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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

Found video of girls from dps office stripping in a lift on his laptop

52 replies

PosieParker · 24/04/2008 00:58

I looked through his email tonight and found a video forwarded of two girls from his office stripping in a lift that he had forwarded and lots of pictures of psuedo lesbian and tits out shots and videos that he had searched for online during his working day. He is the boss of the UK and exchanging emails with salesmen. I truly thought he had grown up in our ten years and three, another on the way, children. I am so angry that I asked him to leave the house. I have no idea what to do. It brings up the trust issue and that my dp is not, by a long way, the man I thought he was. He often socialises without me and with the people from his office, god knows what they get up to now that I know this.

OP posts:
PosieParker · 24/04/2008 00:58

I have posted this on AIBU board but was advised to come here, my apologies if anyone thinks I am trying to take over MN!!

OP posts:
dittany · 24/04/2008 01:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PosieParker · 24/04/2008 01:10

Me too, gosh I must go to sleep and catch up with this in the morning, thanks dittany.

OP posts:
zazen · 24/04/2008 01:15

Good luck. xx

susiecutiebananas · 24/04/2008 01:16

oh ,shit posie- you must feel horrible. I found a load of porn on my computer years ago, when I was with my exH. I felt sick, and went cold from head to toe, and my heart was racing. It was just the same as you, in that he just wasn't the man I thought he was.

I had been looking for a file of mine at the time, and found this enormous file called temporary internet files, it was full of sub folders, with 'cookies' I think they're called, from hundreds of porn sites. images mainly, but also some were the search field he'd typed in.
There were things there that were so upsetting. he'd been looking at asian girls and all sorts of things, that were so different from me. So i felt even more worthless, and that he couldnt even fancy me, if thats what he wanted to look at.

Its truly devastating. I also some time later, eventually found out he was having an affair. I swore from that moment on, that i'd never ever look in anyones email, phone, or anything again. I didn't ever want to feel how I did that day ( when I found out about the affair) I've stuck by that, and been much criticized for it. As people have told me my motives for not are so wrong, in that I won't simply because I don't ever want to find anything again, implying I don't trust who ever it is i'm with... IYSWIM?

I'm happy now with a new relationship, my DH had the same done to him, so we have an unwritten rule that we'd never look ever... also, I do actually trust my DH, mind you, I did trust my 1st H.

SHit, sorry, managed to go on about me yet again...

I just didn't want to to go unanswered, and that i really truly empathize with how you are feeling. So sorry, so sad for you. Its such a huge disappointment, such a betrayal. I don't mean that your DH is having an affair or anything, but just to discover something like that is hugely damaging, and incredibly devastating.

My brain is a bit fuzzy at the moment, so i'm probably not making much sense. (have had to take some seriously strong pain killers ) I want to post something constructive and helpful, and I realize i'm being neither at the moment. Other than to say i'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

berrieb · 24/04/2008 01:22

Sounds to me like you have other issues here! In reality all he has done is looked at a bit of porn, No big deal IMO.
However, If he is doing the other things you say on AIBU
" staying out 'til three when he said ten, going back to people's houses at the end of a night instead of coming home, snorting a line or two and denying it when I know he has, general lying... pretty pathalogically.""
This is what I would be worried about!!

susiecutiebananas · 24/04/2008 01:25

What has he said to you about it? has he tried to explain in any way? Are you sure he wasn't sent it by someone else, and he's forwarded it on?
Clearly that doesn't make it ok, but if he is not the original source of the email/video, then he's just a silly twunt for looking and passing it on.

I have to say, my exH told me that he sub consciously wanted me to find out, ( about the porn ) as it was a symptom of problems we were having in our marriage, so by being that careless with it all, he knew id see it sometime and then bring things to a head... bloody male logic hey? What i'm thinking is, do you think perhaps its the same for your DP? not saying it is, but just offering the idea as a possibility.

Oh, I so wish i had the answers for you, of what you should do. I do think you need to sleep on it, take some time to think about it, talk to us here, and anyone else in RL, try to work through it in your head...

most of all though, you have to talk properly with your DP. And in a really calm, collected way.. hugely difficult to do, easier said than done, but so important, as you will never be able to resolve it, find answers from him, get through it, in a rational, way.

its counterproductive otherwise, and you will never get him to talk openly and honestly with you, which i'm guessing is the most important thing just now, you must have alot of things you need to ask him, that you need to know, for either moving on together, or , sadly, moving on, i separate directions

Hope i'm not sounding blunt, I don't intend to .

LadyPenelope · 24/04/2008 02:48

He could also loose his job - most companies have policies about what kind of sites you can look at from the office. And the photos of female colleagues being forwarded by him would almost certainly result in the sack and possibly a sexual harrassment case by the women or another woman in the office. And that would be the case even if he wasn't the boss.

slim22 · 24/04/2008 04:48

What ladypenelope said.
That the first thing that I thought of. And what with the boozing and line snorting. He would well deserve the sack. That's highly improper conduct and as the boss he would be responsible for sanctioning such practices.

Now as his wife, I would never accept it. If it was only the occasional porn on the computer, that's not the end of the world. But if you put it all together........

I really don't know from your OP if you are looking for any sort of advice, so I'll abstain.
Sending you lots of hugs. Talk to someone in RL if you can. Any of his mates you can trust?

PosieParker · 24/04/2008 06:43

It's the whole package of who he is that leaves me wondering who I've ended up with. If it were a little porn I would still be bothered, office banter I can take, but he works in the centre of his office and presents a larger than life character at work. This character seems to be quite opposed to the one he presents at home and who he says he is.
I have thought about this all night and I think what it is that really bothers me is that his reasons for being reasonable and the person I want him to be (and obviously isn't) are all about things I believe. He has been teeling me what I want to hear and the same reason he says he doesn't sleep with anyone else or go to lapdancing bars or encourage the activity I have caught him watching are the same reasons for all, now that I've found that out what else am I wrong about?
Is he also going back to houses where the little slappers go and pretend to kiss whilst everyone jeers and whistles around them.
I am so gutted that everyone, again, knows something about my partner that I don't. They must think I am really stupid, a baby making machine who's good for spending his money and leeting him do as he pleases. I am still so angry.

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 24/04/2008 06:49

Porn is one thing, but the video of the girls stripping is quite alarming.

I guess it might be a bit reassuring that it's a video that a) is of two of them, not one and b) is something they're all passing about, icky though that is, rather than a video given to him by one of the girls, iyswim.

What does he say about all this?

(I wouldn't worry too much about what everyone else thinks. It's possible they think you know and think it's a laugh. It's more likely that they haven't even considered what you know or think about it all. Focus on you, and your husband, and what you want.)

PosieParker · 24/04/2008 07:04

He came home breifly last night and thought I was ridiculous for all the fuss and just kept repeating that he was sent it and when I reminded him that I had seen that he had forwarded it and other things he had nothing to say. I just think when someone paints a picture of themselves, which I must have doubted to look, and you find out with a doubt that part of that isn't true then I now think none of it's true.

OP posts:
sprogger · 24/04/2008 09:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

susiecutiebananas · 24/04/2008 10:47

Posie, I can see your point, and understand why you've come to that conclusion, however, I think that the two don't necessarily follow on. Just because he's looked at this video, and passed it on to others in his office, really doesn't mean that everything you know about him is now wrong and that he's not the man you thought he was. Though, I can truly understand why you might feel this. I assure you i'm saying this from the point of view that i do empathise with your feelings. I'm not being negative to you or having a go at you. ( just wanted to point that out as it not easy to tell sometimes on here! )

What it means is, that he is a fairly typical bloke, who is trying to be one of the office crowd of lads. what he's done is really not out of the ordinary. I fully understand your feelings on it, and believe me I would ( and did ) feel the same, but, I think perhaps you need to take a step back from it all, if at all possible, and see the bigger picture, if this is going to be an issue in which you examine your whole relationship and decide if its going to continue. You owe it to yourself, if nothing else.

Putting emotions to one side, look at what he actually done;
Looked at, and passed on a video of some work colleagues stripping. - This in itself is just a foolish, immature thing to do, it doesn't mean he's turned on by the video, or that he's using it in ay other way than to laugh amongst colleagues about. It really has no reflection on you, nor does it mean he doesn't like/fancy etc you. Yes, it might raise the question of you not knowing he liked this sort of thing, but in all honesty, I think you'd be hard pushed to find a man who wasn't at least amused by such a video.

posie I just want to pose a question to you. If you were at work, and you were forwarded a video of a couple of the young lads you work with, doing a strip tease, how would you feel? If all the women were passing it round, with the lads consent? I'm fairly sure you would have a giggle with the girls about it. Have a bit of a laugh about it, maybe even talk about it at lunch time with the girls. Is that a fair thing to assume? I can see it happening for both groups of chaps, and girls. It woudlnt' be a bad thing, really just a bit if fun, something to have a laugh about. Do you get my point, that i'm trying to put across really badly!!

I would say that the other things that have occurred are actually far more worrying. Not coming home when he's said he would, this in itself is not a great crime, nor is it a huge disrespect for you, just a bit unfair, as you are stuck at home, not going out in the same way. Also, just plain thoughtless really. not the done thing except as a one off maybe. Is this something he does do regularly? If so, this needs addressing more than the video.

Also his use of drugs. Is this a new thing, or is is something you both used to dabble in, pre children? Who is he doing it with? These things are I think more of a concern.

Men are very visual creatures when it comes to sex, and as such, their attitudes to it are very different to women, who are far more emoitional about it. I suspect you are so hurt by it, is because you know what you might be thinking when seeing such videos. Or what you might be feeling in the same situation. It really is just titillation, by most accounts with men and 'lesbian scenes' etc.

Also, deleting his call log may suggest that there is someone he doesn't want you to know he's in contact with. This doesn't mean it is a sinister thing. It might honestly be, because he knows how you might react to his contact with this person, so to a) save your feelings on something that might actually be innocent, and b) prevent an argument about something that again, is innocent. I know, better to be honest in the first place, but you can see what i'm trying to say.

I can't help thinking there are some much deeper issues going on here and this is the tip of the iceberg. You clearly do have trust issues, as you were looking in the first place. Also, becasause he's been covering up what he's doing, by deleting thigs, implies he doesn't trust you to allow his personal space and a degree of privacy.

Oh, I dont' know if any of what i'm trying to say to you is making sense

I hope that I'm helping you look at it slightly differently, and with a little bit more perspective, so that you can do something constructive with your anger. Just feel for you, having to think about all this, and to deal with it.

FluffyMummy123 · 24/04/2008 10:51

Message withdrawn

MascaraOHara · 24/04/2008 10:51

I was just about to write what cod said.. so

'What cod said'

policywonk · 24/04/2008 10:59

Had you told him clearly, previous to this, that you don't want him to use porn? Has he lied to you about using porn before? If so, I'd say you have a problem. (I hate porn myself, but I accept that for some people, it can be an accepted part of a relationship, or something that one partner knows about and tolerates.)

crumpet · 24/04/2008 11:07

But it seems he is the boss. If the girls don't know/object to it being passed around he could find himself in trouble at work as well

slim22 · 24/04/2008 11:33

It's not just about watching porn is it?
It's watching 2 girls he works with day in day out and is likely to be very promiscious with (I refer to what seems to be a culture of boozing and occasional snorting and going back to peoples places until 3am).

That is a reason to be seriously pissed of.

Plus as a boss he is encouraging this not merely opening his mail box and finding and shrugging off the random joke be it porn.

He IS being totally immature/irresponsible as a professional and out of line as a husband.

My DH goes out all the time with broker/sales types. And we are talking high flying where escorts are not uncommon on some business trips.
And there are 2 types of men. Those who do say "oh lets have a nightcap" and wink and those who head back home having enjoyed the very good expensive wine at dinner.

Let's not be naive when a husband comes home at 3 when said he would come home at 10.

So sorry for you. You have got to go past the fact that you consider him immature for being a lad. You have some serious talking to do.

oiFoiF · 24/04/2008 11:36

gosh thats disgusting
sorry but I cant see why people are defending his right to look at porn.

I dont have a video of my work colelagues stripping, its just not NORMAL

(uibnless you are a porn star/baron)

susiecutiebananas · 24/04/2008 12:32

oiFoiF, did you mean me? Because i'm really not saying its normal, or ok. personally, I hate it. I'd really hate to think thats how my post came across I don't understand why anyone finds it a turn on. It played a big part in destroying my 1st marriage. I got to the point I felt I could never satisfy my exH as I was nothing like the things he was looking at, and ever would be.

I really really didn't mean my post to sound like I'm condoning it, just that it is something that does crop up,its not uncommon. I've read a fair few threads on MN about it.

I was just feeling concerned that the OP was focussing more on this video, than things that to me, would make more alarm bells ring than a pathetic video that these men are sharing around the office. Also, that just by looking at the video, in itself doesn't mean that her DH is not the man she thought.

I knew I wasn't getting what I meat across very well. I think my brain is a it too fuzzy for this today. i think i was mainly trying to show her that there might be some hope.

So, for the record- I don't condone it, I don't think that it is actually ok to do what he did, at all, by any means. Just that getting a bit of perspective on it all, if its to have such a huge impact on their future, would be important. It also doesn't seem to be an isolated incident, of being a bit of a crap, immature bloke looking at and forwarding a video, but that when you put it all together, its actually a symptom of something much more serious I'm afraid

oydal · 24/04/2008 14:31

OMG - how horrible for you!!
Looking at a bit of porn is one thing...it's fantasy, not real... but looking at two girls from work stripping in a lift!!! I would feel completely betrayed.

SheWillBeLoved · 24/04/2008 14:47

Why feel betrayed? If the silly (probably drunken) tarts didn't object to being recorded, and it wasn't her partner that recorded it, then why feel betrayed?

He probably got sent it without asking for it, the girls are hopefully now sober and are hanging their heads in shame, and the rest could well be immature hormonal men sending porn around the office to look cool. Her husband may or may not be trying to fit in with these younger seemingly cooler men and joins in now and again.

I don't think the problem is the porn here. I know there are legalities about this type of thing in the workplace, but i'm pretty sure that's not what the OP was initialy upset about upon finding these clips on the laptop.

Someone touched on it in the other thread about this - when you go snooping through your husbands private belongings, you have to be prepared for what you might find. I don't think you are, were, or ever could be. So therefore shouldn't be snooping.

I'm not condoning anything he has done, you may feel betrayed, hurt and angry. But did you not betray him also the minute you opened up his email inbox to check up on him, for what i'm sure wasn't the first time..?

oydal · 24/04/2008 15:34

Snooping might not be an honest way of going about things...but how many people have found out about affairs through snooping? Probably most I would say!
(Posie - Not saying your dh is having affair).
I personally would prefer to know if anything wa going on!

MrsMattie · 24/04/2008 15:39

A guy at my old workplace forwarded an email to other male members of staff containing photos of a female colleague in a bikini. He was sacked the same day and the other men who sent jokey replies back to him were given a written warning.