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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

I want to be told I’m overreacting and being rather melodramatic please.

32 replies

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 12:17

This may be a little long-winded so I’ll apologise in advance, I have NC for this. I’m just seeking a bit of perspective and possibly reassurance that I’m just over-thinking things. I will also add a caveat that I’m struggling with PND (having weekly counselling sessions so trying to get better) and I’d fully appreciate it if you’d go easy on me because I’m finding things quite difficult atm Smile.

I have been with DH for 10 years and married for 6. We have a 2.5 year old and 10 month old. We met in our early 20s and both of us had only had one serious relationship before which ended a good 3/4 years before we met so plenty of time to move on. I definitely didn’t harbour any feelings for my ex at that point, I didn’t even think about him tbh and I figured DH would be the same. Possibly him more so than me because their relationship wasn’t great, she cheated on him throughout with various men including a couple of his friends. His best friend and sister had pleaded with him to end things because she just wasn’t very good for him but it took him a while to feel able to and he found the whole thing rather difficult. He went travelling for a year after they split to try moving on but had a breakdown when he returned and needed counselling. He said it was both the split and the fact his parents went through a nasty divorce around the same time. We’re obviously both far past those relationships now, we’ve been married for years and have 2 small children ffs.

I’ve seen photos of his ex and if it’s relevant, she’s totally opposite to me. I know some people tend to go for the same sort of look but she looks completely different to me. She wears fake tan, false nails, hair extensions, lots of make up etc whereas I’m a bit more natural with short-ish dark hair, olive skin, not very much make up. If you were to compare, she looks like a TOWIE cast member and I’ve been likened to a young Helena Bonham Carter or Vanessa Paradis. I’m just trying to point out the fact we possibly couldn’t be more opposite both in appearance but also in general style, interests etc. Plus the fact I’m as loyal as a dog and definitely wouldn’t cheat.

Anyhoo to the overall story. On Saturday DH was in another room and he’d left his phone on the sofa so I decided to send the photos from that day to my phone in a text. We had visited a museum and I remembered looking at one of the photos that we’d wanted to Google something so I decided to just do it on his phone since it was in my hand. One of the tabs open on his phone was a woman who started at his work a couple of months ago. I decided to look at his search history because I didn’t really understand why her Facebook page would be open as a tab. He’d deleted almost all of his history but obviously forgotten to delete that mornings. He’d been looking at photos of her when I was downstairs getting our DC dressed for the day. I just couldn’t grasp why tbh, my first thought was a wank which made me feel a bit sick. She’s younger than us and a lot like his ex style wise so nothing like me.

Anyway, I asked him why and he told me initially he’d had a weird dream about her talking to him about golf and he decided to Google her when he first woke up. He wasn’t sure why he chose to do this, he was still a bit sleepy and likened it to when I might Google ‘dreams about wasps’ or whatever Hmm. I honestly thought it was a shite excuse so pushed a bit more. He then told me he’d seen her at work the day before for the first time properly since she started because she works in a totally different department to him, he’d had to take a birthday card around to everyone to be signed so it was the first time he’d seen her fully. He said she looked remarkably like his ex and he was a bit taken aback by it so having had the dream, he decided to Facebook search her. He apologised profusely, said he wasn’t really sure why he did it and he didn’t mean anything by it.

I think the reason it upset me most of all is the idea that this meant he found her attractive and in turn, still found his ex attractive? With me currently struggling mentally, with my self confidence and so forth it just knocked me a lot. He didn’t deny finding either her or his ex still attractive which made things much worse. Both women look nothing like me so then my thoughts further started to spiral into- so does he wish I looked like them? Is he even attracted to me at all? Should I try to look more like that? Etc. I haven’t really been able to stop thinking negatively about it ever since. We had a couple of lengthy discussions not just about this but also about how difficult we’ve been finding things recently and ways we are struggling in general. It was good to clear the air and get things out in the open. He accepted he should support me more and listen to me more and I accepted we should both make more of a concerted effort to give each other time. We’ve agreed to try couples counselling and also reinstate date night monthly if we can. Not really because of this issue but mostly because we’ve let things slide and go a bit stale recently just with how busy we are in day to day life so we need to reconnect.

