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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

Marriage or child first - deadlock

284 replies

Tara40Fi · 14/02/2023 23:12

Feel I’m in a deadlock with DP. He knows that I want to get married. He wants us to have a child. Told him 2 years ago that I’d love to have a family with him but I want to get married first. So for the past two years we’re in a deadlock. I wait for him to be ready to set a date for the wedding, he waits for me to be ready to start TTC. I’ve addressed it with him several times, he keeps saying that we can get married ‘eventually’, but isn’t interested in taking next steps. Thing is, I’m turning 40 next month so I really can’t wait much longer to start TTC. I feel I’ve already wasted the past two years and I don’t know how much time I have left realistically to have a baby. So I feel like giving in now and starting to TTC. He’s very happy for us to have a baby and I don’t think he plans to run off at first opportunity given that he really wants to start a family with me, but it’s obvious that he doesn’t want to get married…I think I’ve hold off as long as possible, and given my age I just need to TTC without being married if I ever want a child. I own a flat and have a good job, so at least I would be ok financially. Not sure why I’m posting because there’s no real solution I guess…I’m just frustrated that we had another nice (Valentines Day) dinner with me hinting at marriage and him brushing it off and changing the topic :(

OP posts:
Cinai · 16/02/2024 17:35

I could have written this. I gave in and started TTC when I turned 40. I then got pregnant and we set the date for the wedding. Got married last month.

puddingthehump · 16/02/2024 17:38

ZOMBIE thread from February 2023, only been resurrected to ask the OP what happened.

PoppingTomorrow · 16/02/2024 17:52

I think I will be the default parent for this reason, and probably not be able to work the same hours as I do now.

Do not fall into this without serious thought and planning.

This is probably going to get me ripped to shreds but:
based on your financial positions you are not necessarily better off getting married.
however you do need him to commit financially to making sure that you're not worse off as a result of having a baby with him. That means doing the sums on income and costs for the first, say, 3 years of parenthood. Joint account, him contributing half the cost of maternity and baby stuff, and nursery/childminder, and making up your income, pension contributions, critical illness/life insurance payments when you're on mat leave ( or sharing parental leave). You're especially vulnerable as a freelancer.

Also sit down and have a very practical conversation about how things would work if you had a child - split of housework, childcare etc. How does he see this working? So you know whether you would want to coparent with him if you did get married. Do not assume you have the same values and beliefs about this.

If you want a child with or without this man, and you're confident he is not a toxic influence then you may as well conceive with him. It will be significantly cheaper than IVF. But do not tie yourself to someone who wants a baby mama and wants them to take all of the career/financial risk. And who doesn't value your happiness.

roses321 · 16/02/2024 18:05

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 16/02/2023 19:49

It is blackmail. Not what the op is doing. But saying I aren't putting your name on the birth certificate of the child I am carrying unless you marry me is.

Here is the definition of blackmail you moron.

the action, treated as a criminal offence, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

What posters are actually suggesting here is that the OP provides her shitty partner with a CHOICE.

He's saying: I won't marry you until we have a baby... probably.

She's saying: I want to get married before we have a baby. He changes the subject.
As a result of that, there is a stalemate. One that he KNOWS she will have to make a decision around soon because of oh..... just biology really.

The advice given is that she gives him the CHOICE. So she says "i'm happy TTC without marriage BUT if that happens and we have a baby, your name won't go on the birth certificate". He has the option then. He can say no (like he's been so keen on doing) or he can say ok.

This is not blackmail, it is a negotiation. The person who turned it into a negotiation suprise suprise is the man... because obviously OBVIOUSLY he has to have it his way. She's allowed to be the vessel for his child, but she's not allowed the title of "Wife" until she provides that child... maybe, probably, at some point.

The OP has the right to make her own requests, he doesn't have to accept them however (which we all know, because so far he fucking hasn't has he).

So please explain which bit of this is blackmail and why isn't it blackmail in reverse if he's refusing marriage before she pops one out for him?

I suppose that just because YOU are sat in a high and mighty happy situation with children out of wedlock, you think that everyone else should be cool with taht as well. It appears you have very little ability to consider that not everyone is ok with that the way you are, and not everyone agrees with your way of life - but if it works for you then great, but that isn't what OP wants, and we're helping her, not you, or her shitty partner who I would boot.

Frankly, from a purely economical point of view, I wouldn't bother marrying his sorry ass because I wouldn't want him having rights to my assets (namely my house). I'd protect that for all it was worth. I'd also refuse to add his name to the birth certificate and let him know of that before he dips his wick.... so he was fully informed that should a child result in his 2 minutes of effort to achieve a baby, its name and its parents would be listed as per MY wishes.

Agree with the poster who said piss off to the mens rights hole you came out of.

Codlingmoths · 16/02/2024 21:50

If I wanted to get married, and had a baby with a man who I wasn’t married too, it doesn’t matter how much I loved the man, I would give that baby my last name no matter what. They would have to rush through a law change to make it a criminal offence for a mother to give a baby her last name for the baby to get the man’s name, nothing less would get me to go along with it. ‘You know what I wanted, I’m an unmarried mother giving birth and my baby gets my name. You give birth to one and you can give it your name.’

Codlingmoths · 16/02/2024 21:54

Can you tell us more about how his work isn’t flexible? Because mums all over the planet in inflexible jobs make it flex as someone has to look after the children. My Dh is in construction, you can’t get stuff built without being there and they start early, so I do the dc in the mornings on my own. But he starts late when needed- next week one of the dc has an appt and he is taking them. He finishes a bit early every day to collect the dc, I work too and am not cutting off my career by doing both the drop off and pick up. They are both of our children and we share parenting. We share time off when they are sick, we share cooking and cleaning. Men who want to can.

MrsKeats · 16/02/2024 21:56

Oh the piece of paper argument again Confused
Marriage is a legal contract,

Stormbornform · 16/02/2024 22:46

It's not silly op, listen to your guy. You know this is off. I would leave. Don't waste anymore time with this man. He's not the one for you. Find a man who wants to marry you and respects what is important to you.

Stormbornform · 16/02/2024 22:48

Gut. Not guy! Don't listen to him

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