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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

getting uninvited as a punishment?

89 replies

SRB450 · 13/06/2020 09:21

My bf's grandma recently passed away. We were making plans for attending the wake and funeral two days in advance of the actual events and the conversation ended badly. I was asking questions about the times to be certain places, what to bring, dress code, etc (I'm new to his family's traditions and to the country) and he kept saying "I don't know". I was getting frustrated about not getting responses so I could plan my schedule over the next two days, but made sure to keep calm. I knew he was going through a lot and I was trying hard to be sensitive despite my frustration. He started getting really frustrated too and claimed I was making things awkward. He was raising his voice. Then he abruptly yelled at me, slammed his hands on the table then left the house and slammed the doors as he left.

And this is what all our disagreements have in common, because this is where the silent treatment starts. It could last days, but the wake was the next day and the funeral the day after. I still had no information. I called his mom for info later that day (I told her nothing of our argument) and got a few more details. I promised her I would watch the family house while everyone left, as robberies are common during funerals and only a small number of people could attend in person due to covid19.

My bf normally calls me when he leaves work, but not that evening. He didn't say hello when he got home (in fairness, I didn't either) and I got no more details about the following days' events. We went to bed in silence and woke up the same way the next day, which was the day of the wake. I didn't hear from him that day either. He ended up going straight to the wake from work that evening and didn't call me, message me or come to pick me up. I had been silently uninvited. He came home very late that night, after I had gone to bed. I still had received no messages or information from him about our plans to travel to the funeral the next day, but I assumed he would definitely still want me to go. The next morning he got up really early and left on his own without me while I was still in bed.

I do not have my own car and the funeral took place in a small rural town about 40 minutes drive from our house, so I had no way to get there - transit doesn't travel to there. It also meant I would have to break my promise to watch the family house since I now had no way to get there. So I called him in the car right after he left and asked what was happening, but it only resulted in more angry words, sarcasm and he hung up on me. So I was uninvited to the funeral as well.

I'm really at a loss here. I'm tired of being made to feel like this when he's emotional or dealing with family issues. He takes it out on me and makes me feel like I'll never measure up to his family. I'm not saying I'm perfect either. I don't always say the right thing in the right way, so I'm not claiming I'm just an innocent victim. But I know the silent treatment just makes things worse. We have talked about taking different approaches to resolving our conflict before. We always agree to do better, but the silent treatment rears its head again and again. I'm sure he feels terrible and I think he's punishing himself more than me in this situation, but I'm also worried his family will think I'm incredibly inconsiderate for not attending the wake and funeral. I have no idea the reason he told them I wasn't there and I don't know how to tell them why myself. Does anyone have advice?

OP posts:
2bazookas · 13/06/2020 14:08

Bury the relationship instead.

DESDEM0NA · 13/06/2020 14:09

Of course there’s only problems when you disagree. That’s the only time ANYONE has problems.

But this is how he punishes you for disagreeing with him. He’s abusive, I’d make plans to leave him.

And BTW well done on doing so much work on yourself, that takes a lot of hard work and courage 💐

Likingthecamber2951 · 13/06/2020 14:10

I read you OP and your update and I really feel for you , I've had times when I've felt excluded and ignored and it's awful , for it to happen in your circumstances must be particularly difficult.

Firstly, well done on seeing that your way of dealing with anger and conflict needed work when you were younger, and we'll done on attending counselling. None of us are perfect but seeing that and doing work on it is commendable.

Your bf ignoring you and giving you the silent treatment is abusive, it's not a little bit out of order or a little bit annoying. It is totally and utterly abusive. Look up Melanie Tonia Evans, she does a video on stonewalling and I think it is very relevant to your circumstances here. (The video is actually called "why narcissists stonewall you") just ignore the narcissist bit, I don't know if he is or he isn't one, I just think the video could be useful to you .

Just to put some context to what your bf did to you. A few years ago a child in my family passed away , it was incredibly difficult for everyone in my family and I took it very very hard. I argued with my bf over and over in the week leading up to the funeral and I am telling you I would NEVER have excluded my bf from the funeral. Not at all. What happened with your stress/argument isn't unusual, but your BF reacting as he did was very unusual and it shouldn't have happened

I'm so sorry you've came over to Ireland and had all the stress caused by lockdown. You must be feeling very, very isolated just now xx

HouchinBawbags · 13/06/2020 14:13

Go home.

Please.

You don't need him. Someone who will use the silent treatment and ignoring you and yes, abandoning you at home too, is an abuser. He is. That's it. Don't stay with an abuser. A real couple would sort out arrangements and schedule of an event such as this between them as a team.

He sounds vile.

Leave. Go home where you are safe and are not trapped.

paisleydaisy · 13/06/2020 14:28

I agree with bubbleup and oakmaiden

It isn't obvious to me that he is using silent treatment as an abusive, intentional, aggressive act to try to control the OP and it isn't really helpful to be labelling it as definitely abusive. It does sound as though the relationship isn't working well.

