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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

DH has no friends and following me round the house

288 replies

DotDashDottyDashy · 11/10/2021 16:23

My husband dropped his friends years ago and he has nothing to do with his family. He now works at home since the pandemic and his employer has made this a permanent thing. I already worked at home because I freelance. He goes to a book club once a month, but apart from that I am literally never alone in the house. He doesn't count the book-club members as friends and he will never stay for a drink after they've discussed the book as the rest of them do. I have lots of friends and interests that take me out of the house, but sometimes I'd just like some time in the house on my own without hearing his ever-there presence - the TV, his stomping and sighing.

If I close a door behind me (e.g. if I'm reading in the snug or in the bath, I close the door so I can't hear the TV that he has on all the time, or if I'm in my office I keep the door closed so I can't hear him on his work calls), he will always, without fail, find a reason to come into the room, and then leave the door open on his way back out. If I ask him to close the door behind him, he always frowns and sighs very loudly and exaggeratedly. I find this so unpleasant that I've stopped asking him to close the door and I wait until he's gone, then quietly close it myself. He wants to watch TV every night, whereas I don't - sometimes I want to read or do some drawing or something, but if I say this, he always asks why can't I do it in the same room as him (the reason is because the TV is distracting, but also I just want some time on my own as well sometimes) or he'll pull a 'jokey' sulky pouty face and say sarcastically 'oh that's nice'. Or, he'll give it half an hour, then come and join me in whatever room I'm in, sit next to me, and scroll through his phone.

He cares very deeply about furniture, decor and clothes. He watches what I do in the house and corrects things I do. For example, if I put the box of teabags on the kitchen counter, he'll lift it up to put a protective mat under it. Or he'll pretend he's admiring the knife I'm using and come to look at it (when in reality I know it's because he wants to make sure none of the veg I'm chopping have fallen off the chopping board onto the worktop). If he thinks one of us might have damaged something, he goes nuts, even if he can't see any damage with his naked eye, so he'll do things like get a torch to inspect it. I never do things to his standards - I apparently do gardening wrong, cleaning wrong, bedmaking wrong, washing wrong.

He doesn't like us using things in case we damage them, so the kitchen worktops are covered in lots of protective mats (so we can hardly see any of the worktop now) and the settees are covered in protective throws. And he gets really tense when we have visitors in case they damage something.

If I try discussing anything with him, he either denies whatever I say (even stupid things that are obviously true - it's his default position to just deny anything I say. I could point out his grey hair and he'd deny it's grey), or he gets really defensive, or more often than not he just walks away and refuses to discuss anything with me, going completely silent on me. He literally never gets riled or worked up. He likes to ignore me when I ask something of him, and if I repeat myself, he'll just say really dismissively and calmly, "yeah I heard you", but then he won't comment any further. He also makes things up about me. For example, he was sorting out our important documents and I asked him to leave mine alone and I would sort them myself, and he told me that I had lost my driving licence once so I shouldn't do the sorting and should let him do it. I know for a fact that I've never lost my driving licence, but he was so adamant that I started believing him. He could tell me I'm spelling my name wrong and he'd be so believable that I'd doubt how my own name is spelt.

I'm 20 years into this marriage, and now I'm perimenopausal, and suddenly I'm just drained by it. We're currently not talking to each other at all after he was snappy with me on Saturday all day but wouldn't tell me what the issue was. He does that a lot - snapping and frowning at me, but if I ask him what's wrong he says "nothing" every single time. I really fucking hate the silent treatment - I think it's a pathetic game and really manipulative, but I can't be arsed trying to engage with him anymore, so I'm just not bothering. I know I'm in the wrong not talking to him, but I'm exhausted by him and actually it's quite nice not having to talk to him and listen to him go on about how his work colleagues have wronged him this week.

OP posts:
ILoveJamaica · 12/10/2021 12:07

Oh sorry, I just remembered, someone else asked about intimacy - nope, that's dead in the water

When did this happen? You're only 47. That is such a shame. I suspect this will add to your irritation of him. Is he much older than you?

youvegottenminuteslynn · 12/10/2021 12:10

@anthurium

I'm sure we'll be hearing about this in 5 years' time....women like this tend to hang on until the very end...if the impetus was there, she'd have acted on it long time. The situation according to her description sounds like it was barely tolerable for years, but without children, ageing parents, what else could she have been hiding behind?
Is there a reason you're being spiteful in your posts? You said this earlier

She is concerned how she'd cope alone be cause she seems to exhibit very low level life skills...

It's a horrible thing to say and needless too.

