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

He's sneaking us into each others lives

287 replies

MissingOrange · 09/09/2021 16:57

My DP has a teenage DD who is always polite and civil but also very much Team Mum on everything which is fine, it just means there's a bit of distance. And her DM has no interest in me, which is good, why would she have? They split up years before I came along.

He has this thing about wanting us all to be close. We were having a nice evening in a pub garden in the country and he mentioned more than once that it would be nice if all four of us could be there together and wishing his ex and I could be confidants.

That wouldn't be too annoying by itself, but he tries to sneak us into each others lives. In my teens I was a singer and I used a stage name, one I've never heard since. I found out that his DD's GCSE artwork features my stage name. Her work was based around making album covers for a fictional popstar and he must have suggested that name. She would not have used it if she'd known the context. She'll be a bit weirded out if she ever sees my memorabilia from then.

Another time he came home with a few tops and said he'd seen them in a secondhand boutique and thought they'd suit me. I was touched by the gesture until his DD saw me in one of them and I could tell right away from her expression that I was wearing her clothing. He said she wanted him to take it to a charity shop so it was fine...

He agreed to check in and feed his wife's dog while she and his DD were away. I came along once because he drove there without mentioning it after we went shopping, and he was very keen to have sex on their sofa. I refused and he sulked.

I feel like saying that he needs to respect everyone's boundaries, stop involving us in each others lives by stealth, we're never going to be one happy family - especially with these stunts he keeps pulling.

I would like to hear opinions on this because I'm not sure whether it's as serious as I'm making it in my head.

OP posts:
MayorGoodwaysChicken · 10/09/2021 07:31

Not sure if this has already been said but before you run a mile from the lot of them PLEASE tell the ex that he tried to get you to have sex on her sofa, plus all the weirdness around their daughter. These women need warning and the mother given every opportunity to watch out for and protect her daughter. Oh and to make sure her perverted ex never has access to her couch with his next victim Envy

Closetbeanmuncher · 10/09/2021 07:58

One: IME - and that's been much more extensive than I'd like - these miserable inadequetes, the sort women laugh at for being a bit pathetic, are often the most dangerous

100% correct in my experience @MarieIVanArkleStinks and very important point.

I would say you've realised you just don't have the time in your life to dedicate to the relationship with your kids, work, hobbies etc.

TitoMojito · 10/09/2021 08:13

I was already Hmm about the clothes but the sex on the couch thing is just gross. I'm genuinely quite disturbed by this man.

charmingthebirds · 10/09/2021 09:38

With someone like this that's bound to want to talk you out of your decision, perhaps you need a phrase you can just keep repeating, i.e. 'this relationship isn't working for me. You need to respect my decision'. After the third repeat, you then put the phone down.

You might also need to arm yourself with what constitutes harassment in the eyes of the law just in case.

atalossaboutwhattodo · 10/09/2021 09:38

You owe him nothing so you can just dump him by text. No "it's not you it's me" l, no "I've met someone else". He doesn't deserve the respect of being given a face to face send off and has PP have said you'd need to end things in a public place for your own safety.
Dump by text. Block and delete. The act of deleting someone makes it surprisingly easy to draw a line under things.
Well done for never introducing him to your DC - that is very good practice.

Cerebelle · 10/09/2021 09:40

I would write a very brief and unemotional letter to his ex-wife setting out your concerns over the sofa suggestion and him stealing her food etc so she can put boundaries in place. Not sure I would mention the daughters clothes as that could be more open to interpretation. She deserves to know whether to take his key back though.

lottiegarbanzo · 10/09/2021 09:44

Yes, you have to very clear and firm. Someone like this will look for any opportunity to argue around things. They forget that being 'right' (in their own mind) doesn't win them a prize (you).

'I owe you nothing' is a good phrase. No explanation, no future relationship. (There's a Bros song with that name, that's popped into my mind. 'I owe you nothing, ugghuh, nothing at allll!')

