Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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's lying to me...

69 replies

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 07:49

That's it. I'm not really posting advice. I know what my options are. I think I'm posting more to process, decide and understand. But any feedback would be welcomed.

I've been with my partner for 3 years.

There have been a couple of times when I've suspected he wasn't being completely honest with me. I've not said anything at the time because they haven't really been about important things or it was just that a couple of things didnt quite add up/sit right but there was no proof it was a lie and there would have been no point in saying anything because I'd have looked ridiculous.

I have felt more recently though that the weight of these inconsequential 'white' lies has been building. My experience is that, if someone is willing to lie about stuff that doesn't matter, they are definitely going to lie about stuff that does. I've found myself feeling mistrutful of things he has said. Is that true or just what he's telling me?

Last night was the first time that it was obvious and the 'evidence' was right in front of me. It was a stupid thing to lie about. Small and inconsequential (seemingly) but then, why lie?

I did challenge him on it for the first ttime and he just denied it. If he was telling the truth, he's an idiot and he'd have to think I was also one if he thought I was going to believe it.

We've barely spoken since. My mind is racing with other the other little lies (that I still can't bring up because the moment has passed and I still have no proof) and why he would have felt the need to lie last night. I have no idea what he is thinking but he did deep clean the kitchen last night. It looks phenomenal!

OP posts:
IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 07:51

I think the worst thing is that it has undermined everything for me. How he says he feels, the truths you share about yourself at the start of a relationship, just the little things a partner tells you and you just accept unquestioningly because you trust them.

The lie itself is less important than what it means.

OP posts:
PaminaMozart · 29/06/2024 07:52

Once trust is broken there is no going back.

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 07:56

My boyfriend is exacrly the same and im in a constant battle in my head.

Is it women, drugs, money? What subject is it?

Mine has hidden addiction from me. Doesnt admit who he speaks to. He had a false nail in his hoover the other week. He said it was the previous tennants but thats a lie. But hes been he has had a friend staying over whos also shady. He hasnt been very open aboht when his friends been there.

Ive noticed strange details in his flat more than once. Like a pot noodle in his cupboard when he has always said they are disgusting and he would never eat them. Random towels in his flat that have hotel labels on. Its horrible.

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 07:57

Sorry about my typing errors im rushing about

SweetGingerTea · 29/06/2024 08:00

Trust your instinct.
Do not let him gaslight you

get out of this relationship, it will be far better for your mental health and happiness

FeistyFrankie · 29/06/2024 08:01

You can never trust a liar.

Are you dating my ex??? He’s an ex for a reason - because he lied. Over and over again.

SamW98 · 29/06/2024 08:06

Li a is the biggest dealbreaker for me other than cheating.
I don’t care how small the lie is, if they can tell lies then they can’t be trusted to be honest about anything.

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 08:07

Ive noticed strange details in his flat more than once. Like a pot noodle in his cupboard when he has always said they are disgusting and he would never eat them.

Most of the lies are that level tbh.

So what's the lie? That he's actually a secret pot noodle eater but fears the judgement of others' and so pretends he doesn't? Or that he's got a secret hook up who craves a post coital snack?

You'd sound so petty bringing up - there's a pot noodle in your cupboard. But you said they're disgusting! But you notice it and it's there and it dances around in the back of your mind.

Sorry, to reduce your situation to such crassness but you know what I mean and I'm sure you've had those thoughts yourself.

Because one is just a bit unnecessary and the other is a problem

OP posts:
Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 08:11

Haha yes i know the pot noodle is there because someone else has been round with it. Its not his. So hes not told me when hes had a visitor. So to me hes hiding stuff. It is petty but its because i know he chooses to not tell me things and i dont get why. Unless its a woman thats hes having around i dont get the secret

PaminaMozart · 29/06/2024 08:13

In the long run it's less distressing to get rid of the liar than trying to make sense of the lies.

Didsomeonesaydogs · 29/06/2024 08:16

PaminaMozart · 29/06/2024 08:13

In the long run it's less distressing to get rid of the liar than trying to make sense of the lies.

Amazing quote - love this!

Purpleday1 · 29/06/2024 08:23

Sometimes on MN people will dismiss small lies as no big deal, but long term it is utterly corrosive.
You cannot depend on a single thing they say because they lie so easily.
It gets way way worse when you have children and stress inevitably enters the relationship
They tell you they didn't want to upset you, were trying to protect you.....but bottom line they do it to suit themselves.