I can only assume something in your own life is making you bizarrely write spiteful posts to a stranger in a controlling relationship. I hope whatever is making you do this stops so you can stop doing so.

anthurium · 12/10/2021 12:13

Is there a reason you're being spiteful in your posts? You said this earlier

She is concerned how she'd cope alone be cause she seems to exhibit very low level life skills...

It's a horrible thing to say and needless too.

"I can only assume something in your own life is making you bizarrely write spiteful posts to a stranger in a controlling relationship. I hope whatever is making you do this stops so you can stop doing so."

Absolutely not I'm not afraid to be single, manage my emotional and financial life independently.

Sometimes people need to hear the truth...

Well she did say she'd be financially worse off therefore suggesting she is unprepared for an independent life...

anthurium · 12/10/2021 12:15

If people stop revering relationships and putting up with rubbish behavior for years, they would realise that their situation is dreadful, leave and not wait 2 decades...

SueSaid · 12/10/2021 12:15

The thread title is odd. 'Dh doesn't have any friends and follows me round the house' should really be 'me and dh are like annoying housemates bickering over stupid stuff but how do I leave?'

I'm sorry op, but focusing on all the stuff he does that is wrong would seem futile. You aren't compatible anymore, you don't fancy each other, you bicker constantly.

Honestly you need to stop over analysing and just leave Flowers.

AmaryllisNightAndDay · 12/10/2021 12:19

I have tried setting boundaries but he doesn't get it, so I'm not sure on that, but definitely worth thinking about.

Then you might have to accept that you've already tried and it doesn't work, so it isn't going to work. It's very tempting to think, oh if only I could find the right way to put it across to him, it could all be fine. But you may never find a "right" way. And you are not obliged to live like that.

IceandIndigo · 12/10/2021 12:24

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter if he is "deliberately malicious" or not, the issue is the impact his behaviours are having on you and his willingness/ability to change his behaviour.

It may be you could get to a situation where you'd still be friends with him, but I wouldn't start there. I think you need a clean break and then reassess how you feel when the dust has settled.

If you're worrying a lot about "what ifs" one technique that has helped me in my own life is to think about the absolute worst case scenario and then come up with a plan for how you'd deal with it if it happens. And then if what actually happens is better than the worst case scenario (as is likely) you can feel confident that you'll be able to deal with it.

DotDashDottyDashy · 12/10/2021 12:26

@anthurium

If people stop revering relationships and putting up with rubbish behavior for years, they would realise that their situation is dreadful, leave and not wait 2 decades...
Wow anthurium, you've posted nearly as much as I have in this thread. Still, you seem to be having fun, so you crack on love.
OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 12/10/2021 12:28

@anthurium

If people stop revering relationships and putting up with rubbish behavior for years, they would realise that their situation is dreadful, leave and not wait 2 decades...
Read the boiling frog analogy.

You're being needlessly cruel to a stranger.

If you don't think she's giving you whatever response you feel bizarrely entitled to, hide the thread.

Really odd.

ChargingBuck · 12/10/2021 12:32

@anthurium

I'm sure we'll be hearing about this in 5 years' time....women like this tend to hang on until the very end...if the impetus was there, she'd have acted on it long time. The situation according to her description sounds like it was barely tolerable for years, but without children, ageing parents, what else could she have been hiding behind?
High time you stopped banging this drum anthurium.

OP only posted yesterday. Did you expect her to have her divorce all neatly zipped up & her bags packed by this morning?

This is a real person, not a Netflix episode.
People don't tend to leave 20 year relationships overnight. They need time to process, even with the most amicable split. In abusive relationships, it can take a woman up to 7 attempts to leave.

I'm not sure why you feel that kicking a woman while she's down is acceptable, but I so wish you'd stop doing it.

anthurium · 12/10/2021 12:42

Some people do leave relationships overnight..when they realise it's just not working? Yes, you do pack your bags it's not difficult and there are no children involved the rest is just a procrastination of the inevitable. You do need Independent money or family/friends to support you...

She's still defending her husband...despite much less critical advice from others...

Threewheeler1 · 12/10/2021 12:49

anthurium
What on earth are you on here for?
Your posts are really bizarre and grim.
Perhaps you could just leave OP alone if you have nothing useful to say and stop making ridiculous judgements about 'low level life skills', whatever that might mean. Everything you've posted is offensive and unnecessary. You know absolutely nothing about her.

DotDashDottyDashy · 12/10/2021 12:52

@IceandIndigo

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter if he is "deliberately malicious" or not, the issue is the impact his behaviours are having on you and his willingness/ability to change his behaviour.

It may be you could get to a situation where you'd still be friends with him, but I wouldn't start there. I think you need a clean break and then reassess how you feel when the dust has settled.