One thing to remember, is that most men are extraordinarily good at moving on. When they want to move on, they move on, fast.

beastlyslumber · 10/09/2021 09:48

I agree with pp. You owe him nothing. Even a phone conversation is just giving him room to manipulate you.

Text: This relationship isn't working for me and I'm ending it.

Block his number/social media.

Freedom!

lottiegarbanzo · 10/09/2021 10:01

Also, sorry for being quite so gross upthread. But wasn't it striking that your opening post alone, took me to incest and him trying to merge / treat the three of you as one, before I'd even read your update about the incest joke? (None of which necessarily suggests incest literally but the idea in his mind that women are all one entity, or two; the good and the bad, certainly).

Often, it's only when you write things down that the obvious emerges. In this case jumps out.

bangingbins · 10/09/2021 10:09

I got a weird Buffalo Bill vibe reading the OP

ViaRia · 10/09/2021 10:21

Was thinking ‘poorly judged but well-meaning’ until I read “sex on their sofa” and concluded that he is being very weird.

It made me re-think all of it. I don’t think he is doing this for positive reasons at all. Not sure what he’s playing at but I don’t think it’s about having one big happy family. Not surprised his DD is more on team-mum if that is how he behaves.

Indigomint · 10/09/2021 10:54

Good luck op. Grey rock is definitely the way to go. Exh sounds very much like your ex , when my daughter communicates an important piece of information with him she literally repeats it until he gets bored , completely ignoring anything he says in between. I've seen her texts to him this week they consist of her saying that she can't attend uncle's wedding as it's on a school day x 10 and him trying to guilt trip her x 20. Please consider not having a f2f conversation with him if that helps you.

SVRT19674 · 10/09/2021 11:25

Good luck OP. End it and zero contact to avoid his manipulation. It is the only way. By the way, when you said your hardbacks had gone missing and you now suspected he had given them to his wife or daughter, it made me think that he probably stole those clothes from his daughter and gave them to you, that´s why she looked strangely at you. You only have his word for what happened. He is a wrong one, get away as soon as possible.

Youknownothingsnow · 10/09/2021 11:30

I thought it was his exes clothing (his dds mother)

BertramLacey · 10/09/2021 11:47

No, the OP clarified that, it's the daughter's clothing. Either would be weird, but one is really, really weird and very unsettling.

ClawedButler · 10/09/2021 12:34

"I do not need your permission to end this relationship"

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

NewlyGranny · 10/09/2021 12:44

"I don't need your permission or consent to end this relationship. I don't owe you an explanation and I am under no obligation to justify my decision. It is over because I say so. I don't need you to release me. I am free."

For your internal or external voice!

Greenmarmalade · 10/09/2021 13:41
  • ClawedButler

"I do not need your permission to end this relationship"

Repeat, repeat, repeat.*

Yes.

And do not entertain a follow up call, meet, text. Even (especially) if he comes up with a ‘good reason.’

ClawedButler · 10/09/2021 15:48

Just checking in to see if the OP has dumped his creepy ass yet.

I've got my pom poms at the ready if she has.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 10/09/2021 15:54

Don’t stop running till a week Tuesday.

His poor DD.

lemonadecar · 10/09/2021 16:45

Get away from this man OP, he will drive you to despair

lottiegarbanzo · 10/09/2021 18:01

This was in my head earlier. It made me think of Robert Palmer videos. Look up his Addicted to Love if you don't know what I mean.

MissingOrange · 10/09/2021 22:39

Hi, just to update, we spoke, I made it very clear it was over. He told me I was "clutching at straws" and ended the call. I'm not sure what that means. I think it was him clutching at straws to be honest!

Anyway the texts started because he always needs to communicate every thought that crosses his mind, so I blocked his number. He should know better than to show up tonight but DC are with their DF on the weekend, so I've made plans for both days, I'm not hanging around to see if he will turn up. And I hope that's the end of it. Sorry it's not a more exciting update!

OP posts:
Indigomint · 10/09/2021 22:42

Great update. I hope you have a lovely weekend op.

Scbchl · 10/09/2021 22:45

Giving you his daughters top and the sex on his ex wife's sofa is so so so weird.