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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

Small lies? Overreacting or red flags?

39 replies

SeekingWiseWomen2021 · 06/01/2021 22:00

Hello, this may seem trivial and I know there are more important things in the world but I would really appreciate some advice.

Two years ago I met a man (from a different culture/country to me/Greece). He had such a kind face and disposition. He seemed so good and kind (and he is) and asked that we have total honesty and do everything we can to protect our relationship (i.e. no messaging/meeting up with others/exes etc). I found this refreshing and have been true to this. It was long distance at first (year 1) then he got a job closer to be with me (he moved to a job in England, I live in Ireland) but didn't manage to get one here. I moved there in March 2020 and we have been together since (apart from a month when he returned home). He is 35 and I am 37.

There is much pressure from his parents and family for me to move there (which would involve learning a new difficult language and giving up my profession and financial independence here for. a life in nature with a big family and hopes to start our own while farming their land). Pros and cons. I was open to this until a few things shook my confidence.

I discovered his instagam a/c in Dec 2019 and asked that he show me it. it was full of women naked/half naked and many looked like young teens. It jarred with my impression of him and I was upset. He said he would delete it. Months later I got an impulse to check and it was still there. I discussed this and he deleted it with me (later saying it won't delete).

he is an IT guy and online all the time. He deletes all tracks of usage. I couldn't sleep last night and was up doing work and on a whim I checked to see if he had tiktok and saw an a/c. I asked him this am and he said he doesn't have one. it was a hack to his email and bot generated. Discussing this he again denied having Instagram. I asked to see his phone (first time in whole relationship) and saw he had a new Instagram (he explained this away saying it was just connected to the new Facebook changeover and he can't delete it. it had no searches until I pressed some buttons and found to clicks he had forgotten to delete. One led to a young age 20 porn type a/c and only fans.

he says he docent look at porn but today admits he does.

I looked at his messages for the first time and there were lots to girls back in his home country but 3 stood out. One to an ex with regular contact and selfies back and forth (she fancies me he said). Two others to girls he only stared messaging after we got together. he knows them from work. its a foreign language but winky faces and 'are you around?' messages.

he said he got to know one from his cigarette breaks at work (while we were together). I didn't know he smoked! he said he told me and he gave them up for me. my mum died of lung cancer and cigarettes are always a deal breaker for me. I had no idea he smoked/quit.

I know boundaries/privacy/social media is a private thing that people are entitled to. looking at his phone (he gave it willingly) didn't feel good. What is my problem here are the lies to portray a different version of himself and they are fine to him it seems if I don't find out. I did trust him. I don't believe he would sleep with someone else. he is a good person. But I feel scared now and like my respect for him is less.

Sorry for the long message. Perspective on this from other women would be gold. Thank you

OP posts:
Melange99 · 06/01/2021 22:04

I don't trust him from what you have written. He lies. He will carry on. I could not link myself permanently to somebody like that. Security and trust are paramount to me. If they are to you too you must know you will always be wary of him. And ultimately that isn't a basis to form a relationship on, let alone move to another country and cut off your life here.

Rockinmomma · 06/01/2021 22:06

Well you just said it OP. At the beginning he portrayed a version of himself that he wanted you to like. You’ve found that he’s lied continuously, broken your trust and right at the beginning was controlling who you spoke to
I’d seriously consider if this is what you want for a LTR, you’re going to quickly get fed up of checking his phone

Scarydinosaurs · 06/01/2021 22:07

It’s easy to be perfect when you’re long distance. It sounds like you love the idea of him. You’re better off breaking it off now and finding someone real. I’d say all of this is telling you he isn’t who you thought.

sofiaaaaaa · 06/01/2021 22:09

I certainly wouldn’t consider moving to Greece with him

Aquamarine1029 · 06/01/2021 22:10

He is not the man you thought he was, and your trust in him is broken. Small lies are big lies just waiting to happen. I would be ending this and moving on.

thewreckofthehesperus · 06/01/2021 22:10

I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. I certainly wouldnt move countries or become financially dependent on someone who I didnt trust 100%

cosmicbabe · 06/01/2021 22:10

Too many lies for this to work. Cut him off x

EvenMoreFuriousVexation · 06/01/2021 22:11

So he asked you for total honesty, and for you not to even message anyone else. Which you did. But he hasn't.

So basic hypocrite really. Thinks its okay for him to play away, but not you.

Good thing you found out before doing anything difficult to get out of.

HerMammy · 06/01/2021 22:13

I don't believe he would sleep with someone else. he is a good person
Don’t be naive, he’s not a good person, he’s lied multiple times to you and he sounds a sleaze; young teen porn, really? he’s not nice in any way.

sofiaaaaaa · 06/01/2021 22:14

I’m a young adult that’s fairly techy and his excuses to you are bs. Bots don’t randomly generate social accounts with all the genuine information of the email address holder. He’s clearly actively using them all. He thinks you’re dumb as he’s giving you excuses that insult your intelligence. Imo he doesn’t care about you that much.

hadesinahalfahell · 06/01/2021 22:14

Well they aren't small lies are they? I thought this would be about something like pretending he has hoovered when he hasn't.

CouchPommeFrite · 06/01/2021 22:25

I didn't know he smoked! he said he told me and he gave them up for me. my mum died of lung cancer and cigarettes are always a deal breaker for me. I had no idea he smoked/quit.

You don't really know him at all. He said he doesn't have accounts for instagram etc and he does. He cannot be honest with you. He clearly seems to feel wanted/adored/contacted by other women, this is not okay with you and rightly so.

Dump him you deserve better than this. He will continue to lie and hide stuff, you cannot be in this relationship. He will not change.

FawnDrench · 06/01/2021 22:28

Time to admit what you really suspect sadly.
This man is having you on big time and will ruin your life if you don't end it NOW.
Whatever you do please please don't go to Greece.

SeekingWiseWomen2021 · 06/01/2021 22:52

Thanks so much everyone. This is so invaluable! Life saving for many ill bet. Feel like saying ... the girls he was messaging were just friends and it was all platonic but didn't expect such a polarisation of views. I'm not generally that gullible but he has so many nice and admirable qualities that the lies or omissions as he would frame them I guess aren't acceptable. Thanks again.

OP posts:
IndieTara · 06/01/2021 22:53

This reply has been deleted

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partyatthepalace · 06/01/2021 23:15

This is all pretty dodgy. What’s also weird is starting off by saying let’s have total honesty (which is a slightly weird thing to say early doors), and then doing the reverse. Also not impressive he clearly thinks you are an idiot re technology. Or the fact he is gaslighting you re claiming he told you he smoked.

So he’s full of shit.

Anyway, whatever you do don’t move to rural Greece to live on a family farm. I think it’s a life v few UK/Irish women could stand, never mind w Mr Bullshit, his family covering for him, and small children making it hard to leave... I am sorry, but LTB

HollowTalk · 06/01/2021 23:34

He sounds really sleazy. When I was reading it all I could think was ugh!

You can't trust him. He's sleazy. His idea of your future on a farm in Greece where you don't speak the language, don't know his family, don't have skills in that area, would lose all your own skills, you'd be working for nothing... WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF THIS????

SeekingWiseWomen2021 · 06/01/2021 23:38

When put like that it sounds bad alright! But I was planning on retraining in permaculture and olive tree farming. I was working on a way to make an independent living somehow so I could make my own money without being indebted. May not have worked but the idea of being in nature and staring a farm together was appealing. For this trust needed to be 100% He isn't sleasy in real life. That is what is confusing. He is sweet and gentlemanly and caring. That's why it was hard to process.

OP posts:
HollowTalk · 06/01/2021 23:39

I discovered his instagam a/c in Dec 2019 and asked that he show me it. it was full of women naked/half naked and many looked like young teens

Read that again. THAT is sleazy.

HollowTalk · 06/01/2021 23:42

You would be giving up your financial independence. You are 37. Can you see what a dangerous thing that would be for you? If you were 20, then who cares, you could go off and do what you wanted for a few years, but 37?

I really feel like telling you to get a grip about this farming business. Honestly, you don't speak the language and you don't know anything about olive farming. Tbh I feel like banging your head against a wall! This is like a holiday romance - but now the holiday's over and this sleazy git wants you to work on his family's "farm" for nothing!

This is wrong in so many ways. You are from Ireland - no Brexit. I would run back there as fast as I could and forget this utter twat exists.

HollowTalk · 06/01/2021 23:43

And if you want nature, go for a walk or look at moving to the country here or in Ireland.

SeekingWiseWomen2021 · 06/01/2021 23:43

Im not on Instagram but I got the impression that when men use it, its usually to look at women bodies. And that this is really common? The girls had young faces but developed bodies. 16 ish? Yes it freaked me out. But thought maybe he hadn't put much thought into it and followed mindlessly. I spoke to two females friends at the time and they both dismissed it.

OP posts:
SeekingWiseWomen2021 · 06/01/2021 23:48

@hollowtalk you are right. I had spent two months with his family and liked the connectedness of it and the food and love they shared. My family is not like that. I felt welcomed and accepted (though the language barrier was a hurdle). But it was reluctance to become dependant on a wage from a family farm that meant I have put it off for the last year to save and plan. But yes, it is/would have been a gamble.

OP posts:
Notanotherfreak · 06/01/2021 23:54

My ex was ‘lovely’, he presented himself as a caring gentleman who’d just not met ‘the one’ until me. Over time I discovered he was on sex sites, adultwork, saw prostitutes, msg’d ex’s etc etc. The lovely bumbling gentleman was a facade. He was a user & wanted being with me to give him credibility to be seen as a normal guy. Oh and wanted me to sell my house to live with him and pay off his mortgage.

Your guy is a sleaze too, is a player & wants you to sell up to fund his life in Greece.

Get out now. You’ve seen who he is. It’ll only end in you being desperately hurt.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 06/01/2021 23:54

@SeekingWiseWomen2021

Im not on Instagram but I got the impression that when men use it, its usually to look at women bodies. And that this is really common? The girls had young faces but developed bodies. 16 ish? Yes it freaked me out. But thought maybe he hadn't put much thought into it and followed mindlessly. I spoke to two females friends at the time and they both dismissed it.
16ish?! Fuck me how vile. I don't know how you can be attracted to someone like that. Particularly someone who is quite content with the idea of you being isolated and away from your comfort zone and support network. He sounds bad news. Seriously, it doesn't matter how 'well developed' a 16/17/18 year old girl is, they're still a kid. I've got the ick just reading about him.