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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

Are these red flags? Advice please.

212 replies

goshohmy · 29/11/2019 07:26

...or am I over-analysing things?

I'm trying to work out some things about my (new-ish) relationship. Was single for ages before this and really don't have much experience of men or relationships. I'm 32. I've been googling and reading threads and I just don't know. I'm seeing this guy and for the most part he's very affectionate and we have a nice time but other things make me feel a bit off kilter and I don't know if it's just my imagination or if we're just not suited to each other maybe.
So we usually see each other over the weekend and we plan this in advance but sometimes we see each other on weekdays and this is usually arranged that day or the day before. A while ago he text me in the morning and asked me to go over to his place that night and I agreed and he said he would pick me up after work and drive us to his. I was in work too and at about 11 am I said it would be nice if he picked me up, thanks. He didn't reply again for the whole day and didn't read my message even though I could see he was online. I assumed he was busy and didn't think anything of it. He then called me at the time I thought he'd be at mine to pick me up (6.30 pm) but he said he'd forgotten and accidentally driven most of the way home and he said he could come back and collect me but he didn't sound like he wanted to and then he said I could get the train and he'd pick me up at the train station. I was in such a tizzy that I just agreed because I had to run to catch the train. He lives a 30 minute drive from me and the train is 15 minute walk away and only once an hour and takes 25 mins and doesn't go that close to his place, he still has to drive to collect me.

This is the thing I can't ask anyone IRL. So when he asked me over I'd mentioned I was having my period. He actually clarified that with me later that night. He'd said we could watch a movie and have an early night, which is what we did. Next morning i used his bathroom and toilet - they are separate rooms - and then he went into the toilet and came out and we had this conversation:
Him: is everything okay?
Me: yes.
Him: (just stares at me)
Me: why?
Him: there was a drop of blood on the handle in the toilet. (Stare)
Me: oh I'm sorry.
Him: (just stares)
Me: I'm sorry, I don't know what to say.
Him: (stares)
Me: I'm sorry, I'm really embarrassed.
Him: (stares)
Me: I'm sorry, I really don't know what to say.
Him: (stares a bit more) it's okay, give me a cuddle before we go out.

I should add that my immediate thought was that he was making it up to show me that he was okay with it or something. I know that seems weird but it was just the feeling I got. I felt like he wasn't telling the truth. My period was really light and I washed my hands and dried them in a small white towel. So thinking over it I just don't see how it happened. But even if I did do it I still think it's strange. It's never happened before. So it's not like I'm always doing it and he had to bring it up because it was an issue.

He's made a good few comments about me splashing water next to the sink when I wash my hands so I'm always really careful and I always check that the sink and the floor and towel are clean after I've used them. He's said things like "if you have trouble washing your hands you can do it in the kitchen instead", to which I said "am I splashing a lot" and he said yes. The thing is he's clean but not overly clean but he's reacted in a strange way a few times, once I almost touched the window in his kitchen and he grabbed my arm and said "I have to clean that". Another time he had spilled something in his kitchen and cleaned it up but it was still sticky and as I was walking into the kitchen he was pointing and telling me not to step in it and I thought I was stepping over it and he was a bit "off" that I stepped on it. He never gets angry with me, I always just feel like I've done something wrong or I'm in the way.

Another example is we were cooking, just throwing stuff together from the fridge and he took out some onions to chop but said they made his eyes water so I offered to do it and he walked off and I chopped the onions. He came back and said "you chopped them like that?" And I said "yes". I was confused for a second because I thought there'd been a recipe or I hadn't heard him say he wanted them chopped a certain way. So he took over then and said "my mum chops them like this" and he chopped them up really fine. It was weird because there wasn't really much of a difference between how I'd done it and how they ended up. I also thought it was weird because he seems a bit resentful of his mum. he told me a few times very early on that he was bullied as a teenager because his mum made him think he was better than other people. He said he'd forgiven her though.
Another time I blew out a candle and he showed me the right way to blow it out so I wouldn't get wax everywhere, but I hadn't gotten wax anywhere and it was my candle in my flat!

Writing this out it all sounds petty, but there have been other things, like deliberately misunderstanding questions I'm asking and communication that goes round in circles and never getting a straight answer so giving up, but not really realising what has happened until later, if you know what I mean. And going quiet when we're together. Once it was lashing rain and he took the umbrella from me and held it up but only over his head so I got soaked. When I said it to him he put it over both our heads for about a minute and then back over his own head so I was soaked again. I mean, he held it right down over his own head so that it was almost touching his head and completely away from me, like I wasn't even there. He also seemed annoyed at me but I hadn't done anything wrong.
There are other things. He compares me to his ex sometimes and it's always in my favour but it always makes me feel a bit crap. He never gives me compliments and it's always our behaviour he's comparing. She was very pretty and he has told me a few times she was a beautiful woman but she was too needy. He also broke up with her suddenly because she was sick and needed a doctor and he stayed out at a party all night and she was by herself and got angry at him when he came home. So he just ended it. He's told me this story a few times and he always says he paid all the mortgage and bills and he let her move in because she had nowhere else to live. It's as if he thinks she shouldn't have ever gotten annoyed at him because of that. He also said he thinks she might have cheated on him because she accused him of cheating and he said she was projecting.
This all sounds so stupid. It's just that i don't know if I'm too sensitive and jealous of the way he talks about his ex.

