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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 don't even know myself anymore....(lengthy)

143 replies

sparklesintheskies · 13/10/2021 14:26

I’m literally at my wits end with my partner he has pushed me to the brink and I’ve had enough I just cannot do this anymore. I’m at the stage now where some days I wish I wouldn’t wake up because I hate having to deal with him on a daily basis. I'm tired.

I met him many years ago after a very physically abusive relationship with my ex-partner. He was charming, friendly and made me feel like I could be happy again. How wrong was I?

There were red flags from the beginning but I am sad to say I was very naïve. He used to ogle other girls when we were out together and say things like “That’s how a woman should look” if he saw an attractive girl. He would also say “Why don’t you dress like that?” If he saw a girl dressed particularly glamorous.

I’ve never been one to dress up. I dress for comfort in all honesty, I make an effort with my hair and do my makeup but I’ve never been a glamourpuss but looking to please him I started to dress more sexy. Whilst I wasn’t comfortable he seemed to like it so I kept it up for a while to please him.

He encouraged me to always wear make-up because he said I was “a mess” without it. Which again I stupidly did.

He lived a good bit away from me when we met (but not so far away that he couldn’t come and pick me up) so every weekend (like a faithful dog) I would go to stay the weekend with him laden with bags and such whilst he sat at home even though he had a car.

This continued for a good few years I didn’t really have issue with it at the time but looking back it was very selfish. My family always asked to meet him but he always had an excuse ready.

Two years into our ‘relationship’ the unthinkable happened and my dear mother passed away. I asked him to be at the funeral to support me (which I didn’t think was an unreasonable request given we’d been seeing each other). He refused and proclaimed it would be ‘weird’, from then on my family and friends absolutely loathed him for leaving me to cry over my mother’s grave alone.

I was absolutely devastated and called it off after this. I just couldn’t believe how heartless he had been and to me it said a lot about his character. I spent the next few months dealing with a very new and confusing life without my mum. We still messaged and he would give it “I miss you” and “I can’t believe you’ve gave up on this good thing we had”.

Naively I got back with him. Everything was going okay but I wasn’t getting on with my dad (who essentially became an abusive alcoholic when mum died) so I moved in with this guy. BIG mistake.

He was messy, lazy and just downright disrespectful. He didn't like how I cleaned the house, hated how long it took me to get to and from work (my journey times changed due to the relocation) and the only thing he done was cook because he thought “I was too stupid to do it properly”

I regretted moving house but persevered as I thought maybe things would change. They didn’t. My dad and I had been getting on well and
I was toying with the idea of returning home but sadly he passed away before I got the chance. Another devastating blow. Again I asked him to come to the funeral, I thought he would come but again refused giving another lame excuse.

My family and friends were just going mad at this point they couldn’t believe he had done this again. They thought he’d use the chance to redeem himself seeing as we were living together as a couple essentially but he didn’t.

I had the opportunity to move back to my family home when dad died which I took. When I told him I was leaving he was absolutely furious. Punching down on the bed, screaming and shouting. I was quite shocked but told him I wasn’t enjoying the current arrangement and he would have to accept it.

Over those weeks I slowly started moving back home. I started decorating the home to my taste and I was feeling positive, even though my heart was aching with grief. It had gave me a purpose and I felt that it was a move in the right direction.

However, predictably, he managed to make me feel guilty about this and asked if he could move in “until he found a suitable place of his own”. I stupidly agreed and he’s been here ever since and to say it has been hell is an understatement.

He hates the area because it’s mainly a council housing area. He has these really weird delusions of grandeur, thinks he is better than everyone else and deserves the best of everything. I’ve told him on many occasion you can’t expect to have everything fall on your lap sometimes you need to work hard for it.

He’s resentful of anyone who has anything he craves in life be it money, a car, a beautiful home. He just does not like seeing anyone get on which I find really quite a horrible trait to possess.

He has a very fractured relationship with his dad because, quite frankly, he treats his mum very much the same as he treats me. I said “well the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” and he spat in my face.

We are no longer intimate as he told me he doesn’t fancy me anymore and quite frankly the feeling is mutual I do not want to have sex with someone I resent so much. He’s also been messaging a girl, when I pulled him up about it he went mad and said “she makes me feel good so I’ll continue to do it and that’s the end of it”

Reading all this back I’m in tears because I feel so ashamed and pathetic. I cannot believe I’ve allowed a man to make me feel like this again. I’ve become this small, accepting, weak mouse. He has ground me down.

I know I’m not perfect. I can go from being very deep to exploding when I keep things in too long. I’m very self-conscious I have never felt pretty even though I have never struggled for male attention in the past. I also have very bad anxiety and depression due to how things have been the past few years. I can be hard work and I know it takes two he’s not the only one to blame, I haven’t been a beacon of light either.

