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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

Advice needed - being taken for an absolute mug.

229 replies

babygoose48 · 12/09/2018 21:25

Hi,

Typical 'I do too much and he's too lazy' kind of post.

Long story short I have been with my OH for 4 years now, but have recently moved in together jointly (only renting). I have a DD from a previous relationship, and it was just the two of us in our home before now (with him sleeping over occasionally - we had a long distance thing for a while). We decided to find a place together, me and DD moved in with my mum whilst we saved for a deposit etc.

He's the laziest bastard I've ever known in my life.

I knew this before we moved in together, but thought it could have been forgiven and worked upon. He's 27 and has lived with him mum up until now. He is terrible with money (seriously bad, we have split up before due to his lies about countless debts, and cutting me short for consecutive months with rent in the past etc). She did everything for him, the cooking, changing his bedding, washing his clothes etc. he is extremely messy too, would often leave crap lying around everywhere for his mum to pick up. I told him countless times not to expect that from me when we moved in properly (I'm generally very tidy and always on my feet), and of course he was like 'no babe, our home is going to be well clean'.

What an absolute pig sty our home is due to his mess. His shit is everywhere. His dirty clothes he just leaves all over the floor in the bedroom, on his side of the bed you cannot see the carpet. Shoes, crisp packets, empty water bottles, plastic bags with bits of shopping in he doesn't think to empty? We both work full time. Every weekend I sped most of it going over the living room, kitchen and bathroom making sure it is spotless. I cook close to every night but he never has the incentive to, never offers. We have a 'system' where if one cooks, the other washes up. I have told him so many times that I cant stand dirty plates in the sink with food on being left over night. Not only because its gross, but because if it is his turn to wash, he will leave it for me and i am ALWAYS the one to pick up the mess and wash the pots the next day, They literally will be sat there moulding until I give in and wash them. he knows how I'm important it is for me that he helps out with this, but about twice per week (usually after me scrubbing the kitchen and making sure its nice and clean) he will leave this pots for me. The amount of arguments we have had where he gets angry and refuses to do them because he thinks by him doing them 'i am getting my own way' is just absurd. I think its fair. If I am getting home and cooking every night after work (we both work full time), and he is sat there watching tv... then he leave his job to wash the pots for me in the morning... how is that fair on me? He doesn't see this logic and continues to do it. He leave a wet towel on my side of the bed every morning, even after continuously telling him can he kindly not do that. He says okay and then does it anyway...knowing that I cant just leave it and I end up picking after him, as well am my child, like i have a son! We moved in almost 3 months ago and wardrobes have not been built still because he's waiting for me to spend MY weekend doing it all and clearly sees it as my job. I miss the recycling day ONCE in three months and it still doesn't get taken out because he sees it as MY responsibility. I miss a bedding wash at the weekend (because I'm too busy catching up with three peoples washing) and it doesn't get done for another week, because he doesn't have the incentive to do it = MY responsibility... you get the gist.

Anyway, its gotten to the point now where I'm not getting any help during the week and I am compromising my time with my daughter because I'm having to sit her on the couch and scrub the house down. My OH doesn't really take any responsibility with my DD, which is fair enough as her dad has her half the week, but what he doesn't realise is that not only do I work full time, I am attending to her as well. School uniforms, school runs, tidying her bedroom, parties, bathing, cooking, taking her out at the weekends etc. I have this huge responsibility and he doesnt, but still he doesnt even think to help out more when it comes to the home. I have begged him, sat down with him weekly, I have cried, I have been so run down and tired as i feel I cant rest at the weekends with no help and he has always just said 'right' and 'ill do it tomorrow' and it NEVER gets done. On his days off he will purposely make an excuse to leave the house (he often goes back to his mums 45 mins away and stays there for a few hours) and then I come home and nothing has been done regarding the house and other bits and lo and behold he 'didn't have the time...'

I am planning on leaving him (not just because of his laziness, but he has been very emotionally manipulating and hurtful lately, and has continuously lied about money etc) but I feel I need to get my stuff together and plan more before I do. I have realised that marrying him and god forbid having another child will be a life sentence for me. In the mean time, if talking to him won't help, what do i do to get him to help out a bit more?!