It’s just really got me down. I asked a friend and she said maybe I’m just not his usual type and women who look like his ex/the woman are work are his usual type so it’s a bit of a fantasy thing like when people have celebrity crushes. She didn’t make me feel any better, much worse if anything. I just then started thinking great, so I’m not even his type! I’m just seeking some reassurance that I’m majorly overthinking things tbh because rightly or wrongly, I’m struggling to move on from it. I obviously know he hasn’t cheated or anything terrible like that! It‘s still just hurt my feelings. I don’t still find my ex attractive at all, I thought people’s tastes just naturally changed as they got older and that’s why he now found me attractive as opposed to someone like his ex? I’d never look at someone like my ex and find them attractive, I just don’t have the same ‘type’ as I did in my teens.

OP posts:
ShirleyPhallus · 24/05/2021 12:24

I honestly think you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole here. I’d be really embarrassed if anyone saw my
Google or Facebook histories. They’re full of random things and people that pop in to my head. I’ve looked up past partners then fallen down a hole of looking at their sisters’s partner’s mum’s and before I know it I’m on an album from a family trip to Carlisle in 2002. It means absolutely nothing.

If you have a good relationship generally then stop worrying it about it, you have nothing to fear. Sounds like you have it in hand by having date nights and mending the gap between you and also addressing the PND.

KraySlag · 24/05/2021 12:26

I think you're massively overthinking it tbh.

I'm very happily with DH, together 10 years. I've google/Fb looked up the off good looking person. I occasionally look up a couple of exes out of nosiness.

I don't think it's a big deal.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 12:30

I think perhaps it’s thrown me more because I’m not curious about my exes and I don’t really think about them. I’m also a very boring person and wouldn’t be embarrassed about my search history. The most embarrassing thing is probably the amount of time I spend on Mumsnet Grin. I don’t think anything I search for is out there, nothing I’d be ashamed to show DH or even my Mum. Obviously everyone is different though so I fully appreciate I’m overreacting. I think it’s just because I’m already struggling with my self confidence and I definitely have fallen down the rabbit hole of thinking he no longer finds me attractive.

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dreamingbohemian · 24/05/2021 12:35

I can see why that would be upsetting, I think it's good though that you're trying to reason your way out of it because most probably it didn't mean anything. And even if he is a bit distracted, the best way to head that off is to improve things between you, like you said.

Did you tell him that you're afraid he's not attracted to you? What did he say?

Pinkdelight3 · 24/05/2021 12:37

People can find all kinds of 'types' attractive. Obviously you're one of his types or he wouldn't have married you, and if you're using Helena B-C and Vanessa Paradis as comparisons then you can't be too insecure. I wouldn't read so much into this if I were you and agree with your friend that it's a fantasy thing, and got nothing to do with day-to-day life. I find all kinds of different people attractive, but that doesn't mean I want my DH to change himself. In fact the least appealing thing he could do is to not be himself and start trying to retool himself around what he imagines I might like. It sounds like what's hurt you is assuming he's just like you and has stopped finding other people attractive (this is what your last few lines sounds like), which I can understand may give you a wobble, but I'd say it's you who's more unusual in this regard and don't read any more into it. It's not about you or your ex or even his ex. He just looked up a woman from work on FB and as long as that's as far as it's gone, then put it out of your mind. Lots of people snoop on social media and it doesn't signify anything IRL. Hope you can put it out of your head.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 12:39

Yes, I said I was worried he no longer found me attractive and also said I was worried I maybe wasn’t his type and that he’s fantasising about someone closer to his type. He told me that absolutely wasn’t the case at all, he definitely is attracted to me and thinks I’m beautiful. He really tried to help me feel a lot better about the situation in many ways by offering a lot of reassurance but the one thing he didn’t do was deny he found both his ex and colleague attractive. I think that may have helped me more but he obviously does think they are. I know people can find all kinds of things attractive so it’s rarely a case of just liking the same sort of person but we’re honestly totally opposite!

