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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:
babygoose48 · 13/09/2018 13:48

I don’t iron myself never mind his haha! No he will iron his own work shirts when he needs them but when it comes to me no effort at all.

He bagged about washin before and I’ve come home to find that he put a wash on put he only washed all of his own shirts, and left them in the washer probably full well knowing I will have to sort them out if I wanted to use the washer myself Hmm which is how the ‘10 shirts on the stairs for 10 days’ situation came about.

You may be right there’s no point in playing him at his own game as hell just continue to do what he’s doing anyway. He has no motivation here whatsoever and I see it in his other life choices as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s unhappy with me but ant be arsed leaving himself, there’s a thought!

OP posts:
0hCrepe · 13/09/2018 13:48

I’d be straight out of there. He will not change. Not for longer than a couple of days anyway if he thinks it’s over.

Prettyvase · 13/09/2018 14:02

I'm glad your head has cleared on this.

Kindness and thoughtfulness goes both ways in a loving relationship op. This clearly is not.

Well done for putting yourself and your DC first. You don't need drag, negativity and toxic, selfish people in your life and so until he leaves DO NOTHING for him.

He's like a pig with his dirty snout in the bottom of the trough where he has dragged you.

Continue to demand he does things for you though as sweetly as you can hahaha!! Just to redress the balance a bit before he oinks off for good.

subspace · 13/09/2018 14:09

He won't change darling. "Best" case scenario he farts about a bit and is soon back to his ways.

And your behaviour is your responsibility. His behaviour is HIS responsibility, nobody else's. None of this bollocks about you made him do anything, he is an adult with full control over his personal actions and how he responds to the world and people around him.

sparklepops123 · 13/09/2018 14:31

If he (or when) tries to twist things back on you and if you doubt yourself, reread this thread. Now we can't ALL be wrong can we ?

combatbarbie · 13/09/2018 14:44

I may have missed it but can you afford that place on your own if tax credits etc were restarted?

babygoose48 · 13/09/2018 15:04

Yeah I went for a place that I would be able to afford on my own in case things went to shit knowing his pas issues with letting me down with money. But now they have stopped I think it will go over to Universal credit rather than just simply restarting tax creds - which has taken up to two months in some of my friends situations... I will struggle with that with my DDs bday and Xmas coming up etc. Stuff to sort of my car and the likes.

I just want to be as smart as possible about this, seeing as I clearly owe myself after all of this to be smart once in a while hahah.

OP posts:
Doingreat · 13/09/2018 17:20

Don't do anything for him op. Put his dirty clothes and towels in black binliners and put to a side. Let it fester.
If he doesn't take clothes out of the washing machine after the washing cycle is complete, take them out, sling in binliners and let them fester. When be runs out of clean clothes and finds dirty/mouldy/smelly clothes he will learn.

moonfacebaby · 13/09/2018 20:26

Reminds me of my exH - the day he finally left, I came into the living room to find my toddler running round, with something on her head. It was his dirty boxer shorts (he had a habit of leaving them on the living room or kitchen floor).

I felt so much relief that the (cheating) twat was finally going.

He was also passive aggressive, used to leave the washing up in the sink & claim that he would do it later. Never got done.

The best part was him having an affair - I made him do it apparently as I was a shit wife...

Honestly, you will be fine. I can understand you wanting to get yourself prepared - you’ll be free of him very soon & life will improve enormously....

BumbleeBeeMe · 14/09/2018 07:06

How are you doing op?

SporadicSpartacus · 14/09/2018 07:32

Nothing more to add that hasn’t already been said - just sending you best wishes for getting out and doing so smartly. Good on you.

Iwantmore123 · 14/09/2018 07:56

He's just a cunt.
Go.

Harrykanesrightsock · 14/09/2018 08:10

Keep posting OP. Planning is key and lots of people give such good advice in these situations.

Nicknamesalltaken · 14/09/2018 08:17

Ring tax credits today and get the forms.