We had a talk last night because i'd cleaned the bathroom at the weekend and I told him not to leave anything on the bathroom floor (to make matters worse on the cleaning front he got blazing drunk the night before at a wedding, knowing I had my DD on sunday and stayed in bed until 7pm). He leaves his boxers there every single morning for me topic up at night, its an ongoing battle. Last week I stopped doing it, and it got to three pairs of dirty boxers before i gave in. He told me he would Tonight, I came home and found he'd not put them on the bathroom floor, but just left them on top of the friggin landing instead!!! And there was a dirty bowl in the sink, again!

I thought, right if we expects me to do all these things, I just will not do them. he has got to the point where he obviously expects me to cook, so tonight I though right ill sit down with a glass of wine and expect him to cook instead. He came home at 7pm and asked really sheepish 'have you had some dinner yet?'

I said no, and continued drinking my wine. Then I told him I was going to bed to watch my own tv programme (he was probably half expecting me to go in the kitchen and ask what he fancied).

It took him until 8.50pm this evening to go 'do you want anything banging in the oven?'

I went 'oooh, actually yes...' I thought for a moment and he went really sharp 'come on hurry up I'm not messing about'.

Then he came up and went 'you need to come down in 20 mins to sort your tea out when they are cooked...'

I said 'oh, can you not just pop my burgers in some bread? and erm, some tomatoes? oh and a bit of ketchup please...?'

He went 'right' but he clearly wasnt happy.

i might just eat and leave the plate in the sink until tomorrow see if he likes it.

So sorry for the rant I'm just up to my ears with it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

OP posts:
meowimacat · 13/09/2018 09:42

You guys are incompatible and honestly you are now bitter towards him and falling out of love with him. The staying til after Xmas part makes me sad as I remember for 4 YEARS I stayed with my ex and every new year I remember being miserable and saying 'this is the year I leave.' I finally did over a year ago and have never been happier. I love having my own space. I love someone not getting mad at me for doing things their way.
There is never an ideal time to leave. After Xmas it'll come up to Valentines day, and you'll not want to be alone then. There will always be an excuse. If you're miserable and he's not going to change, then you need to walk away or accept this is your life forever.

Nicknamesalltaken · 13/09/2018 09:45

He will either say ‘fuck you’ and flounce off back to his mum’s.

Or

He will up his game to appease you, wait for you to think ‘ahh he’s not so bad’ and then return to being a twat.

Fingers crossed it’s the first.

DontCallMeDaisy · 13/09/2018 09:54

I don't understand why you aren't either sending him back to his mums and starting a new claim to cover his rent or going back to your mums and starting a new claim to cover your half of the rent for the next 3 months.

It sounds like you won't be much worse off financially and I bet you any more your DD would rather have a slightly more frugal Christmas and birthday and have her mum back then stay living with this dickhead. Honestly OP, do you know if she even likes him? She will have noticed how stressed you are.

Like I said, I don't understand why you are not taking any of those actions. People keep asking and you keep ignoring the question. What are these other things that are going on right now that are preventing you from leaving? Forget the cleaning for a minute, what is going on?

AgentJohnson · 13/09/2018 10:16

Oh FFS! You slept walked right into this one. If you can, go back to your Mum’s and start saving. There really is no point in prolonging this charade by playing games or waiting for him to be different.

You made a mistake, we all do but don’t compound it by staying.

fieryginger · 13/09/2018 10:22

All the things I'd suggest you do - you have done.

He will never change. Your relationship doesn't sound fun, especially with the arguing and him lying.

Good luck op, you deserve better than this.

WickedLazy · 13/09/2018 10:37

You need this send this man child back to his mummy, you'd be better off being a single parent to one child again, instead of two. Not fair you can't spend the time you want with your daughter, because this selfish, lazy dickhead treats your home like a hotel and you like a maid.

WickedLazy · 13/09/2018 10:41

*need to

sparklepops123 · 13/09/2018 10:45

Don't wait til after Christmas to get rid he's not going to get any better and then at least you'll look forward to Christmas. Send him back to his mother, she brought him up so it's only fair she gets him back

stoneriverpuddle · 13/09/2018 10:53

Can't you move back to your mums?

Butterymuffin · 13/09/2018 11:04

What is the lease length and do you want to stay in this place or not?
Depending on the answers, tell him it's over and either that he has to move back to his mum's or that you're going back to yours. Don't drag it out. It won't be a nice Christmas for your DD.

