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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

O.K is anyone else staying together just for the kids

44 replies

emptyinside · 14/08/2007 17:12

Lowdown:-

Have been married 6 years and have three kids. I am married to a good man, but I know he is not the right one for me. We work well as a family unit, but my relationship with him is like we just house-share. We have no intimate relationship and have not been close physically at all for over a year. I don't think we really have a lot in common apart from having three kids. Its just the little things, but its things that matter. We don't really have a rocky relationship, just a distant one. I can tell he loves me and must be going absolutely spare inside when I constantly reject his advances. I don't dislike him at all though. I used to make excuses not to have sex about having young kids and all the hormonal changes that come with it, but I just shrug him away now. i suppose really I havn't fancied him for ages now. We sleep together but there is no interraction. I just don't fancy him at all and am not about the just have sex because I am his wife. All this sounds really miserable for him, but I can say he is generally very happy and we tick over with family life o.k.

I will stay with him though because I don't want to be the one the split up the family. To our kids we are loving mummy and daddy. I know I could do a lot worse than him but I just hope I can go on living with him feeling so distant.

Is there anyone else living together just for the sake of the family.

OP posts:
startouchedtrinity · 14/08/2007 22:51

That sounds good, emptyinside. It's not our partners we lose sight of, it's us.

I'm sure things will be good with you in the end, hang on in there. xxx

luckylady74 · 14/08/2007 23:04

sometimes i think i feel so protective and passionate about caring for my ds1 who has special needs that all my passion has gone into that and i have none left for dh - and i think he's the same too - and then there's the 3 under 6 business too - it's soooo hard emptyinside to think about yourself let alone your dh in this kind of situation. i can convince myself that we're in a loveless relationship sometimes, but i honestly think we're just in a knackered, distracted, bad tempered through tiredness relationship and if i keep saying this to dh so he knows where i'm coming from - then i hope there'll
still be some time to focus on us in the future!

emptyinside · 14/08/2007 23:11

hear-hear luckylady. I don't want to use the excuse that having a sn child is extra pressure on a relationship but I guess it is. I am a bit of a worrier to say the least and you certainly put yourself to the back of the queue when it comes to worrying. I think a lot to do with it is that I breast-fed all my kids and so far my 'body' hasn't been 'his' to play with for a long time. It still feels like I need to use this 'body' in my role as mother and not as wife. Bloody frustrating for him I guess. Hey ho

OP posts:
madamez · 14/08/2007 23:24

Emptyinside, there are various ways of increasing your libido but pills rarely work. It does sound as though your core relationship with your DH is sound and you're just a bit worn down by the daily grind of caring for kids (particularly when you have a DC with SN). Old and cliched as this advice is, it often seems to work: can you get someone to babysit say, once a fortnight, and go out with your DH to do something enjoyable? Unless you;re both really into it, by the way, try and avoid making your night out too heavily 'romantic' as that could make one or both of you feel awkward and under pressure - do something that's fun. In specific terms to boost your interest in sex, as lon as you're not opposed to it or wildly uncomforatbel with the idea, some sexy reading material or DVDs might be a fun as well.
Good luck.

emptyinside · 14/08/2007 23:29

God when I think of 'getting sexy' and watching dvd's etc, I kind of go all prudish. Totally out of character for me if you had known me in my 20's I can tell you. I think it has just been so long I am a bit 'scared' of letting go again. I am determined to get pro-active though and arrange some time out for me and hubby.

And on that note I am retiring to my 'not hot enough' bed and will say thanks everyone once again

OP posts:
Girly · 15/08/2007 08:09

I am so happy you are going to give it a go empty. Lots of what you have said have really struck a chord with me.

In my case there was nothing wrong with my sex drive, I just could not bear my ex any where near me, so I knew it was over.

I really hope it all works out for you.

HorseyWoman · 15/08/2007 09:43

emptyinside,

I don't have children, but apart from that have felt pretty much the same as you. Up until the start of June it had been nearly 2 years since my husband and I had had sex, and along with that came a lack of cuddles and kisses. I'd been very ill with pneumonia and then in hospital with mental illness/stuck round the house. I put on weight, lost my confidence and motivation, felt worthless and disgusting. I'd been raped when I was 17, so 6-7 years ago now, and that had always played in the back of my mind, although I said and still say it isn't a big factor in everything. I also had the coil fitted last year and that made me feel a bit pooey at first, but it's ok now that my periods have settled back to once a month. I was taking heavy medication and then stopped taking them in May because I was fed up of how they were affecting me!

So anyway, in June, I suddenly found my amorous side - maybe stopping the drugs, my hormones settling, having been working full time for a few months, being fitter again, the counselling which had just ended... a mixture of things I think. It was hard the first time and although I enjoyed it at the time, I felt sick afterwards; then a couple of weeks later it happened again and I felt the same afterwards. But between these times we had become more affectionate with eachother - cuddles etc. Then we went away at the end of July and went out for the evening and had ahem a lovely evening, which didn't leave me feeling sick and the next day made me smile. So I think it was a sake of 'getting back to it' and 'the more you do it...' But also, the affection that naturally came with it and inbetween it, has made me feel a lot better about things.

My husband and I do have big difficulties we have to work through, but as someone else has said, my role model for relationships was my dad having loads of affairs and my mum leaving him, him finding us with the cases and throwing us out into the street in the middle of winter (my brother was a small baby). So I don't have much to go on, and relationships are difficult for me. We do argue and I used to get quite angry during arguments, but since my CAT I seem to have calmed down a lot. I get bored, wonder if the grass IS greener, forget what I have. Then I remember that my husband accepts what and who I am, loves what and who I am, we have a laugh together some of the time, enjoy holidays and hobbies together and are generally good companions. I can't agree with him on everything, and I still have other male friends, some gay, who I would say are to me what he can't be. But I appreciate him for what he is and how he has supported me, and know he will make a great father.

