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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

Am I wrong for finding my boyfriends partner irritating as hell!

45 replies

Poppet626 · 20/03/2024 16:13

Hi.

So I really try to like my boyfriends mum because she has a good heart, she's kind, present, and just a good person basically but little things about her make me feel really unable to tolerate her.

Here are just a few examples...

When me and my boyfriend got together, I lived in a studio flat, after so long he moved in there for a while with me before we got a bigger place, I had had countless problems with this flat including rodents, damp, etc etc. so when I left I refused to do a deep clean, I emptied it but as they never sorted my issues I kept telling them about I refused to spend hours cleaning it when I was living in a flat that smelt like dead rodents for months on end. When we were leaving I mentioned this to her and she said I should clean it, I said that I wasn't going to and explained my reasoning why. The next day my partner had given her a key to pick up some of his stuff while she was at work and she took it upon herself to clean the flat. I know this came from a completely good place and it was kind of her to do so but I felt like she completely overstepped, it was my studio flat that I was living in before her son even came into my life and I was standing my ground by not doing a deep clean for a reason that she just ignored.

Secondly, she calls and texts my boyfriend every day all day, and I know that's not weird within itself but it's literally for no reason other than to ask him what he's up too, what he's watching on tv or having for dinner, or to pester him about messaging his cousins to meet up and to have them round our house, sometimes we will sit down together in the evening with dinner and she will just call and I feel like I'm sat there sharing the evening with my partner and she just doesn't see any sort of boundary? If he doesn't answer her texts because he's sleeping or out with his friends she will contact me to ask if he's okay. Baring in mind he's thirty.

Thirdly, we once had a drunken argument and it got pretty heated to the point he left the house to give it space and he obviously told her about it which is fine because I know we all need someone to vent to other than our SO but she then turned up to our flat, to talk to me, I explained to her what happened and both of our parts in it and all she could do was say things like well 'he said you did this or he said it's your fault!!' As if to just come round and lecture me about it. I felt like a complete child.

Lastly, my boyfriend recently turned veggie. I am vegan and have been for 7 years so way before we got together, so obviously I influenced him but I in no way forced him to do this ATALL. If my partner wants to eat meat that's on them, I was so laid back towards it that I even made him meat sandwiches for lunch. But a few weeks ago they were in a shop together and he was picking things up for veggie based salads for work and she said to him 'you do know that you're allowed to eat what you want'. This annoyed the hell out of me!! As if she was saying I was controlling him and making him do it!! He told her it was his choice and she just said 'oh'.

I said lastly but one more thing.. and I am probably just massively overthinking this but for his birthday I wanted to take him on a city break so I took him to amsterdam, she wanted to chip in half for his 30th which of course is completely fine and much appreciated. But then when me and her were discussing his birthday I said I'd also give him €100 to take with him. She said oh okay well so will I then, then turns up on his birthday with that and a £100 coat, it's fine, he is her son but I felt abit like she was trying to have one up on me??? Like I said I could be completely over thinking that part.

Anyway the bottom line is, she just really annoys me and I feel mean for even saying it but I can't help how I feel. We are planning for a baby soon and I feel like she will irritate me even more during that. She constantly messages him telling him to text family members or invite them over, including his drug addict father who he has CHOSEN not to speak to, saying make sure you text him tonight to thank him for a birthday card!! I know it's not even my business but when she babies him that much it also makes me feel like a child. He loves his mum clearly and I would never want to get between them but I feel sometimes like she makes me feel like the other woman, as silly as that sounds.

It might be worth mentioning that my mum died three years ago and I could also be somewhat bitter that I don't have a mum anymore, but my feelings are my feelings I guess :/

OP posts:
DrJoanAllenby · 20/03/2024 18:56

Timothy Lumsden springs has to mind.

Tell him that you like his mum but that you cannot continue with her being so involved and certainly cannot contemplate having children with him until the situation changes.

DrJoanAllenby · 20/03/2024 18:57
%3D%3D
Noseybookworm · 20/03/2024 19:01

She sounds way too involved in your life! You need to make it very clear to your partner that you find her constant interference unbearable and he needs to step up and tell her to back off. It will only get worse when you have a child. You will have to set some boundaries and enforce them firmly. She will get the hump but that's not your problem. I wouldn't have explained to her what happened during your argument, I would have told her to mind her own business. And I wouldn't have involved her in your birthday plans for him either!

