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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

Is it ok for my bf to say this....

237 replies

Pinkypie22 · 09/02/2019 18:48

'I'm a big man. No one can tell me what to do. I behave in a way that I find acceptable. I can do what I like.'

This was in response to me saying that perhaps we wouldn't argue if he behaved in an acceptable way. (He always accuses me of arguing if ever ask a question or don't follow his Instructions).

This exchange came about because this morning he asked me to call his daughter and ask to borrow some money. The money is for him, not me. I didn't want to but I can't lend it him so reluctantly agreed. I said i would message rather than call as its less pressurusing for her. He was ok with that. Until she didn't read the message straight away so he hung up on me. He came back in a strop, snapped at me when I asked if was going to the gym. Then he left without a word. He came back a couple of hours later, barely spoke to me other that to tell me he was going to his mums because I couldn't lend him my old phone as its not charging properly. Of course he was annoyed about that roo.

After he made his 'I can do what I like' speech he stormed out the house. Having told me earlier that he won't be back until tomorrow evening, missing a family party he said he would come to.

Is this just me being over sensitive and over thinking? Or am I right to be upset at how he behaved? I've lost all perspective 😞

OP posts:
anotherwearytraveller · 09/02/2019 20:37

Darling do you really need to ask if his behaviour is acceptable?

Read you middle comment back- that list of what he does?
Does that read like a kind loving supportive partner?

Please know you deserve much MUCH better than this. He is not a decent man.

No decent human repeatedly calls someone dumb, puts them down, strops, demands and throws things at you.

Please leave him.
But get advice and help and it may not be safe to do so.
Can you go and stay with family? Will they support and help you if you ask them to?

Please do not apologise or say it’s about you etc- you have done nothing wrong. Nothing.
Just say you are leaving and don’t want to be with him anymore and to please stop contacting you.

Then seek counselling and support to work on your self esteem so you value yourself properly and don’t accept a man like this in your life ever again.

IvanaPee · 09/02/2019 20:37

I mean...read your posts back.

Japanesejazz · 09/02/2019 20:39

What is it that stops you asking him to leave?

bourbonbiccy · 09/02/2019 20:40

I would definitely make plans to get him it out of the property. Is it yours ?
He already sounds like he far too aggressive, I would also be careful how you do it with having a baby in the property ensuring the baby will be safe and he won't kick off and do something silly if you just "tell him to F off"
Do you have a support network ?

ThreadKillerSleepsInaCoil · 09/02/2019 20:40

Agree with everyone else. Yes, he's abusive, and no, he won't change.

You can keep walking on eggshells and hoping you'll please him enough so he treats you half-decently for a few days, while you get more ground down and intimidated, and let your child grow up watching that dynamic.

But he won't change, and it won't get better.

Please listen to the advice of far wiser posters than me - this is not normal, not acceptable, and not the way anyone should have to live.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, you and your child deserve so much better. Flowers

Jackshouse · 09/02/2019 20:40

You are recognising that his behaviour in not acceptable, that’s the first step of setting you and your baby out of an abusive situation.

Contact Women’s aid or local domestic abuse charity about how to leave.

flameycakes · 09/02/2019 20:41

You are not stupid!!! Many of us get taken in by idiots, I stayed 12 years on and off with one, it was hard to break away but I did, I look back and it's like I was another person living in a cage x

ThreadKillerSleepsInaCoil · 09/02/2019 20:44

You're not stupid, this is not your fault! What do you think is stopping you asking him to leave? Love? Fear? Not sure how to cope?

justthecat · 09/02/2019 20:44

You have a young baby which is WHY you shouldn’t give him any more chances

SandyY2K · 09/02/2019 20:45

Him saying you're the dumbest person he's ever met would have been when I left.

I suspect you have low self esteem to put up with that.

EvaHarknessRose · 09/02/2019 20:45

Is he a drug user or taking steroids. It's really not ok OP

Pinkypie22 · 09/02/2019 20:55

He has been a drug user but has finally sought help. Stayed away from it for nearly 3 weeks so far. Which I think is why he is still here. I'm still clinging to the hope his behaviour will dramatically improve once it's out his system

OP posts:
BayandBlonde · 09/02/2019 20:59

@Pinkypie22 he is off the drugs or steroids?

AnyFucker · 09/02/2019 20:59

You are a mug, love.

poppingoff · 09/02/2019 21:01

What age is this specimen?

Pinkypie22 · 09/02/2019 21:03

Yes he has stopped. As long as he can keep it up.

OP posts:
Pinkypie22 · 09/02/2019 21:05

He is in his 40's

OP posts:
flameycakes · 09/02/2019 21:06

40, that's his personality not drugs x

SpinneyHill · 09/02/2019 21:06

You say "I don't like it or accept it but I would like to know why you think your size is relevant"

What does he say?

SpinneyHill · 09/02/2019 21:07

Just read the drugs bit, I would take the response as a heads up to expect a relapse, he does what he wants.

ltk · 09/02/2019 21:07

I am so sorry that whatever happened to you before in life let you think for a moment that his behaviour is acceptable. It is not.

And now you have a baby, and you owe it to your child not to let them grow up thinking it is ok. Not to model that abuse to them.

You will be far, far better off without him. Please go.

BayandBlonde · 09/02/2019 21:08

@Pinkypie22 but which ones, recreational drugs or steroids.

I'm asking specifically because if he says he is off the test (steroids) but his balls haven't yet shrunk and his dick still works then he is lying to you about giving up.

