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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

How should I approach this conversation? Really need some guidance!

137 replies

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 08:04

Morning wise people of MN. I need your guidance... It's probably over long for the question but didn't want to drip feed and wanted to give a full picture for clarity.

In January, I met a man. Prior to that, I have been single for around 5 years or so.

I feel I'm ready for, and deserve, a loving, loyal, long lasting relationship with someone and everything about this man and how we are together has suggested that he has the potential to be that someone.

Which brings me to the 'problem'.

He divorced a few years ago. He subsequently had another relationship which ended around last summer. He told me they were still friends on fb after the breakup but didn't have any contact with each other otherwise. Then in March, he told me that she'd contacted him saying that she'd like to give the relationship another go. He said that he'd met someone else, was really happy and had no interest in doing so and he told me that he'd deleted her contact details on his phone and unfriended her on fb. All good so far? I said that it sounded like 'unfriending' was probably the best option. No drama.

Except that, the last time I saw him, he was sitting next to me scrolling through down a list of names on fb that I assume was his friend list (his friends list is set to private) - and her name came up. Or at least I think it was her name.

I only know her first name. It's not unusual but it's not common either. So when I saw it, I did wonder, but didn't say anything. I'm not too proud to say that I did a bit of 'looking' when I got home and he had tagged her in posts during the time they would have been together but there has been no activity since they split up - he posts so rarely this I only went back about 25 posts!

So it appears to me that he told me he had unfriended her and deleted her contact details but hadn't actually done so. I want to speak to him about it but I don't know how to broach it. If it is her, then I will end it with him. Not because he is fb friends with his exgf, but because he will have lied to me about it after telling me that she would like to get back together with him.

But because his friends list is private, it will be obvious I have seen her name on his list over his shoulder and then turned into Columbo.

But I don't know what to say to him. I feel I need some guidance because, left to my own devices, I'll just be really blunt to the point where, if I am wrong, I'll have ruined it anyway.

But I don't think I am.

TL;DR - it appears that boyfriend is still friends with his ex gf despite telling me he'd unfriended her after she asked to rekindle the relationship whilst we were together. If this is the case, then he has lied to me. His friend list is private so I'd only know by 'snooping'. Lying is a dealbreaker. How to I bring it up?

OP posts:
FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 17:08

He may at the very least be enjoying attention from his ex and wanting to keep her hopes up.

Sad
OP posts:
FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 17:09

Fizzysours

I will chat to him about it. Thanks for all your advice and wise words!

OP posts:
Binting · 11/05/2019 17:18

He may have set his friends list to private so that ex’s (or whoever) didn’t see you? FB is such a funny place and can cause so much drama and fallouts. I would speak to him about it and go from there. I really hope it’s something that can be sorted OP.

Fizzysours · 11/05/2019 17:23

Yes but I would agree with the OP that that in itself is a hint that he is revelling in the attention of the ex (best case) or keeping her on the back burner so I understand OP's point of view on this...

yearinyearout · 11/05/2019 17:31

Hold on...I might be missing something but you mention that he has two accounts, one of which he doesn't use now. Is it possible he deleted her from one and not the other?
Also, you say he hid the list. He may have had it always set to private since he joined fb, when you set up an account it takes you through loads of privacy options. Therefore that may not have been a deliberate ploy to keep it from you.

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 17:33

Oh god, I've just thought of something else.

I messaged him earlier in the week telling him I wanted to talk to him about something. It was something completely different and entirely unrelated but he was really worried before we spoke. Beforehand, he kept asking if 'we' were ok and he hoped he hadn't done anything to 'mess things up'. He said he was happy to answer any and all questions about anything.

He also said that if there was ever a problem or I was worried about something to just come out with it and we can address whatever it is.

He thought I was going to bring this up then, didn't he?

OP posts:
FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 17:35

Is it possible he deleted her from one and not the other?

Only if he deleted her from the one he never uses. Which would seem a bit pointless.

OP posts:
kayvade · 11/05/2019 17:38

Keep typing her first name in to yr search and see if she comes up because if u have even one friend in common, she will appear when u search.

yearinyearout · 11/05/2019 17:40

I just meant maybe he deleted her from the wrong one by mistake, if he does actually log into them both occasionally (admittedly unlikely as most people end up with two accounts due to forgotten passwords, but thought it's worth considering)
Anyway I'm glad you've decided to discuss it rather than just block him, you've got nothing to lose by approaching it that way.

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 17:43

No she doesn't appear. If I type her full name in she is the top of the results though.

OP posts:
MyOtherProfile · 11/05/2019 17:48

Are you going to see him to talk face to face?

BrienneofTarthILoveYou · 11/05/2019 17:53

Oh Op, I totally get the broken trust - you definitely don't need someone who tells lies no matter how big or small.

autumnleaves15 · 11/05/2019 17:54

If I were in your position I wouldn't snoop on his facebook. It would bug me not knowing though so I'd just be honest if you genuinely noticed as he was sitting beside you.

I'd just be quite blunt and say that you noticed her name as he was on his phone recently and you wondered if they were still friends on facebook. It's bad news if they are and he lied about it. If he is adamant they aren't facebook friends and he says he already told you then you'll just need to say you forgot he'd said about it and then decide if you want to take his word for it or not. I wouldn't bring it up again as this could irritate him and looks like you don't trust him.

If I have anyone on my facebook who I've been involved with in any way, my OH knows about them and understands that we're genuinely just friends. I would have never lied about that because if he found out about it later down the line, there goes my credibility.