As a person I’ve changed so much over the past while. I think it’s a mixture of the trauma of my parents dying and just being so utterly bored and tired with dealing with this crap.

I’ve now come to the end of the road with all this madness. I need to do what is good for me. I know I will struggle financially and it may be tough but I’d rather do that than continue to feel this unhappy.

The main issue now is getting him to leave. I’ve asked numerous times and he always says “I’m looking for flats but it’s so expensive”. I do feel guilty that he’s struggling with this but at the end of the day I'm not his keeper.

It's not like he's skint he just doesn't want to have to deal with the change, it'll be hard but he'll have to except it. He says he wants to be friends when he does move out but I don't even want that, I don't like him it's that simple.

I’m so sorry for the lengthy and muddled post I’ve been sobbing whilst writing this. Any thoughts or sharing of similar experiences and how
you dealt with them would be very welcome.

Thanks for reading this.

OP posts:
Shouldbedoing · 18/10/2021 08:32

Kick him out.
He spat in your face!
I only skim read after that but I was ready to type LTB already, for the punching round the flat.
He's a horrible narcissist and your life will be so much better.
Spitting is classed as assault in law

Purplecatshopaholic · 18/10/2021 08:37

Wow op, you are awesome. Change the locks for sure, and good on you for the ring doorbell. I did those things and they made me feel much safer. Relax and take time to recover.

Shouldbedoing · 18/10/2021 08:38

Well done! Sorry I posted without RTFT.
You rock!

Chunkymenrock · 18/10/2021 08:45

OP, you're fantastic! Well done! Ive just been looking up quotes for a friend who is leaving work and this one is perfect for you. 'Your life unfolds in proportion to your courage.'

Years ago I heard the most amazing thing and I love to think of it, because it really is true: 'Everything you need to be the person you want to be, is inside you already.' Star

PennyRoyal · 18/10/2021 09:04

Well done. Be proud of yourself. There are many who can't bring themselves to do what you have done, maybe they can find the strength too. Good luck in YOUR future Thanks

Frazzledd · 18/10/2021 10:57

Oh well done OP! Flowers

Crikeyalmighty · 18/10/2021 11:08

Well done OP— as I said before it is but one very shitty day— at times like this it’s good to not actually be married and having to keep reliving it with lawyers etc. I’ve been there in a very similar situation - within 4 weeks I felt like a different person

shedreamer · 18/10/2021 11:56

I was reading your post and also sobbing on your behalf. I'm so sad you have gone through this. He sounds like an incredibly emotionally abusive (and physically abusive, spitting at someone and pining down on a bed is physical assault) man and the way he has treated you is not your fault or a reflection on who you are and what you deserve. From what you have said, he was very skilled at feeding your insecurities (commenting on other women's appearances and comparing you to them unfavourably). Your self-worth and self-esteem were slowly dismantled and he made sure to make you feel bad about yourself and dependant upon him. A good healthy relationship would have enhanced your self-esteem and given you more energy and zest for life, not worn you down.
I want to be clear that this can happen to anyone, it's not your fault.
Now you have an opportunity to rebuild yourself and surround yourself in positive influences once he is out of your life. Of course you will feel grief, no matter how bad the relationship, it's normal to grieve and feel those awful emotions in order to heal, but you sound like you know what is right for you now so stay strong with that.
Once he has gone (and yes you would be right to call the police if he behaves like he did previously, and also get a support system around you to help, that's what friends and family can do well to support you with), I would encourage you to seek some counselling, maybe via IDAS or relate, to work through what happened and so you can process and set good boundaries in your next relationship - I will add that when you figure out how to do this, please let me know!!
You are worth having a lovely partner in the future who tells you how amazing you are every day, and knowing you are regardless of a man telling you so. You will get through this, I wish you all the best.
Cry when you need to, and please let others support you through this :)

sparklesintheskies · 19/10/2021 07:26

Thanks once again everyone your words of kindness and support have warmed my heart during this time.

Yesterday was weird. I finished my shift at work then just made myself a cuppa and I actually sat and watched things I'd been meaning to for a while but was never 'allowed'. Any of my hobbies or likes were not relevant it was all about him.

I found myself panicking during what would be his finishing time and coming home from work. It's funny how the routine still sticks but I do know it's early days.

I'm just going through a stage of worry. Worrying about bills, worrying about where I go from here. I know it probably sounds silly but I just feel really panicked.

I think I've gotten so used to not standing on my own two feet and letting someone rule me and control me I'm abit lost. Which is both pathetic and sad.

OP posts:
Frazzledd · 19/10/2021 07:36

@sparklesintheskies you've been through so much! You will go through a grieving process, it's completely understandable, also regret, the 'whys'....your doing amazingly well!

