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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

Just writing to get my thoughts straight.

116 replies

Coralsea123 · 08/01/2025 12:03

Yesterday was an awful day and i just need to write it down to help me understand. Fantastic Christmas with boyfriend, effort put in on both sides, visited both families and made sure we checked in on each other during Xmas events. Honestly couldn't have asked for better.

Anyway, Yesterday bf woke up and gave me a kiss. This is how we normally start the day but he didn't say good morning babe/beautiful which he usually does. I cuddled him but he's full of cold and was coughing a lot. I was getting a bit annoyed so just asked him to cover his mouth when he coughed as he was coughing straight onto me. He didn't acknowledge that I'd spoken so I rolled away slightly so not to get his germs and asked if he'd heard me. He said he had heard but didn't respond because it wasn't a question, just a statement. If it was me, I would have just said oh yeah sorry, didn't realise. Will next time etc.
Little later and I'm getting dressed, there's some posh biscuits over on his bedside table that we got as a Christmas present and I fancied one. I go round to get the packet and he gets there before me, snatching it away. He asked what I was doing, I said I wanted the biscuits and he withheld them asking why. I was annoyed now so replied saying it doesn't matter why, let me have them. He was pulling them further away until I told him. I gave up and went downstairs without one. He's never acted like that before, it was completely out of character. I Felt it was controlling. I mentioned it later and he had a different view of it, insisting that he wanted to know why I wanted the biscuits but that he was not pulling them further away and with holding them.

I had 30 mins or so on my own so we could get over what just happened. Then went to give him a hug and a kiss. Thought it might help and be an olive branch. He gave me a kiss back but the hug was limp like he didn't want to really touch me. Later we head out for the day. I asked if he wanted a kiss in the car and whether he was ok. He said I'm happy to have a kiss if you want. So I gave him a quick kiss. Drove to the shops for 1hr in silence. He wasn't making conversation and I asked why, he just said he has nothing to talk about and nothing to say. Which isn't like us, I generally talk more but he would normally say even generic stuff like 'sat nav says we'll get there at xx time' or 'I'm stopping at the next services if you want anything.'

He knew we're going to a big shopping centre as it had been planned and had said he was still happy to go. Got there, he was hungry. Found a quick food place and he just moaned about how long the queue was. He spent the first 30 mins moaning about how busy it was. So after not speaking the first things he says are moans. Ruins the tone of the day and creates tension. We sit for a drink, again in silence because I've asked him not to moan and he barely looks at me. I end up crying in the middle of the shopping centre, because I hate how he is today. I'm sad, confused and upset. I told him this isn't normal and how we normally act. He insisted we were fine, he was fine and there was nothing wrong. I said I don't feel warmth, cared for or loved. His response to how can he try to show that was 'yeah I'm taking you shopping that will show you care and love!' I told him that does not show love. For me I like physical touch and being close. He knows this, I'm open about this and we've been together a few years so he knows this. I tell him I need him to hold my hand, give me kisses and hugs, touch my back, my hair etc. He does this normally when out and about. I'm not meaning pda's or full make out sessions just a kiss on the head, quick peck and holding hands. We go round the shops for a few hours and none of this happens. Can't even hold my hand.
Get home and the house is freezing so we head straight to bed. He's moaning it's cold so I joke best way to warm up is to share body heat. Just meaning a hug. I get no response from this. Normally he'd be all over me giving me a hug.
I can't take it anymore and ask my he hasn't been talkative or touchy feely all day. He said he wasnt feeling it. I said thats fair enough but then why did you not say when I specifically told you what I need from you to make me feel cared for and loved. You should have told me then because I've been open and honest and still not got what I need from you. I asked why he said he was happy to give me a kiss in the car at the start of the day if he wasn't feeling it and he said ,'I was still happy to give you a kiss if you wanted one. I just wasn't feeling it, I've not been feeling it today.' This confuses me. How can you be happy to do something which is physical and intimate (on the lower end of the scale) if you don't feel it/not feeling it.
This is an issue for me, that he feels this way and hasn't mentioned it. He says I don't need to know. I asked him what has made him feel like this and he says nothing. He still maintains the fact that he's fine/acting normally and we're fine as a couple.
He said, sometimes people need space and I'm not feeling it today. He spends most nights at mine as we are slowly progressing into moving in together. But he still has his house with everything like bed, tv, heating etc so why did he choose not to go to his tonight if that's how he feels. It confuses me and as a result I ask lots of questions to try to understand and gain clarification. But then he says its the Spanish inquisition as I ask too many questions.

