Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

What on earth happened?

779 replies

Newbie96 · 01/03/2021 10:55

Hi everyone, long time reader but first-time poster. I'll just jump straight into it. Please be kind.

My boyfriend and I have been together officially for a year, we've known each other since we were around 13 - 14 and attempted to make a go of it as teenagers (around 18) but it never worked. We've been in contact ever since because we both have mutually been drawn to one another. He often tells me he has compared every woman he's been with to me and to be honest I've done the same.

I am now 25 and he is 27. We got together just before lockdown last year and have spent nearly every waking second with each other since. We had been spending a lot of time together prior to lockdown happening and we both jumped at the opportunity to become each other's support bubbles when the time came and to be honest, it has been total bliss, we genuinely never argue, he is like my bestfriend.

Luckily for us, the lockdown has been kind to us mostly because we've had each other to get through it and it has made us grow extremely closer. I can honestly say the past year we both have agreed that we have been the happiest we've ever been, our relationship being one of the main reasons.

We both live alone and so we stay back and forth between his place and mine, only having to travel now and then for work etc. Due to our history and of course how much time we've spent together, emotions have definitely intensified and I am very much in love with this man, he knows this and tells me he feels the same way.

So fast forward to the weekend just gone, we had planned that I would spend the weekend at his house. I arrive at around 6:30 on Friday evening and things are good but I can sense that something is off/ or that he isn't exactly in the mood. I decide to ignore it but it seems to only get worse. Usually, we would sit down, have a conversation about our day and watch a series episode together which we commentate back and forth with each other but this time it's pure silence. Neither of us was physical with each other, he actually even sat on the furthest part of the sofa away from me. I can honestly say this was the first time I felt a little unwelcome in his home, which is odd considering how much time I have spent there and I've never felt this way before.

I mean maybe I overlooked everything far too much so please tell me if that appears to be the case. An hour of silence goes by, most of the time it was him on his phone whilst I watched the episode by myself, he stands up and asks if I am hungry, I say yeah and he says okay I will cook something for us. As it was the first proper real words we had spoken to each other all night, I decided to ask if everything was okay? he says yeah so in a jokey, laughing tone I ask if he wants me over tonight as it feels a little as if I'm intruding.

Well what happens next I didn't expect it at all, he is stood in the doorway of the living room and begins to get more and more wound up, he starts off by saying "of course I want you over but you have been sat there all night with this miserable look on your face, giving off bad energy" his voice is slightly raised but I don't retaliate and I calmy say "okay well I must have read it wrong, I wasn't trying to give off bad energy, I've been looking forward to seeing you all day" but he is so annoyed and goes off again accusing me of being the reason why the energy is so wrong between us tonight and how dare I blame him for it. I apologise again and say that I must have had a long day. He then goes on to say "well this is weird for me now so I think its best you leave" I am in shock as he walks out of the living room into the kitchen, in an attempt to let things settle, I leave it 5 minutes and walk into the kitchen with him and ask if he would really like me to leave? He responds "I'm just saying maybe its best", the thing is I can see on his face he is visually angry and in my head, I can't figure out why he is so annoyed, over something that in my mind was so trivial and silly. Like a fricken helpless puppy dog, I look at him again and ask if HE wants me to leave? and he responds "you know what yeah I do".

I take myself to the other room and begin packing up my stuff and I can hear him stomping and slamming about. I obviously felt a little confused because the whole situation felt extremely blown out of proportion. Once my things are packed I give it one last attempt and go and sit next to him on the sofa, I ask him if we can talk about this and I gently reach my hand out to touch his arm, but he blows up and is practically foaming from the mouth shouting at me not to touch him and that he just wants me to leave, at one point he swings the front door open and walks out of the front door in nothing his dressing gown, I don't chase him because I was honestly just shocked. He begins texting me telling me to leave his house or he won't come back? - I replied and told him I'm leaving but I would have appreciated it if he came back and just spoke to me. After 5/6 minutes pass, he comes storming back into the flat, pushing past me in the hall and is still foaming at the mouth shouting at how it's my fault and I'm making it worse by not leaving. Like a fool, I started to cry because I could see this has all escalated into a situation I didn't want for us at all. He tells me crying doesn't help the situation so tearfully I leave. As I wait outside for a cab, I check my phone and notice that he has blocked my number, my WhatsApp and my Instagram. I am totally confused and hurt by all of this and in my honest moment of craziness, I create another account on Instagram and message "I'm sorry for everything that just happened, I didn't expect any of that. I accept I was in the wrong and that I read the situation wrong, please can we talk when things are calmer?" he replies "please just let me know when you are home as I won't be able to sleep until I know your home" I leave it and let him know I am home, he bluntly replies "good, night" I again press on and I ask if we can talk? he responds and says "no I just want to go to sleep, we have been so good lately and now I'm laying here crying," I tell him I love him and that I don't want him to be sad, he replies and says he knows I do and that I should go to sleep.

Saturday morning comes and I message saying I hope he is okay and that again when things are calmer can we talk about this? he reads and doesn't respond. Sunday I message again along the same lines but telling him I miss him, again he reads and doesn't respond.