When it is a regular occurrence I think it is linked with poor mental health especially if you decide to start challenging it in detail regularly.
Get the hell out would be my advice, compulsive lying hides other deeper issues IMO.

Sweetvalleyhigh1234 · 29/06/2024 08:28

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 07:56

My boyfriend is exacrly the same and im in a constant battle in my head.

Is it women, drugs, money? What subject is it?

Mine has hidden addiction from me. Doesnt admit who he speaks to. He had a false nail in his hoover the other week. He said it was the previous tennants but thats a lie. But hes been he has had a friend staying over whos also shady. He hasnt been very open aboht when his friends been there.

Ive noticed strange details in his flat more than once. Like a pot noodle in his cupboard when he has always said they are disgusting and he would never eat them. Random towels in his flat that have hotel labels on. Its horrible.

@Hellolleh can I ask (not in a judgement way) but why do you still stay with him ? Towels from hotels?

AutumnFroglets · 29/06/2024 08:37

Lies and bs are guaranteed to kill trust and respect and there is never a way to restore that trust, it is gone forever. In their place you will get anger, resentment and questioning of yourself - is it really important when he's sooooo lovely in every other way?

Yes OP. Truth is VERY important in a relationship otherwise it's not really a relationship. It's one person holding another person's reality hostage, and that is no way to live.

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 08:40

Is it women, drugs, money? What subject is it?

OK. I don't know tbh. Out of the three of those, it would only be women. He doesn't take drugs (no evidence at all), and he's very open financially (well, as far as i know!).

Last night's was this. I'm sorry I'm going to have to give so much detail to nonsense tbh! But it's necessary to illustrate how stupid it was.

We met in the pub after work.

Our phones are always face up on the table. He has loud notifications but one didn't go off and I don't know if there was a WA icon because I don't watch his phone.

Anyway, as we stood up to go to the bar, he opened WhatsApp. The top three messages were from his ex wife; my brother (in a group chat we have) and me. I had messaged him half an hour earlier to tell him I was in the pub; my brother had messaged the group chat about 5 mins earlier because his notification sounded and I received it too. His ex wife had messaged within the last 5 mins.

She had messaged to ask if he could remember the name of a place they'd visited years ago (they divorced in 2012).

I have no idea how often they are in contact. I don't really care. She messages a lot and he sometimes replies (although this might also not be true now). They're in more contact at the moment because she's put the marital home on the market (she continued to live there with the children and one is still at home but is moving out so they're selling up). I want to make it clear that I have no problem with this, no issue when he's had to go round to sort house stuff. I have no idea about the nature of these conversations or how often they occur. I also have an ex husband. Sometimes contact is necessary.

But then he said by way of explanation (although none was necessary because I'd stood, waited for him to read his message and said absolutely nothing), "Oh, it's just X." She sent a message 3 days ago and I've only just seen it.

This being the first opportunity I've ever had to call him out on an obvious lie, I said, "No, she sent it now. It's at the top."

He repeated, "She sent it three days ago. But I've only just read it."

I asked him why he was lying to me because l could see it was at the top of the list.

He said he must have got confused. He didn't know when she had sent it because he's muted her notifications (which explained why none had sounded).

I was a bit irritated by the blatant lie at this point and so repeated, 'It was sent in the last 5 mins because my brother messaged you 5 mins ago. Why are you lyjng to me?"

He again denied that he was lying.

I said it was pointless talking to him about anything if he was just going to lie to me. This was about 5.30pm yesterday and we've barely spoken since. I spent the evening in the garden reading.

I'm not at all bothered about his ex wife.
I don't care that she messaged him to ask him the name of a place they went to 25 years ago. I don't care that she messaged when he was with me. I wasn't questioning why his ex wife was messaging but what does bother me is that it was such a completely unnecessary, pointless and blatant lie that served no purpose.

It just points to a pattern of lying that is so habitual and second nature to him that even when the evidence is there in front of me, he'll still lie about it.

That makes me wonder how much of everything is a lie.

OP posts:
SamW98 · 29/06/2024 08:40

Purpleday1 · 29/06/2024 08:23

Sometimes on MN people will dismiss small lies as no big deal, but long term it is utterly corrosive.
You cannot depend on a single thing they say because they lie so easily.
It gets way way worse when you have children and stress inevitably enters the relationship
They tell you they didn't want to upset you, were trying to protect you.....but bottom line they do it to suit themselves.

