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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

Relationship problems Husband not working and wife sharing marital problems with other man

9 replies

Chibaba · 20/11/2025 15:13

Hello everyone my wife talk about our problems with other men so far so one in her Whatsapp and its crushing me she waz telling him that my husband is not making effort to put food on the table and its draining her lot now she feels like shez working for the kids and the marriage is dying i love my wife and kids i lost my job and im not going to work i feel so useless and its eating me inside we dont talk like we used to i feel like running away and come back when im financially stable but the fear of losing her lets me wait for the day she gonna say im done w you cant provide for you im a Christian and the situation is making me doubt my prayers to God I have noone to talk to atleast maybe there are people w my similar situation

OP posts:
rubyslippers · 20/11/2025 15:14

How long have you been out of work
get yourself employment and quickly

Pinkandpurple225533 · 20/11/2025 15:18

Does she mean “food on the table” as in financial contribution or the cooking? If you are not working, then a really useful contribution at home would be do all the cooking, cleaning, childcare, home maintenance etc. Some couples have one (or both) partners working part time because these things all take up so much time, it’s like another job. If you are not contributing financially then you should be applying for jobs frequently and also take on all these other roles and that can help a lot.

I know someone whose husband lost their job and just sat around gaming and she was working and also cooking and cleaning, that made her bitter and they split up.

Chibaba · 20/11/2025 15:20

rubyslippers · 20/11/2025 15:14

How long have you been out of work
get yourself employment and quickly

Now four months no luck but still applying

OP posts:
Chibaba · 20/11/2025 15:22

Pinkandpurple225533 · 20/11/2025 15:18

Does she mean “food on the table” as in financial contribution or the cooking? If you are not working, then a really useful contribution at home would be do all the cooking, cleaning, childcare, home maintenance etc. Some couples have one (or both) partners working part time because these things all take up so much time, it’s like another job. If you are not contributing financially then you should be applying for jobs frequently and also take on all these other roles and that can help a lot.

I know someone whose husband lost their job and just sat around gaming and she was working and also cooking and cleaning, that made her bitter and they split up.

Yes you right im doing all the house chores but the atmosphere not ok thank you for yo responds

OP posts:
yawnyawnyawny · 20/11/2025 16:02

Have you only been applying for jobs in your previous field? If so, you need to start applying for other work, for example delivering parcels for Amazon, delivering letters for Royal Mail or stocking shelves in Sainsbury's.

If you are only applying for jobs in say accountancy, but aren't getting any, then you need to think outside the box.

StruggleFlourish · 20/11/2025 16:12

Hi there, I think it's difficult for anybody who's lost a job and it's been 4 months and they haven't gotten one yet, to feel good about themselves.
And I think especially difficult if you're the man and you think of yourself as the provider for the family, OR at the very least, you were Co provider with each of you contributing half.
Now your wife has the only income, and you guys are struggling financially.
It's great that you say that you're very involved with your home life ("you're doing all the house chores").
Do you feel like less of a man because you're not able to provide financially at this time?
Do you feel she's not as attracted to you because you're not financially providing for the household?

I don't know why you lost your employment (there's a million reasons) or if you've been extremely actively job searching with no luck or just casually, but if you feel that the main reason that you feel worthless and your wife is unhappy is tied to finances, then I would suggest that you make finding employment your full-time job.
And believe me, I know how easy that is to say...but I'm actually doing the same thing right now and it's so difficult,...the constant job searching, writing a tailored resume and cover letter for each specific job including doing the research of the company how far it would be for you to get there, finding out what the experiences for the customers with the experience is for the workers, all that stuff is important to me when I am figuring out how to write a resume or fill out a application... It's a ton of work.
And of course, you don't want to slack off on whatever you're doing around the household and you might even want to do more, like if you're doing 10 things around the house, try to do 13. Step up at home, not down.

And if you feel that there's anything you can do to make your wife feel more appreciated, more relaxed, more "sexy" when she comes home, do that too (I don't mean proposition her with a roll in the hay, unless she wants that, I just mean sexy as in whatever makes her feel better even if it's offering a glass of wine, a nice candle and suggesting for her to go take a bubble bath while you mop the floors and clean the litter boxes, you know?).
What I mean is, when she comes home from work, if you're able to, make her feel very special. And then tell her, "I've been going through a hard time with not being employed right now, it makes me feel bad and I really really do appreciate your patience while I'm job searching, and I really appreciate that your financially supporting the household." I know they sound like crazy words you probably would never say but doing something really kind for your partner would probably mean a lot to her and actually saying the words would probably mean a lot to her too.
For me, it would melt my heart. Any frustration or tiredness or resent and I might feel at having to be the soul provider for the family at this time would instantly disappear if my partner communicated to me in such a honest and open manner.

Then, as other people have suggested, whatever your previous line of work was, you might just want to not only redouble your efforts, but cast The net wider, go for other jobs that you might not have wanted to consider before but you might be able to pick up more quickly, because you can always continue your preferred job search, but as long as money is coming in, you'll feel better. (Keeping in mind I've learned recently that waiting 2 to 4 weeks after putting in your application before you even hear it response for an interview is considered to be normal these days)

As for her speaking to other people, men, online and having concerns about your finances well, I don't know. Men or women I don't know that it makes much of a difference. For me if I had a male friend or friends, or female, I would have the same concerns. To me it wouldn't be like, she's talking to other men so she's going to leave me. To me it would just be, she's having frustration and she's having concerns and she either feels that she can't talk to me or she doesn't want to make me feel bad so she won't talk to me about this so she's talking to someone else cuz she needs to talk to someone.