This morning I received a message from him saying "I told you that you were just making everything worse on Friday and you just didn't listen, you just thought you knew better and now I'm going to show you what I meant. I don't care, sorry" I sent some messages, honestly being very weak and pitiful, telling him that I would just like us to talk and sort this out as I miss him and this isn't like us at all, I then check for a response and he has blocked me from that account as well, so there are no ways of contacting him.

I just can't make sense of it all, we have never argued like this ever. I didn't expect him to blow up the way he did after asking him if everything was okay. I just feel like its all my fault for ruining something that we had so good. I feel really sad, low and alone and just wish he would calm down and speak to me.

Please give me your take on this entire, childish and shit situation. Did I do something wrong? and is he really never going to speak to me again over that?

Thank you

OP posts:
Rockdown2020 · 04/03/2021 01:22

I’ve read your posts OP and I’d like to say I’m so sorry you had to go through this. This man sounds not only unstable but as a PP said pretty sinister. I fear this was an escalation from some of the other red flags. In particular the ‘if you don’t listen, you’ll feel’ made me recoil. I don’t doubt if you were to take him back after this that things would escalate to an alarming level. The rage over what was ‘bad energy’ is completely and utterly disproportionate and frankly scary.

I know it’ll take everything in your power but please don’t respond. Block (or read the message) and block. Please remember how you felt in that moment. You do not need this to be your life. it’s not pleasant not knowing what a minor perceived slight would result in. Be strong, you’ve got this!

snowdropsandcrocuses · 04/03/2021 01:41

OP I read your opening post and muttered to myself 'he will be back'. You can literally write the script for men like this.

He was brewing for a fight the moment you turned up. He wanted to argue with you and used your response to turn it on you. He was ALWAYS going to contact you again. I don't believe anybody is 'all bad' or 'all good' but his behaviour was disgusting.

I know you're either sat there desperately trying not to respond or (I think this might be more likely as you have stopped messaging on here) you got sucked into dialogue with this man. None of us can tell you who he really is or if there is anything worth even trying for but you have a literal army of women telling you that how you handle this right now will dictate your future with him and any other man.

If you did reopen dialogue with him, do not apologise. Do not allow him to blame you for his shit. You explain your expectations and you set your stall now. You don't have to put up with his tantrums and sulking. You don't live together and you make it clear you don't need him in your life. One whiff of sulks or temper you get up and walk out. Tell him to call you when he gets his head out of his arse and don't look back.

Obviously I believe like the rest of these lovely women that you are better off without him in your life but nothing is simple so I only urge you to demand respect and set boundaries. Hope you're ok. Thanks

LittleMimi · 04/03/2021 02:10

Sorry you’ve gone through this. He sounds moody and unstable. It’s tempting to reply but I would just block him and move on. If you talk he’s clearly not going to acknowledge his weird behaviour given the way he worded the text, and you don’t want to be put in a position where you end up apologising again. There’s nothing to be gained from picking up contact with him. Just try to move on. You’re better without him.

BlackCatShadow · 04/03/2021 03:28

Oh, FFS, people are so bloody predictable. So, now you get the casual text out of nowhere. Whatever you do, don’t get sucked back in. He will just jerk you around. I think blocking him is best. And, look, he is absolutely fine. So, please don’t waste your time worrying about him. You can do so much better!

hannayeah · 04/03/2021 03:49

I am sending you strength to not reply. He is not a good guy, and not your person. Someone will come along who makes you forget he exists.

(And thank your lucky stars he showed his true personality before you got more involved.)

IndecentCakes · 04/03/2021 04:18

Et voila!

No, don't reply. It's hard at first but you'll feel great later on and it's well worth it.

BlackCatShadow · 04/03/2021 04:37

Also, prepare for him getting increasingly annoyed with you for not replying. He won’t like it one bit. This is his script. He expects you to follow.

joystir59 · 04/03/2021 04:55

Hope you've managed the stay strong OP

isthismylifenow · 04/03/2021 05:15

@Comeondelicious

Give him space. Watch funny movies. Men can be moody, and they HATE being smothered. Dress up just for You. Maybe if he was at home all day he was watching instagram playgirls and thinking he could be there... PLEASE don't contact him. Let him contact you. And he Apologise. [kiss]
Say what? Hmm
Weirdlynormal · 04/03/2021 07:39

He might double down and never call again - he might, like mine did get his BF to ask you out ‘that’s how much I don’t care’
Still took a year to get him out of my head.

Stay strong OP. Imagine this after having DC. He’s not stable. He’s not kind. He’s not worth the pain

GreenlandTheMovie · 04/03/2021 07:54

@Comeondelicious

Give him space. Watch funny movies. Men can be moody, and they HATE being smothered. Dress up just for You. Maybe if he was at home all day he was watching instagram playgirls and thinking he could be there... PLEASE don't contact him. Let him contact you. And he Apologise. [kiss]
No one wants a man who "watches Instagram playgirls" anyway. Are you in a third world country, where many women don't have the financial option to do anything other than put up with bad treatment?
Newbie96 · 04/03/2021 09:00

Morning everyone.
I read the text but still haven't replied, I'm not going to and I haven't heard anything since.

