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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

Partner, new woman best friend

182 replies

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 11:17

Hi all. So my partner of almost 4 years together has got close to a new woman friend.

he has lots of women friends. I’ve never been jealous of them , but this one doesn’t sit right with me.

They work in a similar industry , but met socially. not as colleagues.
I'm indirectly linked to them too, particularly her and we will likely have work related interactions in future

he was not particularly forthcoming about the ins and outs of their first meeting and how they became friends.
it was a year ago but it’s only very recently that the level of their involvement with each other has come to light and how much they communicate without my knowledge

They were both away at a social event where he was working his second job, she was an attendee .
I started seeing her name pop up on his phone, he downplayed it but at the time I didn’t realise it was downplayed.
I was invited but couldn’t make it due to poor health.

Later on after she’s pursued a friendship with me , she told me they spent all the time together and that he really took her under his wing and was really caring and kind.

he had ignored me over that period, saying there’d been crossed wires and that he didn’t know I was expecting him back on a certain day or expecting to hear from him.

i have never had a doubt in my mind about his fidelity and even now I don’t think he’s ‘done’ anything with her but things she has said make me believe she would if he was up for it.

She’s not in a happy relationship and she’s made it clear she finds him attractive

Her and my partner are now collaborating on something together, he never told me.
she has no need to be directly involved , I think she’s using his name to get more coverage for herself and he’s possibly using her because she will throw money at publicitiy.
theres no other reason for her name to be all over it, it’s not her job and nothing within it is her job .

I found out via social media and she keeps dropping it into conversation in shared groups we’re in but neither of them have told me directly. We had had a huge row when this was announced online so at the time me and him weren’t communicating but we had been close in the build up to the announcement

they have a connection which I don’t feel we have at the moment.
we have not been getting on and it feels like they are getting closer, it is supposedly platonic from his side but he is clearly lapping up the attention.

she is pure drama and main character energy and she hugely admires him and posts him everywhere, resharing all his work and bigging him up and he’s happy to accept it and I feel so small and inconsequential.
i can’t compete and won’t because it’s not my style

Most of my friends have become close with her too as she’s now become part of our scene due to his presence and including her with everything , it’s made me come off social media because I feel like the third wheel. I’m feeling like the outsider and I don’t like it one bit.

I truly love my partner, and never ever had a scrap of doubt in my mind about him. But this woman a) is trying to be my friend and b) wants to be liked by everyone, she’s hugely popular and is out at all functions, meet ups etc, I’m often busy due to the kids and other commitments and when I have attended they have left me out of conversations, gone off to do other activities and left me alone etc.

she has lots of couple friends and has been in scenarios where the woman partner has flipped out because of her involvement and she always comes across as the innocent person and the other women being jealous exes.

she is a loudmouth and part of the reason I don’t feel comfortable or safe in a clear boundaries confrontation is because she will likely blow it up into a public thing and get people onside and I will look like a jealous possessive woman .

I have seen this happen first hand with her and other women. She has pursued all the men in this line of work and one friend’s husband told her to back off when she started pursuing a close friendship with him but my partner has played right into her hands, I think because she is giving him so much airspace.

It’s like she gets a kick out of being besties with other peoples husbands.

he maintains it’s me he loves, I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, they’re just mates etc but ifeel it’s driving a huge wedge between us.

i can’t give an ultimatum, there are too many close connections and the way our relationship is currently I think he’d go behind my back anyway, he’s clearly prioritised her over me several times and it’s not until recently that she’s started to ‘bait’ me by constantly dropping into conversations things my dp has told her before telling me, social plans they’ve made

I don’t know how to process this or how to move on.

OP posts:
allthedragons · 05/09/2025 13:35

If you talk to him about your relationship problems, don't mention her at all. Do not be drawn to discuss her. Do not give him anything to take back to her that gives her ammunition for a showdown. Your issues come from his lack of commitment to you, and him obviously checking out of your relationship.

Take her out of the equation entirely and you're unhappy enough with his behaviour to consider leaving. For your own sense of wellbeing, make this nothing to do with her and all about him.

💐

Charabanc · 05/09/2025 13:36

OP, you sound like a very analytical person. But you are not going to be able to logic your way out of this, or to explain his shitty actions by reason.

waterrat · 05/09/2025 13:43

Op, shoulders back and walk away - they don't matter and you will feel so much better. They don't need to approve of your decision!