If you really can't stomach staying with this man, I would leave. It isn't best for the children to have two people who resent each other for holding each other back, which is what will probably happen. As they get older, they will notice things as well. On the other hand, remember that the grass is not always greener; you won't always find a companion like DH. You may find someone who is good in bed and turns you on in that area, but would they be someone who, if you found yourself having trouble in bed, you could talk with honestly about it, like DH? Would relationship fatigue set in there as well after a while?

I haven't read the whole thread, only about 10 posts, so sorry if I am going over old ground!

Good luck with whatever you decide.xx

emptyinside · 15/08/2007 22:24

Horseywoman.

Thanks for telling your story. You sound like you have been through and survived some tough times. Its great you are getting back on track. Its true though isn't it that the more you have something the more you want it. I imagine that when I start 'doing it' again, it will be a bit like when I first started. Strange, but quite exciting (I think).

I can honestly say that when I woke up this morning I was actually feeling quite 'horny'!!!??. At one point I was actually imagining myself jumping on (trust me, I havn't felt like THAT for ages). Its the truth, I was shocked myself aswell. I can only put it down to a mixture of putting my thoughts down on 'paper', realizing I am not the only one and receiving some great advice at the same time. I have had a great day with dh (we went out for the day as a family) and actually felt at peace and quite content. I am well aware of my dh's good qualities though and am not about to throw it all away in a hurry.

I have to admit though that I am scared of 'doing it' again. I think its going to take quite a while for me to have the balls (no pun intended!).

OP posts:
Tinkerbellanne · 06/07/2021 19:39

God I've been here. It's awful. First things first never feel ashamed to break away whether your married or not or whether there is children involved or not. I was with my kids dad for 7 years but not married. I loved him unconditionally but he walked away a day before my birthday last June. I didn't want sex with him anymore, didn't really find him attractive, purposely went to bed a lot earlier or a lot later just to be away for him but when he left I was in a right mess. My heart literally felt broken. For 6 months I didn't want to be alive anymore but at the start of the year I started to love myself again. Self love, self care and a little bit of time and you will get through this. I had a lot to deal with the house and work and the mortgage but we wernt married thank goodness. Do not stay for the kids. That's worse than wanting a fresh start and to be happy. People can divorce amicably. Think where you want to be in 5 years. Still going to bed not wanting to be there. Do what's best for you and your children X

Tiredandbored · 06/07/2021 19:51

Good advice @Tinkerbellanne, just a pity it's almost 14 years late...

Tinkerbellanne · 06/07/2021 19:54

@Tiredandbored

Good advice *@Tinkerbellanne*, just a pity it's almost 14 years late...
What do you mean too late?
DismantledKing · 06/07/2021 19:55

A 14 years old zombie thread? That has to be some kind of a record.
This thread predates Twitter.

DismantledKing · 06/07/2021 20:00

@Tinkerbellanne

The OP last posted on this thread in August 2007. I imagine that’s what Tiredandbored meant.

FlaminEckVera · 06/07/2021 20:40

@Tinkerbellanne

God I've been here. It's awful. First things first never feel ashamed to break away whether your married or not or whether there is children involved or not. I was with my kids dad for 7 years but not married. I loved him unconditionally but he walked away a day before my birthday last June. I didn't want sex with him anymore, didn't really find him attractive, purposely went to bed a lot earlier or a lot later just to be away for him but when he left I was in a right mess. My heart literally felt broken. For 6 months I didn't want to be alive anymore but at the start of the year I started to love myself again. Self love, self care and a little bit of time and you will get through this. I had a lot to deal with the house and work and the mortgage but we wernt married thank goodness. Do not stay for the kids. That's worse than wanting a fresh start and to be happy. People can divorce amicably. Think where you want to be in 5 years. Still going to bed not wanting to be there. Do what's best for you and your children X
@Tinkerbellanne

How the chuff did you manage to dig up this relic? Shock

Got to be a record! A 14 year old thread dragged up from the deep!!!

Discodancing · 06/07/2021 21:30

I wonder if the OP is still there 14 years later?

SpottyBlueTeacup · 08/07/2021 17:42

Hi,
I stayed in my marriage for 23 years and felt the same. Bottom line…age gap (he is 10 years older), no connection and sexual on compatibility. I didn’t fancy him but, stupidly, married him because I thought nobody else would want me. I’d felt under pressure to get married - at 25 (omg do young) - as my friends had. I’d been very quiet as a teen/young woman and didn’t experience men at all!
We had to have IUI for our second child and I’m convinced it was because I didn’t get turned on by him etc. I shouldn’t have married him as it has caused me much distress over the years. It wasn’t fair on him nor me.
Things came to a head when my hormones went crazy at 45 (I’m now 49) and I went through the sex surge - I hadn’t had sex with him for over a decade. I just didn’t like him in that way. He was very poor at it. He wouldn’t even kiss me ffs! I got so wound up I got involved with someone else who was the opposite of him and my goodness did I wake up! I ended my marriage as a result and feel very bitter/sad at the wasted years I spent with a man who was no more than a flat mate.

SpottyBlueTeacup · 08/07/2021 17:42

No sexual compatibility that should say

DGFB · 08/07/2021 17:47

Oh gosh if you feel like this you need to leave him so he can find somebody who is mad about him? He sounds lovely.. many people would kill for your life (not that that helps you). I feel very sad for him. He must miss intimacy so much.
I appreciate this is difficult

SpottyBlueTeacup · 08/07/2021 18:51

There’s a lot more too it than that. There are other issues.

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