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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

Embarrassing outpouring

31 replies

famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 22:39

I don’t know where to start really, probably just unloading 😂
I stupidly vented to my ex after I had ended things, we had agreed to disagree ,we split before lockdown and several times before then, for a time we didn’t communicate at all and I started to feel stronger.
Just at the point where I felt completely unemotional about him he got in touch, it was weird, exactly the same day as I’d packed all his things away. We weren’t in contact and he lives far away so it was pretty weird.

But because I felt ‘over him’ I was happy to chat and maybe I was enjoying it a bit as we had a great communication style when things were good between us and I have purposely not got into anything with anybody else.

He would get in touch every now and then to check in and we’d make polite chitchat and then We don't talk for a week or so then he finds an excuse to get in touch and we chat for a couple of days then he disappears and then comes back again so I unfriended and blocked him on social media platforms and on my phone as it was upsetting me.

Because I’m soft, I messaged him prior to unfriending and blocking just to say it’s doing my head in being in contact and not helping me to move on and then blocked so it didn’t come completely out of the blue..
he then contacted me by email and it started again, I hadn’t considered email blocking as we haven’t used email together more than once or twice when planning a holiday a year ago.
I went through several difficult things during the latter part of our relationship and became quite unwell. Some of my illness was based around his evasiveness and dishonesty.
I took all the blame for all of it, as was going through a breakdown last year and we agreed that my mental health wrecked the relationship.
Now I’ve had therapy and able to see things more clearly I can see that his lack of transparency about lots of things partly contributed to my breakdown, I was anxious an paranoid and definitely gaslighted.
contact with him this time seemed to be re traumatising me and he kept telling me how much I’d misinterpreted and misunderstood various actions and inactions of him and I ended up going at him both barrels, absolutely unnecessary tirades listing details of things we’ve gone over before and spending / wasting hours on it. Trying not to be accusatory but ultimately my aim was to get him to see my viewpoint and acknowledge it if nothing else.
I was so tenacious and even whilst typing I knew it was off and completely pointless.
He maintained that I was wrong about everything and he still loves me etc and it was due to my warped perceptions that we have lost an ‘amazing and special’ relationship.
I was so unhappy for a huge chunk of our relationship, really unwell and he showed a Real lack of empathy and compassion at the time and I am embarrassed by my continued hounding of him via email now , knowing that everything I was saying was just going to add fuel to his assertion that I am mental.
I have now blocked him everywhere I can think of so that I’m not tempted to keep on trying to be understood.
I feel like a twat and that these last emails will completely validate his opinion of me. I did apologise but I feel I have humiliated myself by opening up in such a manner when I already know he makes me feel vulnerable.
I know he'll be out dating straight away soon as he can as that’s what he’s done whenever we split before. and I know I'll be really upset when I see pics of him online with someone else , so blocked all his friends etc so I don't accidentally see something involving him or go on a late night stalk when I’m feeling low.
So at least now I’m doing no contact better.
I'm struggling to work at all, my moods are all over the place , due to other stuff f going on too so hopefully now I’ve gone proper no contact I will start to feel my mood lift again.

Has anyone else gone full pelt like this and committed it to type?
I feel like I have been a stereotype of the kind of woman men joke about.

OP posts:
DemEyebrows · 29/04/2020 22:58

As awful as it sounds I pretended my ex had died Blush I’d found him in bed with another woman and we’d been together for 4 years so the next day I packed my things and left. I blocked him on everything so I was never tempted to make contact or go crawling back in weak moments. I still met up with mutual friends but I never ever discussed him (which must’ve been very odd for them at the time!) I just pretended he didn’t exist and moved my life on in a positive direction. Socialised a lot more, knuckled down with work and 8 months later met my now DH. I look back and realise that it was never going to work between the ex and myself so there was no point wasting my time and breaking my heart further by speaking to him. Just like your ex he was fantastic as gaslighting and making me feel crazy. We are not crazy, they’re just pathetic men. The right person doesn’t make you feel crazy. You were very unhappy for most of the relationship so I think you’re doing the right thing by blocking him. It will help you move forward, no point looking back now. Look to your future!

