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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

DH lied.

335 replies

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 14/07/2022 20:24

DH has form for lying, he’s lied about tiny, insignificant things over the years, but he’s also lied about some big, shitty things too.

Each time he’s caught in a lie, I remind him of just how much I detest being lied to, he apologises and we attempt to move on - but it of course nibbles away at my trust each and every time.

Today, DH had meetings in London. I was told last night the meetings were a ‘big corporate spiel lasting from 9am to 5pm’. Anyway, I checked our tracking app that we have on our phones shortly after lunchtime, to see that DH wasn’t where I thought he would be (the HQ office), but was instead, in some random bar in a different area of London.

I messaged DH an hour or so later, asking him how he was getting on etc. He told me it was fine but a bit boring. I then asked him if his meeting was being held in the usual place and he stopped replying.

He got in this evening and I asked him what time the meeting ended up finishing, and if it’d been held at the HQ, to which I was told ‘yep, normal place, we finished up around half 4, was supposed to be 5 but they rushed through a couple bits so we could duck out a tiny bit early’.

Now, I can see from our app that he left the building where the meetings are held shortly after 2pm and was in a bar from then, until he left to get the train at around 5:30pm. When I asked him if he’d stayed and had any drinks, he told me that ‘once the meeting was finished, they left the HQ and he had one quick pint before getting the train’. I also asked him if the blokes from work were staying ‘out out’ for drinks after the meeting, and he told me they were apparently heading to a certain bar in Shoreditch. Well, I checked the app, and lo and behold, that bar that his colleagues were supposedly heading to ‘after’ DH had left, was in the fact, the bar DH had been sitting in for three hours.

For what it’s worth, the apps we use are never wrong. They might show you’re stood a few metres from where you actually are, but it would never show you as being MILES away from where you are, if you see what I mean. I can also tell when DH is lying by the level of (false) details he gives in answers.

I haven’t yet told DH that I know he’s bare face lied to me, but I am seething. He knows my stance on lying. He knows that above all else in life, I’m always, always going to be more mad about a lie than something he may or may not have done. It’s the lying. I can’t stand it. I don’t care that the meeting finished early. I don’t care that he sunk a couple pints in the midday sun. What I do care about is the fact he seemingly thinks so little of me, that lying about stupid shit is like a second nature to him.

Would you confront your DH if you knew he’d so breezily lied to you?

OP posts:
Highfivemum · 15/07/2022 07:35

Does he tell this lies as he is scared of ur reaction if he is honest. ? Just a thought and not saying this is the reason. He wouldnt have known u were not well and you say it is a new job so maybe he felt oblige to go for a drink with his new colleagues but uncomfortable telling you.
not agreeing with his lying and that is an issue u need to sort

Bollindger · 15/07/2022 07:45

What would happen if you said I know you were lying, the phone app says you were lying and I bet your card would show you buying drinks. Or I can just ask your work if you want.
Now can you just admit you were at the pub all day.
Your next thing is to tell him your popping to the shop on Saturday, leave him with the children and stay out all afternoon. The lie....to his face.

CinnamonJellyBeans · 15/07/2022 07:47

No, I'm not the husband.

I wouldn't dream of tracking my husband when he leaves the house for work.

The husband works in London, not the Himalayas.

If this thread was about a woman being tracked at work, we'd be horrified.

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 08:21

Morning all -

So I've seen a few posters suggesting that the bar/drinks may have perhaps been mandatory and 'part of the meeting itself'.
Okay, let's run with that idea for a second.

If that was in fact the case, then why wouldn't he have just told me that when I asked him where he was? Why didn't he say 'oh I'm actually in X bar in X part of London now, as the meeting part finished early and now we're doing some type of mandatory team building' (or however you want to phrase it). If it was genuinely something he couldn't get out of, surely he'd have told me that, then followed it up with something like 'I know you've mentioned you're feeling really ill and are at home with all the kids, so I'll leave here as soon as I get the chance' etc.