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 13:45

allthedragons · 05/09/2025 13:35

If you talk to him about your relationship problems, don't mention her at all. Do not be drawn to discuss her. Do not give him anything to take back to her that gives her ammunition for a showdown. Your issues come from his lack of commitment to you, and him obviously checking out of your relationship.

Take her out of the equation entirely and you're unhappy enough with his behaviour to consider leaving. For your own sense of wellbeing, make this nothing to do with her and all about him.

💐

lol . If I take her out of the equation he has still been an arsehole in other ways. Some of my bigger griavances in the relationship do loop back to her but he has done or not done a lot of things that have really hurt me. The stuff with her definitely ramped it up a notch but then again, is that just because I have her a a narrator for these events?

in the past I’ve only had my feelings, my own observations and his minimising thereof, this time there’s too much happening for me to ignore or for him to believably downplay.
but it’s also just enough to enable him and her to keep reframing it in a way that will drive me mad and his actions and words have already driven me mad in other ways.

i think my reaction to his behaviour is partly what’s causing this distance between us , if I’d played the cool girlfriend throughout, he wouldnt have pushed me away in the same way: if I wasn’t challenging him about things that make me uncomfortable I wouldn’t be so pushed away

OP posts:
Yayabee23 · 05/09/2025 13:48

Your feeling are completely valid.
I would be flipping scenarios around on him or tell him about a 'friend' who's husband is so close to someone and tells this woman things before his wife etc and see what he says.....then ask him why it's acceptable for him to do that to you.
I know it sounds silly, but use words like 'i wonder why you did that?' I trust that you will respect my wishes of keeping this conversation between us....
If he tells her, there is more in it with them.
Or you ask your husband if you an both sit down with this woman (you also have someone there) and hash it out

Your feelings are completely valid and it sounds like he isn't being supportive or caring within your relationship. TRUST your gut, yes, jealousy can hinder our gut instincts but if it's that strong then listen to it.

OR ....call his bluff, tell him you know the answer as you've been told there's more too it so you want to hear his side of the story , the amount of people that sing like a canary because they think they've been caught out is crazy xx

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 13:50

waterrat · 05/09/2025 13:43

Op, shoulders back and walk away - they don't matter and you will feel so much better. They don't need to approve of your decision!

Ooh ! When you put it this way it sounds so straightforward and I didn’t see it from this perspective before.

I’m so used to having to provide ‘evidence’ to him every time I am upset or feel slighted, he wants dates, who said what, where etc and I feel like I can’t ever get through to him so he never takes accountability, just says it won’t happen again, then something else happen.

OP posts:
outerspacepotato · 05/09/2025 13:52

If your partner of nearly 4 years would rather have his ego fed by new woman rather than prioritize your relationship that's stressed by that pandering, he's chosen. What is your boundary here? Figure that out, set it, and the rest is his to figure out.

Get your exit plan ready. If you won't take her bait to blow things up, she'll do it on her own and there's really nothing you can do.

the huge row we’d had was not directly linked to this event announcement but about a general feeling of being overlooked by him in the relationship, excluded by him from things we used to share and one of the things was about something he’d done with her six months ago and left me out of. It’s literally like she’s filled the space where me and him used to be ‘best friends’ but the feeling has infiltrated every aspect of ‘us’

Your relationship isn't a safe place for you by his making a 3rd person his cheerleader and confidante and "go to person". She's taken your place in his life, with his work and even his friends. The only thing you have left is sex from the sounds of it. Gently, it sounds like your relationship is ending and it's good that you're in therapy.

AgentPidge · 05/09/2025 13:54

Hmm. I think, as you say, he is flattered by the attention. You need to make him realise what his life will look like if things don't change and you walk away. Bedsit? Seeing his kids every other weekend? Female friend losing interest.
I think your relationship is salvageable, so long as your DH wakes up.
There was a similar situation at my work. The DH had his head turned by a woman at his work who was just in it for fun - she wasn't really interested in having a relationship with a bloke who had kids. The DW threatened to move cities and the DH eventually pushed 'friend' out of the picture and they got their marriage back.

Charabanc · 05/09/2025 13:57

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 13:50

Ooh ! When you put it this way it sounds so straightforward and I didn’t see it from this perspective before.

I’m so used to having to provide ‘evidence’ to him every time I am upset or feel slighted, he wants dates, who said what, where etc and I feel like I can’t ever get through to him so he never takes accountability, just says it won’t happen again, then something else happen.

Such abusive behaviour, OP. As a PP has said:

You can just. Fucking. Leave.

(To paraphrase 😆)

You do not need his permission or approval. Repeat: You do not need his permission to do this.