1forAll74 · 13/06/2020 14:34

You appear to be not well suited in this relationship, different temperaments, and views on a lot of things etc. So you may have a life of a few ups, and many downs , if things can't change at all.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 13/06/2020 14:35

This relationship is not working well because it is abusive in nature. His silent treatment towards the op is all a part of his abuse against her.

Likingthecamber2951 · 13/06/2020 14:37

@paisleydaisy

I think uninviting someone to a funeral without telling them is abusive. I think regular silent treatments that can last for days is abusive. It can be used a very effective manner of control, and is passive aggressive rather than overtly aggressive but that can be worse as it is harder to pinpoint what is happening .

To the OP, you said that you didn't speak to your bf when he came in from work and you didn't speak at all that evening. (He wasn't speaking to you at all either) Why is that, why didn't you try to speak to him? ( This isn't a judgement at all I just want to know why you didn't talk to him )

paisleydaisy · 13/06/2020 14:41

@likingthecamber2951 I don't agree, and the video you linked is all about the abuser wanting "control" - here we are talking about a funeral, and we are also talking about how his entire family does not argue, and handles conflict by time alone. This is completely different from an abuser who uses stonewalling or silent treatment to control and abuse. I have experienced both - they really are two different things. It is also interesting that you ask the OP why she gave him the silent treatment without judgement yet you don't extend the same benefit of the doubt to him - do you see what I mean? I am sorry about the loss in your family.

Etinox · 13/06/2020 14:47

“We have a lot of ups and downs, like I'm sure many relationships do”
@SRB450.
Flowers
Good relationships don’t.

Likingthecamber2951 · 13/06/2020 14:49

@paisleydaisy

The argument they had where she was asking questions which he didn't want to answer, went on to raise his voice and then left and commenced a silent treatment on the OP IS stonewalling . It is. Just because he copes with things by being alone isn't an excuse to use it.

I'm not saying the OP is in an entirely abusive relationship but this treatment is abusive and it is invalidating and it is crossing her boundaries of what she needs to feel safe in her relationship.

madcatladyforever · 13/06/2020 14:50

This will be your life forever if you stay with this man until you are a shadow of your former self. I know I've been. No there and wasted 20 years on a man who would not communicate who then also became abusive in other ways. Don't stay
.

paisleydaisy · 13/06/2020 15:01

@likingthecamber2951 on the other hand, the OP being needy and demanding just before the funeral - the fact of the funeral might excuse him losing his temper and walking out - and the OP then contacting his mother inappropriately might then have prompted him dealing with it on his own. I'm not saying the OP is in an entirely abusive relationship but this treatment is abusive and it is invalidating and it is crossing her boundaries of what she needs to feel safe in her relationship I think if it were behaviour which were habitual then that would be invalidating, but where it is connected with a funeral different rules apply. So it isn't certain either way. If you are saying now that it isn't an "entirely abusive relationship" then that is different from what you were saying before? In relation to crossing her boundaries of what she needs to feel safe I think you are right in that they are wrong for each other, but not necessarily that he is actually in the wrong or abusive.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 13/06/2020 15:11

He was not being helpful in stating that he did not know every single time op asked a reasonable question.

This time it was his nan’s funeral, the man manufactured this argument deliberately. Raising his voice and slamming in hands down on the table was all part of that. It also appears that every time there is a disagreement he goes to silent treatment. He would start an argument in an empty room.

Likingthecamber2951 · 13/06/2020 15:14

@paisleydaisy

She said that this behaviour was part of a pattern of similar behaviour. If she said it was a one off it would have been very different advice.

I have always said that it's the behaviour of her bf in the silent treatment/stonewalling behaviour that is abusive. I think it's important to identify that.

I never once said the relationship was abusive . And I worded it like that because people are never just one thing or one behaviour , it's up to you to decide if any one thing or one behaviour is enough to stay or walk away.

Like you I have been on the receiving end of a stonewalling/silent treatment for years and although it seems benign , it is anything but .

Elieza · 13/06/2020 15:14

This man does not know how to communicate. If he did not want the OP to go to the funeral or did not want to discuss funeral etiquette with her he should have told her that. If he was too upset to talk about it he should have said that and discussed plans the next day.

However OP I don’t think you should have phoned his family or volunteered to house sit. I know you wanted to be nice and were trying to circumvent him as he was being ignorant not telling you stuff but you may have inadvertently imposed yourself on a grieving family during COVID-19. Even though you totally meant well.

His parents probably never fought in front of him either because they hid it from him, he was too young/stupid to notice when they fought, or one of them was bullied and capitulated. So no fighting. Life should not be like that. People should have equal rights to express their point of view in a relationship. Perhaps they did the silent treatment thing and that’s where he’s got it from? Either way his behaviour is unacceptable and I doubt he will change so I think your relationship is over. Perhaps he’s felt that for weeks but didn’t like to say and that’s why he’s not included you in stuff as he’s intent on dumping you anyway now he is back on home turf so why have you over to see his family...