But what he instead chose to do, was sit in a pub for 3 hours - mandatory or not (and I know it wouldn't have been mandatory because it wasn't that sort of day...) then tell me that he was at HQ until half 4, had one pint then come home.

OP posts:
ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 08:25

@Highfivemum he knows how much lying angers me, so in all honesty, he should've been more concerned with how his lying affects me, rather than things he may or may not do. He knows that I'd much rather be slightly irritated by the truth, than fuming over a lie.

He did know I was ill. I messaged him around 8 in the morning to let him know I wasn't taking our 5 year old to school because I'd vomited my body weight in green bile, and had shit 3 times already by that point.

He had a team building event in London last month which involved him getting to know his colleagues as they bounced around pubs. They're also all off up the country next week for another meeting in another city, hotel being paid for etc. So once the meeting is over, he'll have yet another opportunity to hang out with his work 'mates' getting pissed.

To lie to me about how his day went yesterday, when he knew full well I was really ill is not on.

OP posts:
Awombaweha · 15/07/2022 08:30

I don’t get why so many think it’s weird with the app, it’s not. We have Apple family find a friend, more in case of emergency. I hardly ever check, but it’s very good to have and not weird at all. Been with my dh for 27 years. My children and their friends have it too.

Awombaweha · 15/07/2022 08:32

But what he instead chose to do, was sit in a pub for 3 hours - mandatory or not (and I know it wouldn't have been mandatory because it wasn't that sort of day...) then tell me that he was at HQ until half 4, had one pint then come home.

You are getting a lot of crap here op, of course you are not wrong. And I would confront him, every time. Just a simple pointing out you know he is lying and it is very disrespectful.

girlmom21 · 15/07/2022 08:33

Why didn't he say 'oh I'm actually in X bar in X part of London now, as the meeting part finished early and now we're doing some type of mandatory team building' (or however you want to phrase it). If it was genuinely something he couldn't get out of, surely he'd have told me that, then followed it up with something like 'I know you've mentioned you're feeling really ill and are at home with all the kids, so I'll leave here as soon as I get the chance' etc.

Because you'd have been pissed at him for going for drinks and would have assumed he was lying about them being mandatory, would be my assumption.

I'm not saying you're to blame for not trusting him because he's a proven liar but I can see why, in this situation, he felt like he couldn't tell you he'd gone for drinks.

newbiename · 15/07/2022 08:36

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 14/07/2022 21:32

@Ourlady I definitely needed a venting outlet, I also wanted to see if people thought it was worth confronting DH. It seems as though there's no point!

I think it's definitely worth confronting him. He needs to know you know he lied AGAIN. You say how much you hate his lying , yet you're still with him?
Hope you're feeling better.
If you do stay with him, you need a big change in his attitude to him being around for the kids when you're ill.

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 08:37

@girlmom21 but DH knows I'm always, always going to be more mad over being fed lies, than him being upfront with me. If, for example, the drinks were indeed mandatory and he'd told me about them when I first asked, would I have been a bit annoyed? Sure! Being really ill in this heat, while dealing with 3DC 5 and under is no picnic, and it does rub salt in the wound to know your DH is swanning around the city getting pissed.

But, if it was something he genuinely had to attend, I'd have got over it relatively quickly. Probably before he'd even got home yesterday! Now though, as it stands, I'm still really bloody angry about the blatant lies to my face.

OP posts:
johnd2 · 15/07/2022 08:44

Sounds like when he was growing up he learnt it was better to lie about this kind of thing because if he said what happened there would be some kind of trouble.
Of course it's possible to work through this kind of issue and unlearn it, but old habits die hard.
Perhaps some counselling would help to get things into his mind and help him realise how to change this if he wants.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 15/07/2022 08:51

I still don't understand why you waited until after 2pm to check where he was when you said you wanted to ring him at lunchtime.

girlmom21 · 15/07/2022 08:54

@ireallyshouldntbesurprised I'm not saying he was right to lie, I'm saying I understand why he did.

There's clearly no trust in the relationship and that's of his making.