When it is a regular occurrence I think it is linked with poor mental health especially if you decide to start challenging it in detail regularly.
Get the hell out would be my advice, compulsive lying hides other deeper issues IMO.

Absolutely. It drives me mad when people excuse ‘little white lies’ or ‘fibs’ - no a lie is a lie is a lie.

If someone can lie about small unimportant things then they can certainly lie about the big things.

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 08:41

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 08:11

Haha yes i know the pot noodle is there because someone else has been round with it. Its not his. So hes not told me when hes had a visitor. So to me hes hiding stuff. It is petty but its because i know he chooses to not tell me things and i dont get why. Unless its a woman thats hes having around i dont get the secret

Yeah, I really do get that.

OP posts:
PaminaMozart · 29/06/2024 08:47

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the truth is always easier to remember than lies/fibs/untruths, be they white or any other colour.

So, if someone lies, there will be a reason, and almost always it'll be to protect the liar rather than the person being lied to.

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 08:49

Yes so hes muting her but they get on ok and shes not sending him abusive messages. It seems to me he cant predict her communication and is worried about you finding out. If he hasnt openly said to you. My ex is annoying me with contact so ive muted her and hes not comfy telling you thr content then hes muted it to keep control.

Mine always leaves his phone in the kitchen. Sometimes its in DND!!! I always know when hes replying to someone because he pretends hes struggling to read an email and his foots shaking. Its so annoying.

The fact hes not talking much to proove his innocence tells me he does not want to deal with it.

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 08:51

They tell you they didn't want to upset you, were trying to protect you.....but bottom line they do it to suit themselves.

Totally agree.

OP posts:
Bearpawk · 29/06/2024 09:00

I would just calmly call him out on it every time, don't let him worm out of it - look hi dead in the eye and say - 'what's the reason you said xyz when we can clearly see it's actually abc'
Don't let him gaslight you.
If he says 'I got confused' look him dead in the eye and say slowly 'oh, you got confused? Again?'

I would also calmly explain to him this:

It just points to a pattern of lying that is so habitual and second nature to him that even when the evidence is there in front of me, he'll still lie about it.

That makes me wonder how much of everything is a lie.

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 09:01

Hellolleh · 29/06/2024 08:49

Yes so hes muting her but they get on ok and shes not sending him abusive messages. It seems to me he cant predict her communication and is worried about you finding out. If he hasnt openly said to you. My ex is annoying me with contact so ive muted her and hes not comfy telling you thr content then hes muted it to keep control.

Mine always leaves his phone in the kitchen. Sometimes its in DND!!! I always know when hes replying to someone because he pretends hes struggling to read an email and his foots shaking. Its so annoying.

The fact hes not talking much to proove his innocence tells me he does not want to deal with it.

You're right about him.not wanting to deal with it.

The narrative around him and his ex wife is this. She cheated (this isn't in contest - she has admitted it to me and all of their mutual friends know). She was surprised he left her and tried to get him back for a while. It didn't work, and she gave up (also not in contest).

They are amicable but not friends. She messages a lot in a 'friendly 'we're still mates' kind of way. He claiks to not feel similalrly and so he ignores unless it's necessary to respond, and she's asked him a direct necessary question - there's no chit chat. He finds her irritating an a bit OTT - doesn't understand why she messages so often. He doesn't tell me when she does. I've never asked how often. He says he never instigates. I only have his word for any of the detail in this paragraph.

OP posts:
Bearpawk · 29/06/2024 09:01

Sorry I keep reiterating 'calmly' because it's important you maintain in control and factual - the moment it gets heated it becomes about emotions and opinions and not the real facts

Baconking · 29/06/2024 09:02

Could he have his ex pinned to the top of his messages that would always have her messages at the top

IJustCannotThinkOfAName · 29/06/2024 09:03

Bearpawk · 29/06/2024 09:00

I would just calmly call him out on it every time, don't let him worm out of it - look hi dead in the eye and say - 'what's the reason you said xyz when we can clearly see it's actually abc'
Don't let him gaslight you.
If he says 'I got confused' look him dead in the eye and say slowly 'oh, you got confused? Again?'

I would also calmly explain to him this:

It just points to a pattern of lying that is so habitual and second nature to him that even when the evidence is there in front of me, he'll still lie about it.

That makes me wonder how much of everything is a lie.

That's what I've decided I'm going to do. Well, in the short term anyway. If it turns out he's lying as habitually as it's starting to feel, I'll end it.

OP posts: