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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

help with dealing with ex wife

185 replies

Anya83 · 03/09/2021 12:04

Hi
Would love some advise as not sure on whether my feelings are reasonable or not.
I am in a fantastic relationship with my partner, we have been together 1 and half years and living together for 6 months. Everything is great apart from my feelings towards his ex wife.
They were married for 25 years and the divorce was reasonably amicable. They have 3 children together who are all in their late teens. The problem I have is that she is still heavily involved with his family, which is a close knit family and they meet up together regularly. She is very close friends with his mum and sister in law and still invited to all family events as if she is part of the family. We get on ok, she has been friendly and has made an effort with me at these events.
My partner and I never argue about anything but this. I feel very uncomfortable with the situation... i know it must really come down to insecurity and jealously but i just find it hard to be in a situation in which i feel i am being accepted in to his old life and having constant reminders of his old life all of the time. He assures me there is absolutely no romantic feelings but he views her as a sister, which i have no reason at all to doubt from seeing their interactions. But I am just at these events feeling tense, uncomfortable and like an outsider. His family are generally accepting and nice to me although I appreciate after the history with the ex I am never going to compare to her or the relationship they had.
She hasn't met anyone else since the divorce and doesn't seem overly keen on doing this and i just feel she has not moved on and wants to just keep living her old life, which feels almost delusional. In fairness to her, both of her parents are dead, she has no other family and I know that this is her only family.
We have spoken about this a number of times but keep hitting a wall. My partner is understanding of my feelings and does not like seeing me upset but also feels a bit powerless as he cannot tell his family to cut ties with her. His current view is that we both stop attending family events for a while just to give us a break from having to deal with it. But this seems crazy to me that he is not attending so that his ex wife can attend.
I'm really not sure how much of this is down to my insecurity and whether i need to work through this myself. My friends and people i speak to seem to echo my thoughts of it feeling inappropriate and un boundaries but maybe I am being too black and white and need to accept some of the situation?
Any thoughts would be appreciated x

OP posts:
Ibizan · 07/09/2021 14:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ButteringMyArse · 07/09/2021 14:48

Maybe, but that would be on him.

The offer is. The inability to accept the reality of the situation she's freely entered into is on OP.

aSofaNearYou · 07/09/2021 14:55

*Please don’t use the term “respecting my feelings”, when you mean “obey the wishes I am not prepared to openly articulate or take responsibility for.”
If the OP listed in short sentences what her preferences would be, it will include demonstrations that the relationship with the ex is high conflict and fraught as a salve to her feelings.

You really have to ask “What is it about a polite and respectful relationship with the ex that you find so upsetting? Do you think that him being in conflict with the ex has some sort of protective effect on your relationship? Can you see any down sides to getting your way when your motivations will be completely transparent to some people (perhaps including him, his kids, his friends, his siblings).*

... What? None of this has any bearing on what I said, at all.

You used the term respecting my feelings, that's why I did, I was quoting you.

The exchange between you and I began with you picking up on me saying I wouldn't ask my DP not to see his family less, I would just do so myself, but do think that would realistically mean him seeing them less too, as we tend to do a majority of things together. Your response was that it's wrong to find it awkward and she/I should just continue as they are, as it's not hard. As such this discussion is literally about my wish to not spend time with the ex alongside his family, and my right to find the thought uncomfortable and refrain from doing it. Nothing vague about it, those would be my wishes that I would expect him to respect.

As to your second paragraph, I can't speak for OP but it's nothing to do with what I've been saying. I don't want my DP and his ex to have a high conflict relationship, I just don't want to have to spend time with her.

aSofaNearYou · 07/09/2021 14:56

@ButteringMyArse

Maybe, but that would be on him.

The offer is. The inability to accept the reality of the situation she's freely entered into is on OP.

In your opinion, but his inability to see the impact of the situation he's invited her into on her is on him, in mine 🤷‍♀️
ButteringMyArse · 07/09/2021 15:29

Those things are not mutually exclusive...

Cas112 · 07/09/2021 16:00

She is still part of the family to them, especially when her children are their grandchildren, niece or nephew etc. You just have to accept that this is the dynamic. Its not unreasonable when she was around for 25years.

aSofaNearYou · 07/09/2021 16:28

@ButteringMyArse

Those things are not mutually exclusive...
Hmmm try telling that to the majority of posters on this thread.
CaitoftheCantii · 07/09/2021 20:14

I can recognise that your previous relationships will have left scars, but I do think YABU. You would have known about the family dynamic very early on surely, and would have realised that you would struggle with it. I don’t think it is fair to expect your partner to communicate your feelings about this, you have to be the one to decide whether or not you can accept the family dynamic. You can’t change how other people behave, but you can change your own reaction to it. If you feel secure in your relationship, then it shouldn’t matter. After all, his ex wife is an ex for a reason. But don’t try to change things - if you can’t live with it, you have to move on - for your own sanity.

Pebbledashery · 07/09/2021 20:19

She's done nothing wrong except maintain a nice relationship with the family, most likely for the sake of the children. Would you rather she was full of vitriol and making your life hell? There are plenty of threads on mumsnet on jealous, batshit, crazy exes and she doesn't like one of them. They had 25 years together and 3 children, you can't just delete that as soon as you show up. No offence, but 18 months is nothing.. You can't expect her to stay away to save your feelings, your putting your partner is an awkward position because of your insecurity. They have no romantic interest in each others, she's inevitably going to be closer to the family as she's known them 25 years.. I think you need to chill out a bit, he's with you, from how you've posted he seems very honest. You're going to push him away if you continue.

Blueskyrainshowers · 07/09/2021 20:21

I wouldn't stay in the relationship, quite honestly. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the ex wife remaining part of the family, its not something I could live with.

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