If you're worrying a lot about "what ifs" one technique that has helped me in my own life is to think about the absolute worst case scenario and then come up with a plan for how you'd deal with it if it happens. And then if what actually happens is better than the worst case scenario (as is likely) you can feel confident that you'll be able to deal with it.

Thank you so much. This is great advice.
OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 12/10/2021 12:52

@anthurium

Some people do leave relationships overnight..when they realise it's just not working? Yes, you do pack your bags it's not difficult and there are no children involved the rest is just a procrastination of the inevitable. You do need Independent money or family/friends to support you...

She's still defending her husband...despite much less critical advice from others...

The irony of you saying someone has 'low level life skills' when you are posting absolute nonsense in a spiteful tone to a stranger who is struggling. Empathy and communication are important life skills, maybe work on those.
Timetoretiretospain · 12/10/2021 12:53

@Threewheeler1

anthurium What on earth are you on here for? Your posts are really bizarre and grim. Perhaps you could just leave OP alone if you have nothing useful to say and stop making ridiculous judgements about 'low level life skills', whatever that might mean. Everything you've posted is offensive and unnecessary. You know absolutely nothing about her.
Well said !!
wewereliars · 12/10/2021 12:59

@anthurium

Some people do leave relationships overnight..when they realise it's just not working? Yes, you do pack your bags it's not difficult and there are no children involved the rest is just a procrastination of the inevitable. You do need Independent money or family/friends to support you...

She's still defending her husband...despite much less critical advice from others...

An example of a person with a low life skill.

Someone logging on to a thread started by someone looking for insight, practical help, a hand hold or maybe just to vent about a difficult life situation, and making vicious and unhelpful comments to that person.

Have a long hard look in the mirror dear

DotDashDottyDashy · 12/10/2021 13:00

Thank you so much to all the posters who read my posts and took the time to give me such measured and thought-provoking advice.

It's been hugely helpful to get outside perspectives because this has all been swirling round in my head, and I've felt like I'm going mad. It's also been very cathartic to write it down and organise my thoughts.

From here, I'm going to look into therapy, life coaching and legal advice. So I have very much listened to what most of you have had to say.

Sadly, my thread has been taken over by someone who seems determined to make me feel even shitter than I already do. I'm not sure what she/he is getting out of it, but I'm going to step away now as I don't want to feed her/him.

OP posts:
wewereliars · 12/10/2021 13:04

OP that person is atypical of this thread, and clearly has their own issues.

Happy people do not behave like that.

Just ignore and good luck Flowers

politics4me · 12/10/2021 13:34

Wow, I cannot believe how stupid some blokes can be, I'm sure that if I treated my wife as you describe here I would have been "off-hired".
It seems to me that he is not happy with what he is or where he is.
It seems you are reluctant to walk out. Probably there are many reasons. If he were 'better' at being a husband would you be willing to keep him and persevere. The word is willing not resigned or under sufferance.
If he is mended will it mend the relationship. If yes then he must get psychological help not just a bit of therapy.
If he won't go for help then you have to look at some other alternatives.

ErrmWTAF · 12/10/2021 14:03

Oh, OP, I feel for you.

Your update of 11.07 really goes s long way of explaining. Yes, he can be lovely in so many respects, but the ones in which he falls short are really unacceptable.

Are you a Trekkie? Your description of H reminded me of Data: not a terrible person, but quite unsustainable as boyfriend material.

Please don't get frustrated with all the PPs who are urging you to divorce him NOOOOWWWwwww! (strictly speaking, I am one, too 😁) - of course all this mainly well-intended advice is going to take some processing on your part.

But you'll be ok - you sound lovely and I'd have you round for Christmas dinner any day of the year!

3luckystars · 12/10/2021 14:14

There are good books available if you want to stay married to someone with aspergers. Have a look on Amazon or your local library. All the best.

CharityDingle · 12/10/2021 14:21

OP, most people are aware that life is not like a soap opera, where huge decisions are made and in the next episode, everything is solved. If only real life was that simple.
I am glad that you did get something from your thread. As you have said, it's cathartic to write things down, and also to get some outside perspective.

All the best and take care.

billy1966 · 12/10/2021 16:06

Best of luck OP.

Sometimes just putting order to your thoughts is hugely helpful in seeing a possible path.

Flowers
TalanaTey · 12/10/2021 18:20

Therapy my arse. I couldn’t believe the punchline - 20 Years! Even those at HM’s pleasure get time out for good behaviour, or at least day release.

TalanaTey · 12/10/2021 18:23

I hope my words not too hurtful OP. It just sounds so grim :-(.

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