I didn't sleep very well last night, it just kept going over and over in my mind. I don't feel much better today, but here we are, another day.

OP posts:
Ogham · 04/03/2021 09:06

Well done you. It’s difficult but unfortunately you have to go through it to get over it. It will get easier and you’re doing great. I hope you have a few plans made for the weekend to distract you.

RandomMess · 04/03/2021 09:12
Thanks

Could you imagine a marriage filled with this kind of behaviour? That's how it would be on a cycle of repeat and the blow ups and ignoring would become more frequent.

GreenlandTheMovie · 04/03/2021 09:12

You're suffering from shock and a feeling of loss of control due to the sudden ending engineered by him. Don't mistake this for love, and don't get sucked into a pattern of intermittent reinforcement by him, because that really messes with your head and wastes your life.

He has behaved so badly that to go back or even be in friendly terms with him would he to damage yourself because it would necessitate lowering your healthy boundaries governing acceptable treatment.

Just take it a week at a time

No wonder he has so many ex girlfriends in the woodwork. Don't become one of them.

Roszie · 04/03/2021 09:14

You're doing great OP

Keep going, you'll be okay x

isthismylifenow · 04/03/2021 09:17

@Newbie96

Morning everyone. I read the text but still haven't replied, I'm not going to and I haven't heard anything since.

I didn't sleep very well last night, it just kept going over and over in my mind. I don't feel much better today, but here we are, another day.

Tomorrow will be better, and the next day after that a little more.

What I tried to do was to attempt to change my mindset. I know its been a complete mindfuck, but why let him get the pleasure of you having lost sleep and pondering it over and over. How I thought about it was, he knows that I'm battling with this, and is probably quite ok about it, so then every time he and the situation popped into my head, I distracted myself with doing other things. I completely redecorated my house in my head, even searched for tiles online. (I haven't even done anything yet but its all planned lol) I didn't watch anything remotely romantic, went deep into crime series etc. I can't say how long it took, but after a while I got into bed at night and thought, good job you, I didn't think about him once today.

Maybe just one other avenue to consider.

[flower]

SharonasCorona · 04/03/2021 09:21

@GreenlandTheMovie

Are you in a third world country, where many women don't have the financial option to do anything other than put up with bad treatment?

This is really offensive Greenland. I was born in what you would call a third world country and the women I grew up with are often a lot more assertive than what I see on MN.

NotAgainNoMore · 04/03/2021 09:24

Absolutely do not give him the satisfaction of a reply. He's testing the waters and possibly trying to reel you back in. There will probably be more to come.
Stay strong OP. You really don't need this weirdo in your life.

WellThisIsShit · 04/03/2021 09:25

I’m sorry, it’s horrible that someone has the power the rock you like this, & to get you questioning yourself.

Flowers
2020Diary · 04/03/2021 09:26

I'm another one who would recommend reading the 'Dumped by text' thread - which is trending again. It is an honest account of someone realising that her boyftiend was not the man she thought he was, grieving for the relationship they had, coming to terms with the fact that his uncaring actions broke it irreparably and how she coped/healed.
Think very carefully about what you want. Your boyfriend's actions were not those of a caring man, you do not treat someone you love this way. What he did was a shock, because he had shown no sign of such behaviour previously but he has revealed his true colours. His actions can't be undone and his words unsaid. If you go back you will be walking on eggshells waiting for, or trying to avoid, the next time and he will know he can behave badly and you will take it.
Be kind to yourself, grieve for what you thought you had and ignore him, he doesn't deserved your consideration. Flowers

BehindMyEyes · 04/03/2021 09:31

@Newbie96

Morning everyone. I read the text but still haven't replied, I'm not going to and I haven't heard anything since.

I didn't sleep very well last night, it just kept going over and over in my mind. I don't feel much better today, but here we are, another day.

He actually cannot believe that you have not contacted him . His ego is hurting . Stay strong . I know how difficult this is . I was in a relationship with a guy like this and did finally end it . 3 years down the line he still appears messaging wanting to see me every few months . It's all ego .
BumblePan · 04/03/2021 09:51

Hold strong! He has given you the best present ever, by showing his true colours. You have saved yourself years of hardship.
Focus next on your lunchtime. Plan what you are going to eat, where to sit, buy a book to read.
Next plan your evening, dinner to eat, exercise, nice shower etc. Keep it small steps and take your mind away from the big picture.
You have got an awful shock, so it will take time to overcome that.
Keep posting here to distract yourself. You will get through this. Be your own best friend and dont back track!

Flyg · 04/03/2021 09:52

Stay strong, OP. You deserve so much better than this man x

GreenlandTheMovie · 04/03/2021 10:00

[quote SharonasCorona]@GreenlandTheMovie

Are you in a third world country, where many women don't have the financial option to do anything other than put up with bad treatment?

This is really offensive Greenland. I was born in what you would call a third world country and the women I grew up with are often a lot more assertive than what I see on MN.[/quote]
I'm really glad to hear it!

I'll rephrase my post then. Is the poster who wrote the handmaiden's statement so restricted in the options she has in her life that she has no other option than to put up with being treated terribly?