Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

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

Another Breakup Story...My Stupid Fault

86 replies

Bottlebluebell · 16/05/2021 21:30

This is going to be long, I apologise in advance, I really just want to vent, like a form of therapy.

Like so many posts on here I've been dumped & finding it so hard.
Background is we've been together 4 months but known each other 40 years, we were best friends for a while, I lost touch a couple of years ago but got back in contact and realised I loved him. He said he's always loved me, I was so happy with him & secure, we were planning our future, maybe things moved fast but it felt right because we knew each other well.

I messed up, Friday night started well, dinner & drinks, then when we sat down to watch a film he was distant, his body language was off. After it finished he said he was going to bed and went upstairs to sleep in the spare room, I called to him 'are you really going to leave me like this'. I was emotional & hormonal, I put on my coat and went out the back door which I closed a bit loud, I wouldn't say slammed but it was louder than I usually would close it, I then walked round the block.

When I got back he was waiting for me. Had a bit of a talk, he mentioned aggression to me - think he was referring to my door 'slamming', he said I had made some comments that upset him, I asked for examples.....I'm always cold & he's hot, he was sweating, apparently I said something like we're mismatched, I didn't mean anything by it, I was hugging him at the time. He said I was on a mission to get drunk, it's true I was tipsy, but felt good & happy. He commented how I said I didn't want to lay my head on his shoulder because I didn't want to fall asleep, it's true, I fall asleep in that position but still wanted him to cuddle me. He said I seemed annoyed when he was trying to find a film to watch, I wasn't, I was worried I was annoying him because I'm indecisive. See all these things were misunderstandings.

I did say we can't seem to resolve this, he said I had two options, he leaves immediately or he goes in the morning, I said morning. He went upstairs, I tried to hug him but he said again about aggression and how it wasn't for him, so I left him.

I was really upset, I did something stupid, I packed his bag and left it by the back door with a note saying 'I'm still not sure what I did to upset you, I've gone for a walk'....early morning I got up and went for a long walk (I walk when I'm upset), I was scared to see him, I didn't want to say goodbye, I regret that now. When I got back he was gone.

I messaged him, apologised, I missed him, he said 'I thought you made your intentions clear when I found my bag packed, anyway you made your decision last night, I don't feel I need to be the object of that blame, I'm not angry, just don't enjoy that sort of aggression, regardless of how I feel about you'.....I apologised again, never meant to hurt him, I packed his stuff at 2 in the morning, I was emotional, he said he was leaving and I didn't want any reminders of him....I did say the word aggressive is upsetting me, I'm not that, maybe dramatic but not aggressive. He commented 'I was telling you how you came across and how it made me feel, you might think it was dramatic, your back door might not feel that way'. I explained it was late at night, he was upstairs directly over it, everything sounds louder in the dead of night.

He said 'the problem is he saw a taste of what could happen, and implied you can me with no reminders, makes me think if she can do that when it appears to be nothing, what happens when we are further down the line & it's more serious, how are you going to react then? I would prefer not to find out, those games aren't for me, it's not something I enjoy or want to be part of'

I said I could never erase him, I'm sorry he didn't want to give us a chance, I don't play games. Nobody is perfect, we all have our faults, I made a mistake, we have to accept each other, learn from things and work through life. It's the happiest I've been in a long while and I will try to hold onto that.

He's no longer replying

Obviously I'm devastated, this is my fault, I messed up and did some stupid things which I hate myself for, I've lost the love of my life. I'm not sure how I'm going to get through this, he was not only my partner but a close friend, we have so much history. I feel terrible about myself, I've destroyed my future and life seems pretty pointless to me now. I'm not sure what to do.

OP posts:
FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 08:55

@MysteriousMonkey

It's not your fault. Sounds like he was looking for an excuse to leave!

I don't think he was looking for an excuse to leave, only a few hours before (before I had a drink) he was talking about our future, what he was planning.... It was me, he saw my behaviour and had second thoughts... I blame myself, it's not him, it's me and I don't know how I'm going to forgive myself... I felt OK when I woke up but now I've started to cry and have to face work looking like a mess.

Cleverpolly3 · 17/05/2021 08:56

You’ve dodged a bullet there if you ask me

FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 08:58

@KinseyWinsey

His behaviour was weird and ott. Why's he making such a big deal of where you rest your head? Bizarre.

Then your behaviour was weird and ott.

Can you just leave it for a few days now? No contact at all.

And stop apologising. You've apologised and that's enough. Otherwise you'll look like you're begging.

He might not turn out to be the love of your life.

It all sounds like drama over nothing tbh. But it also sounds a bit like he was looking to make drama over nothing.

Yes, we both was weird, but I took it way too far, I'm the one who sabotaged it.

I'm not contacting him again, I've apologised so many times, he won't accept it... I'm not going to make myself look foolish and desperate, I've done enough of that.

