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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

Why does he turn it on me

38 replies

Justtryyourhardest · 05/04/2020 09:29

My boyfriend of 2 years and I don’t have kids together but each have kids from previous relationships. I ended it with my kids dad around 3 years ago after being with him for a very longtime, we had settled down in our early 20s and had drifted apart and become different people towards the end of our relationship (in our 30s). I ended it and despite me hurting him, we have always agreed to stay civil for our children’s sakes. He sees them every other weekend and once during the week.

My boyfriend sees his child every other weekend. He was with his child’s mum for around 5 years and broke up with her around 4 years ago. It was a really messy breakup as she was apparently cheated on him and stole from him. They don’t talk and all arrangements to do with the child is done through the grandparents.

Around a week ago, my boyfriend told me that he was going to contact his ex directly to ask if he could add his child on his games console so he could talk to the child more often (he’s not getting to see child as often at the moment because of coronavirus). I said that was a good idea. I didn’t hear anymore about it that day until we were lying in bed that night and his phones message notification when off at 2am. Me, thinking there was something wrong, asked who it was. When he checked it, I was next to him so I could see, he said it was his ex. I asked why she was messaging so late at night and he said she was just chatting. I askedwhat they were chatting about at that time of the morning and he got really weird about it which made me get suspicious so he showed me the messages and they were having a real laugh and being quite flirty and sending loads of kisses in each message. I got upset and he told me I was being stupid as he was only doing it as he hadn’t spoken to her in years . We argued and eventually made up the next day, I explained why I was upset at him sending her flirty kissy messages and he apologised and said he didn’t realise how they were coming across.

Yesterday, early hours of the morning, I caught a glimpse of his phone as he was messaging someone 😍. I asked who he was sending that to at 1am and he admitted it as her. I got really angry and asked why he was giving her these come on signals (his mum told me a couple of weeks ago that his ex was still in love with him) and he told me he’d do whatever it took to keep in touch with his child and that I was a hypercritical c@@t because my I talk to my ex. I tried to explain I have no problem him being in touch with her but it should be about his child rather than messaging her about (in his word) private jokes from years back and flirting with her. My ex and I literally only have contact to do with him he kids. My boyfriend got so mad at me, he even asked what I wanted to do about us as I have such a problem with him contacting her. We argued for the rest of the night and this morning, he’s immediately told me he’s doing nothing wrong, that that’s just the way he talks to all his friends and family and that I’m selfish.
I’ve spent most of this morning in floods of tears because he’s making me feel so bad

OP posts:
fuckinghellthisshit · 05/04/2020 09:34

What did you say when he asked what you wanted to do? I would have told him the relationship was over if he felt it was appropriate to exchange flirtatious messages with his ex.
Ask to see the messages he exchanges with his friends - do they contain heart emojis?

pinkyredrose · 05/04/2020 09:49

He wants to stick his dick in her and you're getting in the way. That's most likely his problem.

Guiltypleasures001 · 05/04/2020 09:56

He called you a cu**?

He's guilty of flirting and talking behind your back
He's gas lighting you and turning it around for on you

You dump his arse is what you do
Before your self esteem takes more of a hammering

He's a liar

lamalama · 05/04/2020 09:59

Keep a very close eye on him.

Take care and look after yourself

experiencex · 05/04/2020 10:08

This is harsh but it seems like maybe if she had been open to talking to him all along he would have been instead of doing everything through the grandparents. My guess is he still harbours feelings for her. Strange how first chance he gets of a reply from her and some chat he is straight in. Or he is just being an idiot but I wouldn't be putting up with it. Tell him it stops now or there isn't a future between you both. You have to put yourself first and don't let him treat you like this.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:27

You're in necessary civil and appropriate contact with your ex.

He is (now) not in appropriate, necessary context with his ex.

They are exchanging messages late at night. They are exchanging flirtatious messages.

They evidently cannot arrange access/be in contact about their child/communicate in a non flirty manner that is appropriate for one or both of them being in a relationship with someone else.