There have been a few other things and I'm trying to separate it all out but I'd just like to know what people think and if I'm just reading too much into things and I'm too embarrassed to ask anyone.I'd really appreciate any advice or opinions. Thank you.

OP posts:
SweetSally · 29/11/2019 13:26

You sound very unhappy.
There's a reason for this - there's no future for this relationship. Don't explain yourself to him just end it asap and move on with your life. Don't try have a conversation with him he will make you feel horrible and he will be quite nasty by the sound of it

Sandals19 · 29/11/2019 13:31

I second the poster above.

Don't get back together with him. He's neurotic, he'll turn you into a wreck, no-one should have to live like that.

He's v possibly abusive too.

His neuroticism is now causing him to be flaky and end things with you (which, all these issues aside I'd hurtful, stressful & destabilising) .. and he may well do it again. He's realised he was a lucky fkr that you stayed and took all that behaviour .. no wonder he wants to reel you back in.

Will you now have to watch everything you do and say so as not to remind him if his ex. (on top of apologising for how you chop onions, and for imaginary spots of blood on door handles and whatever other crazy shit he's raised so far)??

Sandals19 · 29/11/2019 13:34

*is hurtful

If you were to go back with him he'd be even worse than before because he knows he can do all that, then dump you .. and still have you back.

Sandals19 · 29/11/2019 13:43

In all the years I've been having periods I've never got blood on the handle.

Not me (that I've noticed) .. and I've managed to leave rolled up sanitary towels sitting somewhere in a bathroom twice when there was no bin handy for one reason or another (that were seen by bfs, probably have done it other times when they weren't seen).

First bf/fwb complained about the San towel, I said "oh" and thought "you're in my place, I forgot about it, I have periods yes, like most women, too fkg bad".

2nd time was husband, he complained, I said "sorry i.kusf gave forgotten to.transfer it to him", end of story. If he'd said anything else I would've said "as I said I forgot; women have periods, if we didn't you wouldn't exist, nor would anyone else, be glad you don't have to deal with them" in not too pleasant way.

Your (hopefully) ex deserved to be shut down hard, and the rest of his behaviour is as bad or worse.

Sandals19 · 29/11/2019 13:44

*sorry i must've forgotten to transfer it to the bin"

Lampan · 29/11/2019 13:49

Urgh I could not be bothered to deal with his many issues. Someone once tried to tell me the right way to peel a banana. That was the end for him!

Sushiroller · 29/11/2019 13:58

Look if you are at the point you've written a list you know it's not right...

You are already broken up - stay that way you've had a narrow escape and he sounds a right weirdo. Confused

Re:the bathroom thing. my DP would have cleaned it and said nothing because he isn't a massive dick

TeaForTara · 29/11/2019 14:03

His ex lived with him. She got ill, bad enough to need a doctor. He stayed out all night partying when his partner was ill. That's verging on unforgivable in my book. When he returned home (drunk? hung over?) she was understandably cross with him. His reaction to that was to break up with her and presumably kick her out of his place with nowhere to go.

That tells me everything I need to know about him. Do not let him back into your life. If you do, be prepared to walk on eggshells for the rest of your life and for gods sake, don't get ill.

Pollaidh · 29/11/2019 14:15

He sounds creepy and manipulative, with mummy issues and trying to find ways to control you and make you feel bad about yourself. Run.

egontoste · 29/11/2019 14:33

Yikes.

he actually broke up with me last week and now says he thinks he made a mistake

Oh well, he's made it easy for you then, hasn't he? Just tell him that now you've had time to think things over, you've decided that he was right the first time and it would be best to part company.

User1483098432 · 29/11/2019 14:40

He doesn't sound very kind at all OP. He sounds very manipulative. He broke up with his ex because she was sick and he would rather be partying than with her? Is that the kind of partner you want? It sounds like he thinks no one is good enough for him and unless you do as he says you will get binned off too. I don't know you, but from your description of him I'm certain you could do a million times better OP. Don't settle for someone who's such an arse

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 29/11/2019 14:43

I married someone who was not quite as bad as this. At the beginning. As I gave in and tolerated it, he became worse and eventually violent. I got out. He stalked me for a while before meeting new wife and getting her pregnant whilst we were still technically married. Needless to say they divorced fairly quickly.

Goldenchildsmum · 29/11/2019 14:43

he actually broke up with me last week

God is good

You've won first prize. Thank goodness he's gone

mistermagpie · 29/11/2019 14:52

Oh well then, narrow escape and you can just block him and get on with your life.