WickedLazy · 13/09/2018 11:05

"You would have to be extremely wealthy to afford the level of service you provide op. And you do it for free. Marvellous for him isn't it?!"

^Keep this in mind. And this.

"Utterly depressing that being female renders you the fucking servant I don't think so!"

His mother might not want him back, now she's lived without him, (tidying up after him sounds like a pt job in itself, never mind dealing with his lazy, selfish, passive aggressive attitude). That's not your problem. He'll either always find a woman to look after him and carry the mental load, his house will be a filfthy mess, or maybe he'll crack and hire a cleaner. If he were a guest in someone else's home, would he leave his shit lying about like this? You sound like you don't love him anymore, so why keep living like this? At the least start piling everything he leaves at his arse, rubbish, laundry, everything in a bin bag. When that bag's full, tell him if you fill another bag after this, you'll start sending them to his mothers for her to keep until he goes through them, as you've no room or time for his shit, bad enough you had to lift it all, never mind sorting it too.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 13/09/2018 11:23

Hand your notice in now. Move back to your Mum's and ditch this pathetic man child.

Why waste energy playing revenge games? Just quit it, tell him why and go.

AltheaorDonna · 13/09/2018 12:00

Get rid of this lazy disrespectful shit bag asap, please don’t wait until Xmas. God, reading this makes me so angry for you, how can you think for one second this is normal? He won’t change, he will just look for another slave or crawl back to mummy. Save yourself and don’t waste any more time on him.

babygoose48 · 13/09/2018 12:09

Yeah I think you all need a bit of background story in this one.

I’m not well at the moment, (I have bipolar disorder) and I’ve been slipping a bit as going for it unmedicated this year it’s been tough. I understand that a split is going to be really really hard to deal with for me. We broke up last year (money lies!) and I struggled terribly with it. I just want to make sure I’m safe and cushioned and make it as easy as possible as I have some money worries and I don’t want to head in to some life where I haven’t planned ahead first.

The contract is a worry for me, as it’s joint names but I know the estate agents will have to reassess as they rejected my wage based on my bad credit (more due to a lack of credit) and a ccj that’s under dispute at the moment but still on my credit file. I’ve had a terrible year with all this mess, so I’m the process of fixing it. The estate agents will charge to get the contract in my name, and I don’t want the landlord to not renew it at that 6 months based on this. It was hard enough to get a place in the first place. I love it there. It won’t be me and my DD leaving.

As for moving to my mums it’s not an option. We’ve also been through a mini hell with a family member (who lives with my mum) being arrested for videoing underage girls. I’ve been through the trauma with my family and obviously having my DD and needing to get out and get social services involved (she’s okay by the way :) ). Please no comments on this as I have found it really hard and difficult to deal with and it’s stull painful to talk about.

It’s been a hard year, and I want to make sure I have my security net and my plans before I leave.

I know he sounds like a right pig and right now I’m so fed up as angry with him but I do still love him and we have been through a lot. Besides his behaviour attitude and downright laziness I have still have a lot of aspects of the relationships where I have been happy and I’m trying to process that i obviously can’t continue this anymore. Guys I’m devastated.

i know it’s the right thing to do though.

OP posts:
peekyboo · 13/09/2018 12:36

Living on your own is the best way to improve your mental health. You'd not be at risk by being at your mother's and you'd not have him hanging about, creating mental and emotional havoc.

Kick him out, go back to dating if you must. Live alone, be yourself, recover and never have to worry about mouldy dishes again.

handslikecowstits · 13/09/2018 12:40

OP,

  1. You've become his mother. You know that don't you?

2.Your mental health will improve immeasurably once you get rid of this tubular bellend.

pickingdaisies · 13/09/2018 12:52

Ok that explains a few things, as I was reading I started wondering if a tidy house is particularly important to you, it seems to provide you with an element of control. So your bf is now endangering your health. Your home is becoming a prison. He's trapped you financially, and you are trapping yourself with all the cleaning up after him. He knows this, he's playing you to keep you doing it.
Step 1, don't clean up after him. Bin bags as others have said.
That will hopefully give you a little time and head space to plan your (his) exit.

piscis · 13/09/2018 13:08

When he leaves his stuff on the floor, just throw it away. Seriously. Bin

I would totally do this.