TutiFrutti · 05/09/2025 13:59

Hi, I'm sure you'll navigate the best path through this for you.
If it were me I would tell him you're leaving the relationship because it's not making you happy any more (that is a good enough reason in it's own right) and not bring her into it at all.
That way If she starts any nonsense trying to label you as jealous etc you can dismiss her as being irrelevant.
She'll look a bit silly trying to make it about her.
Good luck though, you sound lovely and you deserve to be happy.

jolies1 · 05/09/2025 14:05

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 13:50

Ooh ! When you put it this way it sounds so straightforward and I didn’t see it from this perspective before.

I’m so used to having to provide ‘evidence’ to him every time I am upset or feel slighted, he wants dates, who said what, where etc and I feel like I can’t ever get through to him so he never takes accountability, just says it won’t happen again, then something else happen.

Exactly this. You don’t owe him any explanation other than I’m ending the relationship as this isn’t what I want any more - it’s not making me happy and it isn’t fulfilling. If anyone else asks tell a simplified version of the truth - I didn’t feel like his priority any more and the relationship felt like it had run its course.

Blueuggboots · 05/09/2025 14:06

If it quacks like a duck….

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:32

Thank you everyone for kind words, this has been affecting me for a very long time but it’s only really been since the beginning of this year that I’ve started to see this new relationship play out under my nose.

this is man on the surface is the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful person, very charismatic and popular as is she, really they are much more suited than me and him , they are both far more superficial, hedonistic, appearance focused and both seem to thrive on adoration from others whereas I’m far more introverted.

physically me and him are very well matched. And in terms of interests, sense of humour, physical pursuits, and all the things I think make a life, we are well suited. It’s all the superficial stuff that again, I didn’t realise was so important to him because he presents very differently.

its taken me this long to realise that he’s not the person I thought he was and I wonder if he’s just been mirroring me this whole time?

I feel really unsure of him now, like those women who have relationships with undercover cops and don’t realise , I don’t know if he was wearing a persona or just has a lot of conflicting personality traits or if I was just naive,

I am neurodivergent so I do find relating and communicating difficult sometimes when people don’t match what they say.

we are not married, not cohabiting, no shared kids, we both felt the natural progression was for him to move in with me and my kids but things kept coming up that made me wary so I decided it would be safer to wait until the kids have grown up and see if he comes good on his promises to start prioritising ‘us’ with his actions , not just his words.

OP posts:
HeavyDuvet · 05/09/2025 14:32

What's his track record like.

Four years is still quite a young relationship yet you sound mature in your thinking, how old are you both ?

It appears he has trained you into being the cool girlfriend who should not have boundaries and are too intellegent to become jealous.

It's quite the set up when men do this. Has he had previous relationships, discarded them easily and never took any accountability.

wizzywig · 05/09/2025 14:36

I must have missed it, are the kids both of yours?

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:39

jolies1 · 05/09/2025 14:05

Exactly this. You don’t owe him any explanation other than I’m ending the relationship as this isn’t what I want any more - it’s not making me happy and it isn’t fulfilling. If anyone else asks tell a simplified version of the truth - I didn’t feel like his priority any more and the relationship felt like it had run its course.

Without dropping myself into an almighty storm with her, how do I deal with her breadcrumbs messages?
If I am to move on from this ?

I am going to run into her again through work and socially it’s a small town and in the creative sphere it’s also a small world, I don’t want a showdown, I don’t want to say anything that puts me at a disadvantage by making myself vulnerable to attack from her or further deflection .

I have seen this play out with her and other women, sadly none of these women are linked and they are not friends of mine so I have mostly seen it all unfold from her perspective and seen how people have rallied round and sympathised and empathised that she is so kind and thoughtful and what a shame people are so parochial etc

so I have been making excuses for not being around , to her and to our wider group which is mostly all people who me and my partner have introduced her to. but I need her to back off because I don’t want to give her ammunition and she is definitely needling me under the guise of checking in and then if I respond she drops all her ‘news’ on me and casually mentions working with my p, but has moved to not mentioning him by name but calling it the wider cause / event name, it feels calculated

OP posts:
Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:41

wizzywig · 05/09/2025 14:36

I must have missed it, are the kids both of yours?

Kids are mine. His adult kids are hugely impacted by his selfishness . He minimises all this too, but I think the scales are falling from my eyes now

OP posts:
Charabanc · 05/09/2025 14:43

I wouldn't worry OP. Just hold your head high and be happy.

He'll be as much of a shit to her as he has been to you and his own children.

Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:47

HeavyDuvet · 05/09/2025 14:32

What's his track record like.

Four years is still quite a young relationship yet you sound mature in your thinking, how old are you both ?

It appears he has trained you into being the cool girlfriend who should not have boundaries and are too intellegent to become jealous.

It's quite the set up when men do this. Has he had previous relationships, discarded them easily and never took any accountability.

We are both late 40s.
I think he is emotionally lacking but puts up a good front.
He has on the surface a good track record of long and happy relationships but some of it is inconsistent.
His adults kids have shared stuff with me that suggests some of his happy relationships may have been ‘happy’ at the expense of his kids.
his relationship before me sounded emotionally abusive from her to him but I only have his version.
he had a very long marriage, that was supposedly very happy, they did split and get back together more than once, he doesn’t seem clear about why it ended but I don’t feel it’s my place to delve too deeply as it’s personal to him.
I’ve often felt like he isn’t over his marriage and there’s been things that have corroborated this and I wonder if that’s partly why he’s been able to compartmentalise me so easily.
physically I am very like his wife but not in any other way. All his longterm relationships are with women who share the same or very physical characteristics , this may be partly why I have not seen this woman as a threat but this feels naive now I’m writing it here

OP posts:
Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:52

Charabanc · 05/09/2025 14:43

I wouldn't worry OP. Just hold your head high and be happy.

He'll be as much of a shit to her as he has been to you and his own children.

I kind of hope so although I don’t like wishing bad on anyone.
it feels like in her pursuit of me as a friend she has been rinsing me for information about him and is now working on herself, her appearance and interests in order to make him see her as a partner rather than a friend.
part of the reasons I stopped using social media is because that’s how it started to look online.
at first I ramped up my posting and tagging like I was in a pissing contest but that felt humiliating and is not my style so I stopped and she carried on
and I came off altogether and then every now and then I would log back in and my algorithms would always show me something from her about him or her commenting on his posts or vice versa.
I unfollowed both of them and then I had to unfriend / unfollow loads of other people and pages, events, venues etc because it still kept popping up in different ways, it’s like whack a mole! So in the end I’ve just come off altogether because I could feel it making my heart race.

it all feels so petty and immature when I write it down !

OP posts:
Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 14:55

HeavyDuvet · 05/09/2025 14:32

What's his track record like.

Four years is still quite a young relationship yet you sound mature in your thinking, how old are you both ?

It appears he has trained you into being the cool girlfriend who should not have boundaries and are too intellegent to become jealous.

It's quite the set up when men do this. Has he had previous relationships, discarded them easily and never took any accountability.

He doesn’t ‘do’ jealousy.
Conveniently.

she is very jealous despite mostly being in open relationships , this is what makes me so angry with her and him, is that we all three know she wouldn’t put up with any of this if I were in a friendship like this with a man she’s connected to.

OP posts:
Jellyheadbang · 05/09/2025 15:05

AgentPidge · 05/09/2025 13:54

Hmm. I think, as you say, he is flattered by the attention. You need to make him realise what his life will look like if things don't change and you walk away. Bedsit? Seeing his kids every other weekend? Female friend losing interest.
I think your relationship is salvageable, so long as your DH wakes up.
There was a similar situation at my work. The DH had his head turned by a woman at his work who was just in it for fun - she wasn't really interested in having a relationship with a bloke who had kids. The DW threatened to move cities and the DH eventually pushed 'friend' out of the picture and they got their marriage back.

I did have it in me to try and fight for it but he is not fighting, I have carried the emotional burden of this relationship for a long time while he’s been able to live his easy life and me as his comfort blanket.

OP posts:
Nothankyov · 05/09/2025 15:08

@Jellyheadbang I am really sorry OP that you are going through this. Emotional affairs are as devastating as physical affairs

fatphalange · 05/09/2025 15:12

You must be so exhausted! Walking on eggshells, weighing up every move in case it’s used as ammunition from either him, her, or someone else. Adjusting your behaviour to fit what’s comfortable for them, analysing every move, micromanaging your every reaction.
This is YOUR life. You’re not some passive character in this channel 5 movie shit show where this weird woman has seamlessly inserted herself into your life, befriending you for her own kicks and to get closer to your man.
Just leave them all in the dust FFS. YOU aren’t happy. Your pathetic boyfriend is enjoying playing the knight in shining armour to an insecure game player, neglecting you and making you feel as though you can’t even question any of it or say how you really feel, in case he ‘uses it against you’ or demands a dossier full of evidence.