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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

Why he doesn't want to marry me?

636 replies

Spinstermum · 20/01/2022 21:27

I'm trying to find a proper reasons why it's important for me to get married. He doesn't care about me reaching age of 40 feeling old . He still thinks it doesn't matter for him how old I'm as I'm still gonna look pretty in white dress. We started being friends when I was 27 years old. We have 2 kids together. We bought a house. Then our goal was to get married which never happened. At some point I wanted to go to register office and do it. He didn't want it. He wants to have a proper wedding with a music dance ect. So why it's taking him so long? He wants to propose. I really don't care any more as I've waited for such a long time I only want to be his wife and to feel complete. When I was pregnant I asked him why dont we make plans now. He said it's covid out there. It's gonna be very difficult to organise the wedding. Now he told me he wants to propose but needs to find the right moment. Ok so all those family trip, birthdays, Christmas,new year are not enough to find a perfect moment? I got feeling he is stringing me along . My thoughts are that he doesn't want to get married and all of that its just a lie. If I would know that sooner I'd never start relationship with somebody who doesn't want to get married in the end. I don't even have the same surname as my kids which is awful feeling but he doesn't care in his opinion this is not strong argument to get married. What else I can do/ say?

OP posts:
Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 07:53

@Beginit

The English in this thread is very strange. It's not the language a non native speaker with apparently broken English would use.
What do u mean by that? I learnt English 18 years ago when I was working as a kp in the kitchen in the restaurant lol sorry. I'm a self taught.
OP posts:
SarahDarah · 22/01/2022 09:31

Come on @Spinstermum , I'm sure you're an intelligent woman so why are you asking this. You KNOW he doesn't want to propose. Confused

If someone put £300 in front of him for him to take if he wanted it, do you think he'd proclaim how much he wants it but leave it there? Of course not, he'd grab it and take it because he WANTS it! No human being who truly values and wants a particular thing sits there taking no action. The analogy also means he wants the £300 more than he wants you...

You've foolishly let him have absolutely everything marriage entails WITHOUT him having to commit to you.

I'm sure he loves the benefits you give him in the relationship otherwise he wouldn't be there. However he doesn't want to commit to you or to commit to being a family together so wants the backdoor open to make an exit from the relationship and the family if needs be in the future, while keeping as much of 'his' assets to himself rather than shared properly with you and his family.

If marriage was truly important to you, you wouldn't have moved in with him and had kids without marriage. You've now made yourself and your kids vulnerable. Youve given over all power to him but do your best to insist on marriage with him Flowers

LivBa · 22/01/2022 09:46

@Thirtytimesround

A lot of people are very confidently telling you that he doesn’t want to marry you. They’re too confident: they can’t possibly know. Neither do I 🤷‍♀️ DH took a decade to propose to me, did it eventually and admitted he was just lazy / not sure what to do / it was always one for “another time”.

I would tell him that, now you’re both very grown up with house kids etc, the moment for a formal surprise proposal has passed, and you really want to be his wife and share his and the children’s name, and therefore you suggest a sudden wedding in the summer of 2022. You have looked into it and “X hotel has a few dates available in August, let’s go for it.” If he says no, say something like “Love this IS me proposing to you, I’m seriously asking you to marry me, this right here is the proposal, say you’ll be my husband?”

If he says no then you’ve got a problem but at least you know where you stand.

@Thirtytimesround but which self respecting woman wants a man who is so lazy and blaise about the woman he's with that he knows he can get away with stringing you along for a whole DECADE Confused

At best, your now husband took you for granted and knew you'd be a doormat and stay with him for many years hoping he'll propose, or at worst was keeping his options open to see if someone "better" in his eyes came along, and since they didn't do so after a decade, decided he'd settle down with you since he knows you're very invested in him.

Men who are truly excited about the prospect of spending the rest of their lives together and value the woman they're with as a priority in their lives they want to commit to, don't wait a decade before they propose. No one waits that long for ANYTHING they truly want that's freely there. They just don't. Concerning marriage, it also shows in marriage statistics that those with long cohabiting beforehand are significantly more elderly to divorce (if they get married at all).

Chilledchablis1 · 22/01/2022 09:57

coffy11

“You need to go back to work full time and he pays half of childcare fees”

And if he refuses ??
DD was in a similar situation where her then P refused point blank to pay anything towards childcare . No reasoning , no negotiation.
She dumped him.

