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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

Boyfriend moody when he doesn’t get sex

141 replies

BourbonBiscuit555 · 04/02/2024 11:00

Boyfriend and I have been together 2 years, we’re an hour apart so we generally see each other every weekend. Since fairly early on into the relationship we’ve had issues with sex. My partner would be very happy to have sex multiple times a day, every day, if he could. For me this is too much, I’m content with a few times a week, sometimes more sometimes less.

The issue I have is that on the days I’m not in the mood for sex, my boyfriend will become very grumpy - gives me the silent treatment, turns away from me in bed and starts claiming that the relationship is falling apart etc. he’ll generally be like this until I cave or am next in the mood, then everything is suddenly fine. I’ve tried to tell him numerous times that sometimes I’m just too tired, I work a stressful job and am a lone parent to my daughter as well as studying, it’s nothing personal towards him. He however can’t get his head around this, he says he can’t understand how I wouldn’t want to rip his clothes off after not seeing him all week, tells me that me rejecting him is super damaging to his mental health etc etc. He likes to tell me that he’s never had this with anyone before and essentially can’t understand how I can simply not want to have sex with him.

I’m at a lose end with it because no matter how much I tell him I’m just simply not in the mood some days, he will listen and claims he understands, but when it next happens he then goes into these moods again. The more I feel pressured into it, the more it turns me off and it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle.

I don’t think we’ve ever gone without sex for more than a week. On the days I don’t want sex, I tell him I’m happy to pleasure him in other ways but he then tells me he doesn’t want that as he can do it himself - he only wants sex. I can’t bear the moods, it’s making me dread getting into bed with him.

AIBU here? Am I being out of order for not wanting to rip his clothes off after not seeing him for a week?

OP posts:
Notamum12345577 · 04/02/2024 15:43

BourbonBiscuit555 · 04/02/2024 11:00

Boyfriend and I have been together 2 years, we’re an hour apart so we generally see each other every weekend. Since fairly early on into the relationship we’ve had issues with sex. My partner would be very happy to have sex multiple times a day, every day, if he could. For me this is too much, I’m content with a few times a week, sometimes more sometimes less.

The issue I have is that on the days I’m not in the mood for sex, my boyfriend will become very grumpy - gives me the silent treatment, turns away from me in bed and starts claiming that the relationship is falling apart etc. he’ll generally be like this until I cave or am next in the mood, then everything is suddenly fine. I’ve tried to tell him numerous times that sometimes I’m just too tired, I work a stressful job and am a lone parent to my daughter as well as studying, it’s nothing personal towards him. He however can’t get his head around this, he says he can’t understand how I wouldn’t want to rip his clothes off after not seeing him all week, tells me that me rejecting him is super damaging to his mental health etc etc. He likes to tell me that he’s never had this with anyone before and essentially can’t understand how I can simply not want to have sex with him.

I’m at a lose end with it because no matter how much I tell him I’m just simply not in the mood some days, he will listen and claims he understands, but when it next happens he then goes into these moods again. The more I feel pressured into it, the more it turns me off and it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle.

I don’t think we’ve ever gone without sex for more than a week. On the days I don’t want sex, I tell him I’m happy to pleasure him in other ways but he then tells me he doesn’t want that as he can do it himself - he only wants sex. I can’t bear the moods, it’s making me dread getting into bed with him.

AIBU here? Am I being out of order for not wanting to rip his clothes off after not seeing him for a week?

He isn’t happy with a few times a week?! He should wait until he is married with kids, he would love to be doing it a few times a week then. Maybe once a month! 🤣

SaunteringOnBy · 04/02/2024 15:48

The issue I have is that on the days I’m not in the mood for sex, my boyfriend will become very grumpy - gives me the silent treatment, turns away from me in bed and starts claiming that the relationship is falling apart etc. he’ll generally be like this until I cave or am next in the mood, then everything is suddenly fine

This is a form of emotional abuse.
You are with an abuser.

It is a form of coerced sexual activity, coerced sexual activity is a form of non consensual sex, non consensual sex is rape.

https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/other-types/sexual-coercion#:~:text=Sexual%20coercion%20is%20unwanted%20sexual,%2C%20landlord%2C%20or%20a%20boss.

