Apologies for the length first off! I've been with my current partner for coming up to 3 years now. I have 2 young kids, 10 and under. He has 3 older kids, 19 and under.
When me and my ex split, he moved away. Abroad in fact. Our relationship had been dead for many years, and so while he was gone, I moved on and started dating. He caught wind of this and returned home as soon as he could and went on to make my life a living hell. Harassed me, suicide threats, slander all over his social media etc - police were involved. During this time I was newly with my current partner and the strain of all of this was a lot to deal with, my dad also died, but we got through it and it eventually died down. My kids dad didn't see them for a year, I think he thought that it would force me into breaking up with my partner. When he realised that wasn't working, he started seeing them again. My eldest child was delighted, she had suffered a lot during this time and acted out in many different ways.
He starts seeing them again, he seems a lot calmer, he has stopped mentioning my partner and has even started dating himself and is currently in a serious relationship. I'm happy for him. My partner however, is not. And hates the man, the rage distorts his face whenever he is mentioned. He hates him for what he did to me/us during a really tough time in my life. Me however - am now indifferent to my ex. I can talk to him regarding childcare civilly, because honestly I've had enough drama to last a life time. I can be fluid with childcare arrangements because we have no court order, and there is no reason not to be flexible as long as it isn't causing a huge issue for my household and it often is my to benefit if something crops up. My partner doesn't seem to understand this, because his ex didn't operate this way at all.
Every time I say "ex is having the kids on x day this week" he will twist his face and there'll be a reason this doesn't work for anyone but ex. If I say "ex had the kids Christmas morning so I'm having new year", he'll again twist his face and make out like that only suits ex. He says I'm subsidient to ex, I say I'm indifferent and that it actually takes a huge amount of strength and control to be able to communicate with a man who I had to sit and watch break my kids hearts telling them he was leaving and then try and ruin me. Everything is an issue when it comes to my ex for him. I appreciate they hate each other for their own reasons but my stress levels are through the roof trying to keep everything civil with my ex for the sake of my kids, and trying to deal with my partners reactions to him.
The joke is I spent a year supporting him through mediation with his ex, her very rigid demands for access which hugely impacted our lives at home and work, because he knew that she was trying turn them against him any way she could and so when she said jump he flew.
How do I make it clear that whilst I don't forget, I do forgive my ex, because holding onto that hate only hurts me and my kids. I can't do this every week, I can't be scared to let him know what days my ex is having them as per his work rotas because I know be will find an issue with it. He wants it to always benefit us, actively encourages me to not accept days when he is in work and I'm off work because then that doesn't benefit us both. It's not just about us is the message he won't accept.
If I'm wrong for being civil with my ex, if I'm wrong for being understanding that my ex has 2 jobs and being relaxed with the days each week, if I'm wrong not forcing him to have set days via mediation just because that's what my partner has to do then I'm fully prepared to hear that. I'm quickly losing sight of what is and isn't normal or acceptable here trying to keep everyone happy but myself it seems.
Thanks if you've made it this far and can muster up the energy to reply!