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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

Sexually frustrated Husband

988 replies

Brightling · 23/03/2016 20:29

It seems I'm married to one of those men who gets very moody when their intimacy needs aren't being met as often as they would like.

We've been married a significant amount of time. When we first met my sex drive was average and a few years and very young children later it's pretty much dwindled. I'm all touched out by the children. I am very unhappy with my post multiple pregnancies body. I'm tired. All I want is to be able to go to bed and sleep without being propositioned. It's not every night but it happens frequently enough for it to be considered badgering. Actually what I would like also is for the "no I'm not up for it tonight" to be received with "ok let's sleep" rather than him raise his voice tell my I've got a problem, I need to see a therapist, I should stay off those websites (such as MN) and what's he supposed to do about HIS sexual needs as it sounds like he's supposed to have an affair if I'm not interested. He says he can't even cuddle me if I've said no as he finds it too difficult. Whenever I say none turns his back on me and I feel like I'm being punished for saying No.

I get that he is frustrated but I am not prepared to lay back and think of England. Sex is a privilege not a right. It's my body and if I don't want to I don't have to. Even though he says that he doesn't want me to do it for the sake of it I think he's BS'ing me. He tells me he's a nice person, a good partner, a good dad and that other couples are all having sex though he always refers to sex as making love.

When we are having an active sex life he is ridiculously happy and helpful and affectionate.

I can't stand the sulking behaviour when he's frustrated. He is a hands on father and he does pull his weight round the home. It's just the sex pressure pushing me away. It's getting to the point where I don't want to be intimate with him at all as any contact he sees as a green light to progress a cuddle or whatever is then met with a sulk when I say I don't want to continue.

He does make lots of effort making meals but I'm so cynical that All I can think about is that there is an expectancy at the end of the night which puts me on the defensive and then I end up causing an argument simply to avoid the strop that he will pull when I say I don't want to be intimate because it's only when I get cross about it that he will let it drop and quit going on and on and on about it.

I'm know my sex drive isn't what it was but the sulks and date nights are not helping one bit. I dread any meal or date night. I'm not even sure why I'm even posting.

OP posts:
HeadlessChicken4 · 30/03/2016 14:59

He wants sex full stop. No matter what he does for her during the day, he is living in the hope that it will happen as he is gagging for it.

HeadlessChicken4 · 30/03/2016 15:05

She needs to pencil some time in for him and move him up her list of priorities. I may get slated for this, but I think she is being a bit selfish. She knows he's desperate for it and can't make time for him. If the shoe were on the other foot, would she be happy? I think not.

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 15:11

Deciding whether or not to have sex is not like choosing where to go on holiday or what to have for dinner.

NameChange30 · 30/03/2016 15:14

dizzytomato
"I see a relationship that has deeper issues than just the sex. That either therapy will help or it will not and they will split. There is a third option that they carry on living in the misery that they are currently in, but I don't think that is a good option."
Well I agree with all that.

KeyboardDad
"Obviously OP isn't right though, or she'd be happy."
What a strange idea. I think it's perfectly possible to be right and unhappy, or wrong and happy.
But I agree with you and dizzy about them needing to fix it or split up.

TotalTerf · 30/03/2016 15:21

"I end up causing an argument simply to avoid the strop that he will pull when I say I don't want to be intimate"

This kind of sabotage must just crush his spirit and self-esteem.

KeyboardDad · 30/03/2016 15:29

AnotherEmma

What a strange idea. I think it's perfectly possible to be right and unhappy, or wrong and happy.

I don't mean to be right in the moral sense, but right as in having the right solution. The current moody teenager solution that OP is using is not right. It's not correct. It's not working. Her husband's solution of being nice isn't working, though the side effects of it are surely being enjoyed by OP.