Trust me, I've unfortunately been around it long enough

Japanesejazz · 09/02/2019 21:10

How old are you OP?

beingniceiscool11 · 09/02/2019 21:16

You're not blowing anything out of proportion. You're in a an abusive relationship. He is verbally abusing you, emotionally abusing you (telling you you're the dumbest person etc) shouting at you for "not doing as you're told" .....It's never ok for a man to speak to you like this, like you're a dog. I was in a relationship like this when I had a young baby and felt I was maybe "blowing things out of proportion". He has gaslighted me and psychologically torn me down so much that I doubted myself and thought maybe I was just being too sensitive. But none of this behaviour from him is normal, healthy or loving. When you step back and get perspective you will see looking back how wrong it is how he's treating you like this but he's gotten you used to it.
Read above thread in Relationships about going to a refuge with your baby. Trust me it doesn't stop at verbal abuse. Eventually he will grab you, shake you, slam doors, punch stuff around you to frighten you/let out his rage and keep you from addressing his abusive behaviour, doing scary thing to keep you walking on eggshells and "doing what he says" because you don't want to cause a fuss (ie. you think inside you can control his outbursts by doing what he says and tiptoeing around... - this is never healthy to feel this in a relationship - you deserve a normal loving relationship). My ex started exactly as you describe and it always escalates into physical - shoving, grabbing, restraining, frightening and intimidating etc - this is not healthy for your baby to be around. He eventually started doing it to my daughter as well - he couldn't contain his rage and he would grab her off me, shut me in a room, it started when I was pregnant but little things and I kept making excuses and "not wanting to blow it out of proportion" like you say. Fast forward 4 years and he has taken me to court to have joint custody of our daughter which he was awarded because there was never any record of his abusive behaviour to me because I didn't want to "blow it out of proportion". I didn't want to seem dramatic by calling the police. But I WISH TO GOD I had. Because now my beautiful and sensitive 4 year old daughter is court ordered to live with this man half the time and she says all the time that he hurts her, frightens her and shouts at her, but because he acts like the nicest guy ever in front of all teachers and social workers who had advised, they don't believe me/her. They think he's great. All because he had conditioned me into basically protecting him and thinking maybe the way he treated me was MY fault so I didn't have the confidence to do the scary thing and just report what he'd done to me and DD to the police and get it all properly recorded.
I spoke to Women's Aid but that wasn't quite enough evidence.
Believe me I know what I'm saying will sounds dramatic to you now as what you're saying is exactly how I was - in denial, new baby brain fog and very vulnerable, and you just want to keep the peace and the status quo, but it's worse to stay and say nothing and hope it will stop/get better/he will see/realise/change. Men like this never change.
I wish I had taken Mumsnetters advice on my post 4 years ago telling me to get a Non-Molestation Order, report abuse to Healthy Visitor, make plans to leave then once I was safe, make Police Report.
Now my daughter suffers because of my inaction and fear of him and him telling me I was "making a big deal out of nothing". He has eroded away your sense of what's right and wrong and he has a lot of power over you, I can tell this by what you've said. But you can and should get out of this situation immediately. Every day you stay you are in danger or his rage turning physical and you are putting your baby in an abusive home which then the baby will soak up all your stress too. Trust me. Throwing an object at someone is domestic abuse /assault too by the way, it doesn't matter that it didn't hit you. Verbal abuse is everything you described. The verbal, emotional and psychological abuse (sulking when he doesn't get his way, shouting, threatening abandonment, swearing at you, putting you down, calling you dumb, trying to GASLIGHT you - look up this phrase - to make you doubt your reality and make you think YOU'RE wrong in the head - it's all incredibly damaging long term and it will wear down your self esteem and confidence and it will limit your ability to be a calm, happy and present mother so it is hurting your baby as well.

Please please call Women's Aid phoneline 0808 2000 247 freephone 24 hour domestic violence helpline - they will not tell anyone, they will not do anything but listen and give you advice. They will be understanding and will help you see and get perspective that you are in an abusive relationship and how is acting is not normal or ok.
Then please make plans to leave for you and your baby. Please report everything you've said in this thread about the controlling (telling you to follow his instructions otherwise he shouts and swears at you) & abuse and how it is affecting you emotionally (tired, emotional etc ).

How do you think he will react if you say you'd like to separate and leave ? Likely he will get even more volatile so I would make silent plans to leave and just do it - a refuge will come pick you and the baby up whilst he is at work maybe or away this weekend. Then you can get your own life set up with the baby. And make sure you record with police his abusive behaviour so he cannot try and use the baby against you to control you anymore or try and get custody of baby to get revenge on your for leaving which is what my ex did as he couldn't handle the fact I got the courage to leave and he was terrified that I would tell people what he was really like. Take away all his power over you but informing professional people in authority who can help you and support you. If you tell ANYONE what you have said here, they will agree it is controlling and abusive. This is always a dangerous situation to be in - for your physical safety but mostly for your mental health too. Your priority needs to be you and the baby not tiptoeing around his rage.

best of luck and please please take action now xxxx

merville · 09/02/2019 21:18

If he's such a big man, why's he looking fir his daughter, his child (grown up or not) to give him money. He should be providing for himself (and towards his family, if he has one), not leeching off other people, esp his daughter. That's not what a grown up, proper 'big' man does.

More than that, if he insists on leeching off his daughter; if he's such a big man, who's he wanting you to do the asking? Why doesn't he ask himself if he's so ballsy and confident and capable.

Cause he's not a big man, he's full of shit, he's like a little fkg boy, looking to others to support him and making others ask favours on his behalf.

And that's not even getting onto the rest of your description, which is seriously abusive.

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