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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

This is loving and caring, right?

231 replies

nataliehere · 30/07/2017 14:28

Hello . I am not sure why i make such a fuss out of something like that. DP of 3 years keeps saying to me that when we live together he wants me to be always near him (we live couple of hours apart now) , wherever he goes he wants me to be there and if he could take me to work(he cant) he would take me there too. This is a sweet and loving thing right? Somehow it gives me negative feelings but i think i am overreacting?

OP posts:
NurseButtercup · 30/07/2017 22:14

Please don't feel silly or embarrassed, I'm relieved that you found this forum to ask for help. I didn't know about this forum when I was trying to leave my ex and I lived in fear.

What Goldmandra listed is spot on, I know because all of what you said happened to me...followed by what Goldmandra listed.

Please Please leave this man, he's convinced you that his behaviour is love, it isn't it's control and you're his possession.

Leaving him won't be easy he'll threaten to end his life, he'll bombard you with declarations of love via text/WhatsApp/email. And when it doesn't work he'll step up his behaviour and become aggressive. Please tell your friends in real life for support and don't be afraid to call the police.

Good luck and keep posting on here for support. Lot's of women here to support you that have escaped from similar and worse situations.

KarmaNoMore · 30/07/2017 22:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

defaulttodippy · 30/07/2017 22:17

I think you know it's not right. But he has already done a good job on you and you are being controlled by him and are frightened of him.

I have been there OP and it's very confusing and disorientating .
That's all part if their plan too. After a while you will be totally centred around getting home to phone him 'at the correct time ', doing things to keep the peace and keeping him sweet so that he's not displeased with you.
He is not going to let you go easily though. Don't be talked out of it by him . He does not love you more than anyone else. He does not want the best for you.It will be all talk.

When you finish it-prepare yourself for him to turn up unannounced at your home and work. Be bombarded with emails,texts calls etc. He may threaten suicide , or the old'if I can't have you nobody will' threats. Gather your friends and family around you .Tell them what he's like. As others have said - take advice from Women's Aid.
He is actually a coward with self esteem issues, but is most powerful when nobody knows how he behaves.

I know it is a big step and it all feels too much to face into - but please, please end it and look after yourself.
You deserve so much more than him. Good luck OP .x

defaulttodippy · 30/07/2017 22:19

X post with NurseButtercup - OP we know how this pans out.

Spookle · 30/07/2017 22:26

Run OP. And whatever you do don't get pregnant. Good luck.

KarmaNoMore · 30/07/2017 22:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsMozart · 30/07/2017 22:28

Controlling.

Either talk and explain that's not how it will be, or run.

Henrythehoover · 30/07/2017 22:36

Get out my relationship with ex of 10yrs started off like this and it just got worse. To the point he woke me up to ask why I had rolled away from him. He was jealous of our children getting my attention and couldn't cope with me doing anything that didn't evolve him. It was smothering and if it wasn't for the lovely people on here I would never have had the strength to get away.

Gingerandgivingzerofucks · 30/07/2017 23:15

He wants you to go to sleep because he is, even though you're not in the same house? Controlling, horrific, run. Can you imagine trying to have a social life without him? Run, mate, far and quick.

TatterdemalionAspie · 30/07/2017 23:34

Good grief, this couldn't be any more chillingly textbook creepy if you sat down and wrote an account of how controlling abusers start out training their women. Hmm

Natalie, assuming you're not new to mumsnet, how have you been here and reading for a while without realising how fucked up this kind of behaviour is?? Or maybe that's why you're feeling (totally rightly) uneasy)? Please get the hell away from this relationship before you are mired even deeper in this claustrophobic and dangerous dynamic.

jumpinguphigh2 · 30/07/2017 23:41

God help you, you have to get away from this man. Run, very very fast. I can't tell you how messed up this is. How are you feeling now you know you're in a relationship with a fucking nightmare?

threedayrule · 31/07/2017 00:14

Please end this now for your own sanity and safety. You deserve more and there's no happy ending with a guy who behaves like this.

ClemDanfango · 31/07/2017 00:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ClemDanfango · 31/07/2017 00:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SandyY2K · 31/07/2017 01:39

Just thank your lucky stars you aren't married to him.

This is the very character that is so possessive you'll end up loosing all memories of the person you are.

You'll become a shadow of your former self if you stay with him.

He's the person who eventually explodes in a jealous rage and gets violent, because he can't control himself.

This nonsense of sleeping together is creepy.

After you hang up, you should do whatever you need to around your home.

The more you post, the worse he sounds.

Be careful when ending this kind of relationship, as that's when they can get worse.

For your own safety, end on a good note and then go total no contact with him.

Goldmandra · 31/07/2017 09:07

Then he apologizes and makes me feel bad if i try to talk about what happened

Even if we arent together in the same house he wants me to go to sleep and he wants me to have the phone while i go to bed because "its very sweet to sleep together"

And he always says that he does way more than i do and i make minimal effort As no matter what i do it is never good enough or worthy

So he is already wanting to control every moment of your life, even when you aren't physically together.

He uses emotional blackmail to prevent you from expressing your own feelings or needs.

He is brainwashing you into believing that the fault is with you, not him and how he treats you is more than you deserve.

