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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

Name calling in fights

16 replies

mberry1 · 13/06/2022 01:29

Hi all. I'm feeling really low and confused now after a fight that got out of hand between me and my boyfriend last night. I will be seeking therapy with a professional soon but for now I just wanted to talk to someone and I'm too embarrassed to talk with friends or family yet.
We've been together almost 5 yrs and we both are in our 30's. We have also lived together the last 3 years. I'm seeking advice on whether I should even pursue saving this relationship.
In the last couple of years he has resorted to calling me names when we fight. Names he uses a lot are stupid, P.O.S. and bit*h. I also feel that his reaction to many things are over the top. He reacts to things I don't think most people would even notice or care about. I'm not perfect either, about 4 years ago he and I had a big fight and he broke up with me. I don't even remember what it was about but I do remember it was another confusing why is he so upset over this type of fight. I confided in a friend who lives out of state via Facebook messenger and I was angry and venting and I referred to my ex at the time as a P.O.S. to my friend. My boyfriend and I reconciled a couple of months later. Shortly after he snooped through my computer and my Facebook account was open so he read the entire conversation I had with this friend. He was furious. I have apologized profusely for calling him a P.O.S to a friend but even today he still throws that in my face every time we fight.
Last night he went out with friends for a few drinks and he called me to pick him up since I was home and sober. I thought our conversation was over so I hung up and I was on my way but he claims I hung up on him mid sentence. Naturally he was furious over this and as I tried to talk to him when I picked him up he just became angrier and angrier to the point of yelling and calling me a P.O.S over and over (even my car is P.O.S according to him) He also said he is doing everything he can to be able to move out and get his own place. He was a bit drunk and extremely mean.
This morning he was acting as if nothing happened and our plans for the day were still on. I'm still really upset and I let him know this and told him I would not be joining him for the day. His reaction? Angry and he believed his behavior last night was justified. He also thinks I'm being disrespectful for canceling on him and his friends at the last minute. no apologies.

OP posts:
mberry1 · 13/06/2022 01:36

I just read my above message and I know what I need to do, end it. But I don't know why I struggle with feeling like this is my fault. Like what did I do or what am I doing to bring this on? We have good times in between the fights but when we fight it's like he hates me and it can't be for no reason at all? He has no patience for me.

OP posts:
londonlass71 · 13/06/2022 02:44

I think at the very least you guys should have time apart. Has he really been looking for places or is that just hot air? Can you move out for a bit and stay with family or friends? This sounds like a very toxic unhappy situation.

mberry1 · 13/06/2022 03:09

I have a dog and a cat so finding a place to stay with them in tow would be near impossible. He is not very fond of them and has made it clear to me that he'll have no part in their care so I wouldn't leave them with him. I'm not sure if his claim to trying to get out of here was true or not. We live in a high rent city and very little is available so if it were true it would take him a while to financially prepare and find a place. Yes I think this has become toxic. Space at the very least would be good.

OP posts:
Skyvemind · 13/06/2022 03:40

Hi OP, it's good that you have re read your original post and know what you need to do. I'm sure if a friend confided to you what you have here to us, you would be helping them with ways to exit this unhappy relationship.

To me, it looks very much as if he has anger and/or alcohol issues. He abuses you verbally, he hasn't really processed or accepted your apology for calling him a POS in a private chat to a friend when he had broken up with you and continues to hold this over you and you will never escape it as he enjoys weaponising your own words (how very dare you!) against you when he has a reason (any random reason, it seems) to be annoyed at you.

For example the drinks/town/lift scenario: my relationship isn't perfect, it's fiery, we argue, we annoy each other, but no way would this happen in our world. neither of us overindulges in alcohol, no. 1, and no. 2 my husband organises his own transport and would not get me out of bed for a lift home unless he was totally stranded and unable to get a cab, or we had prearranged I was going to come in for him. Then, if I had come to get him, but had prematurely hung up as you describe, he would be grateful for the lift and perhaps ask 'what happened back there?'. But NO WAY would he start abusing me. Just. NO.

The reason you struggle with the feeling that this may be your fault could be due to how you processed or experienced things as a child, your own self esteem issues, or maybe because that's what he keeps telling you, so you have internalised it? I don't know... but a therapist could help you work through these thoughts. One thing's for sure, your partner isn't going to help! He is the one making you feel as if it's all your fault; you're the one to blame and that's nice and convenient for him, isn't it? If you are really such a nightmare, then why is he still there? Why hasn't he moved on out already? Why does he keep threatening it? What's in it for him to stay I wonder? Is it because he's getting his kicks from abusing you. Making you feel like shit and making you feel miserable and worthless so that he can indulge his power complex and make you think that he is some prize worth hanging on to for dear life? I'm sorry OP, but the way it works in abusive relationships is that the abuser makes the victim think they are the ones at fault, not the abuser. Clever really, isn't it? Read any of the relationships threads here, and look up DARVO and see if it resonates.