SaunteringOnBy · 04/02/2024 15:54

Wearing you down... By silent treatment, moods etc. Telling you the relationship is in trouble..

Enthusiastic consent is the only consent. Anything else is nonconsenting sex

Boyfriend moody when he doesn’t get sex
Frisate · 04/02/2024 15:55

Your boyfriend is trying to coerce you into having sex with him by making you believe there’s something wrong with you. He’s refusing to see you as someone with wants and needs, instead seeing you as someone who exists to please him. Your OPs are full of red flags, I’m really really sorry you’re going through this. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, he’s the problem. Please prioritise yourself, you deserve better than being someone’s sex doll.

Parentofeanda · 04/02/2024 16:00

so he wants to emotionally blackmail you into giving in. Funny how they don't see that its basically rape.
Your only consenting under Duress. They are disgusting pigs.

jhy · 04/02/2024 16:05

You see him EVERY OTHER WEEKEND. It's only normal to want to cram it in someway. If you didn't do it one week, it would then be a month since sex and that is a long time for a relationship.
I do think the bigger picture is, if you were to live with him he would expect it more, so probably not compatible.

Feelingslightlyuneasy · 04/02/2024 16:07

OP I have been in this situation with my ex husband.
He would have sex 10 times a day, if he could, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
As the years went by, I would dread going to bed as he would make me feel so uncomfortable with his constant requests. If I told him I didn’t want to he would call me frigid, or tell me there was something wrong with me.

He would often come home and read me an article he had seen that day which explained why women didn’t want to have sex or a story about a marriage breakdown because the wife went off sex.

In times that I wanted to have sex, he would discuss what we would be doing beforehand, and if he wasn’t satisfied it was enough or didn’t include something he wanted to do, he would say he didn’t want to do anything.

I have woken up before, with him wanking in bed next to me. This was on holiday and his son was asleep the other side of him in a separate bed.

And it was me with the issue apparently…

Anyhow, this will not get better and he will not change. He will just make you doubt yourself more, make you not want to be around him and dread bedtime.

You deserve a man who will treat you with respect and have mutually wanted sex, you be able to have a cuddle without it being an invitation to touch you or feel it is a come on.

He won’t change, is abusive and will make you more and more unhappy. Leave now.

Klcak · 04/02/2024 16:08

get rid of this sex pest

Channellingsophistication · 04/02/2024 16:26

He’s coercing you, making you feel bad and that’s not right. Is he going to behave like that every time he doesnt get what he wants?

Pinkbonbon · 04/02/2024 16:46

This is called coercive control. Which by the way, is actually a crime in parts of the UK.

Abusers like to say 'everyone else thinks...' and 'no other women before you has had a problem with...'. All encompassing statements to make you feel like you're wrong to essentially, want bodily autonomy.

Your needs and feelings are valid. If you don't want sex then no means no.

It's not ok for him to sulk or guilt or mindfuck you into it.

Dump this bully. Fast. And never go back.
Abusers do not change. Run!

Pinkbonbon · 04/02/2024 16:51

And oh gosh do not move in with him!
Sounds like he's pushing to move in so he can control you more.

Read up continually throughout your life on how to spot abusers and abuse.

He's demonstrating huge red flags and I suspect there are more you are overlooking already on display.

Stay safe.
He's a wrong'un.

ZekeZeke · 04/02/2024 16:51

jhy · 04/02/2024 16:05

You see him EVERY OTHER WEEKEND. It's only normal to want to cram it in someway. If you didn't do it one week, it would then be a month since sex and that is a long time for a relationship.
I do think the bigger picture is, if you were to live with him he would expect it more, so probably not compatible.

They see each other every weekend not every other weekend.
Your description of cramming it in is disgusting. But I'm guessing you are male?

TeaGinandFags · 04/02/2024 17:02

The smiling no test is when you say no to someone with a smile. It tells you all you need to know about that person. He has already failed that.

Ignore the BS about a man's "needs" and focus on your needs. Do you need to put up with an overgrown stroppy toddler? Would you accept this behaviour from your own children?

As for sexual stimulation, I can guarantee that he masturbates a lot. He is an avid porn user. All he sees you as is a free seminal spitoon.

