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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

Do these things look odd to you?

135 replies

AppleWhiskers · 19/10/2024 19:23

A few things have happened recently that make me uncomfortable, but not sure how to get my head around them. In LTR, no children together, things have been a little strained over the past few years but nothing too dramatic.

First incident: About a year ago he began moving his dinner time later into the evening, hour by hour, until we were rarely eating together much at all. I mentioned it a few times and he said he hadn't noticed.
I then begin to notice that he seems silently irritated if I am in the kitchen when he is cooking. Then, last week, whilst making myself a cup of tea whilst he was at the sink, we were just having a laugh, fairly lighthearted vibe, and as I turned around to say something he caught both my upper arms in his hands, squeezing his thumbs into my flesh which really freaking hurt! I actually yelped. He looked puzzled and said nothing until I mentioned it hurt, his reply was he had no idea what I was talking about, but he was sorry if he had hurt me. It was quite out of the ordinary and since he is a big chap, surely he would have known?

Another incident: We had been planning a short break for a while, and he told me to go ahead and book it for any weekend that was free for me. I surprised him last week by booking our favourite place and told him the dates, then he went quiet. After a bit of prodding he told me he had arranged to visit a friend on the day we'd depart. He visits this friend several times per month, only a few miles up the road, and they tend to just listen to music together and chat. It wasn't an important meeting and could have been rescheduled for any day that following week, so seemed a bit out of character.
He was visibly annoyed and said he would come down the following day on a train!

Another: I have noticed that if I don't make conversation, he pretty much doesn't speak to me. He will say practical stuff, offer to make coffee, tell the occasional joke, but no actual conversation whatsoever. I tend to generate most things and never gave it much thought before.
One effect of this is that if I don't ask or instigate a topic, he won't tell me anything about his day, or ask my opinion on things. It seems really strange as I am certain it never used to be like that a few years ago.

There are plenty more odd details that stand out to me, but I don't want to make the post too long. I am wondering if this is common, or has had anyone else baffled in a similar way? There's a lot of things that when questioned, he either denies knowing what I am talking about or acts completely confused.

The day after the arm thing I had two small bruises on my arms. I showed him and he kindly rolled his eyes as if I was being silly. I am sure to god he must have bloody known how they got there.
He has never been particularly violent, apart one or two small incidents many years ago which were during a time of terrible stress. He is also very bothered about being seen as a 'good person', especially in his own eyes. He says a lot but doesn't act on his words. Obviously, I am having doubts, but dont' want to be too hasty.

OP posts:
pilates · 22/10/2024 04:14

Op, your posts are so eloquent and I can feel you’re a decent person who deserves so much better. I know you have a lot to organise in your life right now but just remember we are here for you 💐

Beethovensafari · 22/10/2024 07:41

Honestly, you need to stop wondering and questioning now and get the hell out of there.

It doesn't really matter why he behaves like that. Your safety is all that matters. You can think once you are out but it's unlikely you will ever really know.

Just make your moves quietly, don't tell him. Leave then text and block.

AppleWhiskers · 22/10/2024 13:58

Thanks for the advice.

I don't think he is interested in violence, particularly sexually, at all. I do think that he has a lot bottled up and coiled like a spring though. The violence is in his pain or self loathing, he doesn't appear to be aroused by it if that makes sense.
After my assault, the impression I got, fleetingly, was that he envied a man who could perform, as opposed to me being hurt. I think he wrestles with the stupidity of that, but can't seem to become self aware enough to seek help or change it.

He seems quite content to live in his own misery and acts like a victim to it.

I was thinking about attraction and personality types recently and believe we are a terrible match. I have always experienced 'bad luck' when he is in my life, which very suddenly alters when I am away from him or alone. It has become noticeable. This gives me an extra springboard to want to jump away.

I don't have anyone to go and stay with at the moment but am starting to make plans.

I will say one more thing, regarding many of the posts here which say they sense danger - I know what you mean, even though it is hard to pinpoint what it is exactly.
I think it is how unbothered he seems, how disinterested, as if he doesn't care if I stay or go, how he looks to have nothing but contempt for me.
But! I once joined a local class where we went for a drink afterwards and I invited him. He was really quiet and uncomfortable since he isn't used to me having my own friends. He wouldn't admit to this at the time and said I was mistaken, but I did sense this strongly, and I am sure the people I was with did too.
My guess is, that he could actually turn weird if I met other people who I trusted and saw regularly. In our life together we tend to just know his friends and family, so of course he is laid back. Perhaps he thought that if I moved away I would still need him and not make friends. The best thing to do is to proceed with caution and not reveal what happens or who I know.

As of this week I will be sharing a lot less and making my plans silently. I will be giving hardly anything away, whilst acting like my usual self.

OP posts:
AutumnFroglets · 22/10/2024 22:35

Good luck OP and I'm very glad you are going to make those plans. Start dreaming of the peace and the freedom. The cleanliness and a tidy home. Start thinking of how you would decorate it and what colours for bedding and cushions. Dream of what you want to do in your free time - a new hobby, reading that stack of books, watching what you want to watch or better yet not watching what he wants (in my case F1 and multiple repeats of Top Gear *twitches). This will help spur you onwards.

ScabbyHorse · 22/10/2024 22:56

God, he sounds incredibly controlling.

pikkumyy77 · 22/10/2024 23:20

Best of luck! We are rooting for you!

Moonday · 22/10/2024 23:44

Good luck OP, I too feel very uneasy about this man. There is something not right with him. He sounds like he has an inner darkness he keeps concealed behind a mundane exterior.

friskybivalves · 22/10/2024 23:53

Are you able to find a job that comes with accommodation - there is a website I can PM you details of where people advertise for companions/housekeeper types to come and work in their quite roomy country houses (but not stately homes...) and there is very often a separate cottage thrown in for accommodation. Not as a nanny. But doing more admin stuff. Probably way way below your abilities and interests but might get you out of this tricky situation.

