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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

False promises

655 replies

heneverkeepshisword · 30/10/2019 22:42

So basically my bf has cheated on me in the past, promised me he was sorry blah blah, then I caught him messaging her again.

He begged and begged and pleaded for 5 months for me to give him another chance, she's blocked etc etc....

So I said okay I'll give him one more chance but he has to change his number...he said fine he will do anything it takes...

He goes to check when his phone is up for renewal and says it's only in a couple of weeks so he will change his number then.....
He then gets a new phone and contract without changing his number....so I tell him again that I will only give him another chance if he changes it...he then agree to do it last weekend but then something came up so he couldn't, promises that this weekend he will do it...

Had the conversation tonight and now he's saying it's pointless as she is blocked so he's not doing it!

I feel I should just walk away now as 3 times he promised and now has backed down.
Not the only thing he's backed down on....he promises me so much when he's trying to get me back and then as soon as I'm back it all goes out the window!

I don't know what to do?

OP posts:
heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 09:18

@Tessabelle74 I wrote that at the start as you have seen....a lot has happened since then! Mainly me discovering he isn't everything I thought!
So with the help of all the people in here I realised he will never change and is an asshole basically!
I think I wrote that on a Thursday and then finally deleted and blocked him on Monday!

If you were a doormat for 10 years....surely you know how hard it is to come to terms with someone not being as they said?
Least I only did 1 year!!!

OP posts:
Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 10:08

You're doing just fine. Just stop looking at his social media, no matter which site. Just keep the focus on you and understanding that this is a toxic person with whom you will not have a happy future.

I imagined myself with the ex at the age of 60... then 70... dancing the same shitty dance of never knowing if I could trust him not to hurt me. Life is quite short and very precious. And if you have children it is even more important not to be paired up with an asshole. It affects them directly and indirectly. Your happiness is also their happiness.

OP you said you were only with him for one year? In another post you said 2, then in another place that you wanted to rewind 3 years?

AFairlyHardAvocado · 10/11/2019 10:08

In fairness to posters questioning where you are re moving on, I think it's because your headspace seems to be so totally taken up by him still. Occupying such a huge chunk of you time even after your break up.

I remember being in that stage where it's all consuming from waking up to falling asleep, but from the outside it can be frustrating as everyone knows that when you move on you'll be loads happier Smile

heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 10:27

@Gemma1971
Yea I would never be able to trust him and I know that and that's why I'm being so strong!
Sorry for the confusion....I met him nearly 3 years ago now....hence wishing to go back before meeting him.
I was with him "properly" for 2 years (I say properly....that's in my head"
It has only been bad for the past year...I say only the past year there has never been a god patch really but it's the past year I have been trying to leave and feel like a doormat!

@AFairlyHardAvocado yea I totally get that....just still struggling I guess....I wish I could switch it off I just can't!

OP posts:
heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 10:27

*good patch

OP posts:
Whatisthisfuckery · 10/11/2019 10:31

OP, you had a moment of weakness and looked at his inster. Well, it was possibly not helpful for you, although you’ve now seen he has more women chasing him, so maybe it was. You didn’t contact him though, and he won’t know you looked, so no harm done.

Don’t sweat it, just try to resist the urge to do it again. Just stay out of his world, lest you get sucked back further.

Don’t be too hard on yourself though, the world has not ended and your good work hasn’t been undone, just stay out of his sphere. Don’t give him any reason to think he can win, or even to think of you more than he is.

I don’t think the bitching on this thread is helping the OP. She’s doing well, even if she has had a little setback she’s still doing better than she ever has before. It’s not easy disentangling yourself from one of these arseholes so chill out a bit.

OP, keep up the good work, and don’t backslide on going to see the police.

Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 10:44

Well it's only taken one year to leave him, it could have been a lot longer. Just don't be a total mug and let him convince you that you are the problem.

If in doubt, do not forget, he raped you, he cheated on you, he lied, he reminds you that your face is hairy (just fucking mean), he broke into your house, he was threatening to shoot himself to manipulate you. He is a liar. Repeat until it makes sense and you really get it.

The initial phase of leaving an abuser can feel like pulling teeth. Inner Integration likens it to coming off a hard drug. Why? Because the trauma bond generates the bonding and feel good chemicals of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin etc. Your brain is looking for the hit, which is obtained via the chemical connection, his smell, his nice penis. But it is a trick. Nature basically wants us to shag anyone we find attractive to make babies, if we whittle it down to the fundamentals. That is all the attraction is about. Sex and making new humans. This particular person is just physically and chemically attractive, like a drug in your brain, so you have to go cold turkey and keep away until you no longer want it.

The danger of a trauma bond (watch the last couple of videos I posted) is that it gets STRONGER when couples break up, go back, and that cycle repeats. The brain grows synapses that relate to the bond an it releases the related peptides. I have explained it poorly, but Melanie Tonia Evans does a much better job. You have to grow new ones, like starting and forming a new habit.