If I wanted to speak to my DP when he was free I'd say "can you call when you're free please?" And he would. I wouldn't need to check where he was.

It must be exhausting being a relationship with no trust. He knows you'll be grumpy for a bit then get over it. How long are you prepared for him to keep lying to you?

wellhelloitsme · 15/07/2022 09:03

CinnamonJellyBeans · 14/07/2022 23:30

You tracked your husband while you knew he was at work? The post-meeting drinks still counts as "work" you know. No wonder he has to lie to you.

Are you ignoring the fact that they're both aware of the trackers, mutually agreed them and that OP has shared the following:

DH has form for lying, he’s lied about tiny, insignificant things over the years, but he’s also lied about some big, shitty things too.

Each time he’s caught in a lie, I remind him of just how much I detest being lied to, he apologises and we attempt to move on - but it of course nibbles away at my trust each and every time.

A few have asked if he lies about big stuff - yes, he has. Money stuff, there have been instances a few years back when he lied about drugs. He's also been caught lying about 'typical' things like porn etc. Big or small, seemingly insignificant or not, chances are he'll tell a lie.

wellhelloitsme · 15/07/2022 09:05

Glitternails1 · 15/07/2022 05:07

@ireallyshouldntbesurprised Delete the tracking app. There is NEVER a good reason to use a phone tracker (unless you’re tracking a criminal etc). If you trust someone then you won’t need one. That goes for adults and children. Want to know where someone is? Just call or text them! Your dh lying isn’t good, but neither is tracking him. Creepy!

Never a good reason... apart from all the ones people in healthy, happy relationships have shared on this thread? Ok then.

Namechangehereandnow · 15/07/2022 09:06

OP you’re clearly not interested in what anyone is saying. You yourself have also lied to him.

Work out if you want to continue this relationship or not, then move on with your decision. Getting argumentative with strangers on the internet is not the way forward.

Capricornandproud · 15/07/2022 09:06

Op, with respect, you’re going over and over the same ground with us here - and not even hinting at moving forward with actions or change. Its no wonder your DH just casually lies - he obviously faces no consequences, just a bit of an earful and endless ruminating on it.

i do say this with kindness. I also despise any untruths - why people do it is beyond me. But if I discover someone has lied to me, it is the end of the road for me with them. What are you going to do about it? Having the internal moral high ground because you know the truth is ok for a short while, but all that does is create this vortex of emotion and stress in your head that you can’t outrun! And finding headspace with 3 littlies is rare enough.

do you want to leave him?

layladomino · 15/07/2022 09:17

Lies really are dealbreakers for me. If someone lies, even over something small, then they are showing you they are comfortable being dishonest to you, which means you never know if you can trust them, in anything. And he's shown you in the past that he can lie over big stuff too. He knows you hate lying (and to be honest, as a grown adult, he ought to know that noone likes lying and it has no place in a good relationship). And yet he is still lying.

The tracking is a red herring. People can criticise you for using it but it doesn't change the fact he lies, and routinely. Also, you have a perfectly good reason for using trackers, which was your husband's idea, so if he's happy with you using it who are we to question that?! (We also sometimes use them for safety and practical reasons. Why would anyone mind their partner knowing where they are, using a tracker they have willingly signed up to?)

You were home alone with 3 young children, and have a stomach bug. He knew that. It looks like he lied because he knew that any half decent parent would have left when the event ended at 2pm and come home to relieve you so you could rest. But he wanted to stay out drinking. He prioritised having a drink with his colleagues, for a few hours, over his wife and children.

For that, and for the fact you simply can't trust him (he's proven that over the years) I would consider ending things with him. The main core of a relationship is trust - having trust and being trustworthy. Without that the relationship will always have a fault, and it's a fault that gets bigger with time not smaller.

