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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

37 and want a husband/family

243 replies

Loveadvicepls · 14/04/2021 15:46

A good friend of mine met a guy last year and is moving in with him already. Her ex was a total commitment phobeand dumped her as soon as she started to get serious about moving to be with him.

Another friend has just announced she's pregnant and I'm so happy for her. And another friend is getting married this summer.

Yet here I am, 1.5 years in, and the future is not spoken about with my boyfriend. The fact that we don't talk about it, makes me think there's no point in bringing it up- he alludes to one day, as in the future being able to afford an expensive home, and he's thinking of purchasing a big car for possible kids one day, but I suspect he's not a realist and a commitment phobe himself.

I'm scared of starting dating again, it just gets harder and harder, and I've been here so many times before.

But I should also draw inspiration from my friend who has found love, and when it works, it just works and can happen quickly.

Not sure what I want from this post.

Any advice?

OP posts:
joystir59 · 15/04/2021 05:33

Don't linger in unfulfilling relationships. This is your Life! You could be so much happier single than you are in this waiting room of a relationship. I would argue that a relationship which isn't going anywhere isn't a relationship at all.

category12 · 15/04/2021 06:12

@Loveadvicepls

category12 it’s because he kept saying he didn’t want to talk about it, and I pushed it a little to say we have to talk about it at some point He wanted to get off the phone and relax after a long day at work and said he’d prefer to talk in person He said he was dreading it cos he feels like I was nagging him and how unhappy I am with him ???
Yeah right, not letting him shut you down and just be quiet for him is arguing Hmm. How dare you need a straight answer. How nagging, how confrontational, to need to know where he stands. Hmm
Thewinterofdiscontent · 15/04/2021 06:15

Well done on doing something pro active Op. Get rid of the dead weight is as valuable as finding someone.

Maybe his “doubts” will be resolved when he realises you are serious about moving on. That’s no communication. No friendly how are you texts, no being kind meet ups, no “it’s only one night” hook ups. If he wants a buddy that’s great but remind yourself you need a partner.
In any case you need to get back out there pronto. Use Covid reopening to go to the gym, find a new interest ( something that attracts men ) and work on being the best version of you.

blowinahoolie · 15/04/2021 07:14

He would have been dumped at least 18 months ago by me. I don't tolerate any crap. Sorry. You seem very much a drifter like him!

BadLad · 15/04/2021 07:43

He would have been dumped at least 18 months ago by me.

So, you'd have dumped him on the first date at the earliest?

NoatheQueen · 15/04/2021 08:58

Surely staying and being miserable is ten times worse than leaving and being in control of your future?

Newstaronhorizon · 15/04/2021 08:59

It sounds as if you have not experienced being put on a pedestal by a man and treated like a princess and being given kind and thoughtful treatment by a man every single day?!

Gosh your standards are low if you haven't experienced this! I married a man who treated me like this, with devotion and total love and over 30 years later we are still blissfully married and have seen the last of our 5 children leave the nest.

What sort of nest do you want for your DC op? Why don't you aim at finding the kindest, nicest man who worships the ground you walk on in order to start a family with?

The fact you are not actively looking for this yet say you want to get married and have children is deeply flawed thinking op!

I would be singing at the top of my voice after dumping him if this was me at the prospect of new opportunities and drumming my fingers in impatience in front of him waiting for him to pack up and f off out of my life or I would be dashing out the door without a backward glance if I wanted what you do!

Itlod1982 · 15/04/2021 09:00

@Newstaronhorizon

OMG I can't believe what I am reading! A man has to be chomping at the bit at the thought of you being pregnant with his sperm for it ever to work!!

Babies are a huge strain on a relationship and if he is not an active helper in all that babies entail then it had disaster written all over it!

I cannot understand why you are trying to nag and force a man who clearly does not want to get you pregnant into this?

Men who say I don't know mean NO but believe it is being kinder not being honest.

I cannot understand why you are baulking at and dreading ending things with him when this is actually your get out jail card and passport to free you to find a lovely kind and new partner and husband to start a family with?!?!?

Of course you shouldn't waste any more time with this man!! Hurry up and end it and look forward to the rest of your life!!!

100%

Giving him an ultimatum is close to pressuring him into having kids when he's not completely (if at all) up for that. That wouldn't be fair on either of your or the future DC....and could lead to years of issues with the DC suffering.

His first answer was his true answer and at best he's not sure. I'd walk now

Oldbutstillgotit · 15/04/2021 09:05

I have a friend whose DH was never quite ready for DC . Always something needed for house, a special holiday etc
To cut a long sad story short they split up when she was almost 40. Within 5 years he was remarried with a baby and another on the way .
My friend never did have DC .