That makes him non relationship material, I'm v sorry.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:33

If it were truly one sided (I seriously doubt that) then the solution is not for him to "keep her sweet" by flirting back and messaging at all hours ...if she truly wouldn't allow contact or access without that, then his only avenue would be legal. She had no right to deny him access to/contact to his child unless he is prove-ably guilty of behaviour that would cause a court to debt him access.

But I don't believe he's doing it to.jrrp.hef sweet anyway ... I think he's not fully over her/they're not fully detached/that's their type of relationship/that's his MO etc.

If you "had to" flirt with a d exchange late night messaged with your ex to keep him sweet and get him to do what he should do re. your kids, would he be all fine and dandy with it? Not a fkg chance I'd bet.

Bug I don't think he's acting that way for that reason anyway.

letsjog · 05/04/2020 10:34

He's turning it around on you because he's a twit.
It's much easier for him that way :
"Oh we broke up because she was getting jealous I was in contact with my DCs mother about DC"
"You're being ridiculous and jealous I'm doing nothing wrong it's all for my DC"
"Of course I slept with my ex you were being a jealous controlling c*#t from the get go so I might as well"

This is telling you more about him than he could ever say in words.

Would he be ok with you sending messages like that? If he says yes he's full of it.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:39

You're not a hypocrite because (I presume) you're not talking to your ex in the manner he is to his. Calling you a cunt because you're understandably calling him out on his inappropriate behaviour - he's a bit of a nasty bastard.

he’s immediately told me he’s doing nothing wrong, that that’s just the way he talks to all his friends and family and that I’m selfish.

What is that smell? Oh yeah it's the overwhelming reeking stink of a tonne of bullshit.

He flirts with his friends and family, messages then in the early hours? I think.hed need to be dumped just for being fkg weird if that's the case (which it isn't).

LemonTT · 05/04/2020 10:41

He may be turning it on you because you are framing your concerns around your feelings. This is natural given the way he behaving. It is understandable if you want to rethink the whole relationship given his response. But if you don’t then you might want to approach this differently with him.

Let’s say his motives are true. He got in touch with her so he could have more contact with his child. If this is true he is putting any progress he made at risk by encouraging her and making it about her. He needs to shift her into a neutral zone not an emotional one. Because if he lets her down or oversteps she will react emotionally and that means anger. She will pull back and block access. This is the mistake he has made and you should try to make him see that. Doing that without making him feel blamed for hurting you or feel like an idiot is the difficult track.

Because the bottom line is that if he is encouraging her at some point he will need to take it further. This is where he looses you, by going along with it, or his child because he can’t.

In this respect by helping him see the mistake and helping him get out of it you get back to place of normality. Otherwise you are stuck with the other option of not trusting him and watching him destroy his relation with you or his child. And to be honest living as you in these time’s isn’t worth it.

Windyatthebeach · 05/04/2020 10:42

Ltb today op.
He is putting his budding relationship with her above yours...
What would you hang around??
Leave them to it.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:47

Tell him it stops now or there isn't a future between you both.

This is really hard for op, but I don't think this is going to stop. He probably just hide it more.

Ok had discovered he's a hypocritical (ironically) , gas lighting, nasty dick who's either not over his ex or has a really unhealthy way of interacting with her that noone in a relationship could've happy with.

Don't bother trying to reason with him op, you're just going to get more abuse, more gas-lighting, more manipulation, more excuses .... Don't cause yourself stress even trying to.

Two years is not actually a long time. It takes a long time to get to know someone properly and things like this emerge. I presume he lives with you and your kids some of all of the time (?) This is how he reward you for letting him into your life and your family. This is what he owes you .. flirting with his ex in late night messages and calling you a hypocrite - just because you're in required contact for your kids. Trying to make out its normal behaviour he died to everyone and you're the one with the problem.
Think about whether he really is long-term relationship material now you know this about him.

category12 · 05/04/2020 10:50

Dump his arse. What on earth are you doing with him?! Get shot.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:50

*does to everyone

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 10:58

I’m selfish

Yup you're so selfish for not wanting a man you're sharing your life with having sex with, probably doing household tasks for etc. not to be flirting with his ex via text, but he's not selfish at all for wanting to be able to flirt with his ex while being in a relationship with someone.