In a few weeks the things that seem abnormal right now (doing things on your terms, what you want, when you want) you'll start to love and it'll just become the norm! You have so much to look forward to now!

You sound lovely, and so strong, you getting you back is a great thing Flowers

meringue33 · 19/10/2021 07:37

You will be fine! Take it one day at a time. Plan some things to give you joy like coffee with a friend. And whatever happens do not answer the phone or the door to that man! Stay safe Flowers

WickedWitchOfTheTrent · 19/10/2021 07:42

think I've gotten so used to not standing on my own two feet and letting someone rule me and control me I'm abit lost. Which is both pathetic and sad

It's not pathetic at all. I remember after I left my exh, he kept everything including my mobile phone. So a few weeks later I went to buy a phone, I stood in the middle of the shop completely overwhelmed as I didn't know which one to get. My ex would tell me what phone to get and what contract so I had absolutely no opinion of my own. I was completely panicked and walked out, it took me weeks to go back in. These men condition women to behave in a certain way by grinding them down. That's all that's happened to you. You will get there, it just takes time. Be kind to yourself.

brittleheadgirl · 19/10/2021 07:53

Well done you!!
You are incredibly strong to have done this and you are now free and ready to live again!
Reach out to family and friends, don't be afraid to say you need them as you rebuild your life.
Good luck op Thanks

Shouldbedoing · 19/10/2021 08:38

Don't forget you're eligible for council tax discount for a single person household.
There may be other things but that's one

Shouldbedoing · 19/10/2021 08:39

And make sure you're not paying any subscriptions for him by DD

sparklesintheskies · 19/10/2021 09:26

Thanks as it happens I don't have any of his DD he didn't trust me with any of his personal banking. All the bills and such came off of my account which he asked to see frequently and calculated his share of the bill down to the absolute last penny.

I need to speak to the council today and I'm going to maybe start looking into a second job. Much like the end of my last relationship it's left me in a financial mess.

OP posts:
Shouldbedoing · 19/10/2021 14:56

What a prick. Soon you won't miss his miserly contribution.

Shouldbedoing · 19/10/2021 14:57

Plenty of evening hospitality work which would get you out of the house too

Pashazade · 19/10/2021 16:16

Think all the supermarkets are gearing up for Christmas hiring, my local one has a job fair in the next week or so. Might be a good stop gap, also very flexible.

GrandmasCat · 19/10/2021 18:14

Don’t start looking for an extra job just yet, first check how you can reduce your expenses, this will help you to reduce the stress rather than increasing it by working long hours.

Key thing is the supermarket shop and lunches and coffees at work. By making your own lunches/coffee at home you can save probably more than what you would earn working a second job. Changing supermarkets is key, I went from £100+ a week to £30 a week in food moving from Tesco to Aldi, buying meats and vegetables frozen (note I didn’t say ready meals!) is also a good saver, as nothing goes to waste and you don’t need to go to the supermarket frequently.

You will be fine, take things a step at a time and surround yourself with the right people, those who build you up, make you smile and give you strength. Avoid those who commiserate you on your bad luck, those who say”oh poor you, you have been to such a soooo horrible ordeal and keep getting back to it, as the last thing you need is for people to make you feel as a victim as that disempowers you and ultimately depress you.

Onwards and upwards, you can go through this FlowersSmile

Shouldbedoing · 19/10/2021 18:50

Good advice, Grandma's Cat.

sparklesintheskies · 20/10/2021 06:25

Thanks everyone. I was calculating things last night I think I should save quite a bit of money, I tended to get the food shops and stuff which I still need to do but I'll save money as it's only going to be for one person. I also got rid of some of my tv package. I think I'm just getting overwhelmed and jumping the gun abit.

I spoke to a mutual friend last night I think he put her up to it if I'm being honest. Apparently I'm going through the menopause and he's looking forward to a big apology and me asking him to return with my tail between my legs Hmm

Maybe I am going through the menopause but that can be treated. He will always be a deflecting, gaslighting piece of dirt.

What a nerve!

OP posts:
Hattiehottie · 20/10/2021 06:40

What a narcissistic scum bag he is.

I'm guessing every time you hear a little gem like that it hardens your resolve to keep this idiot out of your life.

Did your friend actually try to defend that opinion???

PopsicleHustler · 20/10/2021 06:50

I suggest getting all his stuff.togrther in bin bags or whatever bags he brought the in and throw them out the door. Ig he acts up call the police. Tell him to go to his.paretnd or a relative or s frien or even try and get a bloody bedsit

You are better and stronger than you realise girl. Let him go and be done with him once and for all.

PopsicleHustler · 20/10/2021 06:51

Woah, am guessing by your last post, OP YOU have thrown him out!!!! Waheyyyyyy!!! @sparklesintheskies

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