Menora · 29/04/2020 23:03

Yeah look I just had to keep reminding myself all the horrible things about him and that I never had to face him again anyway so all the things I had said, didn’t matter anymore. He didn’t respect me and he doesn’t respect you. Being vulnerable is nothing to be ashamed of but being an asshole is

amillionwishes · 29/04/2020 23:07

Does it matter what he thinks of you? This dishonest, gaslighting twat who thinks you can be picked up and put down like a toy?

You've said what you needed to, look at it as cathartic and closure. Onwards and upwards lovely Thanks

SliAnCroix · 29/04/2020 23:11

I wouldnt worry what he thinks. You know him well enough to know he is a shit boyfriend.

famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 23:17

Thank you thank you thankyou for understanding.
I’m so unsure of myself at the moment, I’m really glad Icut him off. Not being geographically close will help with me pretending he’s dead @DemEyebrows Grin despite meeting each other’s friends, nobody actually became particularly close to either’s friends so it’s very unlikely that anyone I know will be in touch with him. Except for one of my friends who got on well with him and became friends with him, maybe I should express that I don’t want to hear anything about him.
@amillionwishes yes, I will look on it that way. I’m reminded of Friends , the one where Rachel gets closure.
Funny enough when I was writing my diatribe I thought of the zillion page letter she wrote to Ross when they were ‘on a break’
which he pretended to read.
Ah well, if it’s good enough for Jennifer Anniston it’s good enough for me.
Sorry to any non-friends fans as that won’t make much sense.

OP posts:
famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 23:18

@SliAnCroix so bloody true. I am genuinely glad it’s over, really was toxic for me but the good bits helped to hide the bad bits until couldn’t stay in denial any longer.

OP posts:
amillionwishes · 29/04/2020 23:24

@famousforwrongreason I am a big Friends fan and I know the episode well. Look, you needed to say those things for your own benefit, not his. He won't ever see your "side" because he's too concerned with himself but do you care? No. Do you know why? Because you are worth SO MUCH MORE.

Remember the one where they burned a load of stuff ( they read that book about wind haha) and firemen came? That's you now, burning all the crap he left you with so you can move on x

canigooutyet · 29/04/2020 23:25

Why do you care what some arsehole of an ex thinks about you?

You are no longer involved and for very good reasons. And there is no reason to remain in touch on a friendly basis.

His actions have told you time and time again he doesn't care.

Move on. Learn from this. And forget about him. Until you can do that you will never be free of him. And no amount of telling him about himself will change him. Instead chances are you go back to him.

Forget about him. Enjoy your life. Create new and better memories. You will be surrounded by people that have a positive effect on you. You will be loved. Him, well, it's how angry lonely "older" people are 'created'.

If needs be, do some cheesy cleansing or whatever bollocks it's called.
And even better, you don't live local to each other.

canigooutyet · 29/04/2020 23:28

Oh god, that friends scene was embarrassing. What the hell were the writers thinking? Do people really do that?

If I got handed something like that, tbh I wouldn't even bother reading it. Chances are, he scanned the email and deleted it.

famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 23:37

@amillionwishes hahahahaha re the wind, we’re they all in wedding dresses? Grin

OP posts:
famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 23:38

@canigooutyet I agree. He also works in law so no matter what I say he’s never ever going to admit culpability. Yes it was an embarrassing scene and I was even embarrassed for myself whilst re-enacting it Blush

OP posts:
famousforwrongreason · 29/04/2020 23:42

@canigooutyet cheesy cleansing sounds a lot of fun. I do feel like it was cathartic in a way. I think the blocking will have a massive impact as I’m no longer on tenterhooks awaiting his reply. Before I was on tenterhooks waiting for him to reveal his latest deception!
Thank you @amillionwishes and everyone for the pep talk!