Stuckinthemiddle7890 · 20/03/2024 19:14

Op you keep saying , this is fine, that's perfectly fine and so on but can I say and I mean this in a nice way to you (my anger is at these men and their mums) but it really isn't fine. The mother has control issues and your boyfriend seems to enable this. I don't care if you was in the wrong in the argument or if you wasn't. It's your private argument and he actually shouldn't vent to his mum about you I disagree with you. Added to the fact she came round to put you in your place.!!! Erm sorry no , she should be telling her son to go home and resolve things with you. how would your bf like this the other way? Also calling and texting your grown child who is in a relationship to the point that you can't even sit down to your dinner is not reasonable behaviour. Op th3se types of mils don't stop unless their sons put them in their places. I suffered for years at the hands of my mil, same types of issues, things only changed once we got to the point we were going to divorce and hubby changed completely and delivered some how truths to mil ( I'm not saying your bf has to be this harsh but our situation had got so bad it got to a point she was told in a very harsh way) and only then did I get some respect. Speak up now and be secure in your feelings and the red flags you see!

2024istheyearforme · 20/03/2024 20:59

Oh man i thought i was about to read some juicy drama about your boyfriends partner :( Dangit!

Cireclesse · 20/03/2024 21:12

I have a 30 year old son. I cannot imagine under any circumstances going round to see his partner after they'd had a row! Absolutely none of my business.

I do text my ds most days but tbf he usually instigates it, and it's usually only 2 or 3 exchanges at most.

Like other posters have said, I'd think very carefully about having a baby with this man. I can forsee endless arguments with his dm over how you're bringing the child up, what you're doing wrong, how she never did that with her son, riding roughshod over your boundaries etc. You need to have a long and detailed conversation with your dp so he gets where you're coming from, and if he's not 100% on board then please think carefully about your future together.

I had the mil from hell but fortunately dh was hugely supportive. The whole experience with her taught me a valuable lesson and made me determined not to be a nightmare mil myself.

Good luck op x

VillageOnSmile · 20/03/2024 21:17

You need boundaries.

Some are boundaries that HE needs to put in place (eg how often they contact each other, comments around food, his b’day etc….).
Some boundaries are things you need to agree on together - because they affect you both - eg him not answering during meal times (something I’d do anyway for anyone else!).

You mentioned that your DP has stopped telling her so much. Maybe you should too (eg for his b’day)

Tbh it sounds like he is an only child and she hasn’t seen him grow up.

Mmhmmn · 20/03/2024 21:56

I sympathise. Think very, very, very hard about whether you really want to have a child with a guy who lets his mother interfere in his and your lives so much. If she feels intolerable to you now, this feeling will multiply by thousands once she’s your child’s grandmother. And you’ll be tied to her for life.

Mmhmmn · 20/03/2024 22:00

And yes agree you need boundaries but more so, he does and that is outside your control. You can’t make him have boundaries with his mother, he has to want and enforce them. Which involves him changing decades of enmeshed mother-son dynamics.

Milkand2sugarsplease · 20/03/2024 22:22

You need a solid conversation about where he stands on this and where that leaves you....

If he's happy with how his relationship with him mum works then there's little you can do other than accept it or walk away.

If he agrees she's overkill then you might have somewhere to go with that - not replying to messages immediately or answering the phone immediately and not giving in to the "sad eyes" treatment should have an effect over time - depends how much he wants it to change. Or even a frank conversation with her to set some boundaries and then stick to them.

As you are at the minute, don't have children with him!! Your life will be hell!!

2024please · 20/03/2024 22:40

Do not, whatever you do have children with this guy.

His mother will not change & if you stick with him, you are signing up to a life playing second fiddle to her.

They are totally enmeshed.
If you ever have medical issues you'd rather keep private - he'll be telling her, I guarantee it. Every time you row, he'll be running to Mummy.
If he can't enforce some boundaries, she will be a thorn in your side for ever.

Think long & hard about staying in this relationship.

MzHz · 21/03/2024 11:57

Run. when you stop running, run some more. Then run. keep running

This man will bring misery into your life. He's not worth it. NOBODY is worth having someone like his mother in your lives.

Hbosh · 21/03/2024 12:06

Please, please do not think about having a child with this man. You're deep in the relationship now, and you haven't realised yet what deep problems you'll end up facing in the future. But it's so much harder to walk away when you share a child with someone.

The problem isn't his mother. It's him.
Because if he had given his mother the proper boundaries in the past, you wouldn't have to!
Basically, he likes it. He likes having his mummy stick up for him in fights. He likes his mummy cleaning up his mess when he's not home and fixing his problems. He likes hearing her all the time and knowing he's her special little boy.
You are always going to be in a relationship with both of them. The only reason he's telling her to take some space now, is because you're bothered by it all (and rightfully so). He has zero desire for this dynamic to change. So in the end, you'll be left frustrated, belittled, and left out when he and his mum/partner make all the important decisions on the rest of your life. And imagine having a child in all this, which will also be her grandchild!

FreeRider · 21/03/2024 12:45

I feel your pain, my partner's late mother was much the same.

In my case however, she really had made my partner (an only child) her 'faux husband'...she really didn't seem to have any idea that it was totally inappropriate. Honestly I know you aren't supposed to speak ill of the dead, but she was as thick as mince.

My partner lived at home for far too long and she used to do EVERYTHING for him...he didn't even make his own bed!

Add in that my partner's father is a horrible homophobic, racist, brexit voting GB News watching right wing nightmare...I really did draw the short straw on 'in-laws' this time!

I've 'solved' the problem by being no contact with them for years. It was the behaviour of FIL that forced me, but to be honest cutting MIL out as well was a relief. However I was in my mid 40s at the time so no children, which made it easier.

Frankly, like other posters have said, I'd be reconsidering the whole relationship. I'd definitely not be having children with this man.

NorthCliffs · 21/03/2024 12:53

Bitty ...

colourfulcrochet · 21/03/2024 12:58

Imagine her telling you what to eat in pregnancy. Or how best to raise your new child. Bottle vs breast. Sleep training. Weaning. Nursery. Vaccines. Overnight stays with nanny. Imagine your partner listening to her instead of you. Because she's more experienced, she means well, she LOVES the baby.

Imagine you finally snapping, 5 years from now, and he chooses his mum over you. Because he will. And on his weekends, his mum will take over childcare and you'll have zero say in any of it, because they are the child's family too.

I've seen scenarios like this play out over and over again here.

CaterhamReconstituted · 21/03/2024 13:05

YANBU. She is overbearing and he is a big baby who needs to cut the apron strings.

Dontbeme · 21/03/2024 13:09

If you have a baby with this man be prepared for his mother to be in the room when you give birth, prepare for her to override every decision you make for your child because she knows best and you "fuss" too much, be prepared for her to call the baby "her" baby, I would just run now to be honest, no man is ever worth this. I have seen it play out time and again.

IncompleteSenten · 21/03/2024 13:13

Do not have a child with him thinking or hoping he will change or his mum will change.

If you choose to stay with him and have a child with him you are choosing to have his mummy on your back for the rest of your life. Well, her life anyway.
Now I don't know about you but I've never loved anyone enough to accept being in a thrupple with their mother.

What about her behaviour and his total acceptance of it makes you believe this will be a good relationship to be in and a good relationship to bring a child into?

MariaLuna · 21/03/2024 13:51

What about her behaviour and his total acceptance of it makes you believe this will be a good relationship to be in and a good relationship to bring a child into?

Well said.

She sounds like a nightmare and I don't understand why he let's her.

Made me think of my relationship with my 32 year old son. Solo mum. Only child.
I've spoken to him once this week. We connect through Whatsapp and sometimes I send a photo and a message and he'll not reply usually for days, doesn't bother me at all. He's coming to visit this weekend. I'll be happy to see him. We get on very well. Can talk about everything. He's not in a relationship at the moment. He's been in 2 long-term relationships, both lovely women. Both welcome here.

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