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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 being abused?

58 replies

Boggl · 20/09/2024 19:38

Hi everyone, I really need some advice as I am certain I am being emotionally abused in my 10 month relationship but as you can appreciate, when you are in this sort of situation it can be really confusing.

relationship started off amazing, we had a genuine connection on ALL levels, really got on, he impressed me with how hard he works, his morals, how well he looks after me, supportive, caring, funny…you get the jist. All the good stuff.

However slowly over time I have noticed some huge red flags and I know when people read this they are going to jump on me straight away and say why have you not left immediately.

he is very funny about what I wear if I wear tight trousers or leggings or have a little bit of cleavage showing he will tell me how unhappy he is about this and it’s not giving off a good impression and that he believes only he should see certain parts of my body and not other men.
i can’t even nip out of the house to my car in a pair of shorts, he will go and get whatever it is I need for me. I have said to him so many times that I will wear whatever I like and I laugh it off and he then says I’m not trying to tell you what you can and can’t wear I’d never do that. But he effectively he is telling me what I can and can’t wear?

He is VERY needy, he would spend every minute of every day with me but I like my own space and I’m very independent, I have lots of friends I like to go and see and catch up with and he hates it and will go in moods if I want to stay at my own house for a couple of days and does this ‘poor me’ act and tells me how he feels alone.

I like to have a laugh and a joke and I don’t take myself too seriously and most of the time he will shake his head at me and tell me I’m acting like a ‘lad’ with my ‘banter’ and that I need to come across as more of a lady.

if he has a male friend round and I am there he will txt me while they are there saying to watch what I talk about and not to over share so much ( I don’t do this) or he’ll txt and tell me to go change my clothes, by the way I wear normal every day clothes nothing out of the ordinary or wild!

he goes through phases of been normal and when he’s like that he is amazing and I love being around him but more recently I think he’s noticed I’m getting abit fed up and wise to his controlling behaviour which has resulted in me withdrawing a little bit which has then resulted in him saying I’m unsupportive, im cold, I don’t comfort him when he’s feeling down and he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this and that he deserves more. Whenever I go to him with concerns in our relationship he has a very clever way of turning it around and making me feel like I’m making issues out of nothing and I know I’m not and I know this is not normal behaviour.

I feel so confused I keep thinking I need to end this now and then I’ll go back to but maybe we can talk through this but how can we when he doesn’t hear what I’m saying and makes it all about him.

please be kind with your responses. Thanks

OP posts:
gamerchick · 20/09/2024 20:10

Give me his number and I'll dump him for you. With pleasure.

Seriously dude. Wave goodbye to this one before the over the top Christmas presents happen and you'll feel guilty dumping him

Ukholidaysaregreat · 20/09/2024 20:14

Thank goodness for Mumsnet. I will tell my daughters to read threads like this to know who to avoid. It is really doing a service for a generation. There was nothing like this when I was young.

OpalSpirit · 20/09/2024 20:16

I mean, your post is basically laying out exactly the process abusive men go through to slowly remove your independence, boundaries and increase your reliance on his approval and the happy times when they come round (will be less frequent as time goes on).

Read again as if your best friend posted and offer yourself the same advice you would give them.

I promise if you stay with him he will have you nicely trained within a couple of years and you won’t be independent, you won’t have any banter left in you and you won’t even know who ‘you’ is anymore.

Truly hope you get rid of this worm and go and enjoy your life l.

Noseybookworm · 20/09/2024 20:17

He's controlling and clingy and this behaviour won't get better, it will get worse.

He wants to control what you wear

He wants to control what you say

He wants to control who you see and where you go

Read those again - what would you tell a friend if she told you her boyfriend did this?

You know what you have to do. End this relationship now before he grinds you down and has you doing exactly what he wants.

OpalSpirit · 20/09/2024 20:17

gamerchick · 20/09/2024 20:10

Give me his number and I'll dump him for you. With pleasure.

Seriously dude. Wave goodbye to this one before the over the top Christmas presents happen and you'll feel guilty dumping him

God, yes the ‘presents’ that actually bind you and take from you. Run OP!!!

Button28384738 · 20/09/2024 20:35

You've been with him 10 months, get rid - he sounds awful

EnjoythemoneyJane · 20/09/2024 20:35

Yes, you are 100% being controlled and manipulated, which is abuse. If he’s confident enough to be this coercive after only 10 months, god only knows what he’ll escalate to over the next 10.

This is only going one way, which will result in the inevitable destruction of your mental health, self-esteem and agency as an independent adult. The fact you’re on here questioning his behaviour, as opposed to trusting your own judgement as to how fucked up it is just shows what a number he’s done on you already.

Get out now, run far away and don’t look back. Please.

Ifoughthefight · 20/09/2024 20:40

That is totally miserable and he sounds like he has both mental health issues, character failings and a very outdated view on women's clothes. LOL, so you cannot reveal a bum cheek even through a trouser 😂😂

get rid of him now before he goes physical on you.....