OP posts:
canigooutyet · 30/04/2020 02:22

I’m just really harsh like that. I give you x amount of chances based on my boundaries, and when it comes time to move on.
Arseholes yea goodluck in getting a reply from me. Once I have said never contact me again and they do. Blocked. No warning. Nothing. Arseholes really don’t deserve anything. Not like they thought about you whilst doing x,y and z.

Of course no one takes me serious until they quickly find themselves blocked.

He had no right to send you an email to begin with. You’d already told him to stop contacting you. Sometimes this complete lack of respect is the start of what would be considered harassment.

BendyLikeBeckham · 30/04/2020 02:38

It is done, OP. Now just forget about it and put it behind you. Maybe have a little private cringe in a years time!

Well done for blocking him He sounds like a total headfuck. I bet your MH is much better without him.

AmelieTaylor · 30/04/2020 06:46

Going 'cold turkey' is better for YOU.

Don't worry what him & his dickhead mates are saying - it doesn't matter, it's SO very unimportant!

All that matters is YOU & the sooner you stop allowing this utter test to mess with your head the better!

You've done enough therapy to know that the gaslighting, dishonesty & crap from him is what messed with your MH - not the other way around

Talk is cheap & he might actually mean & believe what he says, but the fact is, he's not good for you!! (Or anyone).

Obviously there are things you'll miss about him - very few people (if any) are 109% bad, but he's not the one for you.

Move on. Plan something fun. Get out in the fresh air & do things that make YOU smile! (Not as easy just now, but it is possible) 🌷

RenascenceWoman · 30/04/2020 07:02

If he doesn't matter to you then it doesn't matter what he thinks. Get back to your happy, positive place again. Flowers

Nitpickpicnic · 30/04/2020 07:31

You’ve kicked him off your technologies, now evict him from the space he’s taking up in your head!

Be careful that posting and responding on here, much as you’ll find sympathy and support, is still you ‘keeping him alive’ in your mind.

Shake him off, for real and forever. Forge ahead and never look back.

famousforwrongreason · 30/04/2020 08:21

Very true @nitpick
I also just realised : I had blocked him on three separate messaging apps and yet he still contacted me via a fourth.
I ended up going off on one to him on that fourth app and then I'm on here expressing shame and embarrassment!
I blocked him which maybe I shouldn't have announced but I also explained I was doing it for my own good and him then emailing me was yet another way to trample my boundaries.
Why the heck should I be embarrassed?!

OP posts:
PinkMonkeyBird · 30/04/2020 11:20

I did exactly the same as @DemEyebrows

The day I found out my ex was cheating I left him. We had been together for nearly 10 years and I had been living with him for 8 years with my DC (not his). We were renting so I literally left with my DC, blocked him on everything, stayed with a friend until I found somewhere else to live. I dealt with his parents for tying up other loose ends and then blocked them when it was all completed. His parents aren't bad people, they were initially very supportive with me, but his mum started to believe her son's narrative that the OW was just a friend. They were devastated about losing contact, but I didn't want anything more to do with him or his life at all.

famousforwrongreason · 30/04/2020 11:42

Wow @pinkmonkey that is great resolve and boundary setting. You sound really focused. Did you fall apart at any time? I hope you’re all ok and settled now?

OP posts:
PinkMonkeyBird · 30/04/2020 11:51

@famousforwrongreason

No, I kept my resolve as I felt so angry towards him. He had gaslighted me for a year prior to finding out and had become emotionally abusive so finding out kind of empowered me IYSWIM.

It is nearly 2 years on and that first year was hard with flashbacks, but I also felt so free from it all. My friends and family were amazing and supportive. I have no temptation to know anything about my ex and his OW. I say now, that she did me a favour and is welcome to him. I'm now in a relationship with someone who is totally different. He's so lovely, kind hearted and emotionally mature. I wouldn't have met him had I still been with my shitty ex!