You are too close to the issue to really see it clearly. You have too much wrapped up in it as your lives are so interwoven, you tend to excuse and think "What have I done? Why am I so shit?". But you are not shit, everything you listed that he has freaked out about is completely an over reaction and frankly, he's bullying you. To make up for his own inadequacies and self loathing, he is projecting it onto you.

I just want to c&p some of your words back to you here so that if you read them you can see the pattern that an outsider with an objective view would see:

  • he has resorted to calling me names when we fight. Names he uses a lot - stupid, P.O.S. and bit*h.
  • his reaction to many things are over the top.
  • he reacts to things I don't think most people would even notice or care about.
  • he snooped through my Facebook account so he read the entire conversation I had with this friend.
  • He was furious.
  • I have apologized profusely
  • he still throws that in my face every time we fight.
  • he called me to pick him up.
  • I was home and sober.
  • he claims I hung up on him mid sentence.
  • He was furious.
  • I tried to talk to him when I picked him up
  • he just became angrier and angrier
  • yelling and calling me a P.O.S over and over (even my car is P.O.S)
  • he said he is doing everything he can to be able to move out and get his own place.
  • He was a bit drunk and extremely mean.
  • This morning he was acting as if nothing happened and our plans were still on.
  • I'm still really upset
  • I let him know this and told him I would not be joining him for the day.
  • his reaction = Angry
  • he believed his behaviour last night was justified.
  • he thinks I'm being disrespectful for canceling on him and his friends at the last minute.
  • no apologies.
You describe him being FURIOUS twice. Once because you dissed him to a friend during a break up (which he discovered via snooping! = major breach of trust boundary red flag) and the second time because you hung up on him when he hadn't finished speaking. A perfectly human mistake to make but one that he has interpreted as an insult to him and a sign of disrespect.

When he'd ripped shreds out of you verbally the night before, and you said next morning you didn't want to spend the day with him because of that and the fact that he was behaving as if nothing had happened, you say his reaction was ANGRY. At you. The person he's supposed to love? No desire or instinct to talk it out calmly or try to understand your POV?

He wants to blame you and vent at you and make you really, really FEEL like a POS. This man doesn't really love you, it doesn't even sound as if he really likes himself very much either. You will be SO much happier when you aren't walking on eggshells around him, being gaslit, attacked and blamed for everything.

Imagine if all this was playing out in front of a small child? How difficult it would be if you were on ML and dependent on his income to supplement your MP and he exploited that and the abuse got worse? More frequent, more intense, and physical too?

Speak to Women's Aid, they will help you organise your thoughts and steps for leaving him or getting him to leave depending on your situation. Definitely get some advice on this, as I think he manipulates you and will try to wheedle and cajole or blow up and frighten you whatever method to try to get you to rethink and not pursue a break up, and I think you need to be prepared for this and have a well thought out plan that you can action with support and confidence, Get support around you, people you can trust. Don't worry about the immediate fallout from a break up ie the impact on wider friends and family, that always seems awful to contemplate but people move on, they have their own lives and difficulties. They will adapt and so will you. In fact, if you take the steps to advocate for yourself and liberate yourself from someone toxic and harmful, you will blossom and THRIVE.

Skyvemind · 13/06/2022 03:49

mberry1 · 13/06/2022 03:09

I have a dog and a cat so finding a place to stay with them in tow would be near impossible. He is not very fond of them and has made it clear to me that he'll have no part in their care so I wouldn't leave them with him. I'm not sure if his claim to trying to get out of here was true or not. We live in a high rent city and very little is available so if it were true it would take him a while to financially prepare and find a place. Yes I think this has become toxic. Space at the very least would be good.

Ok, so brass tacks: who's name is the flat in? Who paid the deposit? Was it all done 50/50?
Who has a friend they can more easily move in with, or a family member?
Does he have parents he can move back to?
Does his income enable a flat share? A shared house with other professionals where he is effectively paying for his room? There are lots of options when you start to really examine it but yes, it would mean a change and compromise to his current comfy lifestyle.
Really, from what you say, with his distaste for your pets and evident lack of regard for you, being as you're such a rubbish girlfriend an all, surely he should have left by now?
The person with the pets (dependents, of the furry kind) who are settled in the flat should, all things being equal, have the edge on staying or going. A single professional looking for a place vs. someone with a cat and dog - the former stands a much better chance and will have more options to choose from.

Watchkeys · 13/06/2022 16:02

But I don't know why I struggle with feeling like this is my fault

You have an anxious attachment style. What was your relationship like with your parents? Did they love you, respect your feelings, listen to you?

It's probably the case that one or both of your parents made you feel like there was something more important to worry about than how you felt about things. An addict parent perhaps, so that the bottle was more important than the stress it caused you? Fighting parents, so that the fight was more important than the stress it caused you?