Cagliostro · 14/09/2018 08:21

I can understand why you want to get your ducks in a row given what you’ve gone through. Just disengage from him as much as possible while you do that 💐

justilou1 · 14/09/2018 08:58

Please put his shirts on the floor straight out of the washer and sort your’s & DD’s own washing out. He’s making statements like that, so it’s okay for you to follow suit.

babygoose48 · 14/09/2018 10:53

Hey I’m okay guys. Feel so much better and heads more clearer for getting out all our in the open. Your comments have helped put things in to perspective too.

Came home late last night and he’s had the day off work because he was ill... turns out he was down in the dumps he’d been on the couch all day in a sulk.

In a mood at me because I was distant the night before and he didn’t see me.

I asked him if he thought he was depressed and he said a bit yeah. I said do you not think that is serious?

He said no.

I said considering it is not affecting me and my life and my DD’s it’s serious yes.

He said ‘it will sort itself out’.

Proper pity part last night. Told him to pull his act together and I’ll be here if he needs to talk (not fight) about what he is going through but I didn’t sign up to be someone’s punchbag and have all this burden on me from housework and the rest of it as it’s unnacceptable. He just said ‘right’ and then came up to bed an hour later and said sorry about before.

I’ve gotten a list down of all my financial tasks I’m going to go through in the next week or two.

And I’m listening to podcasts and reading books to get myself in the mood for the next exciting chapter of a life of learning to let go and get back to the strong independent worthy woman I was before all this mess.

OP posts:
Ooforfoxsakeridesagain · 14/09/2018 10:58

And so it begins: feel sorry for him, you can take His emotional well being on as yours too.

What will happen if you don’t pls his game? My money is on him getting angry at how unreasonable you are.

justilou1 · 14/09/2018 11:17

I’m proud of you for establishing these boundaries. Once you start to do this, you will realise that you deserve to be treated better than this and it is actually quite easy to speak up for yourself. This will begin to happen in all other areas of your life too - and you will be proud of the example you are setting for DD! Well done, OP! Don’t let this drip walk all over you! Depression is never an excuse for treating others badly!

babygoose48 · 14/09/2018 11:18

Yeah he’s done that before. I’m a compassionate and empathetic person so will often still be supportive in the eye of unreason.

Of course because of my mental health he has been there for me when things have gotten bad. I feel a bit trapped like I need to be there for him now. It works - I do feel bad.

Lasts time we broke up it was because he lied to my face about a loan, and then when he admitted it and apologised after about two hours of saying it was nothing to do with him, I found out the next morning about three more loans and debts he’d kept from me.

I broke up with him instantly.

He was mad and we didn’t speak for 6 months.

When we got back together he told me he understood completely and grovelled and said he admired me for breaking up with him and that he was in the wrong.

It took a month or so of being back together for him to drop the ‘yeah but when I was going through a hard time with money you weren’t that supportive was you’

Fuck off.

I don’t think there will ever be a voice of reason that will be in his language of understanding ever. 6 months to take the blame and then to push that blame on me again afterwards. He will be able to do x,y,z whatever but he will always have an excuse for his behaviour.

This whole break up will be and will always be my fault in his eyes and hell keep the anger there the rest of his life because he’s too stubborn to admit that he is at fault.

OP posts:
babygoose48 · 14/09/2018 11:20

He already admitted to me when he was drunk at the weekend that I am always right and he knows it, but he hates that I am.

OP posts:
RabbitsAreTasty · 14/09/2018 13:54

I think you have more than paid him back for supporting you when you had MH problems.

Did he do as much practically for you then as you do for him now?

Did you do anything horrific like taking out loans and lying?

I wonder if your memory of how great he was is a bit fucked up.

RabbitsAreTasty · 14/09/2018 13:58

You've been a good tenant, right? The landlords won't want to lose you. Getting new tenants is a pita.

RabbitsAreTasty · 14/09/2018 14:02

How much housework did he do on his poor-me day off?

PourMeAnotherOne · 14/09/2018 14:16

I could not stand one more day of living with such a useless, inconsiderate cunt like that. What on earth does he bring to your life? How do you have any respect for him? How can you stand to have sex with him?

Fuck him off. Immediately. You'd be less lonely alone than you are with a deadweight prick like that.

Good luck and don't look back xx

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