The drama was all me, not him.

Cleverpolly3 · 17/05/2021 08:59

I think he’s making you doubt yourself because he has ulterior motives. I think he wants you to bow and scrap and change yourself to fit his narrative.

That is incredibly worrying and controlling.

namechangingforthis19586 · 17/05/2021 09:01

I read your other threads. He's highly manipulative.

Jonjojobs123 · 17/05/2021 09:09

Someone said to me recently that it doesn't matter if whether you felt your actions were a certain way its how its perceived by the other person. You didn't feel you were being aggressive but he felt you were. So sometimes its better to acknowledge that .

Fabiofatshaft1 · 17/05/2021 09:13

When he woke and got up, probably thinking the drama the previous night was just a storm in a tea cup, seeing his bags packed must have felt like a kick in the gut. It was definitely an ‘ End of chapter full stop ‘ for him.

Stop beating yourself up over it. Shit happens. Agree to disagree next time.

Ugzbugz · 17/05/2021 09:23

@Aquamarine1029

He said I was on a mission to get drunk, it's true I was tipsy, but felt good & happy.

Why on earth were you on a mission to get drunk? That's something a teenager does. Do you really not appreciate how miserable it is to be sober and be stuck around a drunk person?

I have lots if friends in their 40s and we like to get drunk now and then?

Op he sounds like a wet lettuce. Lucky escape.

FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 09:25

@Fabiofatshaft1

When he woke and got up, probably thinking the drama the previous night was just a storm in a tea cup, seeing his bags packed must have felt like a kick in the gut. It was definitely an ‘ End of chapter full stop ‘ for him.

Stop beating yourself up over it. Shit happens. Agree to disagree next time.

That make me so sad, that is an end of chapter.... nothing can be salvaged...

It's not so easy to just get over it, this is not someone I just met, I've known him all my life, I'm miserable, I just want a second chance but he won't try...he knows me, he's the only person who's ever really known me... It feels so bleak knowing he's not in my life anymore and I'll not hear from him again.

feistymumma · 17/05/2021 09:37

Why are you feeling like you messed up, he seems a nightmare - good riddance

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 17/05/2021 09:39

But he doesn’t want the drama OP.

And nothing says fuck off more than packed bags. And to be honest pestering him is going to make him ostrich.

It doesn’t sound like you know each other at all.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 17/05/2021 10:16

@Jonjojobs123

Someone said to me recently that it doesn't matter if whether you felt your actions were a certain way its how its perceived by the other person. You didn't feel you were being aggressive but he felt you were. So sometimes its better to acknowledge that .
This is really important I think, considering impact over intent. Like when someone says something hurtful and you say it was hurtful, then saying 'you're too sensitive / I was joking' and / or doing it again means they aren't actually taking your feelings on board so how much can they care about you?

Slamming doors and going for midnight walks and packing bags and leaving notes is all very OTT and dramatic (which OP has recognised) and while she says she wasn't aggressive, those behaviours are consistent with someone with poor impulse control when drunk who might not be remembering what happened particularly accurately.

While you say you know each other better than anyone else etc, you've posted twice now about conflicts that have got a bit out of control that you haven't been able to resolve maturely and sensibly as a couple - both of you I mean.

It sounds like you've both romanticised your dynamic and when real life (be it disagreeing about politics or everyday niggles) crops up, the pedestal on which you've put your relationship is knocked over as it can't hold strong when things are difficult. I suspect that's because although you've known each other ages, you haven't known each other romantically, as a couple for very long at all.

I have friends I've known for decades who on paper would be a brilliant match for me, who I adore, but who I also know would drive me mental in a relationship sense because of how they are in a relationship which is a very different dynamic to friendship.

I think you've both just found out you're romantically incompatible.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 17/05/2021 10:41

Indeed.

I would rather preserve a wonderful friendship than keep trying with an ill matched love.

Hopefully his silence means he is licking his romantic wounds (as are you) and you can have the friendship back.

Give it a bit of time and space (like the mighty boosh)

Nietzschethehiker · 17/05/2021 11:06

Like other PP I think its just that you are incompatible. To be fair neither of you covered yourself in glory but we've all done things we regret. People have different boundaries , you might not like the word aggressive but it feels that way to someone else then you can't really undermine it.

That said I couldn't be doing with his game playing and sleeping in the spare room and being distant either.

I admit drama and someone being emotional and saying it was hormones would be a problem for me but then I have no doubt my ways of dealing with things wouldn't be for someone else.

Rather than hate yourself, which is a bit dramatic, don't allow someone else's reaction make you hate yourself that's too far. Accept you just aren't matched. It happens.

FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 12:50

I guess I'm just living in the hope that he will take sometime to reflect and contact me.

I've realised my faults & will work on them, isn't life about that?