There's a pattern in your childhood that you're repeating now, and that'll be your explanation for why you feel you should be changing something about yourself, even though you're not the one doing anything wrong.

Fairislefandango · 13/06/2022 16:17

Not remotely your fault. He sounds like an angry bully who likes to use you as his verbal punchbag when he's in a strop, and expects you to just put up with it and then be all smiles when he's finished venting his anger. What an unpleasant individual.

mberry1 · 13/06/2022 19:45

Thank you so much for your response. I am reading and re reading - many good points and I appreciate your outside view point so much. You are right - I am too entangled and in the center of it all to see it clearly. DARVO looks about right in my situation and so much so that I have stopped speaking out or 'complaining' about anything unless I feel like I really have to. It never seems to do any good though.

Last night he came home with dinner for me and new dishes he knew I had wanted - a peace offering or manipulation?
We have not discussed anything further. I am going to continue to educate myself on DARVO and other abuse tactics and seek therapy.

OP posts:
Thesefeetaremadeforwalking · 13/06/2022 19:55

OP, your BF is abusive and you need to takes steps to get out of this relationship.

No it isn't worth saving. Sorry.

I agree you need to speak to Womens' Aid

mberry1 · 14/06/2022 00:58

I own the house we live in - he pays half of everything, mortgage and utilities. This still works out to be considerably cheaper for him even if he was to rent just a room somewhere. I think this may be one of a few reasons he clings to this relationship. Where I live he has 'renters rights' by law so the way it would work is I'd hand over a recorded documentation of 30 days to vacate notice. After which if he still refused to move out i'd have to file an eviction request in court which could take months.

OP posts:
Krispybacon · 14/06/2022 01:58

I haven't read the OP just the title. Name changed for this. My partners name is "kris". I called him "Kris.P.Bacon" after the meme when I was mad. If by any chance it was anything like that, I think you can let it slide.

CandyLeBonBon · 14/06/2022 06:08

I'm sorry op - I went through exactly the same and the bewilderment is a horrible feeling - you know in your heart it's not you. The irrational anger and name calling, bullying and then gaslighting you is horrendous for your mental health. I'd be getting on with that notice to quit now because if it takes months and he's going to dig his heels in, you're going to have to dig deep and work through it.

mberry1 · 16/06/2022 21:18

Update: He broke up with me! About a month ago I ran into a friend of his (a man) and we said hello and had brief chat. I forgot to mention this to him and he found out later from his friend that we had a run in.

So I got a speech about how I'm such a horrible shitty person - I must be trying to hide something (an affair?) He has cheated on me twice that I'm aware of over the course of our relationship. I will admit this has made me very insecure in this relationship and the way he dealt with it was not helpful. It was as if he expected me to just get over it and put it in the past after his little apology. Like he's entitled to my trust.

He had a run in with a 'friend' of mine a while ago and didn't say anything to me about it.
It happened during a time when we were not on good terms (another stupid fight) and I happened to confess to this particular girlfriend that we were having issues.
I always had a feeling that he had a thing for her as well because whenever she came around I could tell he was nervous.
She mentioned that they had a nice long chat for almost an hour about their respective child hoods and religious beliefs.
I felt betrayed - because she knew he and I were not on speaking terms and I had shared several unpleasant things that were going on in our relationship at the time with her so I couldn't understand why she would cozy up to a such a long and intimate chat with him at that particular time. I was upset and I decided to confront him about it and told him it made me uncomfortable. He became extremely defensive and angry and told me I was ruining our relationship with my insecurity. He brought up this incident when he was berating me about my run in with his friend and accused me of projecting my negative qualities on to him.
Watchkeys- you mentioned my childhood - yes you are correct. My parents loved me but they were very dysfunctional. Alcoholic dad (he did manage to quit when I turned 6) and a mother who was very difficult for all to get a long with. She picked fights with my father constantly and was easily offended. Many holidays and vacations ruined.

OP posts:
me4real · 16/06/2022 23:37

He is abusive, name calling in arguments is verbal abuse, as are all his accusations etc. Please end it with him.

The switching between being abusive and turning on the charm/pretending nothing happened is also classic of abusers. Cheating is also often a thing of theirs, to make you feel insecure.

'Why Does He Do That?' by Lundy Bancroft, and the Freedom Programme are worth looking into.

Newestname002 · 17/06/2022 05:11

@mberry1

Not being with this selfish, manipulative man is the direction to go in so good that he's broken up with you. Has he actually left? In which case change the locks ASAP. Don't be in your own when he comes to collect anything he's left behind.

What does the fact that he's broken up with you and (hopefully walked out) do the "renters rights"?

Be careful that he'll decide that financially he's better off with you - he is a toxic person and should be nowhere in your life. Do what you need to to be completely rid of him. Nobody needs this canker in their lives. Good luck. 🌹

Lovemypeaceandquiet · 17/06/2022 05:30

Run run RUN as fast as you can from him OP.

He sounds absolutely VILE!

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