Now an update before I post this. He Wakes up this morning as if nothing ever happened and was acting fine. I said what was yesterday all about, it upset me. He said sorry you felt that way. To me he should be apologising for his actions not how I feel. But he didn't think he did anything wrong. I then explained everything he did that made me feel like that and he still said nothing. He didn't look like he cared and it was only when I mentioned accountability and that he said I'm sorry for my actions/words. He didn't feel like he needed to take accountability or apologise because he didn't do anything wrong in his eyes. I had to prompt him so it wasn't a genuine sorry.

I don't know why I'm posting really, just a vent.

OP posts:
Calmhappyandhealthy · 08/01/2025 15:14

Hes ill

You don't care that he's poorly

You're both 13 years old 🙄

And act 11 🤣

You are utterly suffocating......just reading your posts makes me feel like running for the hills

BellissimoGecko · 08/01/2025 15:25

Bloody hell, you're hard work.

You really needed half an hour to get over the biscuits non-issue?

This was all a non-issue. You're massively overthinking things. Sounds exhausting for your bf.

Just wait until you have a REAL problem in your life to deal with. 🙄

5128gap · 08/01/2025 15:53

The thing with the biscuits is odd. Otherwise the whole things sounds like a man who wasn't feeling very well and a woman who is absolutely obsessed with every nuance of his behaviour, who can't relax or let him be for a moment without fussing and dramatising everything. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but if how you wrote this is reflective of your behaviour in general, you are very very intense. And most people would struggle with that.

Clementine183 · 08/01/2025 16:22

It does sound like a lot of fuss over not very much, and I say this as someone who is also quite focused on physical touch and who is prone to feeling anxious if I notice a change in that sort of thing. I have to talk myself down at those times and remind myself that people aren't always in the best of moods and might not be feeling super-affectionate. In this instance it sounds as if he didn't really want to go on the shopping trip as he felt crap, and it just made him grumpy. The biscuit thing is a bit weird but I couldn't get that worked up over it. It just sounds like he was having an off day. I do think that (and I mean this gently) if this qualifies as a "really awful day" in your relationship then it's probably more a case of your perceptions/expectations being a bit off.

GentlemanJay · 08/01/2025 16:46

You sound needy and intense. I may be wrong.

Give him some space. You may have upset him. I couldn't just click out of it if you had pissed me off.

AwaitingFreedom · 08/01/2025 17:13

Starlight1984 · 08/01/2025 14:19

So let me get this straight, you told him to cover his mouth while he was coughing to not spread germs... But then got angry with him for not kissing you and being close to you....?

Thank you, I thought I was going mad and misunderstanding. He's either germ ridden or not, can't be both at the same time. Or can he? 🤔

We all have bad days but it isn't fair to take it out on the people closest to you who just want to help and support.
He didn't want or need your help/support so why do your needs trump his? And support with what anyway?

You are way too needy OP, I suggest you get some therapy to understand why. It's not normal to cry in a shopping centre because your bf doesn't hold your hand.

FoxtonFoxton · 08/01/2025 17:32

It all sounds absolutely draining. If I'd felt under the weather and then had to put up with that needy barrage of questions and accusations, I'd have not felt overly affectionate either. The crying in the shopping centre would have made me go home immediately. It's just too much OP.