Also, do not cook for him. Cook for you and your daughter.
And do not wash your clothes.

He will then start to do something.

TheLastNigel · 13/09/2018 13:28

Just stop doing anything for him at all until you can move out.
If he leaves stuff lying around chuck if out or let it pile up. He won't change but don't run yourself ragged continuing to do stuff for him.
I would just take dd and go back to my mums until the tenancy expires we're I you...I couldn't live like it.

Mitzimaybe · 13/09/2018 13:29

Oh OP what a tough time you've had and are having. I'm glad that you've posted here and can see that it's not you, it's him.

You need to stop thinking of it as "helping more" and realise all you want is for him to "do his share". He's tired when he comes home from work and just wants to relax? Diddums! When do you get to relax? Never. One person only gets personal down-time if they facilitate the other person having the same at another time.

There are lots of good suggestions on this thread. I would definitely give him a final warning over certain things e.g. boxers left in the bathroom for over 24 hrs are going in the bin - and do it. Don't threaten and then not carry through. He has to know that you mean it. Don't cave. You can do this.

TheLastNigel · 13/09/2018 13:30

Sorry-just saw the update....
Have you asked him to leave at all?

subspace · 13/09/2018 13:33

I think there a point where clean and tidy becomes neurotic - to me, personally, the odd pair of socks, glass or beer bottle is not a thing to stress over, but obviously this is much more and much worse than those things.

I wouldn't throw his things out. I would absolutely pile them onto his side of the bed/the floor, in bin bags if you like. You really will have to steel yourself to wait this out as if you last for 3 days then crack and do it anyway that's how long he knows he will leave it for in future. I'm thinking you probably want to buy a pair of rubber gloves/tongs to deal with grotty shit of his. And obviously the sight/smell of it all puts you right off nookie.

Do you iron your own things? Because many couples I know the only person who has stuff to iron is the man, who wears shirts to work. If that's the case for you then absolutely don't iron his shirts. If a pile of shirts to iron is going to build up, let them build up in the spare room or somewhere you won't go mad looking at them. Same with everything else, pick your battles, make it a way you can live with it for as long as it takes, and crack the neck on with your life.

MiggledyHiggins · 13/09/2018 13:37

www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-fray/she-divorced-me-i-left-dishes-by-the-sink_b_9055288.html?guccounter=1

Worth a read OP.

Seriously, I'd send him back to his mothers if I were you. She might be delighted that he's finally found another mug to take over from her though so may not want him back!

I can't imagine that you are still shagging him as I know my minge would clamp shut at the idea of shagging a asshole man-baby like this but if you are, stop any forms of intimacy.

There's no point in playing games with him over wet towels or whatever, he will beat you at the game and grind you down even more. He will grind you down because he genuinely does not care about the dishes or laundry being done. But you do. And that's where he's got you stressing out and affecting your health by doing so.

Ask him to move and if he doesn't, keep everything separate from laundry to food until he gives up.

babygoose48 · 13/09/2018 13:43

I think after reading this I’m going to go home tonight, tell him how absolutely unhappy I am in this relationship and say if you don’t start picking things up I’m going to bag all his stuff and leave it there. I know that will piss him off though and I don’t want anymore abuse off him.

The girls at work are going to help with looking in to this house contract thing just so I know what to expect, and in the meantime I’m looking in to contacting credit union just so I can pay off what I need to pay off and then I won’t have to worry about money as much.

It’s really opened my eyes the responses on this thread, but he sees his way around it every time and has a really horrible habit of either finding an excuse or blaming me for his behaviours. It’s hard to see through the smoke when he does this, I think that’s why it’s taken me so long to have a solid idea of what’s actually going on in front of my eyes. I can’t explain it fully just an absolute messed up backwards situation. How did I let it get this bad I feel so awful over it all. Sad

I’m mentally bracing myself for live alone again but I just feel grateful that at least there’s no divorce or we didn’t buy or have kids together.

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 13/09/2018 13:47

You indeed know its the right thing to do here by ending this relationship with this man.

I think you have confused love here with codependency. You have been through a lot to date but he is simply riding your coat tails and using your fragile mental state against you. Will you consider medication for your bipolar?. Its not something you can tackle on your own and without proper based outside help.