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 09:35

@Namechangehereandnow I'm trying my best not to come across as argumentative, though I am sorry if it seems that way. I think I'm just becoming a little annoyed how a large portion of this thread has swayed towards the app thing. It was DH's idea to get them, we're both okay with the other using it, so to us, it's really not an issue as I've outlined many times on this thread. I wouldn't have a problem with DH seeing what I was up to, I wouldn't have anything hide, and I certainly wouldn't lie about my whereabouts.

My head is just a mess trying to unpick why the lies keeps happening. The feeling I get in my stomach when he sits opposite me, telling me a blatant lie and going in to false details just absolutely crushes me. It really isn't a nice feeling, so I was hoping that from this thread, I might stumble across accounts where liars have changed, been genuinely remorseful - I don't know, just something, anything to make this situation (and all the times in the past) ok.

OP posts:
Bookworm20 · 15/07/2022 09:36

It really doesn't look good. He had to reason to lie, thats what I don't understand.

I'd be thinking was he actually at the meeting at all? Thats what lies do, they send our minds into overdrive and then we start questioning everything.

the tracking app is irrelevant. Loads of couples/families use it. Its common sense much of the time and its not like you're stalking your DH and he isn't aware.

Not sure how you approach it. I think if it was me, my mind would be jumping to who was he actually with, was there actually a meeting at all at HQ. And also is the hotel thing really actually for work. because if my DP lied about being at work when he was actually in the pub miles away I'd certainly be thinking, he must of been there with someone and I'd like to find out who.

Might be innocent. But then why the lie? Unless it was simply because he didn't want to come home and help you. But then that in itself is shit anyway.

I think i'd be checking his phone, doing some sort of reconnaissance and he would have brought that on himself by bare faced lying to you.

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 09:39

Thank you @layladomino for your response. I agree that it seems as though in the moment, he chose to stay out instead of doing the right thing and coming home and that to me, is just as bad, if not worse than the lying itself.

I couldn't possibly imagine a work function finishing early, then deciding I was going to stay out with people I've known for three months, instead of making my way home to relieve DH of the children while he was being sick and had diarrhoea. It's really disrespectful.

I still haven't spoken to DH about it. Usually I raise the lying issues almost immediately, but I feel worn down. I need to take some time to think about whether he can or would ever change. I think deep down, I know the answer, but I need to chew it over for a bit.

OP posts:
Bjarnum · 15/07/2022 09:49

He behaved like a selfish arse. And tried to cover it up. Perhaps you could think of a way he could make it up to you - taking over housework and kids for a weekend? Every time. Sometimes treating a man child like a child is effective!

ireallyshouldntbesurprised · 15/07/2022 09:49

@Bookworm20 Yeah, the whole situation is messing with my mind. To him, it was a tiny, 'insignificant fib', but to me, it makes me second guess and question everything.

His work trip next week is now at the forefront of my mind. Even down to the fact that apparently, because he was roped in to the meeting 'at the last minute' (well, a month ago), work were unable to book him a room in the hotel that the rest of the colleagues will be staying in, so he's going to be staying in a hotel/b&b 'close' to the others. Granted it's a big corporate event, but I'm struggling to see how a huge hotel wouldn't have had one room left over, over a month ago. I don't know, it's just me being silly I guess, but it's what the lies to do me!

Fortunately, the app shows a few days worth of journey history, so I can see that he was at HQ until 2 yesterday, though I am still finding it strange that he was dressed a lot more casual yesterday, when for work and for his previous London meeting, he dresses very smart. He really isn't someone to attend a corporate event wearing jeans and trainers, so that rang an alarm bell - again, silly I know.

OP posts:
Catlover1970 · 15/07/2022 10:00

Glitternails1 · 15/07/2022 05:07

@ireallyshouldntbesurprised Delete the tracking app. There is NEVER a good reason to use a phone tracker (unless you’re tracking a criminal etc). If you trust someone then you won’t need one. That goes for adults and children. Want to know where someone is? Just call or text them! Your dh lying isn’t good, but neither is tracking him. Creepy!

Totally agree - everyone is entitled to go about their business without being scrutinized . Text or ring him if you need help

Catlover1970 · 15/07/2022 10:01

This