Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

Husband says I am an abusive bully...

42 replies

BellaBicycle · 08/02/2020 23:39

I am going through a divorce, my stbxh has been most of our marriage, he has half-heartedly admitted to a lot of things, but this has taken him until now, whereas before he would say I am making it up, or imagining it. Anyway, he has started to do some ‘new’ things which I wanted to ask mums-netters opinion on. He is desperately trying to talk me out of it, saying he loves me so much etc, and that I should stay with him, because he has been so patient and put up with my abuse bullying and victimisation of him since day one of us being together, and he has been walking on eggshells since he met me. I ask him why he stayed with me all that time if I was so bad, and such a bully, he says its because he loves me too much. It just does not make sense to me. When I challenge him by saying it’s not healthy to be like that he will say well I love you and that helps me ignore your abusive bullying behaviour. I’m honestly so confused by this. I am not going to change my mind, no matter what. What is he doing? Is this gaslighting? Is this EA as well?
Thank you x

OP posts:
redcarbluecar · 08/02/2020 23:43

He’d be better off without an abusive bully. You’ll be doing him a favour by divorcing him. Poor little love, having to walk on eggshells. Don’t make him have to do it any more.

BellaBicycle · 08/02/2020 23:50

@redcarbluecar
your comment made me laugh so much - thank you x

OP posts:
LexMitior · 08/02/2020 23:54

He is absolutely messing with your head.

If it was true you were bullying him
then he should not stay. Very dysfunctional

If it is not true, then he should leave. Because he’s a liar messing with your reality

Same result, different reason. He sounds very untrustworthy. And he’s the bully; this just another game where he gets to twist you about, as bullies are wont to do.

Best of luck separating.

Baboomtsk · 09/02/2020 00:04

Has he given you any examples of this behaviour?

BellaBicycle · 09/02/2020 00:16

No examples at all @Baboomtsk
I did ask for some
He once towered over me shouting swearing, aggressive voice, low tone threatening, right in my face, calling me the C word and SL word, I pushed him away from my body, not hard (I'm 5ft, size8 - he's 6ft size L) but he claims I am a violent abuser because of this.

OP posts:
FlamedToACrisp · 09/02/2020 00:47

This is just a manipulative ploy, from someone who sounds to me like HE'S the bully. Don't challenge, don't defend, don't engage at all. Respond if you must with, "That's your opinion, not mine. Anyway the marriage is over, so it doesn't matter now."

Krazynights34 · 09/02/2020 00:52

Classic abuser guff - they call the victim the abuser. Cunt!

Krazynights34 · 09/02/2020 00:52

Him that is, not you!
Please go get help...GP, etc.

EL8888 · 09/02/2020 00:53

Taking the piss is my assessment. Trying to turn it onto you. Don’t accept any of this

Weenurse · 09/02/2020 00:57

He should be pleased his ‘bully’ is distancing herself from him.

Thelnebriati · 09/02/2020 01:24

He is panicking because he is losing control over you and is trying different tactics. Have you heard of DARVO - deny, accuse, reverse victim and offender?
Its a classic abuser tactic.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO

dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html

Jane1978xx · 09/02/2020 06:38

Sounds exactly like my ex h. Said I was a bully and ruined his life. He used to call me names and wouldn’t let me eat in the same room as him and many other things. Also the standing shouting and swearing and you push or move away and they say you attacked them. Move on and get on with your life

Emmelina · 09/02/2020 09:39

Abusers often flip their behaviours round onto their victims, just look at Donald Trump.
You are well rid, just ride out this storm until the divorce is finalised then move on!

BellaBicycle · 09/02/2020 12:15

Thank you all for your support
He has really messed with my head
We recently had the police out after a friend reported him
After they left he said I was lucky that he didn't tell them what I am really like, and my violence towards him, otherwise they would have arrested me - he is referring to the example above when I lightly used my hand to get him off me.

OP posts:
Tigerty · 09/02/2020 12:21

He would have told them about your “abuse” to get himself out of the situation of your friend calling the police on him. He got the talking too. There is no “lucky” about it.

He’s playing mind games. If you’re such an abuser then your both better off without each other. Yet he’s using that as a means of keeping you with him. Doesn’t make sense does it. Which means the abuser is not you.

Yes he’s trying to gaslight you which is why you’re confused and focusing on an incident that doesn’t make sense to you.

flirtygirl · 09/02/2020 12:21

He is the abuser not you but he likes it when you get so upset and do something wrong, anything wrong (because of his abuse) so that he can point out and say, "it's you, not me".

My ex would hit me whilst I was in bed, then pull the covers off whilst I tried to hide, shake the bed, poke me, if I covered my ears at his shouting he would pull my hands off my ears. He would punch the pillow next to my head whilst telling me he had such self control as look he didn't punch me.

This could go on for hours whilst he lectured and shouted at me about whatever I had done wrong. A few times I had jumped up and pushed him out of the bedroom and slammed the door telling him to leave me alone. One time I slapped him as I was pushing him out the door, as he had grabbed and twisted my arm. I was then the abuser. He was so happy and would always bring it up. This was after years of his escalating behaviour.

One time after he had gone on at me for a long time as I lay in bed and I got up and started shouting back at him, I was shouting at the top of my voice and crying, "please leave me alone, I'm scared of you".

He secretly recorded that and later told me how he played it to himself, to prove how crazy I was. When he found someone else (I took the kids to my mum's after that event of I'm scared of you, as I realised how bad it was and later on that week he tried to strangle me), I was later told he played it to his family to prove how bad I was. I had a thread on here at this time.

You are not the abuser, he is. Never forget that, just get rid of him, go low contact or no contact if you can. If you have children go extremely low contact and parallel parent. Put everything in writing only, emails and texts, as every word you say will be twisted and used against you.

flirtygirl · 09/02/2020 12:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flirtygirl · 09/02/2020 12:38

Sorry I hadn't meant to post my last post as typing and writing about it all was therapeutic, but I didn't want to post all that info. I have reported my post to get it removed.

category12 · 09/02/2020 12:40

If what he was saying was true, you'd be doing him a favour by ending the relationship. But it's not, it's classic reversing of victim and offender and gas-lighting. Get the hell out and stop listening to him.

FourDecades · 09/02/2020 12:57

@flirtygirl surely anyone listening to you shouting that you're scared of him , would feel for you not him x

BellaBicycle · 09/02/2020 13:38

Thank you @flirtygirl

It’s not going to be easy leaving him, and divorcing him. On the gov website it says: If you are cohabiting with your spouse for a period of more than 6 months after the last alleged unreasonable behaviour, the court will refuse to grant the divorce petition.

He has refused to move out, and continues with his behaviours, he wants another chance and is refusing to agree to the divorce. What can I do if he won’t leave? I may be refused the divorce on the grounds that he is still living with me. I cannot afford to pay for another petition.

It is so hard to get EA men out of your life.

OP posts:
Blanca87 · 09/02/2020 13:43

Keep calling the police when he EA you. Call women's aid, they will be able to support you, too.

ItFigures · 09/02/2020 13:43

Like other pp’s have suggested he’s just projecting. Abuse seems to be a bit of a buzz word lately and especially throughout MN. Of course it happens, I am a victim of it but I don’t then accuse every man I’ve dated of abusing me be it financial or emotional. I’ve seen it so many times on here where the women say they’ll never be with a man like that again and then low and behold they are with an emotionally abusive man a month later, introduced them to their kids and then they are off and on more times than a tarts knickers. They lament the new guy is an abuser and have boundaries as thick as steel and will never take them back and then they are back together playing happy families so it does make you question whether he/she was actually abusive or whether the word was just used with no actual thought to what abuse really entails.

AudaCityLimits · 09/02/2020 13:44

Hmm. We don't know what the marriage was like, so we don't know the ins and outs of what you were like with him, so we can't tell you whether you were abusive or not. But we can tell you that this relationship doesn't sound healthy, so you're both better off out of it imo.

pinkyredrose · 09/02/2020 14:38

Why did your friend call the police?