If he truly couldn't arrange contact with his child civilly without flirting with his ex, he needs to sort that situation out, not do what he's doing. But I'd put money on it that not being why he's flirting.

He's taking the utter fkg piss and trying to gaslight you.

If there weren't issues (like your ex wondering wtf was going on and it not being fair on him or any partner of his etc) I'd tell you to start flirting with your ex by text, reminiscing about good times, using lots of kisses, texting in the early hours of the morning - and see how chilled he is with it.

If he objected you could tell him, he's a hypocritical cunt cause he's in contact with his ex too, that he's selfish, that you have to.do this to get your child maintenance, and that you speak like that to all your friends and family anyway.

category12 · 05/04/2020 11:08

Basically he judges you by his own standards.

Because he completely oversteps line and probably would shag his ex, he claims you're doing the exact same thing. You should dump him because that's his normal - if he's talking to a woman, it's for sexual purposes and he thinks that's what everyone does. You can't trust him as far as you can throw him. He probably doesn't even think shagging his ex would "count" as infidelity.

GilbertMarkham · 05/04/2020 11:16

On a wider note - not trying to hurt your feelings but Ive noticed that some men, when they break up with a partner, tend to find a "soft landing place" quite quickly.

They like the company, the sex, the homely stuff, the fact that the new woman is more likely to do household stuff than he is, the social convience of having s partner .. plus his mates aren't available most of the time cause they're all coupled up ... also if and when his ex gets into a relationship, he's got somebody too etc. etc.

In other words they have lots of reasons for getting into and staying in handy relationship, that are not about purely their feelings for, commitment to the new woman.

Meanwhile the new woman thinks it's all sincere and he must be emotionally attached and invested like her and doesn't understand behaviour to the contrary. She also tends to feel like it "has to" work out because of her previous failed marriage/relationship (even when not her fault) so hangs in there.

Just keep it in mind.

VettiyaIruken · 05/04/2020 11:56

He's full of shit.

Techway · 05/04/2020 11:59

Op, 2 years is just about the time when a mask will slip. This is him and he is showing how nasty he can be. I would be highly cynical about why him and Ex broke up, especially if he hasn't taken any responsibility.

As others say if you end it then you will be labelled jealous & controlling.

Looking back it was at the 2 year mark that I noticed red flags but I ploughed ahead because I didn't understand toxic people. I took what was said at face value.

Some people are "recyclers", after the high of a new relationships wears off they seek out Ex's to boost their ego. They don't change.

BackseatCookers · 05/04/2020 12:02

He called you a hypocritical cunt as well as sending inappropriate messages to another woman.

Doesn't matter if that woman is the mother of his children.

It's over, surely)

BackseatCookers · 05/04/2020 12:02

*It's over, surely?

FlowerArranger · 05/04/2020 12:02

@Justtryyourhardest.... why are you in floods of tears over a man who told me... that I was a hypercritical c..t? He is showing you who he is. Ask yourself whether this relationship is meeting your real and legitimate needs.

You can do two things: insist on your boundaries, or dump him. But please don't weep or beg. Don't hand him the power to manipulate you and make you feel weak and miserable.

KittyKattyKate · 05/04/2020 12:20

Dump his sorry arse. You are blocking his cock and he doesn’t like it. I do wonder if she is also in bed next to a sleeping partner which is why this is happening at 2 am...

Summersunandoranges · 05/04/2020 12:25

Come on texting at 1/2 am?

He is taking the piss and you know it. Don’t let him blag your head this is all ok

Flowers
RedPanda2 · 05/04/2020 12:32

Well he is lying to you so.....end it!