Shoxfordian · 20/09/2024 20:43

Do you really need to ask? Ltb

TipsyJoker · 20/09/2024 20:49

Read this. This is your future if you stay with this abusive man. His behaviour will escalate. Leave now before it gets worse. And for Pete’s sake! DO NOT get pregnant to this guy! Run. Do it today. Text him, “sorry, this isn’t working for me. I don’t want to be in a relationship with you anymore. I don’t think we are compatible. Please don’t contact me again.” Then block him everywhere. If he comes to your house, don’t answer the door. If he won’t leave, call the police. Ending an abusive relationship is the most dangerous time for a woman so go hardline and protect yourself.

dn790007.ca.archive.org/0/items/LundyWhyDoesHeDoThat/Lundy_Why-does-he-do-that.pdf

tsmainsqueeze · 20/09/2024 20:55

Yes .

pictoosh · 20/09/2024 20:58

Can only add to the rest of the voices telling you to run in the other direction.

Actually what stands out for me is that you think you had a genuine connection on EVERY level. But that's not true - he is doing his best to change your clothes, your free time, your conversation, your social life and your banter to fit in with who he would prefer you to be.

He hasn't got a genuine connection with you on ANY level.

Opentooffers · 20/09/2024 21:02

How old is he? How many years has he had as an adult? That's how long he's had to change his ways yet hasn't. No amount of discusing will change him, that would be like asking someone to change their personality, not going to happen. Vote with your feet because this man is bad news.

ChubbyMorticia · 20/09/2024 21:10

IMO, he is being abusive, and will only get worse.

But here’s the thing: if you wonder if you’re being abused, it’s time to end the relationship. At the very least, it means you’re unhappy and your partner isn’t treating you as you deserve.

Relationships don’t have to be abusive to end them. Being unhappy is enough. You matter. Your feelings matter. You don’t have to have a ‘good enough’ reason to placate the masses.

Magnalux · 20/09/2024 21:13

The hills are that way >>>>>>> run

Whatspots · 20/09/2024 21:15

OP@Boggl please please finish this whilst you can…I dont know if you are very young or if you have just had a run of rubbish relationships but the fact that you are doubting yourself shows you may have some sort of vulnerability . If you could show your post to your family or close friends,what would they say? Have your friends met him, what are they saying about their impressions? You sound popular and a fun person to be around, there are so many guys out there who will make your life a great one and not one that ends with you being zipped into a body bag.

yeesh · 20/09/2024 21:16

This will get worse, it’s not even a year and he is controlling what you wear and even what you say! This man is an abuser. Fuck him off asap

WhereAreWeNow · 20/09/2024 21:18

OP you know this isn't right. That's why you posted here. Listen to your gut and listen to all the women on this post who are telling you to get out while you can.

Darkdiamond · 20/09/2024 21:32

I always say that if you think you're being manipulated, you probably are. I had a boyfriend like that when I was in my 20s and had a feeling that something was off. I finished with him and he went ballistic, crying, ringing me constantly amd every getting his mum to phone me! Abusive texts followed and things got so bad I moved away. Turned out alright though, as I met my husband shortly after I moved.
If you feel like you being you isn't enough, and that the person is trying to change you and is very needy, get rid.
Expect crying and rage, intermittently.

mrspick · 20/09/2024 21:52

The fact that you are on here asking these questions gives you your answer. The longer you leave it the harder it will be for you. Good luck.

Mmhmmn · 20/09/2024 21:54

You know all this behaviour is terrible. You're not all that confused, you just wanted it to be good and it isn't and now you know you have to end the relationship with him because he's one of those men that want to control and minimise you. You can't be happy with men like that because what they're attracted to in you, they just damage by tarnishing your happy spirit with their insecure, controlling shit. Listen to and trust your core self that's telling you that this is not what you want or deserve. Sure, you can get him told about all the things he does and to stop doing them but you shouldn't have to and anyway, you can't change who he is.

TheBottomsOfMyTrousersAreRolled · 20/09/2024 22:00

Well done on realising what he is like.

he then says I’m not trying to tell you what you can and can’t wear I’d never do that… if he has a male friend round he’ll txt and tell me to go change my clothes
So he does tell you what to wear. Not even in so many words. He actually texts you to change.

Sidebeforeself · 20/09/2024 22:01

Agree with everything other posters have said but also ..never “laugh off” something that upsets you

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 20/09/2024 22:03

Idontjetwashthefucker · 20/09/2024 19:50

10 months? That's barely a relationship, fuck him off before it gets worse...and it will get worse

Running Man Abandon Thread GIF by MOODMAN

100 x this!

GingerPirate · 20/09/2024 22:08

I don't know how old you are or what your previous experiences are, OP, but you are being abused.
This piece of 💩 wouldn't ever manage to wiggle its way into my life.
Just run.

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