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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

Was it all a lie? I’m completely broken…

185 replies

pixietinkdust · 30/11/2021 07:37

10 days ago my partner of 2 years decided it was over. Unfortunately for me, since then my entire world has been turned upside down and I’m really struggling.

For back story:
My ExPartner has some pretty horrific childhood trauma in his past, of which I’m well aware of and I know he’s been to therapy for, however something inside tells me that this is a contributing factor for what’s happened.

ExP has had previously issues with alcohol, drugs and MH struggles (suicide) - these were mainly before me and he kept them under control by using the gym as a coping mechanism.

I won’t say I’m entirely innocent here because I’m not, I have a fiery character and when I believe something is wrong I will bring it up. I never believed I could be gaslighted (this is relevant)

We were in a pub 2 weeks ago having food, he was asking what I’d like for Christmas etc, when I was answering he kept picking up his phone ( I believe it was his boss texting) and zoning out. I asked him to stop it because it was rude - and here the issue started. He lost it, shouting and screaming at me in the middle of the pub. I left immediately and told him to pay the bill.

Whilst driving home we were arguing in the car as I said his behaviour was completely unacceptable, he got so irate he pulled the steering wheel and forced me to pull over the car. He got out and walked off, still shouting and screaming. I drove alongside him and tried to reason with him to be met with “oh you’re crazy and you’re trying to run me over and kill me now” - I was doing about 5mph!

He proceeded to walk to the nearest pub, sat in there for 4 hours and drank 20 pints. When he came hone I’d fallen asleep on the sofa, I was awoken to him crashing around and then sitting staring at me and saying “I’m a psychopath you know, a psychopath and a sociopath. I have someone else who lives inside me and I call him Brian, he does bad things” - I know this sounds ridiculous but I swear it’s true. I was actually frightened by him. Eventually I got him up to bed.

The next day he refused to talk about it at all, completely shut down. This obviously caused a huge argument because I said I wouldn’t be brushing it under the carpet like some of his other outbursts. That night he went out again and didn’t come home, once again drunk.

The next morning he transferred £12,000 (exactly half) out of our savings account at 8am before I’d even spoken to him. He came home a little later and said it’s over, he doesn’t love me anymore and he’s unhappy. I’m ashamed to say I lost all dignity in this moment and most certainly begged and pleaded to attempt to reason with him. But it is over, and it’s stayed that way. From that moment he’s been a completely unrecognisable character. Callous and cruel.

If you’ve gotten this far - thank you, I didn’t intend for it to be this long!

For further info, “home” is a rented house we just signed on for 6 months and moved into the week before this happened! My property was in the final stages of completion and we were planning on moving to a forever house - the mortgage was in place and sols appointed etc so the rented house was a stop gap. I’m now back at my Mam’s with a suitcase.

He’s refused to pay anything for the house and is leaving this weekend, he has sorted another house to go to. It’s going to cost me £4k to get rid of this rental house.

He was literally the most perfect partner in the world, 95% of the time. He came along when I’d almost given up hope on finding someone compatible. He was genuine, kind, considerate, I can’t even tell you how happy I was.

My friends have since said they think I’ve been love bombed and then gaslighted.

I’ve since found out that when I met him he had only returned from London 3 weeks earlier and moved back North (where he is originally from but has been gone for 10 years); he split with another girl, packed up his whole life and moved here. Then met me - within 4 months, at his suggestion, he gave up his beautiful rented apartment and came to live with me in my house.

He’s had 14 addresses in 10 years, my Mam thinks he 100% has form for this behaviour.

He has told me since that he blames me for all of this happening, that I’m manipulative and controlling. I disagree with those things - the only thing I ever recall saying no to was him going to the gym every night if the week 530-830, I said there’s no point in having a relationship if you’re not present.

He also used to say to me that I need to go to therapy when we argued, I don’t know what for though and I never did.

In one of our final conversations he said to me “this happens all the time, in every one of my relationships, they want to stop me from doing exactly what I want to do when I want to do it”, I always said I wasn’t stopping him, but that’s a relationship. A bit of compromise on certain things.

I feel like my life has been a total lie, I have no idea what to believe was ever true. I’m completely broken down here, can’t sleep, can barely eat and I’m not coping. My whole life was there, planned, the fairytale!!! And now it’s gone. I’m 30 years old, no children, single and back at my parents house.

I have always been so independent, luckily I have good friends, an amazing family and a good job but I feel completely numb and empty inside. And the fear of him moving on immediately (which I just KNOW he will) is almost consuming me.

I feel like this is a story I would read in Chat magazine but it’s not fake, it’s actually my life and I’m so so devastated.

How do I ever get over this SadSadSadSad

OP posts:
Somebodylikeyew · 01/12/2021 08:32

Hang in there OP.

You didn’t do anything wrong that sabotaged this, you’re quite clearly not co-dependent or a control freak. He clearly has massive issues- better they come out now while you’re still young and before you had a mortgage/marriage/kids together.

You will get through this, you WILL be happy again. But right now, your most important task is to be kind to yourself and get through each day. Can you book some nice things in with friends and family over Christmas to give you some things to look forward to and something else to think about? Go out for drinks, go and see the Christmas lights somewhere pretty etc? Just keep taking one step forward each day; it WILL get easier.