Purplecatshopaholic · 08/01/2025 17:52

Jeezo, you sound hard work op. He sounds like he wasn’t feeling well and you just created drama for no reason. Step back and give the man space when he’s feeling like that - your neediness is a major turn-off (crying in the shopping centre? FFS) - your relationship will be better for it.

Dcbjgfdh · 08/01/2025 19:15

Coralsea123 · 08/01/2025 12:29

Ok, we have been together 3 years and we are not young despite how this reads. I am not good at putting my thoughts into words.
I said he had a cough/cold yes but he was not that ill. I understand when you are ill you may act differently and be a little off but he is only coughing when he first wakes up as a result if being laid down all night. He has been out and about with family and friends all week so he was well enough to be out. I did say we didn't need to go shopping and we could go another day or I could just go on my own. He reiterated multiple times be was happy to go.

They weren't his biscuits, they were a join gift so I have as much right to eat one as he did.

Manners cost nothing and just a response to the coughing or if he wasn't in the mood to talk etc he could have just said this. To me it is rude that he didn't acknowledge any issue or tell me why. Communication is important, I can't read his mind on how he feels.

We all have bad days but it isn't fair to take it out on the people closest to you who just want to help and support.

You’ve been together 3 years yet sound like a teenager who has been in a relationship for 5 minutes who doesn’t understand the other person also has needs.

We all have bad days but it isn't fair to take it out on the people closest to you who just want to help and support.

Yet you showed him up by bursting into tears in the middle of a shopping centre because he wouldn’t hold your hand, stroke your back etc!
You also didn’t make allowances for the fact he was unwell, and decided he was well enough to go out because he had been out with family previous days.

All I can say is I hope he doesn’t own any rabbits, because you sound like the type of person who will one day boil them. 🐰

CucumberBagel · 08/01/2025 19:52

To be fair, I once ate all my husband's biscuits and he was genuinely scandalised. Maybe some men are very sensitive about their biscuits?

Jk987 · 08/01/2025 21:08

That was a long winded description of nothing much! You just had an off day. Why don't you spend some time with friends and family and get some space? Might help get things in perspective.

GeorgeMichaelsCat · 09/01/2025 05:58

I said he had a cough/cold yes

No you said he was full of cold, making it out to be quite bad.

leafybrew · 09/01/2025 06:15

Crikey OP Confused

What a to do!!

And to the previous poster who said he was 'gaslighting her about the biscuits'....Get A Grip

Kattuccino · 09/01/2025 06:59

The only time I've ever felt like this in a relationship (very sensitive, reading too much into tiny gestures) - it was a bad relationship with someone who made me feel anxious and insecure.

I would be so happy and relieved when DP treated me nicely, and feel borderline panic-y/on edge if I perceived he was pulling away.

For context, I have been married for 20 years now (to someone else!) and have never once behaved irrationally in this relationship.

OP it might be worth considering if this relationship is truly making you feel happy, content and secure. I'd guess not?

66babe · 09/01/2025 08:16

My god .. it makes me glad to be single to read drama like this
Drama.. over nothing
Poor bloke should get away asap

Dery · 09/01/2025 08:42

“Arlanymor · Yesterday 12:46

He was sick! This is how yesterday should have gone:
You: “Oh dear, it sounds as if you’re suffering a bit today. Shall we knock the shopping trip on the head so you can stay home and rest? We’ll just keep warm, eat food we like, and take it easy? If you want to stay in bed I can bring you stuff up or else make you a bed on the sofa so you can watch TV.”
Your post was all about you, about how you felt, about what you wanted.”

This. @Coralsea123 - you sound rather selfish and self-absorbed. Your partner was ill and you still made everything about you and your needs. It wasn’t an awful day - it was the kind of that happens in a relationship. You made it awful by over-analysing and over-reacting to everything. Honestly, OP - in your partner’s shoes, I would be really pissed off with your carry-on and find it stifling.

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