Beginit · 22/01/2022 10:06

Of course you are.....

1/10

Brakken · 22/01/2022 10:16

@Spinstermum as another poster said I'd also stop acting as a wife if he's not prepared to make you his wife. Otherwise you're letting him treatyou as a servant to fulfil his needs, not an equal partner.

Sex is the most intimate and trusting thing you can do with someone and it doesnt make sense to continue on the basis of his behaviour. He's shown he's untrustworthy to the extreme by not following through on something as important and fundamental as marriage, especially when you've carried, given birth to and helping raise his own children. You said you made it clear from the outset you wanted marriage so he should have told you from that point that he didn't want marriage. Instead he lied and betrayed you over a period spanning years and multiple children, in the most horrible way .

Why should you be having sex with him, doing household things for him etc when he's not committed to you? He's selfishly used you for long enough. Do normal household things for the kids etc but STOP doing all these things today for him. he's chosen for you both to be two legally single people Ieyes of the law so treat him as such, with politeness and teamwork, but nothing more than a housemate.

If he asks why you've changed , tell him straight that you're not his wife, so you won't act like one as it's only fair. He's made his own free choice not to marry you (which you freely accept is his right) and you make your own corresponding free choices in response (which is your right).

Brakken · 22/01/2022 10:17

*in the eyes of the law

AlDanvers · 22/01/2022 10:28

Sex isn't something 'a wife' does Hmm

I take the point about trust and if op doesn't want to have sex with him she shouldn't.
She shouldn't use it as a bargaining tool, though.

Buy sex is not 'something wives do'. If you have got to the stage you dont want to have sex with your partner, the relationship is over (presuming they aren't happy with a sexless relationship).

Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 11:51

So what exactly I should stop doing for him as wife does? Eg. His washing his meals? What else?

OP posts:
Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 11:53

Sex is tricky as we have a good sex life. I can t just stop as it's not what only wife does. We both are not very religuos people. We arr good people have a rules ect

OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 22/01/2022 12:27

So you've had a conversation where you've said you want to go through a list of legal ways to safeguard and protect you financially to reflect the fact you've taken a financial hit by providing childcare for your joint children, and to reflect that you're a team and committed... and he's said no?

To be clear, him saying 'don't worry about it, you'd be fine' / 'it's all sorted' etc counts as a no unless he sits down with you, showing you documentation that confirms you are beneficiary of death in service, included in his will, next of kin etc etc.

If you've said all that and he's either fobbed you off or said no then he has no interest in safeguarding your future. You, the mother of his kids.

If you were to split or he passed away, he's willing for you to lose your home and financial security.

He won't even have a sensible conversation as equals about this. You don't seem willing to either tbh, allowing him to fob you off even after this thread, so the relationship just sounds very unhealthy in general.

He views his salary as his money. Your salary as your money. Which would be ok in some relationship but in yours, your salary is only a part time one because you're providing free childcare that means he doesn't need to lose any of his salary. If he can't see that, he's an arsehole or thick. Or both. I think he's an arsehole who knows exactly what he's doing and has protected his financial interests while getting free childcare from you.

That isn't love.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 22/01/2022 12:27

@Spinstermum

So what exactly I should stop doing for him as wife does? Eg. His washing his meals? What else?
Tell him you're going to get a full time job and the cost of childcare is a joint responsibility, not solely yours. So will need to be paid from the dual household income, not your salary.
RandomMess · 22/01/2022 12:34

You stop running the house and stop looking after his DC for free.

Transfer all the household bills into his name and his account. After all your contribution of looking after his DC enabling him to work is nursery rates £60 per day each or similar.

Get a full time job and you pay for half the childcare or in you pay in full if you aren't paying any other household bills.

I would stop cooking for him too, you eat early with the DC and he can sort out his own dinner and washing up.

RandomMess · 22/01/2022 12:38

I would be insisting that your contribution is 50% of the mortgage (provided you are on the deeds of the house and that you transfer it to his account monthly so you can evidence you have contributed)

Ask him why he views you as a glorified lodger rather than mother of his DC and life partner.