The more you write, the clearer it is that he is destroying your self esteem. This is a deliberate strategy to make you believe that you cannot end the relationship.

Look again at the list I posted earlier in the thread:

*I want to know exactly where you are when I can't see you.

*I don't want you to talk to other men just in case one of them fancies you. They can't be trusted.

*You don't need to spend time with your friends or families because they aren't good enough for you. I am all you need.

*You aren't great with managing money so I will handle all of our finances.

*I've lost the second house key so I'll just lock the door when I go out. You shouldn't need to go anywhere anyway.

*You telling me that you don't like how I treat you hurts my feelings. I'm only doing what's best for you.

*It's your fault that I hurt you because you made me angry.

*I didn't rape you. I could tell you wanted sex really. It's your fault for teasing me.

How many more of these behaviours do you need to experience before you walk away from him?

This man does not love you. He loves being able to control you and he is prepared to destroy you to make sure he can continue to do so.

Please walk away now.

You deserve so much better than this. You really do.

The few tiny good bits where he treats you nicely are part of the manipulation. Stop thinking that there will be more good bits in the future. There won't and no good bits are worth the bad that he is putting you through now or the worse that is in store for you if you stay.

Once you have walked away, write a list of all the things he has done that are good reasons not to go back and stick it on your bedroom wall. Read it when you wobble and he is pretending that he is devastated, can't live without you, loves you more than life itself, is sorry for how he treated you and will never do it again.

One day, you will look at that list and realise that every single thing on it was a reason to walk away.

Once you are free of this man, the only regret you will have is that you didn't do it sooner.

Remember:

YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS

Flowers
WhateverNameIsStillAvailable · 31/07/2017 09:10

What would happen if you just went to mow the lawn instead of sleeping on the phone? 😫😑

rainbowlou · 31/07/2017 09:51

I was in a relationship exactly like this and wish I'd got out a lot sooner than I did.
He would wake me up in the middle of the night to 'talk' (accuse me of stuff) if I dared to fall asleep I didn't love him and I had something's to hide.
He followed me to work, I was a care assistant and he waited outside everyone's house.
He deleted any phone number off my phone that he didn't want on there (to protect me)
If I planned to go out, he had always planned a surprise for me on the same night.
He turned up outside my work and when I said I couldn't come outside, he would say he had bought me a present and just wanted to show me how much he loved me.
He told me most girls would love to be in my shoes and be with someone as caring as him.

There is so much more and I could go on and on and on!! This was years ago and is has still affected me, he is still asking around after me, where I live etc, telling people I was the one that got away-thank god I did!

Please, please don't feel stupid but put yourself first and leave this relationship, you have one life make yours a happy one you deserve x

hellsbellsmelons · 31/07/2017 10:08

Block, ignore, delete.
End this right now.
He's a controlling, abusive, nasty nasty man.

Please call Womens Aid 0808 2000 247
Ask them about their Freedom Programme and get yourself booked onto a course as soon as you can.
You need avoid these types of men in future and get your boundaries set.

Until then though ensure you keep him away from you.

nataliehere · 31/07/2017 10:32

Thank you all again for the replies. I dont know why i ignored the way i felt for so long and i convinced myself that this is loving . I tried to see the situation as if it was happening to someone else and its definitely controlling and as you describing it . However his persistence that he loves me and i am the one that loves him less and doesnt do as much as he does it makes me feel guilty even when logic says i shouldn't. I know this is for me to resolve i just dont know how. Maybe as you suggested women's aids can help

OP posts:
MrsMozart · 31/07/2017 10:39

You've been conditioned to think that way and have those feelings. It's something you might need help breaking out of that way of thinking.

nataliehere · 31/07/2017 10:42

@Goldmandra Thank you for the replies and the list. Its scary because many things of that list already happening . He doesnt want me to talk to other men and if i do it has to be for few minutes only. He gets very angry very easy very often , many times i dont even know what the problem is. When he does its always my fault ,i made him do it. Few weeks ago he broke his phone because i upset him and then blamed me for it. He still does but "he realises i love him and he forgives me". When i try to reply to him or bring up something that bothers me he says that i hurt him and i need to stop or he gives me "5 minutes" to talk but he doesnt really listen.
Its overwhelming the amount of reality that hits me when i write and re read all that

OP posts:
temporarilyjerry · 31/07/2017 10:42

Natalie, you keep saying you don't know what to do/ how to resolve this. You cannot change him. Please finish this relationship and stay away from him.

KatharinaRosalie · 31/07/2017 10:47

I know this is for me to resolve i just dont know how

You really, really should leave. But I know it's not easy, I've been there and mine was even more clever, he had convinced me I was in a totally happy relationship. I would have never left him (luckily he got bored of me himself, but I can't promise yours will as well. They usually don't). My relationship was brief, more than 10 years ago and it still affects me. Please get out.

Oh and I'm now married to a lovely man. We have a loving, caring, trusting relationship without any of the mindfuckery.

Lweji · 31/07/2017 10:47

I know this is for me to resolve i just dont know how.

You don't live together. Just phone him or text him and say that it's over.

If he goes around and pesters you, it becomes a police matter.