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Worst story of cheating - but have I over stepped?

261 replies

CUniverse · 15/12/2020 23:56

This is a very long story, I will start with the back story as condensed as possible.

I became pregnant after 1 year whirlwind relationship with someone I split up my previous relationship for. I was living Amsterdam at the time where he is from, but moved back to the UK 6 months in.
When I found out I was pregnant, I stayed in the UK, and he was saving money to move with me and we were due to live there.
He arrived when I was 6.5 months, everything was great and we were happy. It turned out though that the 3000 euro he had supposed to have saved for us and baby, he gambled away on online poker so he came empty handed. I funded everything.

Slowly, he started to become recluse, and disappeared after work instead of coming home so that he could find places to play poker, in casinos or online.
When I discovered this, I tried to urge him into GA, he went a few times, but eventually he was suicidal and depressed so I recommended he return back to the Netherlands. Our daughter was 1 by this time.

He went back, and after 3 months decided that he wouldn't return back to the UK, he hated it and missed his friends and family. Therefore the plan was to move there with our daughter. We did this, but it took me a year, long story.

He promised he had stopped gambling and was in a good place. Within weeks of arriving he went straight back into gambling, and also speaking to other women. During this time he was emotionally abusive and even struck me 3 times. I had an abortion because of how badly he treated me. The final straw was the fact that he slept with someone one random night, so I broke it off.
I was determined to stay in Amsterdam but eventually would find somewhere else and move out into my own place with my daughter, then suddenly he found a new girl, one week after I broke up with him on tinder. He told me he was in love with her instantly and that he wanted me and our daughter to leave the house for a week, so that she could move in and work from our place for a few days. This was within 3 days of meeting this girl on tinder. I refused to allow this, and he verbally abuse me to the point where I had to flee the country with our child. He knew we were leaving but he didn't care.

Within 6 weeks, he had broken up with the tinder girl and was begging from to come back, saying that he was depressed and didn't know who he was back then and wanted to give us another go. Of course I objected. For a whole year he tried everything, gave up gambling, became selfless instead of selfish and really showed me he was ready. So I told him I would consider returning mostly for our child.

By May 2020 we were locked down together in Amsterdam and I was working from home there and became pregnant. We were happy about it and he thought it was just what we needed to finally cement the return of our relationship.
I was reluctant to put a label on us though and said I needed time, because I was traumatised from what happened between us before. Especially the physical abuse. But he really seemed like a changed man, and in fact, he had a terribly childhood, so we put it down to that, and he said he would get therapy to address his issues.

In August we went on vacation everything was wonderful, and by September, something changed.

I went back to London for a couple weeks and I sensed something was off. I asked him outrightly, if he was seeing someone else while I was in London still.
He told me no.
I arrived in Amsterdam a week later, and checked his phone while he slept. It was almost completely clean, except he left a tiny piece of evidence, along with blonde hair all over the house and I managed to get a confession out of him after pressing him for a few days.
He had met the girl 3 weeks earlier and was sleeping with her. He told me he did it because I wouldn't go publicly official to our friends and family with him. He felt neglected and stressed after a year of trying to get me back.

I made up my mind there and then that I would get my revenge for him doing this too me again. In addition, he slept with her without protection and slept with me too, before the confession thus putting my health at risk which I couldn't forgive.

This is where it gets twisted.

I told him id forgive him and stay, for the sake of our kids and that I loved him. This was a lie, I was just plotting how to get him back.
Things went great the following weeks, I was acting the part of loving and forgiving girlfriend very easily. At some point I caught him on WhatsApp with the girl ( he had told me they had cut contact). She was pursing him, crying etc.. saying she was in love with him and heartbroken that he had too end it with her.
I took a huge step evading his privacy after this and I managed to install his WhatsApp on my laptop, so I was practically spying on every convo he was having. Eventually I told him he should meet up with her one final time and end it because i had to travel back to the Uk and I didn't want him to see her while I was gone.. or more like, I wanted to test if he would, knowing I would be able to see their convos.

When they met up he came back and asked me if I would consider a 3 way relationship with the two of them. Me being the primary. I told him I would consider it when returned from London.
Of course I had no intention to do so, but just wanted to see this girl face to face, (sick I know) so we all met up, discussed things, and well it was painful, but at the end, I told them they were not to see one another while I was away and I would consider the 3way after I had the baby.

While I was there, I was still connected to his WhatsApp as I mentioned and saw they had met 3 times. Which he lied about to my face.

Upon returning though, he ended it with her and said he wanted to focus on his family. Due to the fact that he met up with her while I was away, again displaying how little he respected me, I was driven even further by seeking revenge, so much that I didn't let on that I knew anything. So all these months of knowing what he has been up to, he is none the wiser.

The current situation is that he wants for sure that I move here permanently to Amsterdam once baby is born (in London) with our other child and we buy a new house, and start a fresh... however, of course, there is no way in hell I can do this after all this deceit. I cannot believe how badly I have allowed myself to be treated.

So, because I told him I had forgiven him, I was finding it impossible to go back on my word without admitting that I was spying the whole time. So I have been creatively (insanely) thinking of other ways out... of ways that will allow me to break up with him and him not having any power to force me to stay.

One night, after not checking his actual phone for a long time, I saw he had a dating app installed on his phone, but only once. after 6 consecutive days of checking, I didn't see it anymore. But I initially did check his phone because he was acting weird again all of a sudden.
So, I decided to re install the app I saw while he slept, and then I saw he was speaking to multiple women for 6 months, but had not met any of them. This inspired me to make a fake profile, with photos of a friend of mine he doesn't know.
He matched with my profile and is planning to meet up with this girl on Friday ( I am going back to the UK tomorrow for Christmas)...

Now, if you have gotten this far you may think this is the craziest story ever (and I have missed some crazy bits out)...and may be thinking I am insane for staying and more insane for spying...however, when you're with someone who won't let you go, it is so so so very hard to get out. Especially as his family are all so adamant that I give him chance after chance, and he guilt trips me constantly with his issues and tells me I am the only person who can make him happy. I know I have over stepped by spying on him this intensely, but, I became desperate. It has been a horrible few months being pregnant and dealing with all these revelations that I have made myself privy to by having so much access to his privacy.

I expect to be scolded and told how wrong I am and that I have overstepped, but, for the first time in months I finally feel like I can throw this at him (planning to meet the girl on the app) and he will accept that I can no longer stay with him after this and give in. I don't know how I will expose the fact that I know he has planned to meet a girl, but at this point, I just need to get out.

OP posts:
Itsseweasy · 16/12/2020 09:11

It’s really simple, move back to London, block his contact except anything relating to the kids, stop playing childish games, and put your kids first for once.
You come across as sounding as though you are actually enjoying this drama and I think it’s really cruel that you are bringing your daughter up in this mess.
The “relationship” was dead and buried long ago, it’s just a joke now.

Livelovebehappy · 16/12/2020 09:12

I really couldn’t be arsed with all this. It sounds absolutely draining. You’re focusing your attention on a waste of space human being, when you could be instead focusing on your dc. Cut all ties with him. Block him. And get on with your life minus all this drama.

FancyAnOlive · 16/12/2020 09:12

Tell your family and friends what has been going on so people around you know. You need to leave ASAP. Why play these games? Your focus should be on how you will extricate yourself and your kids from this.

CandidaAlbicans2 · 16/12/2020 09:21

It has left him so damaged, but I always thought I could help him

This is where you went wrong, right at the beginning when you found out about his many problems. You are/were his partner, not his therapist, and in a romantic relationship it is not your job to help damaged men. It's admirable that you want to help people, but unless it's in a health care professional and client relationship it can get very messy, as you've found out.

justilou1 · 16/12/2020 09:22

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WhereverIGoddamnLike · 16/12/2020 09:25

So you've become pregnant 3 times with this guy? Never heard of birth control?
The kid you've got has a bad enough life and now you're having a second. I couldnt give a damn about you and this guy but those poor kids desver better.

lazylump72 · 16/12/2020 09:25

OP This nightmare you are living through..well its ok if you chose it but your kids didnt. Between the pair of you and your stupid game playing,decietful life together you will screw these kids up no end. I am sorry to be so blunt but what are you doing? Really? You are wasting your life.He does not want you..he does not respect you,,he does not need you and he thinks nothing of you ..til your gone. He does not care if he leaves you dangling on a string til he sees fit or you discover his latest decieit. He is not sorry,if he was he would not have donr it in the first place. You are nothing to him.He doesnt even respect you for being the mother of his kids,,he even gambled away the cash to provide his kids with a stable home,,so they are nothing to him either. Grow up and get rid. You are wasting your life,your time ,your emotion on nothing,And the worst thing is the impact you havent seen yet on your children who are growing up in such a toxic enviroment....up to you what you do but thats how it is .....

CUniverse · 16/12/2020 09:29

To all those who are saying it is fake, who on earth could make up such a story and what would I have to gain from posting something false? The whole point of not telling people is THIS people don’t believe you. Or they try to minimise what you’ve been through. There are things I’ve missed out that are even worse, so I’m glad I haven’t mentioned them or the “trolling” comments would be more than they are.

Let me make something clear, I am not mentally compromised. I do not have an obsession with this man, and I do not love him or desire to stay with him after what has transpired over time. I simply am MAD at myself for allowing him back into my life intimately after standing my ground in 2018, after having walked away from him.
I struggled when we split because he treated me so badly in the 6 months leading up to it. Before that, despite some of his shortcomings, he never treated me so terribly. He always had issues, but I always helped him through them. It wasn’t until I moved to Amsterdam, that he became this monster as he was in full grips of his poker addiction and talking to women. I only stayed for 6 months. And I got out as I realised he was a lost cause. So, it seems like I have just been taking his shit the whole time, but I haven’t... I walked away.

The intention was not to get pregnant, and when I did, I hate to say, even though I came around to the idea, initially I cried for days because I knew it meant he would try to use it to get me to commit to him again and try to patch up our family.
After having the abortion last time, I wasn’t going to do that again, and I truly thought, because he was committed to showing how much he changed over 1 year, that perhaps the baby would bring me back to feeling “in love” with him again.
And for a few months, we had a wonderful time while being locked down as a family, and then it all
came crashing down in September.

Yes my behaviour now is worrying and questionable with me wanting revenge, but, the things he has done are so unbelievable that I wanted to have proof of it all, and was curious to see how low he would stoop. I must admit I am shocked at how badly he has treated me this time around, especially as he worked so hard to get me back, despite how painful all this has been, at least I feel I have not been so much in the dark like last time as I’ve seen what he had been up to and now I can throw it all back in his face.

For reference, my daughter and I are not resident here in Amsterdam. I deregistered us December 2018. 12 months after I left him. Initially I keep us registered because he really wanted us to come back, so I stayed registered while living in the UK. But finally we’re not anymore.
We have managed to live here these past months because I’ve been working from home due to COVID.. and of course I can do that anywhere.

Anyways. I do appreciate some of the posts, because again, it snaps me back to reality about how much what I’m doing isn’t good for me and where I need to channel my focus. However, it doesn’t bring me any comfort in terms of what he is able to do in terms of our children.
Again, I hope all the proof of what he has done will allow him to accept me walking away out of shame for what he did. I didn’t add this before, but I broke down and did tell him mother the stuff about him cheating and the cocaine
last week as I needed someone else to confide in. She cried and cried about it with me but urged me to stay with him. She’s a journalist and riddled with guilt for leaving him in a cult at 4 years old, so she thinks I’m his saving grace (because he doesn’t communicate properly with their family after their dark past) and should stick with him regardless... this is another reason why I have stuck around this long, this time around. She acts as though I have an obligation to help him.

OP posts:
WhySoSensitive · 16/12/2020 09:33

You don’t need ‘enough’ reasons or ‘valid’ reasons.

You sound a little unhinged to be behaving in such a spiteful way and subjecting your children to this charade. Just leave.

OppsUpsSide · 16/12/2020 09:35

It’s a depressing read as it all sounds too familiar to me.
One word of caution, in my experience friends and family are keen not to acknowledge the behaviour of their relative, even when they have witnessed it with their own eyes, they will go along with his narrative that you pushed him to it, you deserved it, he’s the real victim, maybe because that’s easier?
I feel very sorry for you still being in this situation, the overwhelming feelings are the real killer.
My advice would be to leave and go no contact, focus on you and your DC.

lazylump72 · 16/12/2020 09:35

He has no power to make you stay thats the thing though.You need legal advice to protect you and the children..he is a mere man with only the power you give him. Get some proper legal advice and fast...

CUniverse · 16/12/2020 09:39

@ WhereverIGoddamnLike

I’ve been on and off birth control since being with him over the years and have tried them all, everyone you can imagine, but none of them go well with me. Not even the copper coil, my body rejected it and it doesn’t even have hormones. There are lots of women who can’t take birth control. Even though my body rejected them, I took them each time for as long as I could to protect myself, but in between are the times of coming off one or another, I got pregnant the last two times. Even though I was use natural family planning.

I have a very supportive family back home, so my daughter has had a lot of love and a very nice life, she’s smart and bubbly as is so far unaffected but everything, despite having a an absent father a lot of the time in the times we’ve spent apart from him, I always took her to Amsterdam to spend time with her father and those long weekends we spent every month here so were lovely. So many children have broken homes, but no mother intends for that. If I were married to this guy, he could have still treated me this way, how was I to know that he would turn like this after a year after we had our daughter? And giving him a second chance was done because he was persistent and showed he had changed over a whole year... my stupidity was believing him. Which I did because so truly felt that he needed help, despite the fact he treated me so badly for 6 months.

