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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

How do you get past emotional abuse? I’m a wreck (TW abortion)

109 replies

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 22:04

Hi, I hope it’s ok to post this here. I’ve spent the past four hours crying again and I can’t bottle it up and pretend it didn’t happen anymore.

Around eight months ago I came across a man on tinder and we clicked instantly. Messaging all day every day, met up and had a 12 hour first date, I fell for him pretty quickly and he seemed to me. There were red flags but he always had a good reason. His ex was crazy, he did call and text constantly, that sort of stuff.

Early into dating we sexted on occasion and I stupidly mentioned that I was intrigued by threesomes in the heat of the moment. From this point onwards he became obsessed with making this happen. He started looking for someone and when he couldn’t find anyone he started messaging sex workers. At one point he had me messaging them too. I told him I was uncomfortable but he kept talking me around. Eventually he found an old tinder match that would be up for it and he started a group chat with her. I kept saying that I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to do it, I was uncomfortable but every time he just reminded me that it was my idea and I couldn’t let her down now. Eventually I put my foot down and said no. I got the silent treatment and he told me he needed to ‘think’ as he couldn’t cope with jealous women.

Things got worse when I found out I was pregnant. He never gave me a chance to think and told me an abortion was the best option so I had to do it. He’d tell me over and over that we had discussed it and both decided it was right but really it was him talking over me with all the reasons he wanted one.
I will admit at this point I didn’t act perfectly. I needed more time to think and he wanted an instant decision so I lied and told him I’d done it. Well when he found out he went mental, told me that was against the law, he’d put me in jail, report me to social services, take the baby off me and raise it himself so I’d never see it etc.
I ended up having the abortion he wanted and he was a nightmare about the whole process. I purposely booked it on a day he wouldn’t make it. He got me to set my live location on WhatsApp so he could track where I was, got me to request proof of the doctor (the proof wasn’t good enough), tried to get me to video the appointment so he could watch it back, made me call them 30 times in front of him after so he could talk to the doctor himself. He phoned the reception pretending to be my dad waiting in the car park to make sure I was really there. It was horrendous and he still doesn’t believe that I actually did it.

There was so much little stuff as well. Nothing ever felt straightforward. He’d say we will do this next week and then when I’d remind him it would be ‘you got it wrong, I didn’t mean it like that’. It particularly upset me when it was bad stuff. Due to his life being really hectic he said we might not be able to see each other for a month. When I got upset afterwards it was, ‘I didn’t mean it like that, you took it the wrong way, you’re so selfish, you never care about what I need’. He never picked up the phone when I called him but if he wanted to speak to me he’d repeatedly call until I answered. 37 times was the maximum before I gave in and answered.

He didn’t show up to my birthday and didn’t do much as get me a card.

This is going to sound insane but it’s true. He now blames me for him having a heart attack. When he found out that I didn’t go through with the abortion he had a heart attack. I really thought he was playing it up but I was wrong and it really happened. He’s now having heart surgery and it’s my fault.

I feel so torn and twisted. I know there is abuse there, it’s like I can feel it in my gut but I’m so worried about his health and I can’t turn it off. I don’t know how to find my way out of this.

OP posts:
CheekyHobson · 22/11/2022 23:29

I may be naive but I’ve often got the impression he doesn’t realise that what he’s doing or asking for is insane.

But an irrational sense of entitlement or license to do/say things most people would never contemplate doing or saying (and then usually waving it away afterwards as “You’re being too sensitive” “You’re being unreasonable” “Well I didn’t mean it” “Nobody else would have a problem with this”) is absolutely textbook narcissism.

Narcissists have a genuine inability to understand why their words or actions might actually hurt someone else or why they shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever they like while maintaining the expectation that people around them will just change themselves to fit, suck up their own feelings and continue to provide the narcissist with unconditional devotion, admiration and approval.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:39

Also thank you everyone. Being told that this isn’t my fault and actually he’s wrong has really helped. He’s had me thinking I’m insane for a while now and his behaviour is completely normal.

The worst was the arguments we had over who got the final say with the unplanned pregnancy. He completely believed that because his side was rational and mine was hormonal he should get the final say.
My opinion of whoever has the uterus makes the final call was completely alien to him. I told him that if he was this against it he should have worn a condom… he said it should have been my responsibility to tell him that abortion makes me uncomfortable (for me! I’m pro choice everyone else).

That said I still really want to message him. I don’t even know why and I’m sitting on my hands.

OP posts:
LemonDrop22 · 22/11/2022 23:51

I caused him stress from lying about the abortion and he missed deadlines and then he got sacked. Well moved to another company. That’s his account of it anyway

So let me get this right, he both had a heart attack and lost his job due to you lying about having had an abortion (you lied because he was coercing you into one and you wanted to get him off your back but anyway ...).

What else happened due to you lying about having had an abortion? What else can be blamed on it? It sounds like everything that happened in his life from birth til today and ongoing .....

He's full of fkg shit.

If he can't meet deadlines because.hes stressed, he's not v good at dealing with stress. And what job, if you're useful, valued etc sacks you for missing a small number of deadlines? None that I know of, other than perhaps 6 figure investment banking m.. even then.

His heart attack dud not happen because he was shocked or stressed about finding out you'd lied about having an abortion..... If people not prone to heart attacks had them due to a bit of shock or stress, a&e would have a line of heart attack victims stretching as far as the eye could see in every hospital.

People go through incredible stresses and don't have heart attacks.

Dies he have a predisposition, a family history, some structural issue (print why he's having surgery).

He's blaming you for literally everything.

If he crossed the road and got hot by a vehicle while you were not there, and not involved in any way ... He'd blame you.

LemonDrop22 · 22/11/2022 23:52

*prob why he's having surgery

LemonDrop22 · 22/11/2022 23:52

I've read about some fucked up, nasty pieces of work on this forum .... And your ex is making the podium.

LemonDrop22 · 22/11/2022 23:54

To he abortion coercion was disgusting .... However, having read just what you've posted here, it has the advantage of you not being tied to this madman indefinitely. Subjected to.him as a coparent - he would be crazy and controlling and abusive. He would cause parental alienation, he would be unstable and untrustworthy and abusive as a father.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:56

He has had a hole in his heart from birth. He was on a work trip when he called and I came clean about not having the abortion. He started shouting, got stressed. Then started saying he couldn’t see, his arm was hurting etc. Anyway he called an ambulance. I heard the ambulance arrive as his phone was hooked to the car.
He says the stress caused the hole to tear or something and the surgery was to put a silicone patch over it. I’m not medical so if anybody is and knows if this is feasible I’d be interested.

OP posts:
LemonDrop22 · 22/11/2022 23:58

he said it should have been my responsibility to tell him that abortion makes me uncomfortable

So he sees abortion as a form of contraception .... I fucking detest people like him.

Anyway, nah - if he thinks you're going to use abortion as contraception, he should have checked you were ok with that.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:58

The heart attack, surgery, losing the job which he claims to love, the new job that he quit, his house, his cat, a good few of his friends… all my fault for lying about the abortion.

OP posts:
LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:00

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:56

He has had a hole in his heart from birth. He was on a work trip when he called and I came clean about not having the abortion. He started shouting, got stressed. Then started saying he couldn’t see, his arm was hurting etc. Anyway he called an ambulance. I heard the ambulance arrive as his phone was hooked to the car.
He says the stress caused the hole to tear or something and the surgery was to put a silicone patch over it. I’m not medical so if anybody is and knows if this is feasible I’d be interested.

I'm not either, no idea.

But at the end of the day, he could have equal or greater stress or which from any number of events.

And the reason you lied was because he was coercing you into an abortion.

So I'll take a leaf from his book and say .... He caused it himself.

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:00

*stress or shock

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:01

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:58

The heart attack, surgery, losing the job which he claims to love, the new job that he quit, his house, his cat, a good few of his friends… all my fault for lying about the abortion.

His cat??!!

Wtf.

Readaboutyourself · 23/11/2022 00:01

He quit his established, well paying job because there was travelling involved and it was making the relationship difficult. He signed his house over to his ex wife for nothing so he’d be free of her. He had nowhere else to go and made himself practically homeless in the process.

OP, imagine a friend telling you this. It’s all illogical.

I bet my house on none of it being the full story.

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:02

losing the job which he claims to love

They clearly didn't love him if they sacked him for missing a few deadlines when he was experiencing heart problems.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 23/11/2022 00:02

Oh and I also get blamed because I’ve ruined his first experience of fatherhood apparently. This is a big one to him. Now he’s always going to remember what could have been his first child as a big lie and he can’t get that back according to him. I have pointed out this makes no sense as he didn’t want it but it falls on deaf ears.

OP posts:
Readaboutyourself · 23/11/2022 00:05

Namechangedforthis12456 · 22/11/2022 23:28

That’s the other issue, he’s always made these big claims (like the heart attack) but he can always prove them. He really has had a heart attack and he really has had heart surgery for it.

He really did sign away his house and he really did quit his job. He proved both because I didn’t believe him.

I always felt he was lying about what his work involved but again he could prove it.

Ditto other big claims. There’s something extremely off and odd about the guy. That’s been niggling me since the beginning.

I’m concerned because he really does believe that I’m still pregnant and I know I haven’t heard the last of it. He wants proof but I’ve given him all the proof I have.

Why are you concerned about giving him proof of anything?

What do you think will happen next?

manova366 · 23/11/2022 00:05

To answer the question in your heading OP, you won't be able to start getting past this emotional abuse while you're still in contact with this man.

First step is cut all contact. Block him. If he keeps contacting you, report his harassing phone calls to police. Speak to Women's Aid.
Stop wondering why he's like he is and stop trying to distinguish truth from lies. Just assume everything he says is designed to manipulate your emotions. It really doesn't matter what's true and what isn't. (apart from factual stuff like it's not a bloody crime to tell a lie ffs! Just check on stuff like that with the collective wisdom here, and LISTEN TO THE POSTERS HERE.).
this guy sounds extremely dangerous, you need to get away from him.

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:05

He signed his house over to his ex wife for nothing so he’d be free of her.

Yeah, this in particular..... Nah.

He's shown himself to be very ruthless, cold, hard nosed, domineering etc in his coercion of the abortion.... He's shown himself to be v good at blaming his partner for everything & anything. He's shown himself to be a not very nice person (understatement) .... But he just gave away significant equity/money he was entitled to, to "get rid" of his ex wife.

Not buying it.

And from his behaviour, I'd say it wasn't him who got rid of his ex wife, bit the opposite.

He's a disaster area.

honeylulu · 23/11/2022 00:06

He's blaming you for all sorts of crap to punish you for not "obeying" him in the first place.

How very ... convenient that he had a "heart attack" and ambulance attendance ... all while you were at the end of the telephone line.

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:07

Namechangedforthis12456 · 23/11/2022 00:02

Oh and I also get blamed because I’ve ruined his first experience of fatherhood apparently. This is a big one to him. Now he’s always going to remember what could have been his first child as a big lie and he can’t get that back according to him. I have pointed out this makes no sense as he didn’t want it but it falls on deaf ears.

He could have had fatherhood if he hadn't coerced his ex gf into an abortion.

Energetically and indefatigably coerced. Above and beyond.

LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:10

Namechangedforthis12456 · 23/11/2022 00:02

Oh and I also get blamed because I’ve ruined his first experience of fatherhood apparently. This is a big one to him. Now he’s always going to remember what could have been his first child as a big lie and he can’t get that back according to him. I have pointed out this makes no sense as he didn’t want it but it falls on deaf ears.

I doubt you're the first woman he's coerced into an abortion.

Given his attitude that it's a viable form of contraception and him not wearing condoms because he thinks it there as a back up/solution (and that a woman should loudly proclaim she's not all chilled with that before having sex).

I doubt that's his first rodeo on that front.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 23/11/2022 00:11

Nothing about him makes sense. I honestly do believe he signed his house away. For one I saw the solicitor emails and two he once drove four hours to Cornwall just to get a pasty. He’s quite erratic as a person.

There was more to quitting the job. He didn’t like the travelling conditions and it wasn’t the easiest job. I know that wasn’t for me regardless of what he says.

OP posts:
LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:12

Now he’s always going to remember what could have been his first child as a big lie and he can’t get that back according to him.

I'm not getting this.... He pursued, indeed coerced abortion from start to finish, you lied tomgibe yourself breathing space because of the coercion; wtf is he talking about?

He's not sane.

Namechangedforthis12456 · 23/11/2022 00:12

Apparently he used the pull out method successfully with his ex wife for fourteen years. The mind boggles.

OP posts:
LemonDrop22 · 23/11/2022 00:13

That said I still really want to message him. I don’t even know why and I’m sitting on my hands.

Trauma bonding?