I don't know if this helps but I hope it does
(Edited the most obvious voice dictation errors but there's still a few spelling mistakes in there)

Chibaba · 20/11/2025 16:30

StruggleFlourish · 20/11/2025 16:12

Hi there, I think it's difficult for anybody who's lost a job and it's been 4 months and they haven't gotten one yet, to feel good about themselves.
And I think especially difficult if you're the man and you think of yourself as the provider for the family, OR at the very least, you were Co provider with each of you contributing half.
Now your wife has the only income, and you guys are struggling financially.
It's great that you say that you're very involved with your home life ("you're doing all the house chores").
Do you feel like less of a man because you're not able to provide financially at this time?
Do you feel she's not as attracted to you because you're not financially providing for the household?

I don't know why you lost your employment (there's a million reasons) or if you've been extremely actively job searching with no luck or just casually, but if you feel that the main reason that you feel worthless and your wife is unhappy is tied to finances, then I would suggest that you make finding employment your full-time job.
And believe me, I know how easy that is to say...but I'm actually doing the same thing right now and it's so difficult,...the constant job searching, writing a tailored resume and cover letter for each specific job including doing the research of the company how far it would be for you to get there, finding out what the experiences for the customers with the experience is for the workers, all that stuff is important to me when I am figuring out how to write a resume or fill out a application... It's a ton of work.
And of course, you don't want to slack off on whatever you're doing around the household and you might even want to do more, like if you're doing 10 things around the house, try to do 13. Step up at home, not down.

And if you feel that there's anything you can do to make your wife feel more appreciated, more relaxed, more "sexy" when she comes home, do that too (I don't mean proposition her with a roll in the hay, unless she wants that, I just mean sexy as in whatever makes her feel better even if it's offering a glass of wine, a nice candle and suggesting for her to go take a bubble bath while you mop the floors and clean the litter boxes, you know?).
What I mean is, when she comes home from work, if you're able to, make her feel very special. And then tell her, "I've been going through a hard time with not being employed right now, it makes me feel bad and I really really do appreciate your patience while I'm job searching, and I really appreciate that your financially supporting the household." I know they sound like crazy words you probably would never say but doing something really kind for your partner would probably mean a lot to her and actually saying the words would probably mean a lot to her too.
For me, it would melt my heart. Any frustration or tiredness or resent and I might feel at having to be the soul provider for the family at this time would instantly disappear if my partner communicated to me in such a honest and open manner.

Then, as other people have suggested, whatever your previous line of work was, you might just want to not only redouble your efforts, but cast The net wider, go for other jobs that you might not have wanted to consider before but you might be able to pick up more quickly, because you can always continue your preferred job search, but as long as money is coming in, you'll feel better. (Keeping in mind I've learned recently that waiting 2 to 4 weeks after putting in your application before you even hear it response for an interview is considered to be normal these days)

As for her speaking to other people, men, online and having concerns about your finances well, I don't know. Men or women I don't know that it makes much of a difference. For me if I had a male friend or friends, or female, I would have the same concerns. To me it wouldn't be like, she's talking to other men so she's going to leave me. To me it would just be, she's having frustration and she's having concerns and she either feels that she can't talk to me or she doesn't want to make me feel bad so she won't talk to me about this so she's talking to someone else cuz she needs to talk to someone.

I don't know if this helps but I hope it does
(Edited the most obvious voice dictation errors but there's still a few spelling mistakes in there)

Edited

Thank you very much comment much appreciated will try do some you wrote on top of what im doing coz truly i need to save my marriage

OP posts:
SorrowfulWife · 20/11/2025 20:11

I have just posted about my husband who has been out of work for much longer than you, so I can give you a similar perspective. It is incredibly stressful and frustrating to be the other half in this situation. I find that we are completely stuck and all life plans are on hold.
You need to pull your weight big time, basically take over all chores if she is the only provider. Show a real commitment to finding any paid job in the meantime. Visit all employment agencies and get a temp job I until you find something permanent. I'd prefer my husband was sweeping the streets than sitting at home doing nothing. I have been confessing to female and male friends about our situation, but not for any other reason that wanting some support. Suddenly, he is the problem, so I need to talk to someone else about it or otherwise I may simply break.

Chibaba · 21/11/2025 03:58

SorrowfulWife · 20/11/2025 20:11

I have just posted about my husband who has been out of work for much longer than you, so I can give you a similar perspective. It is incredibly stressful and frustrating to be the other half in this situation. I find that we are completely stuck and all life plans are on hold.
You need to pull your weight big time, basically take over all chores if she is the only provider. Show a real commitment to finding any paid job in the meantime. Visit all employment agencies and get a temp job I until you find something permanent. I'd prefer my husband was sweeping the streets than sitting at home doing nothing. I have been confessing to female and male friends about our situation, but not for any other reason that wanting some support. Suddenly, he is the problem, so I need to talk to someone else about it or otherwise I may simply break.

I can see she is breaking thank you for the advice

OP posts:
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