PinkMonkeyBird · 30/04/2020 11:57

Oh and OP, please don't take the responsibility that your mental health wrecked your relationship. It may have contributed in part, but your ex had a part to play in this too by the sounds of it. The best thing I did was to have counselling and become a friend to myself. To know you are deserving of a lot better and to just be happy being single definitely helps. I was truly happy being on my own before meeting my new chap. We both acknowledge that we don't need a relationship to define who we are, being in a relationship together is an added bonus. I'm not saying I wouldn't be upset if my current relationship ended, but I know I'm quite fine on my own and don't need a relationship to make me feel complete.

Menora · 30/04/2020 12:18

OP if it helps you I am in therapy and it has come apparent I have a 2 fold problem
Firstly I am naturally drawn to emotionally needy and chaotic men, as that is what I am most used to and seems normal. I then do not seem to have a good working radar for red flags as my tolerance is very off balance.

Secondly then these men trigger my own childhood trauma feelings off make me feel insane, unsafe and vulnerable and my MH cannot cope with it.

It’s like an alarm goes off in these situations but you don’t know what it means, don’t know who or what to trust and get very confused and make what looks like odd decisions to other people on the outside

But it can be changed. Don’t give up hope of that!

famousforwrongreason · 30/04/2020 13:39

@Menora that is exactly my dynamic. Even with men who present as capable aand in control, it always unravels in somme way eventually.
As with my most recent ex, @PinkMonkeyBird, this one presented as you say your current partner does and I had been single for quite some time and was very content. I had just decided to go back to old because I fancied some dates. I hhad lots of dates with perfectly nice people where there was no 'spark' but me and this one clicked, we'd booth apparently been single for some time and done some soul searching etc and were both very independent and doing well, good social lives, jobs etc and it all seemed very good. Until he started testing my boundaries, I would stand up to him, challenge, split up but something kept drawing me back in and that's where my boundaries went askew. I had some personal trauma and instead of sticking with my resolve to end it with him I clung to him because other things in my life were falling apart.
He is a very skilled talker and manipulator. It's been his job for all his adult life. He's very reasonable and calm and very respected so I naturally believed that because I was the one who's head was in a difficult place, that he was the one who was reasonable and I started to really lose faith in myself and my core beliefs annd rights.
Of course now I have seen this dynamic for what it was I shall be much more aware in future.
He was great on the surface but scratch beneath, he had so many outre pedlcadilloes aand needs and so many secret communications with women aand so many other things I willl never know because I never went so far as snooping, these are all things which were accidentally revealed sometimes with a slip of the tongue. It was actual crazy making when I was in a very vulnerable place.
Him coming back recently and opening the doors of communication again coincided with lockdown aand yet another very difficult family crisis so it was easy to fall into a familiar pattern of very chaste chatting, but as soon as I started to back off the crazy making started all over again.
The guy is a fake, faked compassion and empathy really well, fakes having a handle on everything, and fakes his moral facade.
He is very magnetic, very attractive, great fun, well travelled, creative and superbly intelligent and amazing in bed, it was easy to kid myself for a while.

OP posts:
Menora · 30/04/2020 14:37

That’s what you have to challenge on yourself, the magnetism element. Your mind and body are confusing what is exciting and meeting your desire for attention and love vs the trauma side that knows ‘it will all end in tears’.

The click you experience is the moment your brain meets something that seems familiar. I don’t believe the click is a real connection as we see it. It’s just that moment where you recognise all the familiar feelings (good and bad) so you are drawn to it. Normal men seem boring cold and detached because they don’t have that underlying glint in their eye that draws you in.

Been in the same place as you with the crazy making and looking back I told him way too much about myself, he knew all my triggers but never revealed his own. I recently was chatting to a man online who made a comment about finding my weak spot and I immediately blocked him - because that’s what people are doing and you are showing them ‘here are all my weak points, so please don’t hurt me’ before you know if they deserve to know about them

This is meant to be helpful not having a go at you it’s interesting when we look at things in retrospect, how we opened up and someone took advantage

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