Imagine how hard it was for me. I had the lure of three different countries to visit every time I saw the ex. And I was alone at home and maybe lonely. And he somehow caught me off-guard at vulnerable moments. My mind can still remember the fake good times. Especially the sex. But I am in control of ME, NOT him. I don't hope for no contact from him, I ignore, block.

The only way to heal is stop looking, ignore, block. You are in the initial cold turkey phase, so well done.

If I had truly accepted what my ex was, I would never have spent so much time going back and forth. But I loved the holidays to HEAT lol. And that was a massive hook for me, combined with the hook of sex. Sex and sunshine and all he had to do was click his fingers. But it always came at a price, which was basically my dignity.

I have my dignity now and it feels soooo fucking good. You will get there. The only way is to ignore him though.

You will get to the point of total indifference. I can imagine my ex shagging half of town now and I really don't care. He was probably doing it in my absence anyway. Why don't I care you might ask? Because I love me more than anything else now and I can see my WORTH. He tried to make me feel less than. He succeeded for a while.

Never let anyone treat you less than your true worth.

heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 10:55

@Whatisthisfuckery Thankyou so much! I did have a moment of weakness and I wish I didn't really. But least I found out he's already trying to move on yet still posting letters through my door!
I'm not going to do it again! No good comes of it! I'm feeling sick at the thought of him moving on for some reason....I guess i just want him to hurt and suffer as much as I am/have!
Yep longest ever....day 7 today 

@Gemma1971 yea this morning when I was doubting my decision I just kept reminding myself why I'm doing this! I can't wait not to get doubts anymore....but least I haven't contacted him!
I cannot wait to get at the stages all you guys are at....least I'm closer than I was last week!

Thankyou so much....you don't realise how much this thread is helping!

OP posts:
AnnaNimmity · 10/11/2019 11:18

OP, I know it's hard, but No Contact is for your benefit - the longer you do it, the easier to break the link. And that means no looking at social media!

Gemma speaks a lot of sense. I was with my ex for 3 years and went back I think 4 times with him - he treated me dreadfully. He is with someone now who has gone back to him around 10 times over many years. I have never seen anyone be so badly treated, and in part it was his treatment of her that made me see the light. The treatment of both of us was getting worse, but she was further along the line than me. And it scared me because of the violence, the sex stuff and the lies. The way he left her over and over is sick. And actually, he seemed to need increasingly awful fuel from us both.

My friends couldn't see why I'd keep taking him back but I was so enmeshed. I can't see now why anyone would keep taking him back. Gemma's right - the more times you go through the lovebombing/devaluing/dumping cycle the harder the bond is to break, the more awful the treatment, and the more you put up with - you become insane.

WhenPushComesToShove · 10/11/2019 11:32

Just to try on a different head space; think about about how you'd feel if you did go back now. I'm guessing you'd feel weak, ashamed, pathetic, scared to tell your friends and family to say nothing of powerless, belittled (by him)and the most awful fucking example to your kids. Hope this empowers you to stay strong

Whatisthisfuckery · 10/11/2019 11:44

OP, it’s hard now, but the more distance you put between you and him the easier it will become.

It’s not about moving on for him, it’s about him finally realising he’s no longer in control of his play thing. He’s not emotionally attached in the way that you or I would be to a partner, He sees you as belonging to him, and you leaving him will be like his slave running away, literally. The moving on for him will consist of him finding a new slave to exploit to replace the old one. The need he has is not for the person that you are, it’s for the service and attention he wants. I keep saying this but it’s true, and important, and until you get your head round it you’ll keep swimming around in his toxic soup: The way you think and feel about a partner is not the way he thinks of a partner. You can’t attribute your feelings and reactions onto him because he is not like you. You can’t work him out because he is wired differently to you, and your brain and his brain are totally different. You both have different wants and needs, and while you’re thinking and worrying about his wants and needs, he couldn’t give the flightiest of fucks about yours. It’s a Venus and Mars thing, but he doesn’t come from Mars, he comes from Pluto, which is not even a planet, it’ a lump of ice and rock hanging off the edge of the solar system, which is kind of what he is like, a lump of skin and flesh hanging off the edge of humanity. He’s a human, but he doesn’t think or feel like the vast majority of other humans, so projecting your perfectly normal and natural feelings onto him is just that, projection. While you’re pasting your image of what a human would normally be feeling onto him you’re covering up the reality of what he is. The reality of him is very clear to the rest of us, but until you stop painting the pictures you want to see over it you won’t see it.

Put the paint box away for a bit and do some observing instead.

AnnaNimmity · 10/11/2019 12:52

Agree with @whatisthisfuckery - it’s all about control and what he wants. My ex said about the OW ‘at least x will never leave me’ - they want you there to fulfil their needs.