OssieShowman · 23/10/2024 00:11

He has checked out. Grown apart.
Probably ‘house mates’

AppleWhiskers · 23/10/2024 01:11

Interestingly, this evening, he threw a small plate of mine onto a larger plate which nearly smashed it.
This was a casual move, and in a moment of relaxation where nothing was wrong.

This time i actually spoke up.
I asked him why he almost smashed my little plate (it was an old serving plate left to me by my parents).
He said he had not heavily handled it it at all. That he didn't even make a sound. He also commented that I was imagining it.
I simply said I was aware of it and if he did it again I would damage something of his. No comment.

Silence then ensued for over 2 hours.

Fuck I can't wait to get shut of this sexless imbecile.

OP posts:
AppleWhiskers · 23/10/2024 01:12

friskybivalves · 22/10/2024 23:53

Are you able to find a job that comes with accommodation - there is a website I can PM you details of where people advertise for companions/housekeeper types to come and work in their quite roomy country houses (but not stately homes...) and there is very often a separate cottage thrown in for accommodation. Not as a nanny. But doing more admin stuff. Probably way way below your abilities and interests but might get you out of this tricky situation.

love this idea, not sure how to PM, so I click your username?

OP posts:
XChrome · 23/10/2024 01:18

Wise decisions, OP.

XChrome · 23/10/2024 01:20

AppleWhiskers · 23/10/2024 01:12

love this idea, not sure how to PM, so I click your username?

See the three dots at the top right of the posts? Click on that in anyone's post and you can send them a PM.

Garlicbest · 23/10/2024 01:58

You sound amazing, OP, genuinely. I feel very sure your next chapter(s) will be stimulating and fulfilling! You certainly don't need to be held down any longer; I'm so glad you've woken up.

Going far away, swiftly and silently, is a very good move. It might seem odd to call this extended tale of apparently minor and sporadic incidents 'chilling' but they are. Like some other PPs, I recognised the nature of these incidents as sadistic. It's safest to avoid letting him find out - or guess - you're headed to the exit.

Wishing you a following wind!

VaddaABeetch · 23/10/2024 04:19

Say nothing about the incidents. It alerts him that you know what he’s up to which will make him increase them. Closer together &
more sadistic
Save all your energy for getting away.

ZaZathecat · 23/10/2024 08:49

The term 'gaslighting' is thrown around liberally on mn, but this is a classic example of it. He does things which are very obviously aggressive and then tries to make you think you imagined it and question your sanity. I am relieved to see you are planning to leave.

goody2shooz · 23/10/2024 12:06

@AppleWhiskers secrete all things precious or important to you out of the house asap, and yourself too. Have you got a car?

AppleWhiskers · 23/10/2024 12:06

Points taken:)

Out of interest, if anyone is still around, what would you make of someone who stared at a screen for over 7 hours per day? There's little variation, but it is just stuff he likes/hobby related on youtube.
What I mean is there can be an unbroken period of this many hours where he doesn't speak, barely moves or even has any break from the screen at all.
Now I can binge watch a series now and then, but could not give the internet that much attention each day.

I initially thought it was to block me out, as we only speak if I initiate it, but also considered some odd kind of depression. Maybe he is struggling to live with me, and this is his escape? It reminds me of a baby with a dummy/pacifier.

OP posts:
Moonday · 23/10/2024 12:17

Yes it’s bizarre. He sounds sort of dead inside.

Talulahalula · 23/10/2024 19:01

I think it would depend on context, it is certainly not healthy.
My son, who is on the autistic spectrum, seems to turn to YouTube when he wants to close off and calm down. But not for hours at a time, or even more than an hour. So I don’t think YouTube or screen time to switch off is in itself a bad thing, if it is balanced with other activities; but the amount of time and the wider context of not engaging with you, hurting and demeaning you - it goes with the having checked out but waiting for you to leave aspect.
The only person who could explain why he does it is him. And if that is not something he wishes to discuss and he does not want to address the impact on your relationship, then it is not really your problem to resolve why he does it.

pikkumyy77 · 24/10/2024 01:32

I can watch chinese drama for multiple hours—I don’t think an addiction to screens tells you much. Im otherwise quite functional in terms of work and family. Everything else about him is disturbing though.

SouthernFashionista · 24/10/2024 07:18

Sending you lots of love and strength

HazelPlayer · 24/10/2024 08:18

He said he had not heavily handled it it at all. That he didn't even make a sound. He also commented that I was imagining it.

Gas lighting 101.

Same as the painful arms grab, which was apparently gentle and nothing.

Malevolent - is the word that springs to mind when trying to describe him.

I wouldn't recommend it,this is entirely a joke (obviously).but I'd like to.see his reaction if he was kneed in the balls and then told iit didn't happen.

goody2shooz · 24/10/2024 11:37

@HazelPlayer 🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🏻

AppleWhiskers · 24/10/2024 13:05

A crazy thing for me is my own behaviour, previously unconscious, but I did have an inkling of it all along.
A few time sin our lives I have been working away or not with him, and everything seems to alter for me, my personality wakes up and I make friends easily.
When reunited I change, become more withdrawn and less active, and have often lost direction. He doesn't do anything, actively, to cause this, it is like a weird effect his presence has on me, which I have noticed over the years, but have no idea why it happens.
I can only blame myself for this obviously, but now that I am fully aware of it I can work on that more dedicatedly.

OP posts: