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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

Can I continue a relationship with dp when he continues to prove that he lies?

90 replies

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 08:57

I have known dp for a long time and we have been going out for 4 years. I have name changed for this. I have dc and he has dc but we have none together.

Dp is a great partner - he spent 3 days last week driving the ends of the country to pick up all my dc from university. He cooks all the meals, he takes care of most of the admin. I work FT (and am the breadwinner) and he runs his own business.

2 years into our relationship, I found out that dp had lied about some pretty significant things in his past. Nothing that would impact us or our future - but things like lying about how he broke up with someone, dates of relationships to make it look like he hadn't cheated, he lied about being estranged from his family, just a lot of lies and I only found out because someone else told me. We discussed it, he promised he wouldn't lie again and I thought that was that.

Coronavirus has been really tough on dp's business and he's not making anywhere near the money he's made the last few years. Because of that, he's been unable to contribute to the joint account (though he had fully contributed up to this point) and has actually been taking money out. I had a word with him about it - he owns a house with his exw that she was meant to have sold in 2018 but she didn't. It's none of my business but I feel that if he's essentially taking money from me because he has none, I'd rather he got the money from the house that he's actually entitled to. He said he was going to arrange a meeting. He went and saw her and came back and said they had visited 3 estate agents and she would make the final choice and it would soon be on the market. I said nothing more then a few months later, I asked how the sale was going and he said it was very quiet. I said ooh let's look at the listing and he said he wasn't sure who it was on with (at which point I knew something was up) and we looked on rightmove/zoopla and couldn't find it.

next week he says to me 'oh he knows why we couldn't find it, it was on purple bricks!' - i say great, let's see it. Of course, it's not on there.

Rather than him saying to me 'she won't sell it', he's continued with this ridiculous lie till the point this week where he needed to 'borrow' £2k from me and I put my foot down and he admitted that the house is not on the market and he'd have to see lawyers because she doesn't want to sell it.

So essentially he's been lying to me for months. This isn't the only thing, there are some tiny things too, really inconsequential things like when I went away to help care for an elderly relative and he told me that he'd managed to stay in bed because the dog slept later than normal yet I could see the dog had got up at his normal time (we have a dog cam), he just hadn't bothered to go down and let it out. This is an issue because I know dp doesn't bother to get up when the dog wants to go out for a wee in the morning (I usually do it) and I had asked him specifically to make sure he listened out for him.

I'm no demon, I don't start fights, this isn't about me being so difficult he needs to lie, I honestly think it's pathological. But my kids adore him, he does more for them than exh ever did - we get on so well, love the same things, are v happy together but I don't think I will ever be able to trust anything he says to me and I'm not sure I can continue any sort of relationship with someone I can't trust.

OP posts:
Rollingpiglet · 18/12/2020 09:00

I think you have answered your own question there. You will clearly never be able to believe what he tells you, so your decision is carry on the relationship on the basis that you know you can't trust him, or end it.

TodgerStrunk · 18/12/2020 09:01

You can't easily have a relationship with someone who doesnt share your core, fundamental values - whether that be politics, litter dropping or constantly lying to you. You'll be waiting for the next time, then you start questioning him, checking up on him - and you start to hate the person you've become.

How closely are you entwined financially? How easy would it to be for you to separate?

barbrahunter · 18/12/2020 09:04

I have to say that the money thing would also bother me, OP, is he living off you? Does he pay you rent?
My feeling is that there may be a lot more lies going on as well.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 18/12/2020 09:08

What did you learn about relationships when you were growing up?

What do you want to teach your children about relationships and what are they learning here?.

You also seem far more invested in this relationship anyway than this man is. I would think he likes you for the convenience and lifestyle you provide him.

This man lies openly because it enables him to get out of trouble and its a deeply ingrained behaviour in him too. Pathological liars do not make for being good partners. Don't stay with such a man for the sake of your children either; doing that never works out well and they cannot be used as glue here to bind you and he together. He only shows them too what he wants them to see of him character wise.

If there is no trust there is really no relationship. Once its gone it does not come back.

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:08

really bloody difficult to separate but if it needs to be done....

I am pondering whether I can have a relationship with someone i can't trust but I don't know if i can - I just really don't know. I've never been in this situation before and I find it bizarre.

the problem is if I say to him 'unless you stop lying, I can't go out with you' - he'll say 'I'll stop lying' but he won't!

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 18/12/2020 09:10

How do you feel about essentially paying someone to live with you and collect your DC from round the country?

If you wrote out your requirements for someone in that role, where would honesty rank?

Plastichearts · 18/12/2020 09:11

You would never truly trust him. He carried on with the charade of the ex selling up when you suspected it wasn’t true.

Added to that the money situation, I personally wouldn’t continue. Is he ever going to get that money from the house?

Plastichearts · 18/12/2020 09:12

I wouldn’t like the way he was treating the dog either.

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:13

the money is a red herring in many ways because up to this point, he has been contributing but coronavirus hit his business v hard - this wasn't what he was like up to this point financially. What it has meant though is another lie about him getting the money from the house. All other aspects of the relationship - sex, kindness, fun etc. are all there.

OP posts:
QuantumJump · 18/12/2020 09:13

What happened when you asked him why he lied about such a big thing - especially after your previous conversation about lying? Has he got any explanation at all? Is he open to going to counselling to get to the bottom of why he feels the need to lie?

Hoppinggreen · 18/12/2020 09:13

It’s difficult I’m sure but I think you should leave.
He will continue to lie, even about small things but it will gradually make you lose all respect for him and be unable to trust anything he says.
A good friend of mine left her DH after he let her plant die while she was away and replaced it. Not a big deal but he refused to admit it, even when it was very obvious and she had evidence, she didn’t much care about the plant but she said it was the last straw after years of (often quite minor) lies. To me it’s a lack of respect for you and thinking you are too stupid to figure out the truth rather than what the lies are

pinkyredrose · 18/12/2020 09:15

Has he said why he does it?

Mangerfield · 18/12/2020 09:21

My brother is a bit like this - he'll just lie for an easy life. However, he's now got a partner for the first time and I don't think she'll put up with that shit. He's also not very bright, wouldn't be able to run a business and gets confused about quite a lot of things so I think the lying is sometimes because he doesn't think clearly at all. I'm assuming your partner isn't like this?

If there is any chance of continuing I think he needs to properly get to the bottom of how and why he seems to lie so easily. Does he not feel any shame in doing so? Does it come easily to him?

The story re selling the house must've been rehearsed on the way back from seeing his ex - this is the thing that'd cause me to ltb tbh.

ReggaePerrin · 18/12/2020 09:21

He sounds like my ex. He will lie to you even when it's not 'necessary'. He's probably doing a lot more that you don't even realise. Perhaps the wife has bought him out of the house and he has plenty of money. He's cheated before? He'll do it again. He probably knows everything there is to know about you and your finances. Be careful, OP.

MattBerrysHair · 18/12/2020 09:23

I've just ended a 5 year relationship for exactly the same reasons. With every lie you lose trust and respect for them and there's no relationship without mutual trust and respect. He isn't going to change and you'll always be on high alert, waiting for the next lie to reveal itself. I loved exdp so much and tried to believe him when he made promises not to do it again. He loved me very much too, but our core values are too different, which the repetitive lying showed. Exdp had a dysfunctional childhood and learned bad things about relationships, but that's not my problem and I refused to put myself in the position where his emotional baggage could impact me any longer. It is hard, breaking up with someone you still love, but at least you'll have your self-respect and dignity and be providing good relationship role model to your DC.

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:24

no he hasn't said why he does it and he actually gets really upset when we get to talk about it - not 'fake' upset but real genuine upset. He's sat there crying his eyes out when I've caught him out and begs me to stay and not end it with him.

he has told me his mother humiliated him a lot as a child - he is from a v large family and he is one of the youngest and was always told he wasn't as good as his brothers so a lot of stuff is about him saving face (which I can see, a lot of the lies are about him looking better than he is). The problem now is if I push this with him and he says he will get counselling etc., I won't be sure that he is dealing with it!

OP posts:
Thespidersweb · 18/12/2020 09:29

I’ve just left my husband after a decade of marriage because he continuously lied and it broke down every thing - trust, respect, it effected my sex drive towards him. Some were small like denying her had a take away and then I’d find the wrappers, some were whoppers like selling a house and not telling me even though we’d have multiple long conversations about it over the span of three months.

I used to think he lied to get out of trouble and because we have two kids I looked past it.

However he lied over something relatively small bit to convince me that he was right he shouted at and belittled me to make me feel stupid. Then I found out he was lying and that was the last straw.

I realised it was not about staying out of trouble it was about changing my reality or truth to fit his nonsense. He didn’t respect me. In fact he got so used to me swallowing up his bullshit he thought I was stupid enough to believe anything he said. And for the most part I did - because I don’t l lie or treat people like that so don’t expect others to do that to me.