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Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 12:41

Ahh no I’m not convinced I look like those two women, it’s just what people have said in the past! I was mostly trying to make a comparison between my overall style/look compared to theirs to point out how different we are.

You’re right though, I accept people can like all different types of people and it has mostly thrown me because I didn’t think he’d still find people who look like his ex from his teens attractive.

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lucy5236 · 24/05/2021 12:43

Oh OP, sounds like you're having a really tough time.

I Google or look up exes on fb sometimes and I don't find them attractive or have any interest in them at all.....it's just a curious/nosiness thing.

Also, I think you can have different "types" e.g. my celeb crush would be Jason momoa but Iike George clooney too. They're nothing alike but my point is that I can find 2 people who look totally different attractive. Hopefully the counselling for your PND helps to boost your confidence and self esteem so you feel better about yourself and in turn you would hopefully be less upset about this Thanks

theemmadilemma · 24/05/2021 12:47

I've looked up long past ex's. I've found men at the opposite end of the looks spectrum to my Partner hot. But I'm still happier with him than I ever have been before. It means nothing.

Mylittlepony374 · 24/05/2021 12:48

Kindly, it doesn't really matter if he finds them attractive, he is with you and loves you.
I'm white and fat, my husband's last girlfriend before he met me was black and slim. It's possible to be attracted to really different looks/body types etc.
I'd try and focus on how he treats you and your kids, how he makes you feel....if that's all good then this really is probably just a case of him being curious and I wouldn't worry about it.

RickiTarr · 24/05/2021 12:51

His colleague isn’t his ex. Even supposing there was a sexual motive to looking up the colleague (people look up all manner of people all the time just to be nosey or curious), you’re making a huge jump to connect his ex to this, just because they both have a TOWIE style. Even if he does find that style a bit attractive, he clearly finds you more attractive as he chose to marry you. Try to relax.

It sounds as though he has said everything reasonable he could possibly say to reassure you, and the rest is in your head.

Keep a weather eye on the colleague thing, just in case, but it doesn’t sound particularly worrying to me.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 12:56

He made the connection between the colleague and his ex which is why I’ve blown up all sorts of things in my head. He said he was taken aback by how much she looked like his ex and that was part of the reason why he chose to search for her on FB. His ex has been blocked for years (before I even met him) AFAIK else I suspect he may have looked her up too, I’m not sure. I think the fact he made a link between her and his ex hurt more than if he’d just stuck to the original tale of telling me he had a weird dream about her so decided to search for her. I can’t really fully articulate why it’s hurt my feelings so much other than to say I’m already struggling with my self confidence and self esteem which he knows all too well so it just felt like a further knock.

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UnderTheSkyInsideTheSea · 24/05/2021 12:57

@ShirleyPhallus

I honestly think you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole here. I’d be really embarrassed if anyone saw my Google or Facebook histories. They’re full of random things and people that pop in to my head. I’ve looked up past partners then fallen down a hole of looking at their sisters’s partner’s mum’s and before I know it I’m on an album from a family trip to Carlisle in 2002. It means absolutely nothing.

If you have a good relationship generally then stop worrying it about it, you have nothing to fear. Sounds like you have it in hand by having date nights and mending the gap between you and also addressing the PND.

Totally agree with this. I look at random people FB profiles all the time - I’m just interested to put a face to their comment. I’m a born (autistic) researcher, and look up loads of people; it’s got nothing to do with sexual attraction and everything to do with nosiness curiosity. I’m always interested to see what ex partners are up to, as well - not because I still covet them, just because we have a shared history and it’s interesting to see what people from one’s past are up to!