NynaeveSedai · 01/12/2021 08:51

@friskybivalves

I think Nynaeve and I both caught up to the same bit of the thread at exactly the same time this morning and slightly lost it on behalf of the OP...
Yep! It's infuriating though when someone hijacks a support thread with their own stuff and craps all over it for no purpose whatsoever other than to play out some internal issues they are having. We all have our own stuff that we bring to relationships. The OP needs help to understand her role and dynamics that she brought and calling her names is hardly going to help.
friskybivalves · 01/12/2021 09:01

Excellent way to kick someone in the teeth whom you've never met and yet are merrily diagnosing from afar with some lofty pyschobabble. Join the party, do! 👍👍

pixietinkdust · 01/12/2021 09:16

@NynaeveSedai @friskybivalves thank you both for your additions. I appreciate every comment, even the negative ones.

I know this is going to have to be a growth journey for myself now that I’m alone, it’s the only way I can see myself re-rationalising and making sense of what’s happened to me.

I have no doubt that there will have been some contributions I made to the relationship that could have been better or weren’t particularly helpful - but I know I did my best with the emotions that I had at the time.

Thanks for all the solidarity from people.

I guess my next big question is around coping strategies; the loneliness is definitely kicking in and I don’t want to end up making/thinking myself miserable.

Hope you all have a good day x

OP posts:
friskybivalves · 01/12/2021 09:30

[quote pixietinkdust]**@NynaeveSedai* @friskybivalves* thank you both for your additions. I appreciate every comment, even the negative ones.

I know this is going to have to be a growth journey for myself now that I’m alone, it’s the only way I can see myself re-rationalising and making sense of what’s happened to me.

I have no doubt that there will have been some contributions I made to the relationship that could have been better or weren’t particularly helpful - but I know I did my best with the emotions that I had at the time.

Thanks for all the solidarity from people.

I guess my next big question is around coping strategies; the loneliness is definitely kicking in and I don’t want to end up making/thinking myself miserable.

Hope you all have a good day x[/quote]
Bless you, Pixie. Can you immerse yourself in tried and tested genuine love? You talk about your Mam a lot and you have friends who care about you very much. Chill with them and try not to go over and over Brian. I find open air therapy the best tonic. (not gyms...) Go for a walk with a mate, (do any have a dog? Far harder to feel down with a dog bouncing on a lead for joy), book a pub lunch, find somewhere that has Xmas ice skating and mulled wine, maybe a Carol service (unless not your religion obvs), go to the cinema to see the new terrible Marvel film. Simple pleasures, daft things to look forward to that get you out of the rental house and over the first few weeks. After that things do get easier as you adjust.

Rissole · 01/12/2021 09:39

Him using the abortion as a stick to beat you with is appalling OP. He agreed but then pulls it out against you afterwards - disgusting behaviour.

It will take you ages to get over it because all the factors are there to keep you hooked into thinking about him. Keep focused on the bad shit that he's done and how he's left you with a shit load of stuff to sort it all out. This will gradually bolster your self esteem again.

Once the genie in the bottle called Brian came out, there is no getting him back in. This is a bullet dodged.

Momijin · 01/12/2021 10:08

Hey lovely. You need to allow yourself the time to grieve. It is normal to grieve.

I found in recent years that the best way to allow me to move on from a bad relationship was to write it all down. The brain is very good at being selective in remembering and romanticising stuff but writing it down and explaining it to yourself is eye opening. And reading what you've written when you are feeling down or wavering really really helps.

I'm a natural forgiving person and it took many years for me to leave my abusive ex because I was quick to forgive and forget. It wasn't until I kept writing to myself and adding to the list and making me read it that I left him.

And then when I dated a man who like yours was wonderful, who I spoke to for hours everyday etc, I was heartbroken even though intellectually I knew that it was just a farce. I wrote lots of stuff down and when I wrote things down, red flag stuff did come to light - including the speed of the relationship, what he said. His past relationships and so on. It did take time to grieve and move on but it really helped.

SwanShaped · 01/12/2021 14:42

The idea of writing it all down sounds like a good idea. It does seem like you may have been a bit selective in your memory of how everything was. But what an arsehole to let you sell your house! (Btw I don’t think asking him not to go to the gym every night is codependent)

pixietinkdust · 01/12/2021 15:48

I can’t quite believe that there have been so many comments on this thread, I expected maybe 10!

Thank you all so much for your perspectives.

I’m on to breakdown #476 today, still struggling. Unfortunately. But I’m forcing myself to go out with a friend this evening and to stop hiding away. He’s leaving the rented house this weekend and will be moving about 30 minutes away so that’s good.

Time to learn how to heal myself now…

OP posts:
RedFlagsAllOver · 01/12/2021 16:37

Sounds a bit like a narcissist and love bombing.
I met a narcissist who sounds similar. I met him at a shit time, he love bombed me. He has had lots of relationships and brings them up all the time. I said I would rather not hear about your ex girlfriends. He said fine I won't talk to you about anything then. He has been through 4 jobs in a year. He also likes to say I like to do what I want, when I want. He can't even be bothered to see his son because it eats in to me time.

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