Dreamsofholidays78 · 22/01/2022 12:51

I would ask to see the paperwork he’s speaking about as, financially, I wouldn’t trust him at all!
I would also go back to work, one is in nursery and the other is at grandparents? Is this part time, if so can they go for longer periods or else he needs to pay for childcare too.
Don’t put up with this op please. He knows what he’s doing.

Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 14:06

So what's the difference between married and unmarried people regards insurance or life insurance if I'm working part time and his full time? I think we definately have a house insurance. Don't know much about it what's on it. But house insurance doesn't include me as a person and my future pension guess.

OP posts:
AgrippinaT · 22/01/2022 14:08

Why can't you just propose to him? I don't get it.

If he doesn't say yes, then he doesn't want to marry you.

Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 14:09

He also said that it doesn't makes a difference the fact his name is on the contract only as a person who is paying monthly mortgage. I asked for a joint account where both our names are on it to pay monthly for the house. He said no. As it doesn't matter. In case of split those payments goes 50/50 between us.

OP posts:
Saysama · 22/01/2022 14:11

If it doesn’t matter, then why can’t you have the joint account? Did you ask him? What are you saying when he’s saying this nonsense to you?

Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 14:11

@AgrippinaT

Why can't you just propose to him? I don't get it.

If he doesn't say yes, then he doesn't want to marry you.

Because he wants to do it as a man and all he's been saying that he's got all planned out. Anyway, how do I propose to a man? Buy a ring for myself? Or for him?
OP posts:
Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 14:13

@Saysama

If it doesn’t matter, then why can’t you have the joint account? Did you ask him? What are you saying when he’s saying this nonsense to you?
I only asked him about the joint account. He replied it doesn't matter ect. I didn't set anything as I'm not 100%sure about it by law.
OP posts:
Spinstermum · 22/01/2022 14:17

The most tragic thing is that my parents are against what I'm doing. They are saying that unnecessary I'm stiring in the pot. I should just leave it and enjoy my family as it is as I already made a choice when our 1st child was born. Now it's too late. I have a family. Nothing wrong is with my family. Kids are happy ect. The only advise I got from my parents is to sort out all those legal documents I need to sign to protect myself. Then live happily ever after.

OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 22/01/2022 14:18

@youvegottenminuteslynn

So you've had a conversation where you've said you want to go through a list of legal ways to safeguard and protect you financially to reflect the fact you've taken a financial hit by providing childcare for your joint children, and to reflect that you're a team and committed... and he's said no?

To be clear, him saying 'don't worry about it, you'd be fine' / 'it's all sorted' etc counts as a no unless he sits down with you, showing you documentation that confirms you are beneficiary of death in service, included in his will, next of kin etc etc.

If you've said all that and he's either fobbed you off or said no then he has no interest in safeguarding your future. You, the mother of his kids.

If you were to split or he passed away, he's willing for you to lose your home and financial security.

He won't even have a sensible conversation as equals about this. You don't seem willing to either tbh, allowing him to fob you off even after this thread, so the relationship just sounds very unhealthy in general.

He views his salary as his money. Your salary as your money. Which would be ok in some relationship but in yours, your salary is only a part time one because you're providing free childcare that means he doesn't need to lose any of his salary. If he can't see that, he's an arsehole or thick. Or both. I think he's an arsehole who knows exactly what he's doing and has protected his financial interests while getting free childcare from you.

That isn't love.

Quoting myself which I know is probably a dick move but OP did you read this at all?

You're being incredibly passive about things that are life defining for you.

Have you had this direct conversation with him as outlined above or just asked 'what's going on with money and stuff' and been fobbed off?

youvegottenminuteslynn · 22/01/2022 14:19

@Spinstermum

So what's the difference between married and unmarried people regards insurance or life insurance if I'm working part time and his full time? I think we definately have a house insurance. Don't know much about it what's on it. But house insurance doesn't include me as a person and my future pension guess.
If you don't know, tell him you want to see the paperwork. Today.
youvegottenminuteslynn · 22/01/2022 14:20

@Spinstermum

He also said that it doesn't makes a difference the fact his name is on the contract only as a person who is paying monthly mortgage. I asked for a joint account where both our names are on it to pay monthly for the house. He said no. As it doesn't matter. In case of split those payments goes 50/50 between us.
Again, ask to see the paperwork showing this 50/50 division in the event of a split. Today.

If it 'doesn't matter' why did it have to be his way not yours? Because his way benefits him more than you and that's his priority.

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