At the end of the day sex is crucial to OPs DH and OP needs to realise this and work out how she plans to help him fulfil his need. Simply calling him childish or behaving badly is not really constructive. Was I in his position and I was told that, I would say ok, our relationship isn't working, we can live together for the sake of the kids but I'll have my needs fulfilled separately.

I wonder whether OP would then be up in arms about him getting sex elsewhere...

Luckily though, through the use of communication, I don't have this issue. If I have a need, I communicate it, and if my SO has a problem, she communicates it.

Communication. This is the solution.

OP, please have a talk with your husband and let us know how it went.

dizzytomato · 30/03/2016 15:30

Replace sex with talking. What if one person in a relationship suddenly didn't want to talk to the other, said that they were too tired to talk, they were all "talked out" by the children, for the person to just shut up and not to talk to them would that be OK? I know talking is not different than sex, but for one person to disengage from another then there has to be a reason. From what the OP has said her partner sounds borderline verbally abusive and I wonder if there are past or perhaps burried issues that are affecting her feelings towards him.

One thing I did notice though is that the OP said her husband asked her not to spend time on the internet. About 5 years ago I was on every night. DH would be cooking dinner, because I had kids all day so I needed a break. I would unwind on the internet. I would put the kids to bed and then go back on the internet. The problem with that was that we had no time together. My libido did plummet, I was tired because computer screen time does mentally exhaust you. Couple this with looking after small children all day and by the time I went to bed I just wanted to sleep. DH asked for the internet to go off at 6pm. At first I was livid and thought he was taking away my me time, but eventually I realised that I was being selfish. I realised that we could cook together, bath the kids together, put them to bed together and then spend time talking to each other or watching TV together. By the time we went to bed we had spent time together as friends and so sex did not feel like the only time we had together, as a result we started to have more sex and I started to feel more connected to DH. Internet is fine in moderation but it should never encrouch on family life and even now I have to be careful how much time I spend so I'm going now

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 15:33

Haha at

NameChange30 · 30/03/2016 15:36

KeyboardDad
What?! So now OP is the "moody teenager" and her DH is "being nice"?! Have you read any of her posts?!

KeyboardMum · 30/03/2016 15:41

Thing is, IdealWeather, he might not be looking for intimacy every time he cooks for her. What if an argument was started, based on the assumption that he was after something, when actually he was only attempting to add some zest to the evening? That would really suck.

If OP doesn't feel like sex, then she shouldn't have it, and she shouldn't just set days to have it on regardless of how she is feeling either, because that's not going to add pizazz back to the relationship. That's just going to make sex feel more like a chore - which is unhealthy.

However, unless he is fully aware of what's going on in her head and they take measures together to overcome the problems, he's going to feel equally shit and hurt. Especially if he's put effort into attempting to set a mood - to me, that shows that he cares enough to try methods of introducing intimacy back into the relationship. And whilst his methods of expressing his frustration may not be entirely healthy (the affair thing, for example) and could point to other issues within the relationship, he's clearly trying.

Maybe, this effort he is putting into rekindling the romance is misplaced. Maybe he should stop trying and let everything just fizzle out? Accept that the resounding 'no' is the be-all and end-all of everything and give up arguing.
Just imagine that from now on, there is zero interest. He couldn't care less about sex, naughty knickers, or seeing OP naked, or cuddling (just in case she got turned on) and he just systematically kisses her when they leave the house for work every morning instead... is that really a better situation? How would the OP feel if he just stopped giving a shit?

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 15:42

There is a middle ground between pestering for sex and not giving a shit...

aire · 30/03/2016 15:52

"It's unrealistic to take intimacy off the menu, and expect your Partner to be ok with that.

At least he is telling her that he's unhappy. She just isn't willing to compromise (hence sabotaging nice things he does, so it can't lead to intimacy)."

For a start, it's not intimacy, it's sex. And sex is not off the menu, it's just not as much as he wants. And if you read what the OP has said, one of the main issues is that any sort of intimacy has to lead to sex in his mind. Did you miss the bit where the OP says he doesn't come near her at all when she's on her period? Any time he is showing affection or doing something nice it's because he wants sex. Which isn't sexy.

