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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

Am I right to text this woman?

362 replies

deutschland83 · 05/05/2016 15:19

Work colleague of DHs, unsolicited messages on his phone. Late night texts when's she's out. Latest is a picture of underwear laid out.

I want to tell her to fuck off.

Should I?

He doesn't know I have seen them.

OP posts:
deutschland83 · 06/05/2016 18:57

But let's look at it from a work point of view.

No proof, he said, she said, both parties sling mud, nobody looks good, office gossip forever and potentially DH loses his standing/integrity/income.

A single photo and texts does not make anything concrete or actionable.

It just makes me devastated Sad

OP posts:
Hydroshield · 06/05/2016 18:58

Who tries to shut their (completely secret) friend down? (And fails for more than a year.)

And texts them repeatedly in the early hours of the morning. Hmm. Not a good way to shut someone down!

missybct · 06/05/2016 18:59

Also, you're doing fucking amazingly. We are here for you, but to be honest, you're super strong and resolute and I can see that clear as day. Do try to minimise things in front of the children, but don't be incline to compartmentalize this to the point where dealing with it gets put off and off.

You sound like exactly the type of person I'd be friends with, so lets have a internet brew/wine and put world to rights Flowers

Straycatblue · 06/05/2016 18:59

Your husband has admitted to having an emotional affair but denies a physical affair , yet the other woman (she is the other woman, not a friend, not a workmate, they are at the very least having an emotional affair) sends him photos of her underwear late at night.

I have many good male friends, I have never sent any of them teasing photos of my underwear.

He has been both texting her (noted from the phone bill) and presumably deleting them? have you seen the texts?
He has also been whattsapping her which is what you have already found, these will not show up on phone bill so probably his contact is much higher than you have knowledge of.
Innocent people do not delete texts. Regardless of what was in the texts, your husband and this woman have a secret relationship that you are not involved in.

From what you have said, you have been having a pretty rough time recently, your husband has manipulated this into poor him wanting to be some sort of hero and not bother you but instead spend hours talking to another woman instead, please please see what he has done there, its called gaslighting, its making you doubt yourself and think he is actually doing nothing wrong, its making him the victim and you the bad guy.

Like others say, when people are caught out having an affair (both emotional and physical) they generally follow the same pattern, they will minimise, play it down, lie about how far it has gone, they will gasllight, make you feel like you are the unreasonable one.

Your husband had a choice whether to be supportive to you when you were going through a bad time or to instead develop a secret relationship with this woman.

Im so sorry you are having to go through this is there any way you can take some time off work and go away with the children to clear your head? Or tell him to leave while you decide what you want to do.

missybct · 06/05/2016 19:03

Maybe I'm missing something Deutsch but why does this need to be brought into work?

I know some people have said if your DH is "bothered" by her behaviour he should report her, but I think we all know these are unsolicited messages, but those exchanged in consensual way. There isn't really anything to "report", in which case.

For now, I think dropping the fact they work together would be momentarily good - just focus on dealing with this with your DH first. It doesn't need to be brought into work whatsoever, unless there has been criminal activity. Whether or not he met her at work or down the pub, the behaviour he's conducted and engaged in seems very suspicious. Try to focus on the behaviour before the consequences, if that makes sense.

cozietoesie · 06/05/2016 19:05

OK. What are your immediate plans eg for the weekend? Is he still in the house? And how are the DCs?

missybct · 06/05/2016 19:05

My male best friend sent me a picture of his bare chest once, but only because he'd been smacked in the tit with a football and wanted to show me the bruise. I instantly showed it to my DP, who laughed about how much he hates football.

That is very, very different to being sent underwear with a specific request for an opinion for her "husband".

cozietoesie · 06/05/2016 19:07

And if he's still there, has he been relegated to the sofa/spare room?

deutschland83 · 06/05/2016 19:13

Kids are ok, I've gone out to an event I'm helping run. He's at home with them.

I'm not doing anything useful. I have tea Smile

What am I going to do? No idea.

Huge breath.

I do so much for all of us and he still behaves like a shit.

OP posts:
missybct · 06/05/2016 19:16

Huge breath indeed OP. No need to make decisions now. Read this thread, pick out what helps and what you identify with, listen to the advice of others (even if it's hard) and talk it out - either with us, with people around you, whoever you can rely on to be objective and rational.

Is there any possibility to speak to him when you finish at this event, or tomorrow? Could you get someone to sit the kids for a couple of hours so you can have chat away from distractions?

OP - has he got previous form for taking the piss of the relationship? I ask because you said you do so much and he still behaves like shit - I don't think you'd be the type to put up with infidelity, but has he caused problems before?

deutschland83 · 06/05/2016 19:19

No nothing, ever, ever.