Better to know early on as well because it gives you a chance to decide if them still speaking or having the option to contact each other is a deal-breaker or not.

lovelypumpkin · 11/05/2019 17:59

Have you posted about this relationship before? And gone into more detail about how you think you compare to the ex physically?

I think that it would really help you to focus on what you are doing and saying, rather than second guessing him, and to be more aware of how you really feel about thing.

You could say "Have you heard again from your ex, and have you changed your mind about unfriending her? I am only asking as I noticed her name the other night as you scrolled through your contacts, and I just wondered"

If your intuition tells you that he still has feelings for her, you can ask him, or assume that your intuition is right.

You seem to have serious doubts and I really don't think the right relationship would be such hard work. He should be making you feel secure and loved, and if you don't feel secure and loved I really do think you need to be honest with yourself.

Your posting style and situation reminds me a lot of someone I know in real life, who had formerly been friends with the ex and told the man that the ex was playing games with him so that he would move on from her quickly, and told the woman that "she wouldn't get what she wants" and then stopped the friendship with the ex (saying she was a negative influence) that was why I asked if you had known them both a while!!! I am glad that isn't you! I apologise that I got that wrong.

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 18:05

What I want to ask him is why he was so nervous and panicked when I said I wanted to talk to him about something earlier in the week and what did he think I was going to bring up?

And then, assuming his answer wasn't regarding this, my reply would be. "Oh, ok, I just wondered if it was because you told me you'd unfriended your ex after she asked you to try again but hadn't"

But not sure if that is unnecessarily ascerbic.

Because if he hadn't told me any of it, I'd be none the wiser and he wouldn't have lied. Although, I'm not sure that would have been better.

OP posts:
ralphfromlordoftheflies · 11/05/2019 18:08

You are doing the right thing. Don't settle for someone like this, you've been fine without him for years and you have good boundaries (unlike him).

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 18:23

Won't see him face to face for another couple of weeks.

autumn thanks. I just need a non accusatory way of opening up the conversation really.

pumpkin I've sent you a PM.

OP posts:
leomama81 · 11/05/2019 18:24

Just to chip in on the fb thing you being able to find him before you requested him is unrelated to his friends list being private - he can have his profile public and his friends list private - or do you mean you looked and his friends list was open then? Sorry if I've misunderstood.

Do see what he has to say OP, if it is as you suspect remember it also could be as you said in one of your earlier posts, that he was going to do it and then decided it was a bit over dramatic.

I'm not saying you are wrong about all of this, you might be totally right, but a lot of the things you've mentioned do have reasonable explanations (I think for example it's very likely he's just used to reassuring women about their bodies) so maybe don't decide what to do until you've heard him out.

good luck

FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 18:28

leomama Honestly? I'm not even sure anymore Sad

Thank you.

ralph I don't think it would be 'settling'. He is lovely but I agree that he has shit boundaries. We've already spoken about that because he was making himself ill due to his inability to say "no" to anyone who asked for his help.

OP posts:
ralphfromlordoftheflies · 11/05/2019 18:37

But it would be settling to settle for a man who lies to you?

LatentPhase · 11/05/2019 19:06

Personally I would be waiting until I could see him face to face.

2 weeks gives you time to chill out about it and distance yourself.

You sound like I was at the start of my relationship, all prickly and ready to pounce on anything that went near my ‘red lines’

But that was my issue. After being badly burned in a relationship you can put up walls of steel but they can’t ever fully protect you.

I would let this settle for a bit. Go out, see friends, please yourself. Care a little bit less.

I do feel for you though, OP

Flowers
FairylightsAndMoonbeams · 11/05/2019 19:35

yes, Ralph. That is true. Sad

Thanks, Latent. I don't want him to feel like I've kept up a pretence for another couple of weeks though Sad I think that would be more problematic than just trying to, at least, bring it up now.

The more I think about it, the more I think he was expecting me to bring it up the other evening.

OP posts:
HypatiaCade · 11/05/2019 20:28

He is lovely but I agree that he has shit boundaries

If he has shit boundaries, now, in his 40s/50s (I'm assuming), then that's who he is. It's going to take a lot of hard work by him to change and will be a painful process for him and those around him. Is he really worth it?

And being such a perfect match to you, yes he could be, but he could also be a chameleon type character, who tries to change for the person he is seeing. That matches up with keeping friends lists private (not the only reason, to be fair, but can be one of them), but it ALSO explains why he compliments you on your 'faults' rather than your assets.

He's trying to be perfect, and it's the 'trying' which you're finding jarring. Because it's not honest, and it's not natural. Are there other things that you have found jarring?

Ruddygreattiger2016 · 11/05/2019 20:32

He brought up his ex contacting him to rekindle their romance. Was this a lie? If so the aim, to me, sounds like he wants op to be grateful hes with her.

If she did actually contact him, why tell the op? Again, this, to me, sounds like he wants op to be grateful hes with her.

Telling op she's beautiful 'to him' . Reassuring her assuming she has body issues (cheeky fucker)Almost like she should be grateful for his attention. Are these type of things negging?

He lied to her face. No matter how small a lie, that would be it for me.

His friend list set to private after adding op? Why? Do his friends know he is seeing her?

At my age I couldnt be arsed with niggles like this and wouldnt even waste my breath explaining it. Wonder why he was so nervous when op said she wanted to talk, sounds suss if you've done nothing dodgy.

youaremyrain · 11/05/2019 22:38

If you look at her FB profile does your BF come up as a mutual friend? Because even if one or both of your friends lists (ie yours and/or the person you're looking at) are private you can still see mutual

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