If this woman really does look a lot like his ex, maybe he wondered whether they’re related and that’s why he looked her up? That’s exactly the kind of thing I’d do. 🤷🏻‍♀️

UnderTheSkyInsideTheSea · 24/05/2021 12:59

Ooh cross post @Needalittlebitofhelp. There you go - told you so! Grin

Honestly, it sounds to me like you’re worrying yourself over nothing. It’s you he chose to marry and start a family with. Smile

ComtesseDeSpair · 24/05/2021 13:00

I think you’re overanalysing this. I look up all kinds of people on social media - everyone from ex partners, acquaintances, new neighbours, and colleagues. Male and female. Very rarely because I fancy them, generally out of interest. And if you lined all my exes up on a line, you’d struggle to pick any common physical characteristics they shared. I don’t wish my current partner looked like any of my previous ones.

Have you considered therapy for yourself, separate from the couples counselling? To help with the esteem issues and spiral of negative thoughts you seem to struggle with.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 13:01

Perhaps I’m the weird one then Grin. I’m just not really bothered about my ex’s. I have looked up people I went to school with in the past out of curiosity but one was because I heard she’d opened an art shop so I wanted to look at her work and another was a tattoo artist so again, I’m interested in artwork so wanted to look.

I’ve never thought of people I’ve found attractive in the past and searched for them and I don’t really find other people attractive in general. I have tunnel vision when I’m in a relationship and feel committed to them so don’t look elsewhere. I appreciate that probably isn’t regular behaviour, it’s just how I’ve always been. I can see when someone is attractive (male or female) but it doesn’t go further than thinking that, I certainly don’t think of others in a sexual way. Maybe there’s something wrong with me rather than him!

OP posts:
Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 13:03

Have you considered therapy for yourself

Yes, I’m having weekly sessions because I realised I was struggling with PND a couple of months ago. They’re slowly helping, I’m trying to get back on track.

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rainbowninja · 24/05/2021 13:06

I feel like this is where living in the age of google and Facebook does us a disservice and opens us up to insecurities that wouldn't have been an issue before.

It sounds like you have nothing to worry about, your husband was very open with you about his thought processes and it has lead to you being able to talk about your relationship and some things you'd like to change.

I think you're right, this wouldn't have caused you so much concern if you weren't already feeling a bit vulnerable and you're already getting some support so focus on that and remember that your husband fell in love with the the whole package that is you and not just because you are a particular 'type'.

Pinkdelight3 · 24/05/2021 13:10

the one thing he didn’t do was deny he found both his ex and colleague attractive. I think that may have helped me more but he obviously does think they are.

I think it's better that he didn't lie to you and say he didn't find those other women attractive. You wouldn't really believe him, would you, if he said that you were the only woman he found attractive. But he told you what you mean to him and because he wasn't lying, you should believe him and not go further down this rabbit-hole. I feel like there's also something here about you relying on his feelings about you to define how you feel about yourself. Which might be tied into how focused on him you are, having only had the one ex and even decided you don't find him attractive in retrospect. Obviously your loyal-as-a-dog stance is laudable, but you don't have to never fancy anyone ever again and if you did, it wouldn't mean you didn't love your DH or that he needed to change. I hope you can take this as a chance to build your confidence rather than to diminish it.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 13:21

I had a couple of less serious relationships before my DH too so not just one ex but only one ‘serious’ ex iykwim. You’re right though, I shouldn’t be so upset by this and I do really want to move on from it. I’ve just become trapped in a negative thought process really, I keep thinking every time he sees this woman at work now he’s going to think about his ex. I’m not sure why it’s even important if he did think of his ex, I don’t think it would mean he’d jump into contacting her and try to start anything up with her again! I’m just guilty of over analysing above all else.

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Regularsizedrudy · 24/05/2021 13:21

Sorry I think you need to get over yourself. (The lengthy description of her appearance wasn’t needed btw, you look different, they look similar, we get it).

It’s doesn’t matter if he finds his ex attractive- he dated her so obviously he does. I think my ex’s are physically attractive, still wouldn’t go back for more! His with you. He looked at someone of Facebook who reminded him of his ex who he had a traumatic past with. It all sounds pretty normal.

