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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

He has turned into a monster and I don’t know how to do today

71 replies

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:09

I stupidly became pregnant by being reckless with contraception, thinking I was in a relationship for keeps. Had 35th birthday and also felt pressure but mostly really grateful I’d found someone who was a good fit. We talked about kids, marriage, etc. Importance of family. We both got on really well, intimacy was good generally, good sense of humour and fundamentally he has a very responsible job and I felt he was trustworthy and a good man.

as time went on he became what I can only describe as immature. He would lie about small insignificant things that didn’t matter but were strange because of the lie itself. He would always say he missed his family desperately yet rarely go to see them. Then he’d cry that he hasn’t seen them. This is a man now over 40! I would tell him to go and he’d say he just doesn’t have time…yet he did, he just didn’t prioritise it. I was querying ending things and found out I was pregnant.

since then he’s had moments of being supportive and then other moments of immaturity I’ve genuinely never seen in any adult. He drinks a lot so often tipsy in the evening which I find hard so often. He is insincere…sounds silly but he’s put a photo up of us on WhatsApp but changed settings to just have it showing to me. He often photographs things like me randomly to try and see what’s on my phone. He’s quite paranoid. If he doesn’t want to do something he will just sulk. For example it was my dad’s birthday last weekend and the 50 minute journey he was quiet and stoney faced.

He has started to criticise me a bit, comments about my home and it being too sparse/needing more stuff in it.

These behaviours were honestly never something I saw coming. That’s probably massively naive of me as I’d only known him a couple of years but over time I realise now he is unrecognisable to the man I thought I had met.

I don’t know how to stay sane. I really don’t. Last night he turned up completely drunk so I couldn’t even have a conversation with him at all as he was totally out of it. Today we are supposed to be going to look at a car and then go for lunch and call in on my mum on the way back. He will be cold, uninterested, make snide comments. I don’t feel loved or happy. I don’t know what im asking really. Just feel like a fool, nobody in their 30s would get this so wrong.

OP posts:
KangarooKenny · 11/06/2022 09:11

Dump him and give baby your surname.

Aquamarine1029 · 11/06/2022 09:13

Block him completely out of your life and move on. You don't need him, and your baby certainly doesn't need a man like that in their lives.

SnowWhitesSM · 11/06/2022 09:15

I agree with dump him and give your baby ypur surname.

You now get to create a really happy future. Single parenting is A LOT easier then parenting with someone who has alcohol issues and immature. I loved being a SP when mine were small, we had loads of adventures.

Life is too short to be miserable OP.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 11/06/2022 09:15

Well, he can toddle off and live his onw life then, can't he? You can't live with that behaviour, you know you can't!

girlmom21 · 11/06/2022 09:17

KangarooKenny · 11/06/2022 09:11

Dump him and give baby your surname.

First response nailed it

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:19

That is where I am heading.

I feel so so so so terrible for baby that I’ve got this so wrong.

OP posts:
Antarcticant · 11/06/2022 09:19

I think he's deliberately behaving badly so that you dump him and he evades responsibility for his future child.

Immature tosser.

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:20

Honestly if you’d asked me a year ago what I thought of him I would have said absolutely wonderful. Steady, calm, funny, responsible.

i got it so wrong.

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 11/06/2022 09:20

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:19

That is where I am heading.

I feel so so so so terrible for baby that I’ve got this so wrong.

Baby's with no dads do better than babies with shit dads. Don't feel guilty.

MzHz · 11/06/2022 09:20

KangarooKenny · 11/06/2022 09:11

Dump him and give baby your surname.

Please please do this!

zen1 · 11/06/2022 09:21

The good news is you’re not in any way dependent on him; you have your own home, your own stuff etc. You don’t need him in your life and keeping him in it sounds like it would be detrimental to you and your baby. I would seriously get rid before your child is born - you will be glad you did. You would only be a fool if you continue to put up with his behaviour and the way he treats you.

PuffinMcStuffin · 11/06/2022 09:23

End it sooner rather than later, you'll be so much better off raising the baby on your own. Yes you've made a mistake but end the mistake here rather than dragging it on longer.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 11/06/2022 09:23

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:20

Honestly if you’d asked me a year ago what I thought of him I would have said absolutely wonderful. Steady, calm, funny, responsible.

i got it so wrong.

No you didn't. He masked himself well enough for long enough.

StbxPoisonousSIL took 30+ years to work out that BIL really is a chronic alcoholic with no life skills whatsoever. Much as I truly dislike her I felt sorry for her, that moment when she woke up one morning and saw him lying there, the wasted, waste of space he has been since his teens. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, a position she held for quite some time!

