. Although I absolutely adore this house, his parents made him see only what they wanted and what it is. They didn't let him see what trouble this could cause. His judgement is clouded.

Believe me I know him, you don't. I've seen the way he is around them for years and seen the way they are with him. He believes whatever comes out of their mouths, you seriously don't understand what they're like.

OP posts:
cookies92 · 04/03/2016 09:10

Let me ask you, have you ever been in this exact situation?
Were you pregnant at 21 still living at home with either two choices to have an abortion or to get on with it and make my life?

Do you have 'toxic in laws' that control your partner and your life?
Do you own your own home that you could shed any correct light on what I could do?

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 04/03/2016 09:23

Lots of us have given advice about what you could do.

A few also have experience of toxic in-laws so they understand that too.

But if you're trying to say that none of us understand exactly what it feels like to be you, that's true.

If you think that means you know best and our advice is wrong, why ask for it in the first place?

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 09:26

I'm not saying your advice is wrong at all and I appreciate everyone's advice, it has all been very helpful.

I'm just trying to point out I was never trying to attack my partner, although yes he is somewhat to blame. This was a post about his parents.

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 04/03/2016 09:42

It's never just about the parents, though. There are men with difficult parents who prioritise their partner and children, and that's a completely different kettle of fish. You feel that your partner is the victim in all this, but he's an adult now and he is capable of making his own choices - he just prefers not to. He prefers not to question or challenge their influence and control. He prefers to let them do everything. He prefers to let them upset you - you even left him FGS! He begged you to come back and yet nothing has changed.

I don't think we have much to gain from saying he's stupid, as a few people have done. I just think he's making you unhappy, whether that's his fault or his parents' (actually it's both), and for that reason you need to walk away.

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 09:50

I did say he is obviously a reason for it all as he is LETTING it happen.

As suggested I've been reading this toxic in laws book and every example is the same with the partner 'choosing' their parents.

Ultimately he wanted to get back with me despite them telling him not to.

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 04/03/2016 09:58

Yes but it's not just about him choosing to be in a relationship with you. It's also about how he behaves within that relationship. He has gone against his parents in deciding he wants to be with you, but will he go against them in other ways?

cookies92 · 04/03/2016 10:00

Well time will tell. Im sure within the next few months one way or the other there will be a massive change.

OP posts:
MoominPie22 · 04/03/2016 10:06

I understand your frustration, though I´ve never been in your position. If you had a partner who could just put his Manly Pants on and step up to the plate with an ¨Enough´s enough!¨ attitude to sort all this BS out, which he has partly caused albeit unwittingly, then there might be some hope of resolving this huge cock up. It´s a real shame he´s taking no responsibility in any of this. He did agree to go along with the house and pay the mortgage after all so he can´t afford to stick his head in the sand and absolve himself of responsibility!

But you don´t have that sort of partner. Possibly, either through showing him this thread so he can read what outsiders have to say, or by you actually moving out and staying out, he then might be galvanized into action finally. But as long as you´re living there as you are he will just keep coasting along, your urging for him to just do something and deal with this shit, will fall on deaf ears, like white noise,cos he has no empathy ( or he would surely take action if he did ) for your situation, he disregards your feelings ( they are irrelevant it seems ) and he will just keep repeating in his programmed robotic fashion, ¨ but she´s only trying to help¨ whenever you say anything about his interfering mother over-stepping the boundries yet again.

The sad thing is, he could change this situation if he wanted to. But he´d rather you be unhappy than his mother. I still cannot believe he didn´t challenge his parents about going back on their verbal agreement and defending you when they called you a liar basically, by denying they ever said you´d go on the deeds after a year. I mean, was he actually present when that verbal agreement took place? Or was he asleep? Cos I´d like to know what he actually said about this point in particular.

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