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 13:25

Sorry, I don’t know why I added that in. I think I was just a bit thrown by how opposite we are in looks, style, interests etc and how he’d still find someone who looks like her attractive despite obviously being with me. I’m not sure what I was getting at with it, my brain is just a bit mushed. I do need to get over it though, I accept that and he is probably more normal than I am by the sounds of things 😬.

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NEVERENDINGST0RY · 24/05/2021 13:59

I find completely different people attractive. I can say some of my exes are attractive and some arent. I dont really compare them to DH because they're nice looking in totally different ways. One of the nicest looking exes I have is a complete nob and was married and lied to me about it.

Plus I agree with the PP who said they have a shady google history. One of my favourite people to facebook search is my ex fiances new wife Blush. shes lovely. ive never met her but shes beautiful and does really lovely craft things. she has a blog on facebook where shes always making crafts and drinking tea out of her Emma Bridgewater mugs, in her Cath Kidston dresses with her Annabell Karmel cookery books in the background. Always pureeing something or other. Shes like Mary Poppins. Theyre currently doing up a house and I love having a nose at it. Hes a cheating nobhead and shes far too good for him. However I would be mortified if anyone found her on my search history, as its just a bit creepy isnt it. Grin

so, unless you feel theres more to this, i wouldnt think too much into it. just because he thinks shes attractive doesnt mean he wants her back or that he thinks shes a nice human. he has a family with you.

lucy5236 · 24/05/2021 13:59

@Needalittlebitofhelp

Perhaps I’m the weird one then Grin. I’m just not really bothered about my ex’s. I have looked up people I went to school with in the past out of curiosity but one was because I heard she’d opened an art shop so I wanted to look at her work and another was a tattoo artist so again, I’m interested in artwork so wanted to look.

I’ve never thought of people I’ve found attractive in the past and searched for them and I don’t really find other people attractive in general. I have tunnel vision when I’m in a relationship and feel committed to them so don’t look elsewhere. I appreciate that probably isn’t regular behaviour, it’s just how I’ve always been. I can see when someone is attractive (male or female) but it doesn’t go further than thinking that, I certainly don’t think of others in a sexual way. Maybe there’s something wrong with me rather than him!

I think in some of your wording here there are some clues about why you feel so badly at the fact he's looked at her fb profile.

When you say that when you're in a relationship you have tunnel vision and don't find others attractive....I think this is different to a large proportion of the population as you can be madly in love with someone and completely devoted but still find others attractive.

However, you then say it's cos you've got no need to look elsewhere. The vast majority of us who find others attractive aren't "looking elsewhere".

It's quite a subtle difference but might explain why you feel so bad about it. If I was with a guy who told me he didn't find anyone other than me attractive, there's zero chance I'd believe him and I'd think he was lying!!! Nearly everyone can find others attractive.

It doesn't mean they are looking elsewhere or think any less of you, it's just human nature.

I think you may be feeling a bit more insecure just now with your PND and with having 2 young babies so close in age it's completely understandable that you feel that way. Sounds like your DH is going his best to reassure you so hopefully with some further counselling you will work things out Thanks

Needalittlebitofhelp · 24/05/2021 14:12

I’m not sure why I’m this way, I’ve always been like that. I think a part of my devotion or loyalty if you like is to not look at others in that way. It doesn’t mean DH is a bad person for being different to me at all but I do think it’s slightly more hurtful finding a colleague and ex attractive rather than a celebrity or random in the street because it’s A) someone he works in the same building as every day and B) someone he used to be intimate with. I don’t know if any of my thought patterns make sense but I do accept I’m probably the strange one rather than him.

I can obviously see who is attractive and who isn’t but it doesn’t go much further than a fleeting thought. I never think ‘oh that person is hot, I’ll look them up on Facebook’. I don’t really find people hot, I can just broadly differentiate between someone I think is attractive and someone who isn’t, if that makes sense?

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