I think it’s time to go OP. You deserve better. I don’t think he loves you or he wouldn’t hurt you like this. LTB.

Mittens030869 · 13/06/2020 15:18

She said that this behaviour was part of a pattern of similar behaviour. If she said it was a one off it would have been very different advice.

^This exactly. It isn't simply because he lost his nan, that would be entirely different.

Likingthecamber2951 · 13/06/2020 15:28

The OP is in a new country in the middle of everything that has been going on with lockdown and covid-19, if she overstepped because she wanted to be part of the funeral and the family, I think that's totally understandable (just to say none of us know what her relationship is like with her bfs mother, it might be amazing and she didn't overstep at all). I do feel a lot of empathy for the OPs situation.

SmileyFaceSadFace · 13/06/2020 15:50

Are you sure you were ever invited in the first place?

bubbleup · 13/06/2020 16:15

@Likingthecamber2951

"The argument they had where she was asking questions which he didn't want to answer, went on to raise his voice and then left and commenced a silent treatment on the OP IS stonewalling"

He answered. He told her he didn't know/wasn't sure. She then got frustrated because she wanted to plan her schedule for a funeral it sounds like she wasn't invited to. Probably due to covid restrictions.

You don't even know what questions she was asking him. It could've been something he genuinely had no idea about yet you've labelled him abusive.

PoetaDeLosSandwiches · 13/06/2020 16:17

If there was a limit on the number of people able to attend and OP was not one of those people (which is likely in the current situation) that is still no excuse for punishing her by avoiding her giving her the silent treatment.

If she was never invited or was uninvited, why not explain that to her? Yes bereavement can make people do strange things, but OP says the silent treatment is part of a pattern of behaviour.

bubbleup · 13/06/2020 16:19

And if OP had posted the other side of the story I'm willing to bet you'd label him controlling. Hmm

"my nan died and only 10 people are allowed to the funeral. My boyfriend is bombarding me with questions about the schedule but mum has asked that I don't bring him as there are too many people already. I don't want to hurt his feelings and I did walk out in a temper. I want to be alone and haven't been speaking to him. Now he's called my Mum and is pressuring to be involved by house sitting"

bubbleup · 13/06/2020 16:25

OP didn't speak to him either. I agree they seem to clash and his behaviour towards her wasn't great but it's a stretch to say he's abusing her. The insistence that his parents/family must argue is bizarre. Not everyone has disagreements

ChristmasFluff · 13/06/2020 16:32

The people defending the boyfriend have missed this sentence in the OP:

"And this is what all our disagreements have in common, because this is where the silent treatment starts. It could last days, "

the silent treatment is abusive. He is abusive.

It's like he doesn't have a mouth to say something along the lines of 'I'd love you to come to the funeral etc, but there isn't room so I'm afraid it's close family only.' He could learn to use his words if he wanted to.

His behaviour over those two days is not excusable, OP. In a healthy relationship, you don't spend time agonising about 'saying the right thing in the right way' - doing that is called walking on eggshells, and is another sign you are being abused. Value yourself more - go back to Canada.

He doesn't feel terrible, and he isn't punishing himself. He's getting off on punishing you. You are the scapegoat, not his partner.

SRB450 · 13/06/2020 16:33

@bubbleup I think you may have mistaken how I explained the situation... or maybe just assumed a few things about me incorrectly.

You: if "my sons girlfriend just assumed she'd be coming to the funeral and started pressuring for times and details and "invites" I really wouldn't appreciate it."

Me: I never assumed anything. He asked if I would go with him and said he really wanted me there. So I asked him for details about the times, etc. It was a naturally flowing conversation before we got frustrated with each other.

You: "Why would you go to the funeral of a person you barely know taking up a precious space for someone who knew and loved her?"

Me: The only people I know well in Ireland are his family and I became closest with him Mom, who is like a second Mom to me, his sibs and his grandma. I wasn't trying to force my way in to anything. He invited me and his family invited me as well, before we were aware of any occupancy limits in the church.

You: "you massively overstepped and rang his grieving mother"

Me: She and I are quite close. I don't see this as overstepping at all and she was happy to give me details. Like I said, I didn't mention anything about my argument with her son, which would have been overstepping. Also, it was her mother in law who passed. I wouldn't have called her if she was trying to arrange her own mother's funeral. I would have seen that as overstepping too. When I talked to her later in the day, I mentioned I thought there may be an occupancy limit in the church and I offered to step aside if need be. His mom then asked me if I would watch the house instead because she was worried about robberies, so I promised her I would. She also invited me to take part in the get-together after the funeral. So I was invited. I never forced my way in to anything.

You: "You were basically clawing at any way to get involved when they just wanted to grieve together. It wasn't about you."

Me: This last comment just seems to say you really didn't try to understand the situation but pass judgement. In fact, you sound a lot like him.

OP posts: