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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 truly doesn't see it. I am done

75 replies

somanylaststraws · 20/09/2023 17:53

I have been married for 25 years and have 3 children, one in college, one teen and one 6 year old. I work full time, so does he.

I do what he like to call "the admin stuff", otherwise known as everything needed to run a family. A life.

I do everything regarding school for the children: all parents evenings, all commincations, all apps, all projects, all payments, all admin. I buy the uniforms and the shoes and the bags and the books and the pens. I sign every form and make every decision.
I do every dr and dentist and optician and hospital appt (one child has quite a lot of these). I do all medications and management and decisions.
I do all birthday presents, xmas presents, birthday parties, treats. For our children and his large extended family. I plan book and organise every holiday, every flight, every trip or activity, every weekend. I pack for everyone. Anything fun I organise, down to playing a board game of an evening or a cinema trip.
I buy all the kids clothes, shoes, electronics, toiletries, anything they need. I organise haircuts. I do their bus passes, canteen cards, phone contracts, xbox gamepass their pocket money. I monitor their phone use and online presence.
I pay the bills, do the taxes, manage the money, I budget, I save.
I do the house, I bought and assembled every piece of furniture myself, I put up shelves and mirrors and curtain rails and pictures. I chose it all and I bought it all and I built it all.
I stay in touch with his family and I cook for them and host them and buy his mothers/siblings/neices and nephews birthday and xmas and so on gifts.

I do most of the shopping, most of the cooking, most of the cleaning.
He won't learn to do his daughters hair so I have to style it every day, he can't do a straight ponytail. I organise everything for everyone, all the time.

He does 75% of the laundry and mows the lawn (except when I do it) and reads to the youngest child at night. He cooks easy food once or twice a week and does a small bit of housework. He says he pulls his weight just fine and that he works harder (my job hsa a lot more responsibility than his and I work overtime too) He does not understand what I am complaining about.

I can't take the responsibility of it anymore. I don't get any gratitude, its all minimised and expected. He always has someone to rely on, who do I have? No-one. I don't get any affection either most of the time, he says we've drifted apart but really that means I ahev stopped meekly accepting that in order for things to be ok I have not ever have any feelings and just pretend everything is ok. Everyting is my responsibiluty.

I want him to go but I don't want to be alone. I'm too old to start again and I'll be poor anyway on one salary. he says he has nowhere to go and this is his home anyway and I can't make him.

No idea why I'm writing any of this. It might not make sense.

OP posts:
Eyesopenwideawake · 20/09/2023 17:54

Why don't you want to be on your own?

SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth · 20/09/2023 17:57

Stop doing it/much of it.

His family would be a good place to start as there is no reason you should know their birthdays etc better than him.

Or the age old spreadsheet. Day by day month by month...

myNewName21 · 20/09/2023 17:59

ease back and just stop doing things, especially for his family

Ofcourseshecan · 20/09/2023 18:01

It makes perfect sense OP, and I feel for you.

Have you tried offering to swap roles? Not a real solution, just to try and open his eyes. He’d make a huge mess of everything, and you’d have a lot to put right, but he’d soon see what you’re talking about.

Otherwise, sorry, I have no words of wisdom. Best of luck.

thatwassociopathic · 20/09/2023 18:01

You're not done then. When you're done, you'll know it.

Dacadactyl · 20/09/2023 18:03

Have you tried drawing up a list of stuff that he now has to do? And then leaving him to it?

If he really doesn't buck his ideas up. I would be off like a SHOT.

If I had a man who needed me to work full time AND then expected me to do all domestic chores, I'd laugh in his face. If he wants me to be a housewife, he better earn enough for me to be able to do it!

Hotsaucegal · 20/09/2023 18:03

Sounds awful but to be honest very hard to change these behaviours now. Totally accept that you are angry (I would be too). However, might be better when communicating with him to explain that it makes you sad rather than just cross- men seem to feel worse about and more responsive to causing sadness than frustration (which tends to elicit defensiveness rather than anything else).

Theeyeballsinthesky · 20/09/2023 18:09

I want him to go but I don't want to be alone.

the thing is lovely, to all intents and purposes you are alone. Oh yes he’s physically there but he’s not emotionally there is he? He’s not supporting you, working with you, loving you, caring for and about you.

when my mum left my dad, she said to me that being lonely in a marriage is worse than being by yourself because at least if you’re on your own you don’t expect anyone to be helping you

Freezingcoldinseptember · 20/09/2023 18:11

Well first step is quit being his family gift provider. .. They get nowt? His fault.

I do similarly everything but 3 or the 4 dc aren't dh's so I feel I should.. We have no other family so way off the scale of your dw work.

Back away from being responsible for him. He is a grown up.

Gymmum82 · 20/09/2023 18:15

Firstly stop buying and organising shit for his family. Stop keeping in touch with them. Completely back off that. That’s the easy part. Then start laying more jobs on him until they become his jobs.
If you keep doing it all you will continue doing it all. So stop

GodDammitCecil · 20/09/2023 18:20

You are being a bit of a martyr, OP.

I don’t mean that harshly. But there are things on that list you don’t need to be doing.

His family, for starters. If he wants to get them gifts, he can do so. If he doesn’t, why are you feeling so obliged?

NorthCliffs · 20/09/2023 18:24

Just show him your OP, and see what his response is?

80s · 20/09/2023 18:25

when my mum left my dad, she said to me that being lonely in a marriage is worse than being by yourself because at least if you’re on your own you don’t expect anyone to be helping you
That was my experience too.

Agree that there seem to be quite a few things you could say you don't have time to do so he'll have to do it.

Maray1967 · 20/09/2023 18:27

Agreed. Make it clear that he is doing Christmas for his side - and STICK TO IT. You can issue a couple of reminders but you must be prepared to go through with it. Mine had to do a hasty shop when he realised I was serious.
Don’t martyr yourself. Mine hold me to stop doing that in relation to church activities. Thing is, I like the activities. I decided not to martyr myself with his side’s Christmas gifts instead.

NoSquirrels · 20/09/2023 18:30

You resent him. That’s toxic to a marriage.

If you genuinely do not want to be alone/without him, then you need to make steps to rectify the resentment- couples counselling, so he can properly ‘hear’ you? If he won’t do that, leave.

Maybe you’ll be poorer. But I bet you’ll be happier in the end.

NoSquirrels · 20/09/2023 18:36

He does 75% of the laundry and mows the lawn (except when I do it) and reads to the youngest child at night. He cooks easy food once or twice a week and does a small bit of housework.

If he did 100% of the housework and the laundry, and 50% of the cooking and food shopping, in return for you being 100% responsible for family management (and 50% of the cooking & food shopping) would that be enough? I’m guessing not because you say

I can't take the responsibility of it anymore. I don't get any gratitude, its all minimised and expected.

You need to drill down into the specifics of what you need. Do you want him to do more ‘admin’ or do you want him to just appreciate you more. Is there a trade-off that would make you happier (as above) or is it the emotional side of things you really need from him?

BOOTS52PollyPrissyPants · 20/09/2023 19:20

You poor thing I am exhausted after just reading all of that. He needs to be able to sit down with you and talk calmly, have a list wrote out of what he does (short list) and all that you do as he probably does not even realize or care that you do it all and tell him things have to change as you are just sick of it now. It is far too much for one person and you should be a team and to help make each other's lives easier, but he sounds selfish and has got away with it all for too long and now does not want to pick up the slack. Know a woman like this that she started off doing everything and now is still doing everything years on and is soo annoyed at it and once when she was ill asked him to get medicine for her at chemist and he came back and threw it at her and no empathy or affection for her because she was ill which meant he might actually have to do something. Also make a new list and have jobs he can also do. Also check out what you would or may be entitled to if you did split if you were just on your wage as you may be surprised financially how you may not be so bad off. Is there anyway you could get away for even a night or two by yourself to just unwind and let him see how much there is to do or would you come back to a mess. I really feel for you but he needs to pull his weight as resentment builds up and tell him he will be leaving unless he changes his ways and you mean it. You can make the changes as you are doing it all yourself anyway. You are not his maid and he needs to realize this.

BOOTS52PollyPrissyPants · 20/09/2023 19:22

Good advise from NoSquirrels above.

Zanatdy · 20/09/2023 19:27

So many women are martyrs - they just do it all without complaint then erupt now and then. I was one of them. You need to put your foot down, make a list, use this and put all these things on one line and expand on them. Ask him to tick which ones he does. Then when he see’s it tell him you’re leaving if things don’t change, and make sure you stick to that. Otherwise nothing changes. I’ve been single over 12yrs, yes I do it all, but I’ve got no resentment now and 3yrs off my youngest of 3 going off to Uni etc. I never feel lonely

Lorelaigilmore88 · 20/09/2023 19:29

Sounds like you are basically a single parent in all but name. I doubt very much anything will change after 25 years of being together. I suppose it depends on whether you do actually want to be on your own and accept the subsequent changes to the children's situation, money etc..
My Dh was useless. Two children and he never even changed a nappy. He moved out and i was happier for it. Its hard on your own but we live our lives how we want and i don't live with daily resentment of a useless DH.

Onetwothreefour1234 · 20/09/2023 19:29

I agree fully with @Theeyeballsinthesky

I could literally have written your post @somanylaststraws 3 years ago. I am lonely to an extent on my own, we have 50/50 split with the children. I still take on all the responsibility of the kids and myself but I’m no longer his babysitter / secretary/ mum!! But…. Life is so much easier and relaxed now.

It’s a so much better sometimes lonely than being in a lonely marriage and I now have hope. Before it was sheer resentment… all the time. My mental health WAS at rock bottom

arethereanyleftatall · 20/09/2023 19:39

Why don't you want to be alone? Reframe it. Im single, with teens, and I don't find it lonely one bit, I find it bliss, peaceful, freedom utter bliss. I dance round my house singing at the top of my voice, it's wonderful; nothing to be scared of there.

GoryBory · 20/09/2023 19:39

I want him to go but I don't want to be alone. I'm too old to start again and I'll be poor anyway on one salary.

These are awful reasons to stay with someone.

He can’t be that bad if you don’t want him to go just because you don’t want to be alone/too poor/too old.

You obviously don’t want to separate and have no intention of doing so which is fine but claiming that you want to leave him and then not isn’t actually helping you.

You’re fed up that you do all of the admin so pass some of it over to him. Tell him to sort X, Y, Z and you’ll sort the rest.

Or tell him to do it all and you mow the lawn etc instead.

unsync · 20/09/2023 19:45

Stop doing his stuff. You are already on your own. You have the worst of all worlds cushioned by a double income. It's no way to live, unless you are ok with it, which you admit you are not. What do you want to do about it?

Mojoj · 20/09/2023 19:46

Stop. Just stop. You're a doormat that he's got used to wiping his feet on. Look after you and your kids. And that's it. No more.