CoconutMaracas · 15/04/2021 09:13

I dumped a guy and met a new one a few months later and was pregnant soon after and we are married now. It was rapid but I was your age and you HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE. I’m now struggling with multiple miscarriages trying for no 2 baby as too old.
At least I had my ds though. If I’d wasted any more time with the other time waster I wouldn’t have him and I would be full of regret. Don’t be full of regret. You have to be completely decisive now and not be fobbed off. You should be trying now if you want a baby not in a year. If you have a baby in 9 months you’ll need at least 6 months to recover after and you’ll end up ttc no 2 at 38/39. This guy is old enough to know what he wants. I would get angry that he’s strung you along and is still trying to string you along! He doesn’t want kids but will probably try the line that he’ll have a rethink in a year or two. Op be decisive, time is not in your side

CoconutMaracas · 15/04/2021 09:15

@Oldbutstillgotit

I have a friend whose DH was never quite ready for DC . Always something needed for house, a special holiday etc To cut a long sad story short they split up when she was almost 40. Within 5 years he was remarried with a baby and another on the way . My friend never did have DC .
I’ve seen a lot of examples of this, it’s really tragic. Our biological clock has to dictate, theirs does not.
NoatheQueen · 15/04/2021 09:17

I wrote on another thread about concern over friend who, after 10 years, has nothing to show for her relationship. She has become withdrawn and friends have drifted. I'm one of the last ones but now find myself keeping a distance and we can't really chat about anything important,it's all superficial because it's like the elephant in the room.
She's desperate to marry him and have kids but 10 years on its not going to happen.
She is in her kid 30s and NEVER had the chat with her 'partner'
The entire relationship has been on his terms, I feel to the point of abusive.
Even if your partner did propose trust me he'd drag his feet and take a few years. It's hard work planning a wedding, paying for it etc and then having kids, well you need someone who is really on board with it.

BurbageBrook · 15/04/2021 09:19

You've got to be honest with him and clear on your expectations for a relationship and what you need. My DP and I discussed almost straight away that we wanted kids one day, within a year I had told him I wanted to be engaged within the next year, I've told him I want to TTC within 3 years of us meeting, etc. And he's on board and excited about all of that. You've got to set your standards early and clearly, i think.

BurbageBrook · 15/04/2021 09:23

He sounds like a prick to dangle that SUV comment by the way and now he's all 'not sure'. Leave him and find someone who is sure.

NameChangedForThisFeb21 · 15/04/2021 09:33

It sounds as if you have not experienced being put on a pedestal by a man and treated like a princess and being given kind and thoughtful treatment by a man every single day?!

Why don't you aim at finding the kindest, nicest man who worships the ground you walk on in order to start a family with?

Overall yours is a lovely post so don’t think I’m taking issue with your advice BUT

I’m a similar age to OP and have NEVER met a man who “treats me like a princess and puts me on a pedestal” or “worships the ground I walk in” and actually, amongst my peers even the happiest married with kids ones that I know do not have the whole princess/worshipping/pedestal dynamic. I think it’s very very rare these days for men who have got to mid 30s or their 40s without ever being committed to a woman or starting a family to be the sort to be used to putting anyone except themselves first. And I’m not sure most women in their mid/late 30s would want or expect to be “worshipped” or to be someone’s “princess”. Most of us have been just looking for a decent guy who would treat us as an equal and be respectful.

My family members who are now in their later 50s or older and settled down in their twenties or by 30 maximum have had a different dynamic in their past and yes maybe the princess/ground worshipping scenario but for our generation

We’ve had to deal with a very different dating world were a lot of men won’t even ask a woman they meet in person out,

Where internet dating and apps are the main way people meet and are basically like a fast food menu - he wants a blonde 25 year old this week, with a 35 year old single mum on the side and he might sample an 18 year old or even try a 60 year old just so he can say he can. All with no commitment.

By date 3 if you don’t sleep with these people (I never did), preferring to get to know them better, you are dumped as you are clearly “frigid”. On these dates, when you do feel ready for sex, that sex is often now heavily influenced by porn so you aren’t to be surprised if choking/anal/bdsm etc is part of even an early date and labelled “vanilla”
if you don’t want to and just fancy a bit of...y’know loving, affectionate, fun sex.

Instead of “Hello, I’ve noticed you around here and think you are very beautiful. Here’s my number, I’d love to take you out sometime so give me a ring if you are interested” which is the dating story of a lot of my relatives...we get dick pics. Or a message saying “pics plz” meaning “send me (a stranger) naked pictures of you”.

Occasionally you will meet what seems to be a decent guy and for the first time in 50 shit first dates with weirdos, you get excited and think this one could lead somewhere.
Only to find out he’s married. Or to have him “ghost” you with absolutely no explanation as to why.