OP posts:
Helmetbymidnight · 06/05/2016 19:24

How much has he mentioned her before as a friend or confidante?

deutschland83 · 06/05/2016 19:27

I know she exists, but I didn't recognise her name at first.

That's all.

OP posts:
Helmetbymidnight · 06/05/2016 19:30

How is he justifying this secrecy?

Straycatblue · 06/05/2016 19:36

Sadly your husband is only interested in protecting himself and the other woman,
if he was interested in you and your childrens best interests, he would take responsibility for his blurring of boundaries/affair immediately cut contact with this woman witnessed by yourself and block her from all forms of social media and make an effort to work on the marriage no matter what it took even if that meant counselling, changing jobs, whatever it took for you to regain trust in him.
Instead he has made himself and the other woman out to be victims of an unreasonable wife.

No matter how far it has gone between them, your husband is showing his true colours and it is not to try and protect you and his family, his priority has been to protect himself and the other womans relationship. He sounds very unpleasant.

BonTemps · 06/05/2016 19:40

I'm sorry Deutschland, but if they were just friends, why all the late night txt's, and secretive messaging, and did you say he was deleting the thread? No he's just trying to put the blame on you which is a classic response.
I'd ask him to leave for a few days, so that I could clear my head and thoughts, and see how you feel then. Sorry Flowers

hareinthemoon · 06/05/2016 19:46

Well you sound very much stronger than I was at the same point. That is great. And you have lots of options. Sorry it's happened though. When you are having a rough time, that is when you want your partner to turn towards you, to rise to the challenge of supporting you in any way necessary, not to stoop to some pathetic secretive ego stroking instead. It's the utter disappointment that I found so wearing. You deserve a proper partner in life.

custardismyhamster · 06/05/2016 20:04

I have long, sometimes late night, conversations via Facebook chat with a friend of mine, who happens to be a married man. The thing is, though, our whole conversation is there to be read by his wife, she HAS read it, numerous times, usually to give me an opinion on something or because I'm asking how she is etc. It's not a secret, if it was it would be a problem.

MrsS1980 · 06/05/2016 20:04

Thinking of you Deutsch, we are all here for you.

Just as a side point, if she is appearing as a FB friend suggestion that means she has more than likely been looking at your own Facebook profile.

Offred · 06/05/2016 20:33

You don't chat to friends about your underwear and you don't generally chat to friends 15 times in 20 mins in the middle of the night either.

I think he's minimising things TBH.

If he had been all above board and was an above board person and she had started making moves on him by sending pics of her underwear then he would have distanced himself from her (correctly recognising that it was inappropriate to remain friends outside of work) and told you.

Apart from all of that I generally think people who are friends with people they work with have poor boundaries. Having poor boundaries doesn't work well in a relationship. Workmates are workmates - you either can't have a satisfying friendship because you have to remain professional at work or you start becoming unprofessional in work once you've developed a friendship.

AddToBasket · 06/05/2016 20:41

OP, you aren't obliged to do anything, you don't even need to bring it up again with him - that's your choice. You should take your time to decide how to deal with this.

These threads can be amazingly supportive. They can also move very quickly, with posters analysing everything so much faster than any OP could possibly process after years of marriage. Don't feel rushed if you need to gather your thoughts.

namechangedtoday15 · 06/05/2016 20:44

I haven't read all of the responses OP but I think you need time to rationalise this. I also think texting multiple times at 1 am is not "shutting her down" but he may have been bloody stupid, hopelessly stupid, not necessarily unfaithful. As another poster has suggested, I've been in a team where there was banter that was probably inappropriate to many but I've always come home and said to my H "you'll never guess what x said today..." or shown him texts / read them out when it's been a rude joke or whatever. The part that would bother me is its a 1:1 relationship rather than team - wide, and that you didn't know how close they were.

It's down to you (and you alone - not masses of virtual strangers) as to whether he's crossed a line that can't be undone, and your marriage is over, or not.

Pseudo341 · 06/05/2016 21:05

He's claiming you were stressed and he didn't want to bother you?! Please tell me you're not believing this. He's an utter bastard for trying to turn this around onto you.

deutschland83 · 06/05/2016 21:23

Let her look Mrs S. I couldn't give a flying monkeys about her. I've seen how cheap her 'sexy underwear' looks. She might get some style tips.

I am completely numb right now, no fit state to tie my laces let alone talk or make a decision.

Yes my hard working, family focused priorities are to blame.

OP posts:
Offred · 06/05/2016 21:24

He's being a twat.

He felt put out that you weren't giving him enough attention and went looking for it elsewhere and he still thinks it is ok to do that IMO.

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