By the way, go back and reread your last post where you explain in minute detail the steps you took to wash your hands without making a splash of water in his bathroom. Read it and read it again. Then think about why you would perform such a mundane task in such a bizarre and painstaking way so as not to annoy someone who is supposed to care about you.

SlothOfSluggishness · 29/11/2019 14:53

Please stay far away from him.

The first thing of “forgetting” to pick you up and telling you to get the train, fuck that shit.

It’s taken me years to wise up to that kind of crap.

He’s vile.

Groovinpeanut · 29/11/2019 15:15

OP he's working through a very clear pattern. The train incident firstly... He let you down by 'forgetting' that's him sitting back and watching your next move. You had two choices in his mind...to tell him to enjoy his evening, but you'd leave travelling on that occasion and see him another time OR you'd put yourself out and travel. He's now seen you'll do the running!

The umbrella incident...he showed no regard or concern for you getting soaked. He made sure he kept dry...and you let him. He now shown you he's not bothered about your well-being ( much like he didn't care about his ex's well-being)

The period incident he's lied and you know he has. That ridiculous accusation is just impossible. He used it to make you feel bad, humiliated and like you'd really done wrong. Him behaving that way towards you shows no regard for your feelings at all.

I'm sure there are many more things he's done if you look more closely during your time together.

He's now broken up with you, and changed his mind. He's watching to see if you'll go back. If you do, he'll see you're prepared to accept anything. He knows you've come running back when he snaps his fingers.

He's shown you who he is, but only the snapshot of it. He's got you walking on eggshells, and questioning yourself.

I think you'd be better off kicking this guy to the kerb. He's not a nice person. You deserve someone better than this.

Countryescape · 29/11/2019 15:32

You are correct. Listen to your gut. Huge red flags for me. He sounds controlling at best and abusive at worst

rvby · 29/11/2019 15:38

he just kept going on about his ex and he said he got spooked by something I said because it made him think of her. He just wouldn't tell me what which I'm finding really frustrating.

Chilling.

This is a classic tactic of the ultra abusive person... pretend a transgression, get visibly upset about it, but refuse to tell the person what they have done "wrong".

Leave them to accuse themselves, allow them to "confess" their deepest shame (usually something that has nothing to do with the relationship, sometimes even a false confession that the person starts to believe, desperate to get the other to love them again).

Then, having used this technique to uncover the thing that the abused party is most ashamed and worried about - hold that, and versions of it, over their head for the rest of the relationship.

My ex did this to me and caused me to "confess" childhood sexual abuse (which he imagined had made me "cold", "distant", "afraid of intimacy", etc.). He went further and further over a couple of years, using the same technique, and eventually got me into a position where I made a false confession that I had invited/wanted the abuse, this was used as "proof" that I was faithless and sexually deviant and therefore should not be allowed to leave the house, be unsupervised around men, etc. etc.

This is the beginning of extreme psychological torture. Thank fuck he ended it. Run, for the love of God just run and never look back.

If you go back now, he's received his signal, the breakup itself was part of his abuse style. It's meant to break you psychologically, weaken you over time.

PLEASE don't let this person stay in your life, in any way. He is not safe.

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 29/11/2019 15:38

IME be very wary indeed of these oxygen theif specimens who period shame. That was one of my ex's tricks too.

jamaisjedors · 29/11/2019 16:33

This is a classic tactic of the ultra abusive person... pretend a transgression, get visibly upset about it, but refuse to tell the person what they have done "wrong

Good yes, exH did this constantly.

I like the posts about what someone with boundaries would do - very helpful and help (me) to see the gap between what normal people accept and what people with low self esteem accept.

I didn't think of myself as a victim at the time, I used to push back regularly at exh when he tried to enforce rules like the handwashing one.

But he still got to me and I accepted more and more of his "quirks" because it was exhausting fighting back all the time and he was so sure of himself that I ended up believing it was normal.

Little signs were that it was awful having people to stay because they couldn't understand exh's "quirks" (controlling) and so ignored them and then he would give me the silent treatment and I would put on a brave face to guests.

Winterdaysarehere · 29/11/2019 17:02

Just block him op.
And be very glad you did.

CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 29/11/2019 17:17

Here's a useful checklist for the first year of a relationship:

  • is this relationship fucking brilliant?

That's it. If yes, you stay. If no, you don't.

Simples.

www.google.com/amp/s/markmanson.net/fuck-yes/amp

IToldYouIWasFreaky · 29/11/2019 18:06

I like that Charlotte! It's worth remembering that relationships are supposed to add something to our lives. If it's hard work, it's not right

CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 29/11/2019 18:11

Yes, I think we misunderstand "you have to work at relationships." It's true, but that comes later down the line once you're invested and life throws shit at you. The first year, your feet shouldn't touch the ground. (I experienced this for the first time of my life with my current DP. At the grand old age of 40!)

And if it's your partner throwing (metaphorical) shit at you instead of life, then you bin. Whenever.

Thehop · 29/11/2019 18:44

More red flags than a communist barbecue. Stay well clear.