A lot of friends thought about using niche dating sites like a Christian one where they could meet men who they thought would be more decent. Instead one had to take a court case out against a creepy stalker and the majority of men they met were recovering (but not recovered) addicts or men with really severe mental health problems. And they still got the dick pics and sexually explicit messages.

And I chose to use the “hobbies” route over internet dating but still came across married creeps, commitment phobes, porn addicts, cheaters etc. I still think hobbies, work, volunteering and asking friends if they have any really decent single relatives or friends looking to settle down is the best route but,
in a pandemic, even this is more challenging and most people are still using the apps and online option.

Most of the decent guys who knew they wanted marriage and kids seemed to settle down between 27-30.
My ex decided to reverse his previous discussions with me and announce he never wanted children when I was about to turn 31. If he’d been honest 2 years earlier instead of stringing me along and making out that he wanted the same things as me, I might have had a different outcome and not be childless today.

If OP waits for someone to treat her like a princess, worship the ground she walks on, and put her on a pedestal, she’s just as likely to be single and childless in 5 years as she would in her current set up.

I absolutely agree she needs to look for someone kind and who will be a good father. But hoping for some sort of fantasy prince is not at all realistic or healthy.

NoatheQueen · 15/04/2021 09:43

So if you have the attitude that nice, deserving men don't exist then you certainly won't find one.

Take some responsibility, you made the choice to be with someone who was 'ok'. You're not a child or a girl, you are a woman and really it's down to you what happens in your future.

I used to date losers and then had a long hard chat with myself about standards and what I wanted. And then I met my devoted, wonderful husband.

Women can't bemoan a useless man if they decide to stay or fail to even have a conversation with this person.

NoatheQueen · 15/04/2021 09:44

NameChangedForThisFeb21 what a totally defeatist post!!!

Fabiofatshaft1 · 15/04/2021 09:46

Andrew is a prince, but he’s a weird, creepy arsehole and Harry is a spoiled backstabbing wet blanket.

Not all princes are charming.

CoconutMaracas · 15/04/2021 09:54

@NoatheQueen

NameChangedForThisFeb21 what a totally defeatist post!!!
I agree. I online dated extensively and while I met a handful of weirdos, most were really nice people - we just didn’t gel because of chemistry. I never had anyone asking me for pictures like this etc I didn’t use tinder though. My dh ( who I met OLD) is one of the kindest people I have ever known, he puts me and ds first always and himself last. Many of my friends met people late 30s who are similarly lovely guys. I’m sorry you’ve been so unlucky but I really don’t think this is everyone’s experience
blowinahoolie · 15/04/2021 10:24

@BadLad

He would have been dumped at least 18 months ago by me.

So, you'd have dumped him on the first date at the earliest?

Yes. Life is short. Seize the moment. Don't waste time with those who aren't on the same page.

As a previous poster has stated, being asked on the first date talking about family etc is the way forward. Be direct.

blowinahoolie · 15/04/2021 10:28

I was pregnant at 23, months after meeting DH. We got busy quite early on. I don't believe in wasting time.

Loveadvicepls · 15/04/2021 10:48

Thanks to all those who posted kindly and positively Flowers
Some really horrible posts on here though who make an awful lot of assumptions
I’m very sad and feel vulnerable and don’t want to wade through accusations of being passive and how I have low standards
Leaving it here now

OP posts:
Loveadvicepls · 15/04/2021 10:50

And yes I did mention to him on the first date and have talked about wanting children and my age throughout our relationship
I just didn’t talk about it practically in terms of timelines until last night
As I posted, I knew it wasn’t going to be positive and I’m sad and tired of dating
Anyway logging off now

OP posts:
NoatheQueen · 15/04/2021 10:57

Horrible posts aka those posters who are being honest which you don't want to hear 🤦🏼‍♀️
Sounds like you don't want to hear the objective truth. Rather than getting angry at anonymous posters taking the time to give you sound advice (and then being annoyed at them) get annoyed with your boyfriend who is leading you on a merry dance.

A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 · 15/04/2021 10:58

@Loveadvicepls I'm really sorry you've had some insensitive posters. Ignore them. I think some people forget there's a real person at the other end of this thread, who is feeling a bit shit, and wants some advice. This thread has been pretty eye opening for me, with a lot of useful advice. I'm a similar age to you, with friends the same age who are single and trying to navigate dating currently with a timeline in mind for children etc. It is really really not easy. And I see why when you've met someone great, you aren't keen to throw yourself back out there and start the demoralising process of dating again.
Personally I'd go this weekend, and have face to face time with him. His position could change, he was maybe caught off guard. Well done for starting the process of having this discussion. And sticking to your guns. That was really brave. I'm really hopeful you come back on here and have a positive update to your situation.