I speak from experience btw. I got into the same rut of when giving my wife a massage for instance trying to see if she wanted anything more. I didn't know when she necessarily wanted things to progress (yes I know, communication issues) so I tried every time on the off chance. Which made her uncomfortable and not wanting massages as much because she knew I would start trying it on. It's not unreasonable for me to want to have sex with my wife. And I wasn't giving her massages just to try and have sex. But to her that's what it felt like. When she said to me that it made her uncomfortable and on edge that I always wanted more I upset that I was making her feel like that. I want to make it work, and I've explained how what I feel her rejection of me makes me feel. I'm trying to do my part by being affectionate without that expectation of sex, and she appreciates that and has actually led to us having sex a bit more often than before. Of course it's not an ideal situation, and I haven't got a crystal ball to see what is going to happen. But as I said upthread a lot of the time life isn't perfect and you've got to get through it the best way you can, and that is going to be different for different people.

KeyboardMum · 30/03/2016 15:53

Which isn't where either of them are.

HapShawl , it's role reversal. The OP is coming across as zero-interest. Well, what if the role was reversed? The aim was to create a scenario where the OP was suffering in the same way as her OH, to help her understand how he is feeling, and perhaps why he is acting the way he currently does.

Tatiana11235 · 30/03/2016 15:54

I'd like to share my experience because tge sex issue is destroying my life.
I used to have high sex drive up until I got pregnant then it disappeared. As did my personality tbh. I became 100% mother. I carried on having sex with my husband as and when he wanted it, making sure I never rejected him. I hated it but could not say no as I owe him sex. Now he says he doesn't want to have sex with someone who doesn't enjoy it.
I told him he's free to look for sex elsewhere as long as he comes home to his children. He said it's not what he got married for.
In all honesty I don't know what else to do for him. Any advice?

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 15:55

Again, not having sex when you want to is NOT as bad as having sex that you do not want

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 15:56

My post was not aimed at tatiana

aire · 30/03/2016 15:56

FFS KeyboardMum/Dad, it is not zero interest. It's 3 bloody weeks. Try talking to people who have gone without for years if you want to get some perspective.

PanGalaticGargleBlaster · 30/03/2016 15:56

There are half a dozen threads on the sex forum of this site started by women who are unhappy with their reduced/non existent sex lives as a result of their DH/DPs non interest.

It is interesting the responses which vary from questioning the DPs sexuality, calling him selfish, tips to the OP on seduction as well as some fairly blunt advice to just 'straddle him' and get him in the mood. Funny how advice varies depending on gender

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 16:00

I would say the same if the genders were reversed Pan. There are also plenty of posters on here advocating that the OP just lie back and think of England. I'm not sure that your assessment is accurate

aire · 30/03/2016 16:01

I was going to say the same as HapShawl.

NameChange30 · 30/03/2016 16:11

Glad aire and HapShawl are here Smile

tatiana Perhaps you and your husband could try sex therapy?

AnyFucker · 30/03/2016 16:12

Good Lord

Have we a coercive sex tag team going on here ?

Keyboard mum/dad...what are you doing on the internet trying to persuade others when they should be up for sex ? Get at it you two.

itllallbefine · 30/03/2016 16:17

Tatiana - if you don't like having sex with your husband then this sounds like it might be the death knell for your relationship, especially if he wants to have a partner whom enjoys having regular sex with him. Perhaps HapShawl et al will be delighted for you since they consider him to be basically a rapist. I don;t know much about sex therapy, so maybe it is worth a shot if you have the money to spare.

HapShawl · 30/03/2016 16:19

On the contrary if he only wants to have sex with someone who is enthusiastically consenting then he is the opposite of a rapist

NameChange30 · 30/03/2016 16:19

AnyFucker Grin

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