MzHz · 11/06/2022 09:24

staying with this awful man will make you a worse parent. Trust me

happy mum, happy baby

you will never regret your baby, but you can keep the stbx at arms length

im guessing he won’t bother to be a good dad and cry from a distance like he does with his own family

incidentally, did you see any actual tears fall?

Babdoc · 11/06/2022 09:25

OP, don’t feel “terrible for baby”. Your baby will not know what s/he is missing in terms of a father, and it only matters that you are a “good enough” mother.
I raised my DC alone as DH died when they were babies. They turned out fine, and tell me that they didn’t feel they lacked anything in their childhood.
It would be far worse for your baby to have a terrible role model of a father living in their home - a man who is immature, a drinker, and emotionally unsupportive.

MotherofTerriers · 11/06/2022 09:25

Don't feel terrified for your baby. Your baby will have a wonderful mum, and hopefully your family will be supportive and loving. Get him dumped well before baby arrives, baby gets your name, doesn't have to live with a moody dad with alcohol issues

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:27

He does this thing where he will say half a sentence. I will ask what he means then he says it doesn’t matter

no exaggeration to say I’m feeling sick with nerves about the day with him as it’s just emotional pain all the time. I am so sad

OP posts:
Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:28

@Babdoc so sorry your DH died. Thank you for your post, I am incredibly worried about the impact this may have on them. It’s what’s keeping me with him

OP posts:
GrendelsGrandma · 11/06/2022 09:28

I agree, he's not a keeper. It'll be easier going it in your own from the get go than coping with a newborn and a break up. At least you don't live together.

If he can't be arsed to see his family, chances are he can't be arsed seeing his child either. He sounds like a mess.

This isn't the end of the world, you're 35, want a baby and are having one. Plenty of women get to your point and just use a donor. At least there's w chance he'll sort himself out and be supportive at some point, if not then you can do it.

If he's a bit controlling and manipulative now (phone checking, sulks etc) prepare for this to be a lot worse when you break up with him.

Good luck!

babbi · 11/06/2022 09:30

All the other posters have nailed it .
get rid of this man and focus on you and your baby
and DONT beat yourself up about “ getting it wrong “
everyone makes mistakes… we’re human !
just don’t compound it by keeping him around .

congratulations on your pregnancy and take care of yourself….

Antarcticant · 11/06/2022 09:30

He does this thing where he will say half a sentence. I will ask what he means then he says it doesn’t matter

They do this to get attention - it's in the same bracket as sulking. He wants you to dance round begging 'please tell me'.

SnowWhitesSM · 11/06/2022 09:30

You need to end this ASAP op. Babies pick up stress in the womb and it can change their attachment to you. Get out this relationship, plan a happy future. Don't let shit stress you. Do all you can to be calm and happy.

This is exciting, you get to have a gorgeous baby who will be very much loved and adored. Sounds like you have family close by to support you. Join groups, make single parent friends, eat well and make yourself happy. You and your baby have had a lucky escape. Imagine waking up in 10 years time when your exes behaviour has imprinted onto your child.

Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:32

@GrendelsGrandma he hinted the other day that he thought I’d intentionally decided to have a baby and actually he didn’t want one!! That was the implication. We didn’t ‘plan’ it but both were very very open about wanting kids! He was particularly keen to say he wanted them in the next year. He’s just awful to me, about everything, literally. He was never like this at the start, I thought he was hugely responsible.

genuinely feel sick about seeing him at 10

OP posts:
Brokenpiecs · 11/06/2022 09:33

SnowWhitesSM · 11/06/2022 09:30

You need to end this ASAP op. Babies pick up stress in the womb and it can change their attachment to you. Get out this relationship, plan a happy future. Don't let shit stress you. Do all you can to be calm and happy.

This is exciting, you get to have a gorgeous baby who will be very much loved and adored. Sounds like you have family close by to support you. Join groups, make single parent friends, eat well and make yourself happy. You and your baby have had a lucky escape. Imagine waking up in 10 years time when your exes behaviour has imprinted onto your child.

@SnowWhitesSM is this real?? I have been stressed insanely so throughout.

will it really impact my attachment? I’m already 5.5 months.

OP posts:
HereComesBaby2 · 11/06/2022 09:33

You can't change who the father is, all you can do is do your best as a mother. He sounds immature and the sooner you end the relationship the better, you need to focus on yourself and baby now 🙂