OP posts:
DianaT1969 · 16/12/2020 09:41

I read your OP thinking that you aren't mentally competent. The stuff about wanting your revenge and hanging around reading his messages in order to have a big "haha" moment and confrontation with one of his many women makes you sound unhinged. I hope that you can access MH support.
Pregnant 3 times with a cocaine and gambling addict who openly cheats with you. Moving backwards and forwards playing mind and power games.
It's sad and depressing to read this. I only have one life, but you must think you have many, because you are happy pissing your time away.
Sorry for the brutal honesty, but your long OP suggests you are so far up your own dysfunctional story, that a swift dose of reality is required.

BingoGo · 16/12/2020 09:42

Jesus fucking christ. What's wrong with you. Leave him and go to the UK with your child. What are you doing, you're a grown woman.

ReceiptsForAll · 16/12/2020 09:43

Your poor, poor children.

This is not the worst story of cheating. This is the worst story of a violent man who has attacked the mother of his children, who manipulates her and uses his childhood and depression for an excuse.

You are giving your children the same childhood.

Get yourself STI tested. You also need to find out if the children should be tested (from being infected in the womb).

Tell your parents. They need to know what has happened to their daughter and what their grandchildren are going through.

And get help. You are in an abusive relationship and need to gain the skills to leave it and not fall into another one. This is not a big game.

Your poor, poor children.

onlythepianoplayer · 16/12/2020 09:44

Let me make something clear, I am not mentally compromised. I do not have an obsession with this man, and I do not love him or desire to stay with him after what has transpired over time. I simply am MAD at myself for allowing him back into my life intimately after standing my ground in 2018, after having walked away from him

You need to seek professional help, because you are clearly obsessed, you are putting your children at risk, you are addicted to the drama of your life with him and you cannot see your actions clearly in the slightest.

WhereverIGoddamnLike · 16/12/2020 09:44

How were you to know? Are you joking?
He has been like this since the beginning. You'd have to he stupid not to know.

Are you also allergic to condoms?

You've been so very irresponsible and the problem is that this doesnt just affect you. It now affects 2 little children who dont deserve it. And no doubt this wont be the end, so these kids are going to he dragged around whilst you and this idiot man ruin your lives and theirs. All this playing games and creating drama....what's the point? Just bloody leave him. He doeant need to agree. He doesnt need to give your permission. You dont need more excuses. Just leave him and dont go back. But you wont. You'll go back. You'll yet pregnant again. And round and round it goes.

lucywho123 · 16/12/2020 09:44

She cried and cried about it with me but urged me to stay with him

She sounds like a dickhead

NoddyWithAVoddy · 16/12/2020 09:44

You say that you're not obsessed with him, I beg to differ.
Everything that you've written screams obsessed, otherwise you would have left and got on with being a mother to your children instead of a vengeful teenager on a mission.

Donkeeey · 16/12/2020 09:48

She’s a journalist and riddled with guilt for leaving him in a cult at 4 years old,

?? Confused

hamstersarse · 16/12/2020 09:51

It makes me feel stressed just reading about your life.

I'd prefer to be a lonely old spinster than deal with this sort of relationship. What's the point?

bluelemming · 16/12/2020 09:52

You have a first class honours degree in psychology and your main focus is revenge? Wow.

PizzaForOne · 16/12/2020 09:53

This is insane. Not because of the 'revenge' and 'secret plots' but because I can't see why on earth you keep getting back with this man and wasting your time on him.

Just. Leave.

Go to the UK. Don't go back to Amsterdam ever again.

Job done. Focus on the kids and find someone better in the future.

Nuts.

randommum82 · 16/12/2020 09:53

I'm ..... speechless.

OP, what is this.... just leave and move on with your life. The best revenge is to live your life well. What's the point in trying to make him feel bad, he's proven with his behaviour that he has no ability to feel remorse. You can revenge plot and shame him all you want, it won't have any effect.

Focus all this energy on your children and bettering yourself. Get away. Build a career. Seven entire years have been wasted on this situation, and get some counselling for co-dependency.

Stinkerbells · 16/12/2020 09:54

Sorry but you both have issues.

What stands out to me is that you didn’t want to label the relationship because you were too traumatised, but obviously not traumatised enough to have sex and get pregnant again.

Stop playing games, grow up, take responsibility, get some self worth and focus on your children before this seriously effects them.

Talk of revenge is so childish. The best revenge would be getting yourself out of this toxic mess and being happy with your children.