Show yourself the respect you deserve and dump this creep. The second ypu have to turn yourself inside out to accommodate another point of view is the minute you should realise that manipulation is happening.

If you're not sure think of how you'd deal with your toddler behaving that way. Then send him back to his momma to be dealt with.

porridgeisbae · 04/02/2024 17:03

Please bin him @BourbonBiscuit555 . I hate this type of man. There are men who are not like this. Even being single and free of the nagging etc is better, believe me.

TwylaSands · 04/02/2024 17:05

It is absolutely sexual coercion.

do you still find him attractive even after this unattractive and quite frankly rapey behaviour?

you dont have to stay with him.

end it. Say it is clear you want different things and as he is disrespectful to your choices, it is time to move on.

then block him.

awful man.

SpringleDingle · 04/02/2024 17:06

I see my boyf on the weekend and have a high sex drive and we don’t have sex every time we get together. Sometimes I am too exhausted, feel unwell etc.. Sometimes he is ill or not interested. It’s totally normal and he should be treating you with love, care and compassion particularly if you’ve had a shit week and don’t want to do the jiggy jiggy. I’d dump his miserable sex pesty arse!

TwylaSands · 04/02/2024 17:07

BourbonBiscuit555 · 04/02/2024 13:24

See I do understand him being upset if/when I’m not in the mood after not seeing him all week, but I also can’t physically force myself if I’m not in the mood or physically too tired. The issue is he can’t see how I can turn it down as when he’s tired, he still likes to have sex. He says he’s not horny all week and when he sees me, he’s super horny and can’t keep his hands off etc. He just can’t understand how I’m not the same and believes it must be a problem with me because if I fancied him I would surely want to have sex with him all the time. To me, there’s other ways of showing this.

He claims it would be ok if we lived together because he wouldn’t expect it everyday, and apparently he gets like it because we only see each other weekends. But, when we’ve been away together for a week and a couple days I haven’t been in the mood, it all starts up again.

Thats an awful lot of excuses as to why he wont take no for an answer when it comes to sex. He will not accept when you say no to sex. Say that out loud and really think about what that means for a future with him.

Gettingbysomehow · 04/02/2024 17:09

For God's sake get rid of him. I was with a man like this for 20 years and didn't realise how seriously this behaviour got me down until the day I snapped and attempted suicide.
Luckily I failed but it changed nothing so I ditched him. I am so much happier now. I only wish to God I had left sooner. It will wear you down bit by bit until there is nothing of you left. Men like this are pigs.

Piousbirdofgoodomen · 04/02/2024 17:19

ZekeZeke · 04/02/2024 13:39

Don't listen to that tripe it's because you are so gorgeous/sexy..he can't keep his hands off you bollix to that. A loving partner doesn't behave this way. What if you are ill? Pregnant (God forbid) have surgery etc is he going to be there for you like a normal loving partner would be?
OP are you paying any attention to what EVERY poster is saying to you?

I've gotten as far as this excellent post and I can't keep reading when the OP seems to be defending his actions.

Dear OP, you say you have a daughter, would you be happy with a man who treated her like this?! Would you defend this kind of behavior then.

Please dump his ass, he is not a good partner. He is vile.

useitorlose · 04/02/2024 17:21

I was married to someone who behaved like that. It is coercive and a form of sexual abuse if it escalates. Don't let that happen to you.

80s · 04/02/2024 17:23

jhy · 04/02/2024 16:05

You see him EVERY OTHER WEEKEND. It's only normal to want to cram it in someway. If you didn't do it one week, it would then be a month since sex and that is a long time for a relationship.
I do think the bigger picture is, if you were to live with him he would expect it more, so probably not compatible.

They see each other every weekend and have never gone more than a week without sex.

Comtesse · 04/02/2024 17:31

Why is what he wants more important than what you want? He is manipulative and No Good.

Emily1583 · 04/02/2024 17:39

Sounds like you have hooked yourself a Chad/Tyrone.

TotalAbsenceOfImperialRaiment · 04/02/2024 17:53

Well, he can find someone else to have sex with, can't he? Or maybe buy himself a blow-up doll.