People are right, I shouldn't dismiss the word aggressive, that's how he felt... Isn't this something we can talk through?

This is my first day of no contact with him, should I give him a few days then message him one last time just saying I'm here if you want to talk when your ready?... or just send a message in a week or so asking how he is?

namechangingforthis19586 · 17/05/2021 13:28

But he's not a nice man. He sulked and punished you when you said you could see how some people held a different view to Brexit than the one you both held. All you said was that you could see the argument, you weren't even disagreeing with him! Why on earth would you want someone so huffy and controlling?

Cookies2523 · 17/05/2021 13:32

Tbh he sounds like hard work to me - and quite childish.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 17/05/2021 13:37

Life is all about learning and changing but as long as you take issue with his use of the word ‘aggression’ and how he feels there is no change.

You have described him as intolerant, moody, obese and your friend has, on your words alone, ‘diagnosed’ him as perhaps having a personality disorder. Not the words of a friend or a lover. Your words are unkind and while he may not be Peter perfect, I’m unsure if he deserves that unkindness.

I’ll wager he has seen it in you and is unsure what to do and has backed well off.

It is fine wanting to talk things over but for that you need to listen and hear. I’m not sure you are in the right frame of mind to do either.

You need to be ok in yourself to be ok with others.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 17/05/2021 13:40

If he is as awful as you say, you need to step back for your own well-being.

He is.

suggestionsplease1 · 17/05/2021 14:07

I think you just have to let this one go and see if a friendship can be salvaged in time.

It sounds like he's not up for the intensity that you are bringing to the relationship (and is setting his boundaries now to protect himself from what he anticipates will be a similar story in the future) and he will inevitably seem too detached to you - you've got different styles and there doesn't like there can be a relationship compatibility here.

JustAnotherOldMan · 17/05/2021 14:48

@SheldonesqueTheBstard

But he doesn’t want the drama OP.

And nothing says fuck off more than packed bags. And to be honest pestering him is going to make him ostrich.

It doesn’t sound like you know each other at all.

Yep, this. Give him some space and then send a “hello, how you keeping” Any response, or not, will tell you everything you need to know
Opticabbage · 17/05/2021 15:23

Deep down you know he is being a twat, and it shows when you describe what happened. Then the "oh I've been so terrible, I've really messed up" lines aren't believable.

If you really want to communicate with him, I'd drop all of that and take a more honest "sorry I overreacted, you really pissed me off" approach.

FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 16:37

@SheldonesqueTheBstard

Life is all about learning and changing but as long as you take issue with his use of the word ‘aggression’ and how he feels there is no change.

You have described him as intolerant, moody, obese and your friend has, on your words alone, ‘diagnosed’ him as perhaps having a personality disorder. Not the words of a friend or a lover. Your words are unkind and while he may not be Peter perfect, I’m unsure if he deserves that unkindness.

I’ll wager he has seen it in you and is unsure what to do and has backed well off.

It is fine wanting to talk things over but for that you need to listen and hear. I’m not sure you are in the right frame of mind to do either.

You need to be ok in yourself to be ok with others.

I don't think that's fair, you've taken my words out of context.

I did use intolerant to another poster in an old thread, this was before our feelings grew deeper. It turned out it was never about brexit and he's not intolerant.

He is a bit sensitive & moody tho, can't we all be.

I never said obese, I said overweight, it's true, he's discussed this with me, he's not comfortable sleeping in a small bed with me, I have no problem with that or his weight, I see past that.. I love him, the last time I said that was 20 years ago!

My friend knows him, she mentioned personality disorder, I did not agree, he's fine.

I love him, he is not a terrible person, quite the opposite.

FranklymydearIdogiveadamn · 17/05/2021 16:56

@Opticabbage

Deep down you know he is being a twat, and it shows when you describe what happened. Then the "oh I've been so terrible, I've really messed up" lines aren't believable.

If you really want to communicate with him, I'd drop all of that and take a more honest "sorry I overreacted, you really pissed me off" approach.

Deep down I'm disappointed he can't move past this and give us one more try, we have been fabulous together until this point. I've looked at it from his perspective & understand how I came across & why he's pulled away. He saw something in me he didn't like that night and I didn't like it also, I realise that now and will do my best to never let that happen again.

I really am sorry & feel terrible, I did fu*k up, it was all on me.

I've apologised but I've never said I overreacted, I should have said that, your right. Maybe I will, but I don't want to contact him again & drag it up... Maybe I will text him in a few days and ask how he is, but I'm scared he never wants to hear from me again.

duodunical · 17/05/2021 17:14

Well neither of you are perfect, so what? He thinks he deserves perfection from you, whereas you don't expect it from him. You love him warts 'n all apparently.

His loss OP, he won't find you easy to replace.

Swipe left for the next trending thread