It would be lovely if they were who you want them to be. But they never will be.

heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 13:55

@AnnaNimmity I know it's for me and that's it now I won't do it again! It didn't help and I really don't want to know what he's up too!
Yea I'm Pretty sure I have gone back over 10 times tbh I have lost count. And your right about the bond getting stronger each time. But also he treats me worse every time too....it is crazy!

When I am explaining to friends everything he is done I can then see it all so clearly....like why the hell would I go back....but then when he sends me a message or letter I forget all that and just want a hug! 

@WhenPushComesToShove yes that's a good way of looking at it....I just keep keep thinking of how I felt when I was with him and tbh it was always crap....it's the company I miss and that's no reason to go back!

@Whatisthisfuckery yes your very right....this time next week I will be in a lot better place than I am now....so I keep thinking of that!
Your so right about me being there for him too! So I need to learn to feel sorry for his next victim and even if I never meet anyone again....being happier alone will be so much better for me!

Yes I just want him to suffer but I guess I got to stop thinking about him and think about me and my happiness!

I will get there....just I'm impatient that's my problem....I want to be over him now Confused

OP posts:
AFairlyHardAvocado · 10/11/2019 14:09

but then when he sends me a message
Block him on everything and block any other numbers / accounts that he might contact you on, including those you've already have from mate's phones etc.!

or letter I forget all that and just want a hug!
ONLY open letters if it's clear are official. Any you think might be from him, do not open it. Burn it, bin it, shred it, give it to a mate to resist temptation. If you know that a letter would punch you in the face when you opened it, would you? Because opening anything he sends is emotional battery. Anything flowers etc, leave them by your front door. He'll probably be checking why he didn't get a thank you and drive past so will see them.

PP advise is spot on - if you receive gifts or appear to respond to contact by text, email or letters then it will undermine any future claims of harassment should he escalate his harassment of you.

I know it's tough - I really do, I've been there. In case it's useful I installed something called Cold Turkey which is a browser ad on. It's AMAZING. You can put in specific sites / pages and choose a time you cannot go on them at all. It works as you can still look at say Instagram, but because you block by IRL you can make it impossible for you to go onto his page.

You don't seem ready to block and delete everything without checking what he's doing (again I understand this) so this is a good way for you to distance yourself from him.

heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 14:24

Yea I have now turned off iMessage notifications as that's where he keeps sending them...new numbers each time as I am blocking the others...so I'm just not going to go on the app as everyone who needs me WhatsApps me!

Letter punching me in the face is a good way of looking at it....I'm keeping them in a box atm incase I need them in the future for the police....but anymore I get I am going to just shove in the move and not look at them....I need to get a grip and be able to do that!

I have blocked and deleted him off everything...just it's so easy to unblock and look....but I won't again....I need to get a grip!

This is ridiculous how I am being....when we first got together I used to be such a strong person...(he would always say you must of had your nuts and bolts this morning) because I didn't do emotion as such I wouldn't let people get to me!

So that's it....I'm getting a grip....tomoro is a new week and it's my week of forgetting him!

OP posts:
Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:06

Can't remember if I shared this earlier, sorry if I am repeating myself:

kimsaeed.com/2018/07/15/breaking-the-deceptive-and-toxic-cycle-of-trauma-bonding/

Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:09

And a little on cognitive empathy:

kimsaeed.com/2018/06/10/how-the-narcissist-hurts-you-using-cognitive-empathy/

AFairlyHardAvocado · 10/11/2019 15:11

I have blocked and deleted him off everything...just it's so easy to unblock and look....but I won't again....I need to get a grip!

That's the great thing the cold turkey desktop thing, you cannot undo it until the time you specified when setting the clock.

So you can say to yourself right I'll do 24 hours without even look at their pages and cold turkey makes it impossible to look at them until that 24 is done.

I was driving myself up the wall checking and reading into everything a ridiculous amounts. It made things so much easier as the constant pressure on me was relinquished a little because I couldn't even if I wanted to!

Please do keeping pushing - this is the hardest bit but has to be done to get past all this Thanks

Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:15

... plus the problem with repetitive checking is that it is a form of breaking no contact in your brain. You are still seeking the drug of him, information about him. You get the same chemical hits from checking on him as you do from interacting with him. It is still a form of interaction, in actual fact.

So to come off the drug of him, you really do have to stop even looking at any of his social media.

It is the addiction continuing to direct you, rather than your mind being in full control of itself sadly.

Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:20
heneverkeepshisword · 10/11/2019 15:26

Thankyou @Gemma1971 I will look at those later!
Yes I had read that checking up on them is a form of contact....that's why I was so annoyed at myself! It's because he popped up on one of my mates instagrams....I'm going to have to unfollow everyone in common 

@AFairlyHardAvocado I'm going to get that app....it sounds great....I just can't find it? What's it called?
As if I go out next weekend I don't want to be drunk and be able to look at his account!

OP posts:
Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:28
Gemma1971 · 10/11/2019 15:35

getcoldturkey.com

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