Honestly it never changes. We split after the last incident and it’s only now I’m finding that I actually knew nothing about it him. He is sly, deceitful, and actually really mean now I see who he really is. For ten years he was that great laid back guy who would give you his last penny. I didn’t know he was massively in debt and had just started taking money out of my business bank account.

There is a fine line between being a compulsive liar and a sociopath. You need to figure out which one your with Flowers

QuantumJump · 18/12/2020 09:31

Joint counselling then?

Thespidersweb · 18/12/2020 09:34

@FarkingFalafel

no he hasn't said why he does it and he actually gets really upset when we get to talk about it - not 'fake' upset but real genuine upset. He's sat there crying his eyes out when I've caught him out and begs me to stay and not end it with him.

he has told me his mother humiliated him a lot as a child - he is from a v large family and he is one of the youngest and was always told he wasn't as good as his brothers so a lot of stuff is about him saving face (which I can see, a lot of the lies are about him looking better than he is). The problem now is if I push this with him and he says he will get counselling etc., I won't be sure that he is dealing with it!

Very similar with my ex. He still gets treated as though he is an 11 year old boy and he is 41. Very dominant mother.

My ex said he would seek councilling - but never did.

The bottom line is he won’t stop lying to you and honestly he won’t stop. It’s who he is

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:34

@MattBerrysHair

I've just ended a 5 year relationship for exactly the same reasons. With every lie you lose trust and respect for them and there's no relationship without mutual trust and respect. He isn't going to change and you'll always be on high alert, waiting for the next lie to reveal itself. I loved exdp so much and tried to believe him when he made promises not to do it again. He loved me very much too, but our core values are too different, which the repetitive lying showed. Exdp had a dysfunctional childhood and learned bad things about relationships, but that's not my problem and I refused to put myself in the position where his emotional baggage could impact me any longer. It is hard, breaking up with someone you still love, but at least you'll have your self-respect and dignity and be providing good relationship role model to your DC.
I'm sorry to hear that - I know how hard it is and I feel very similarly to you.

he's intelligent definitely @Mangerfield and yes @ReggaePerrin some of the lies are unnecessary. Why lie about the dog for example. Just pointless.

OP posts:
Neverbeme · 18/12/2020 09:38

Even if he said he had counselling, you couldn’t trust that he was actually going.

Wanderlusto · 18/12/2020 09:39

I agree that I'd be worrying what else he was lying about. Eg: Does he even joint own the house?

I bet the ex could tell you a thing or two that you are not aware of. Unless perchance, he has told you she is nuts so that you never speak to her.

He 'takes care of the admin' even though its your money? Wtf op. Come on now, you shouldn't be letting him do that. Even if he was to be trusted. Have a look at that for a start.

Tbh op, you have no kids with him and you arent married so...if it were me, the extent of that last house lie would have been the end of things.

FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:42

he does jointly own the house as I've seen the docs for it. And I'm perfectly capable of doing admin, he's just got a lot more time than me, so it's easier for him to do it. It isn't me being hopeless (I was single for 8 years before him where I did everything myself), it's more the division of labour when I'm working FT.

I know his ex quite well - and we have had discussions. She never mentioned the lying which I find completely odd (though she told me other stuff about him - she feels he drinks too much, she also feels he's emotionally cold, I can't say I have concerns about either) but she may not have realised he was lying. It's possible as it took me a few years to cotton on to it as it's often very subtle and he's hugely convincing (which just makes me feel he's v practised at it).

OP posts:
FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:44

e.g. if we hadn't had a dog cam, I would never have known about the dog. And if his business hadn't gone bad and he was still contributing to the household finances, I would never have known the house wasn't on the market. I think I am brighter than him which is why I'm picking up on it (not a boast post, I think it's just the way it is) - his ex is lovely but i think she was much more likely to believe his shit and not question it!

OP posts:
FarkingFalafel · 18/12/2020 09:47

thanks btw - all your posts have been really useful

i think someone mentioned respect - I think ultimately that is what has been eroded here. I don't have much respect left for him. Whatever his reasons, and I do believe he has deep set issues that cause him to behave like this, it feels like a lack of respect for me. I have told him that before and he was horrified. He feels his lies only impact him because they are 'his issues' without realising they have a devastating impact on 'us'.

i will speak to him over Christmas but I don't see how this can continue when I can't ever trust him :(

OP posts:
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