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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:
independentfriend · 30/11/2019 18:20

captainawkward.com/category/breaking-up-2/ would be a good thing for you to read.

He's probably going to try chasing you if you don't put in place firm boundaries with him. So it might be worth emailing / texting him something really saying:

  1. The relationship is over
  2. [You've put any stuff of his in the post/had it delivered it to his house - if there is anything, and you're willing to do this and can do it with a friend/relative, so there's no risk of you being alone with him]
  3. You don't want to hear from him again.

He will take a mile if given an inch, so probably don't say you'd like to resume contact as friends in six months or so, even if that would feel like a kinder let down.

You want the clear bit of communication saying you don't want to hear from him again, so that you can ignore all subsequent bits of communication and if necessary can show it to the police if he persists.

Aknifewith16blades · 30/11/2019 19:05

OP, I haven't seen the word gas-lighting mentioned much in this thread, but that's what was going on. Stay away from him.

lookingforaunicorn · 30/11/2019 20:16

RUN NOW!! sounds like my ex. Selfish, controlling, OCD. Walk away. Does he have mommy issues too!?

KimchiLaLa · 30/11/2019 20:20

Yep sorry this sounds awful. He sounds like he's controlling and selfish, and is taking advantage. Pls leave him.

Pukeworthy · 30/11/2019 20:28

Nuts.

Fictional period blood?
You 'splash too much'?
You dont CHOP ONIONS LIKE HIS MUM?

What a fucking weirdo, seriously. Hard work, and i can imagine he'll only get worse.

goshohmy · 30/11/2019 21:07

TO all the people saying he might be OCD or autistic I really don’t think it’s the case. He’s very outgoing and has loads of friends. He seems confident although not full of himself. People saying things about rules made me think of one time when he called up a restaurant to make a reservation for that night and I heard him on the phone saying half 6 and 7 o’clock so when he got off the phone I asked him what time we were going for dinner and he said he told the restaurant he’d be there between half 6 and 7 because he doesn’t like giving an exact time. I thought it was a tiny bit arrogant but we hadn’t been together long so I just put it down to trying to impress me. I think if he really cared about following rules he would have booked a table for an exact time. When we got there the restaurant was empty so it didn’t matter!
I’m making him sound terrible now, but he’s very gentle and never raises his voice or anything. He also has lots of female friends. He’s really charming and funny. I don’t want people thinking I had this guy being awful to me for 5 months but I had to come on Mumsnet to ask if it was normal. I’m not mad! Although I feel mad the past few weeks. I’ve also lurked on here for long enough to know that the advice is always spot on. That’s why I didn’t say about him ending it at first cos I didn’t want to be able to tell myself people were just trying to make me feel better about being dumped. I just really, really like him and keep thinking maybe if I acted differently it would have worked better.
I also made allowances because after about three weeks together he told me he was seeing a counsellor. He didn’t have that many appointments and he said he’s not going to go anymore because he feels like he’s fixed his issues. I thought maybe that’s why he was always mentioning his mum and his ex because he was trying to process it or something. He’s always a bit down on his mum but he never mentions his dad but he told me whenever he goes to theirs for dinner it’s always late cos his mum frets so much about getting everything right. It made me think.
Thank you for all the responses. I just don’t have anyone to talk to IRL for a variety of reasons and I keep reading over all the replies trying to get my head around it. I really appreciate people taking the time to reply. xxx

OP posts:
loserssaywhat · 30/11/2019 21:24

The thing is abusive men are outwardly quite charming and have a lot of people who sing their praises .
I remember a lot of women chasing my ex and telling me how lucky I was to have him, all the while he was making my life a misery and continued to do so for years. No one would have believed me.
Of course they are lovely or they'd never get close enough to a woman.
Please don't be fooled.

SlothOfSluggishness · 30/11/2019 23:59

I just really, really like him and keep thinking maybe if I acted differently it would have worked better.

Read this back to yourself.

He’s a dick. You’re well rid.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 01/12/2019 04:30

You say he's really charming but you see a lot of women who are leaving their husbands on here who say "nobody believes what he's like" because to the outside world they are funny and charming and intelligent.

Stay away OP Flowers

Wakingupnow · 01/12/2019 06:20

There's a right and wrong way to chop onions and blow out candles? And you're never allowed to splash a bit of water around the sink while washing your hands? And then the period thing and the umbrella - hes put you in your place and that place is in the wrong. No matter how hard you try for him. Hope you manage to walk away from him. I'd block too. Sounds like he'll try to hover you back in with promises of him changing

AlwaysCheddar · 01/12/2019 07:42

I hope you haven’t gone back to him??? He’s nuts. Steer clear.

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 01/12/2019 07:46

Just be aware he may try and get you back, to mess with your head some more. Don't have it.

StreetwiseHercules · 01/12/2019 08:01

Absolutely weirdo. Get away from this guy.

MarianaMoatedGrange · 01/12/2019 08:08

I just really, really like him and keep thinking maybe if I acted differently it would have worked better.

Better for who? For him? Yes, because for everything you did 'the right way', he'd find 10 more things you did 'the wrong way' and he'd get to watch you struggle to placate and acommodate him.

Better for you? No. Your self esteem and MH wuld take a massive, damaging battering.

Ask yourself if YOU would 'share' an umbrella in a way that ensured you were dry, but the other person got soaked. Ask yourself if YOU would make up a tale about a woman leaving menstrual blood on the loo handle, or make someone worried sick about washing their hands in case they left a splash of water in the bathroom.

As a pp said, it's common for people like this to present a charming facade to the outside world but be a controlling arse behind closed doors.

He hasn't had to raise his voice to make you compliant to his batshit rules........so far.

Loopytiles · 01/12/2019 08:15

The only sensible decision is to dump him and end all contact.

And read some of the recommended stuff on here ans dump anyone acting like this much, much sooner in future. Your judgment has been poor with this guy.

Loopytiles · 01/12/2019 08:17

“I’m making him sound terrible”: no, his behaviour has been shit.

“he’s very gentle and never raises his voice” There is no need for him to do so, with the types of manipulation and unkindness (at best) he uses. There are plenty of ways to treat someone badly without shouting or getting physical.

“He also has lots of female friends.” Irrelevant to how he is in a relationship.

“He’s really charming and funny” Irrelevant to the problem of his behaviour in your relationship.

CalleighDoodle · 01/12/2019 08:25

It doesnt mayter ehat he his. Other than fucking awful. Run. Run fast. Run far.

NotTonightJosepheen · 01/12/2019 08:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NotTonightJosepheen · 01/12/2019 08:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Strictly1972 · 01/12/2019 08:51

Imagine spending the rest of your life worrying about how to wash your hands? That doesn’t sound like fun to me. I’d be off.

Savingforarainyday · 01/12/2019 09:03

It seems like he hates women

NotTonightJosepheen · 01/12/2019 09:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lisag1969 · 01/12/2019 09:39

Get rid of him. Before you spend too much time with him and don't want to leave. Obviously had an odd upbringing. Mother probably odd too. Steer clear

lisag1969 · 01/12/2019 09:46

Please don't go back with him he has bad issues. You will regret it. Find someone who is normal

Jiggles101 · 01/12/2019 10:09

Sounds more like OCPD than OCD to me but whatever, it's not relevant.

Keep running OP, and don't look back. Dodged a bullet here!

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